Chapter Thirteen

The Mad Duke

Edmund scowled as he poured some coffee into his cup, irritated beyond measure with all that Lady Lillian had told him. It was not that he was upset with what she had said, of course, finding himself relieved that she had been willing enough to do so, but angered that the ton had somehow found out about it and, thereafter, had decided to whisper about it all. It was most displeasing to be whispered about, though he himself did not care. What society thought of him was of very little consequence, given that he was quite sure that the lady he sought did not think the same way!

"Edmund."

He glanced behind him. "Mother. It is not often that you refer to me in such a way. Is there something the matter?"

His mother walked directly towards him, then slammed the paper down on the table beside him. "You promised me that you would not speak of your little… hobby to anyone!"

Edmund set down his coffee and picked up the paper instead. "And I have not," he said, quietly. "Mother, just because there is something written in here about me does not mean that it is true and neither does it mean that I have had anything to do with it!"

"And yet how else would they have discovered such a thing? Society does not start whispering about a ‘Mad Duke' from nothing!"

Hesitating, Edmund fought to find an answer but nothing came to him. There was, he realized, very little he could offer by way of explanation for where had that come from? He had only spoken to Lady Lillian and to Dinah about his experiments and he could not imagine that either of them would whisper about it to anyone else.

Can I be sure of that?

Letting his gaze travel to the place his mother was pointing at, Edmund quickly read the few lines, his lip curling as he read descriptions of various experiments he was supposedly undertaking, all dreadful and all utterly preposterous. "This has all been made up out of someone's imaginings," he said, firmly. "If society chooses to believe it, then I cannot stop that."

"But this is damaging!" his mother exclaimed, throwing up her hands and then marching around the table to pour some tea, as though that would be the answer to it all. "Your reputation will be besmirched!"

Edmund shrugged. "I do not think that it will be and, even if it is as you say, that does not trouble me. I have very little consideration for what the ton will think and you need not question me about Dinah either. Lord Weatherly is not about to turn his back on her simply because of a rumour from the ton about her chaperone! I do not know him very well as yet, but I do know him well enough to understand his character is one of strength and determination."

"All the same, you must see what this could do," his mother protested, clearly still a little concerned. "What of your own situation? What if Lady Vivianne turns from you? What if she decides that – "

"I have no intention of marrying Lady Vivianne." Edmund lifted his chin and saw the shock ripple across his mother's expression. "Yes, I am courting her and mayhap I should have explained this to you beforehand but I do not expect to engage myself to the lady. In a few days, I shall end the courtship and all will be well."

The Duchess stared at him with wide eyes for a few long moments, only to throw up her hands, exclaiming furiously. "But that is all the worse! You will then be courting no young lady at all! And who from the ton will look to you when you are known as ‘the Mad Duke'? You may well have the highest title in England aside from the King himself, but that does not mean that there will be gladness in the hearts of those who might then be considered by you. A father or mother might think twice about permitting their daughter to become attached to you! There shall be no heir, the line shall go to Lord Fullerton and – "

"Enough, mother!" Edmund interrupted, speaking with a good deal more force than he had intended, making his mother recoil. "Please," he continued, speaking a little more gently now. "I have everything in hand, I assure you. There will be nothing to concern yourself with, for I have the promise of a young lady that, once I am ended with Lady Vivianne, she will be glad to step along with me."

This made the Duchess deflate a little, her eyes searching his. "Are you quite sure of that?"

"I am."

She blinked, then frowned. "And is she a lady of quality?"

"Of course. There may come a bit of surprise from the ton as they see me end one courtship and begin another, but I will not be delayed, Mother. I care for Lady Lillian and I care nothing for Lady Vivianne."

The Duchess nodded slowly, showing no surprise whatsoever at his words. "Lady Lillian would understand you, I suppose."

"She does." Edmund smiled gently as he thought of her. "I spoke plainly to her and explained all as regarded Lady Vivianne and her arrogant brother. Indeed, I have also spoken to Lady Vivianne herself, explaining that it is only because of her reputation – and mine also – that we are courting, given that her brother proclaimed such a thing in front of all of the ton ! But I have told her that it will not last and that she must prepare herself for that, though she is not exactly pleased at the notion."

Taking in a deep breath, the Duchess set her shoulders and looked back at Edmund with a firm expression. "This is all very convoluted and rather concerning, my son."

"Yes, I am aware of that."

"I had not…. " His mother looked away. "I did not expect any of this, Wrexham. It has come as a surprise to me and to be sure, I do not like to hear that you are now known as the ‘Mad Duke'. That brings pain to my heart."

"I cannot help that, Mother, though I can assure you that I had nothing to do with the ton 's knowledge of my experiments." Edmund frowned. "That being said, I still do not know how such a thing has come about. After all, it seems to me that someone must have spoken to the ton about such things and very few people know of it."

"That is true." The Duchess frowned along with Edmund, her hands going to her hips. "Though I cannot be held responsible! I certainly have said nothing of the sort to anyone."

"And nor would Dinah, I am sure."

His mother's eyebrow lifted. "Then what of Lady Lillian?"

Edmund quickly shook his head, having already disregarded the idea entirely. "No. Certainly not."

"Then who else?"

Edmund shrugged. "I do not know. The only other thought I had was that it might be Lord or Lady Galesbury or even Lord Weatherly. Not that they would have done such a thing with any ill intention, of course! They would simply have spoken about it in passing."

His mother hesitated, then spread out her hands. "Mayhap. What about your friend?"

"Lord Huxley?" Edmund laughed and shook his head. "No, indeed not. I can assure you that he would not have said a word to anyone." Clearing his throat, he gestured to the paper and shrugged. "This does not matter, Mother, truly. There is nothing that can be done to silence the ton and nothing that I wish to do either. It will have to be whispered about for a time and that is all that can be done about it." Seeing his mother open her mouth to protest, Edmund made his way towards her and took her hand in his, looking down into her face. "Please do not worry, Mother. You have Dinah to look after and there is nothing that you need to worry about as regards my reputation. I am sure that Lady Lillian will be contented with our connection, when the time comes, and all will be well."

After a moment, his mother sighed but though she smiled, there was no light in her eyes. Instead, she simply nodded and looking away, pressed his hand before turning her head away, her concerns and fears pushed down… for the moment at least.

***

"I am sorry to hear that things have gone badly."

Edmund sighed and rolled his eyes. "It is all because of Lord Jedburgh. If he had not insisted, had not declared aloud that such a thing might be – even though it was not – then I might now be as contented as could be with Lady Lillian."

Lord Huxley looked at him, his hands clasped loosely behind his back as they walked together in the park. "Do you think that Lord Jedburgh will do something in order to force your connection to Lady Vivienne?"

"I do, though I cannot imagine what it will be." Edmund scowled. "At least I know for certain that he cannot have begun the rumour about my supposed madness!"

Lord Huxley's eyebrows lifted. "No?"

Edmund looked back at him. Why would any gentleman start such a rumour about the man his sister is courting? The one that he wishes to see wed?"

Slowly, Lord Huxley nodded. "I suppose that makes sense." He frowned. "What are you going to do? Are you going to search for the culprit?"

"The person behind the rumour?" Edmund shook his head no. "I can see no reason for that. If Lady Vivianne feels the need to end our courtship because of this then I cannot blame her for it and, indeed, might find myself rather pleased by it!" Chuckling along with his friend, Edmund shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, even if there is to be difficulties from it, I know that Lady Lillian will not step away from me. That is a comfort."

Lord Huxley smiled. "You have found someone quite wonderful, it seems."

"Oh, she is indeed – and the truth is, I did not realise the strength of my interest in her until I was forced away from her!" Edmund grimaced. "Lord Jedburgh has made things difficult for me, I must admit, though I have certainly found a greater awareness of my own heart which is not necessarily a bad thing."

"All the same, that is frustrating. Would that I could be of some assistance to you!"

Edmund grinned at him. "Would you like to court Lady Vivianne in my place?" he asked, as Lord Huxley let out a bark of laughter.

"I hardly think that is a suitable answer" Lord Huxley rolled his eyes, though he laughed aloud. "As the daughter of a Marquess, I am quite certain that she will be able to find herself a suitable match."

Edmund nodded. "I suppose so. If I am to be truthful, it is only because of her reputation that I began this courtship. I did not want society to look down upon her knowing that her brother had insisted we were courting. I have already informed her that the courtship will soon come to an end, but she does not seem to accept this. Instead, she appears to be quite determined, just as her brother is."

"Is there any reason as to why?"

Shaking his head, Edmund looked away. "Not that I could tell you." Letting out a long and heavy breath, he grimaced. "It may very well be that she simply wishes to be a Duchess. Apparently that is the dream of many a young lady."

"I think I should like to meet this Lady Vivianne." Lord Huxley sent Edmund a calculating look. "If she is as dreadful as she sounds then I am sure I will be turned away from her almost immediately. All the same, I should like to become acquainted."

Edmund lifted his eyebrows. "Are you quite sure?"

"Yes, I think I should like it very much. This is certainly an intriguing situation, and I confess, it is nothing other than morbid curiosity that makes me desire to know her, especially if there is a chance that she may become your wife!" Lord Huxley chuckled at Edmund's dark look. "There could be nothing wrong with being introduced, I am sure. Besides, if you are trying to paint a picture for society's benefit, then it would be better for you to introduce the lady to your friends, would it not?"

"Very well, very well," Edmund huffed, not quite certain whether Lord Huxley's words were irritating or mirthful. "I shall do so at the next opportunity." He turned his head to look about the park, only to come to a sudden stop, one hand going out across Lord Huxley's chest. His friend stopped at once, looking first at Edmund and then across the park.

"Is there something the matter?"

Edmund's whole body turned cold. "It seems as though your wish is to come true this very moment." With one hand, he pointed towards Lady Vivianne. She was walking through the park with her maid beside her, but no other company. For a moment, Edmund thought about turning on his heel and marching in the opposite direction, making certain that she could not either see him or catch up with him, but propriety told him to stay where he was.

"Is the young lady approaching us in particular?"

Edmund nodded, struggling to remove the scowl from his face. "It is."

"Then that is excellent! I can be introduced to her at once." Lord Huxley grinned at him and, with an effort, Edmund tried to put a pleasant expression on his face though, he noted, Lady Vivianne did not even so much as smile as she drew near.

"Good afternoon, Lady Vivianne." He bowed and kept the smile pinned to his face despite the eager desire within his heart to escape from her. "Are you intending to stay for the fashionable hour?"

She looked away. "I might."

Silence grew and Edmund's stomach twisted, finding every moment that he spent with the lady to be more and more discomfiting. It was only when Lord Huxley cleared his throat that Edmund recalled what he was to do and, with a nod, gestured to his friend. "Lady Vivianne, might I introduce you to my very dear friend, Nicholas, the Marquess of Huxley? Lord Huxley, this is Lady Vivianne, of whom I have been speaking."

Lady Vivianne turned her head and her eyes flashed over Lord Huxley, her chin lifting and, much to Edmund's surprise, a small smile touching the corners of her lips. Mayhap she was just as relieved as he was to have someone else within the conversation, he considered, as Lord Huxley bowed towards her.

"Good afternoon, Lady Vivianne. I am very glad to make your acquaintance."

"You say that you are friends with the Duke?" Lady Vivianne glanced at Edmund but her smile quickly faded when he caught her eye. "For how long?"

Lord Huxley grinned. "A very long time indeed, so I am well able to tell you anything you wish to know about him."

Edmund frowned, throwing his friend a dark look which, after a moment, took some of the smile from Lord Huxley's face. He did not want Lord Huxley to be jocular with Lady Vivianne. What he wanted instead was for his friend to make it quite plain that he though this match would not be any good to either Lady Vivianne or to Edmund himself, adding weight to Edmund's determined words that he would not engage himself to the lady.

"Mayhap I shall take you up on that particular offer one day." Lady Vivianne's voice was cool, casting yet another glance towards Edmund as though to remind him that she had every intention of keeping them in close connection regardless of what he himself thought. "It does seem to me that I do not know the Duke very well as yet, especially given the whispers I have heard of late."

"The Mad Duke?" Edmund shrugged. "I would advise you not to listen to gossip, Lady Vivianne."

"Though you do enjoy your experiments and the like," Lord Huxley put in, sending Edmund a slightly wide-eyed look, making him realise what his friend meant. Perhaps in speaking this way, perhaps in confirming all that Lady Vivianne had heard, he might be able to encourage her to end their connection no matter what her brother desired.

"Yes, yes, I do." Edmund spread out his hands either side. "Indeed, I am always doing something in that regard. I very much enjoy experimenting and my thoughts are very often caught up in natural philosophy."

Lady Vivianne blinked, her face paling a little. "Then you accept the title of the Mad Duke?"

"Accept it?" Edmund shook his head. "No. But I will not pretend that I do not try out experiments, that I am eager to attempt different things in the name of advancing natural philosophy. That is something that you must understand about me, Lady Vivianne."

She blinked again, then looked away. Edmund threw a glance to his friend, a hint of a smile on his lips in the hope that this might make Lady Vivianne think twice about their connection.

"Well." Lady Vivianne looked back at him, her eyes darting this way and that and barely resting on his for even a moment. "If that is the truth, then I shall have to learn how to respond to such whispers. Though I do not much like it."

Edmund's gut twisted. "I am afraid that I do not much care as to whether or not you like it, Lady Vivianne, though forgive me for speaking so bluntly. I am not about to change my interests and set all of that to the side. It is a part of my life that must be accepted, even if there are rumours that come with it."

Lady Vivianne's lip curled and Edmund looked away, wanting to make it clear to her by his silence that he was not about to change his mind or alter himself in any way, only for someone else to catch his eye. His heart leapt and a broad smile spread across his face before he could prevent it, his gaze fixing to Lady Lillian as she looked back at him.

Lord Huxley cleared his throat. "Might you walk with me for a time, Lady Vivianne? I should be delighted to better acquaint myself with you, if I may. I can see that your maid is present but –"

"My brother is nearby," she said, taking Lord Huxley's arm without hesitation, though Edmund found himself inwardly rejoicing that she was so willing to depart from his own company, casting his friend a mouthed, ‘thank you' before making his way towards Lady Lillian directly, caring very little as to whether or not Lady Vivianne saw where he went.

"Lady Lillian." His hand caught hers and he bowed over it, his heart skipping about with delight at being in her company again, heedless to the fact that there were those within the ton who would be watching him and all of his interactions. "You cannot know how happy it makes me to see you again."

Lady Lillian smiled back at him though, discreetly, pulled her hand from his. "Forgive me, but given that you are still courting Lady Vivianne, I think it wise that we maintain propriety. As much as I might wish to –"

"Forgive me." Stumbling over his words, Edmund took a step back, realising just how caught up by his emotions he had been. "I – I did not mean to bring you any sort of embarrassment." A sudden dread wrapped around him. "If you also wish to step back because of the whispers about me at present, I quite understand."

"Oh, goodness, of course I do not!" Lady Lillian's eyes flared and Edmund's whole body softened with relief. "That does not concern me in the least. I am only sorry that the rumours and whispers have continued to spread. I heard the most preposterous one from Lady Anne this afternoon, though I was quick to silence it, I can assure you."

Edmund tried to let that pass him by, tried to put that out of his mind but it niggled at him, biting down hard. "It is disappointing to hear that the ton are so fixed upon the gossip about me but it cannot be helped, I suppose. Might I ask what it was you heard?"

Lady Lillian searched his eyes and then, with a sigh, shrugged her shoulders. "It was foolishness. They said that you have damaged your estate severely with all of your tests and some rooms are now in severe need of repair. Evidently they do not think very highly of your skills in natural philosophy! I was certain to tell them otherwise."

Edmund rubbed one hand over his eyes. "I cannot imagine where such rumours have come from. Who would know that I have been doing experiments at the estate? It seems very strange indeed."

Her smile was a little rueful. "I think that the ton are very capable of making up a good many things, Your Grace, and do not need to know the truth simply to whisper foolishness." A sudden brightness caught her eyes. "Though why do you not counter these whispers?"

Edmund tilted his head. "In what way?"

"Have a literary event!" she exclaimed, her hand going to his arm for just a moment as enthusiasm and excitement rippled through her voice. "You could host an evening of natural philosophy and other things, where we might come together to read to each other, to discuss and to learn! Though, of course, ladies might not be invited to such an occasion and I quite understand if that is to be the case."

A thrill ran up Edmund's spine. "What a marvellous idea!" He saw her smile and felt his heart warm at the light in her eyes. "You are quite remarkable, Lady Lillian and of course, you shall be invited. I will send out invitations to as many of the ton as I think would be interested, which shall include both ladies and gentlemen. And," he continued, a grin spreading across his face, "I shall bring out my electrifying machine. That will make the ton speak of me all the more, I know, but it may be that some find it exciting and interesting! Then that might diffuse some of the more negative whispers… though such a thing does not truly concern me, I admit. It would bring a sense of ease to my mother, however, and at the same time, would show the ton that I have no interest in hiding away or pretending that I do not care for such a thing." His chest lifted as he took in a deep breath, his grin sticking to his face. "My dear Lady Lillian, once more your remarkable mind and quick thinking leaves me in awe of you."

She blushed but smiled, making Edmund grin. The lady was accepting his compliments, though she did not fawn over him nor seek out more, as many other young ladies might do. The way that her mind worked, the delight she had in numbers and the like inspired him all the more to pursue his experiments, to continue on with the things that he had always sought to do.

"You are very kind, Your Grace."

"I speak the truth," He touched her hand for only a moment, seeing the way that fire leapt up into her eyes. "I confess that my desire to be courting you rather than to continue on with this fa?ade with Lady Vivianne is growing all the more. My frustrations increase, my upset continues and yet I must continue to tolerate it, though it can only be for a few days longer now." His smile faded. "I suppose I shall have to extend an invitation to her as regards this literary event, though I do not know if she will step back from it."

"Mayhap she will not attend. Though, given that she has not stepped back from you as yet what with these rumours, I do not think that she will." Her shoulders lifted and fell. "Might you wish for any assistance in planning the literary event, I should be glad to offer it to you."

A sudden rush of warmth ran over him, reminding him of just how much he desired her. The thought of being in company with her, in closer acquaintance than this, made his heart thud wildly. "I should like that very much. Mayhap you would like to come to take tea with Dinah and myself soon?" His eyebrows lifted gently. "Dinah could take her leave for a short time, I am sure, should I explain the situation to her."

The heat in Lady Lillian's cheeks grew all the more though she nodded quickly, thrilling him with her eagerness. "Shall we say tomorrow?"

He reached out and took her hand in his again, bowing low over it. "It cannot come quickly enough," he murmured, as her eyes flared with the heat of his breath on her skin. "I look forward to being in your company again, Lady Lillian. More than I can express."