A Hint of Scandal (29 page)

After that, as in her own wedding, everything became a blur.

Soon the new Duke and Duchess of Malverton were walking back down the aisle, and each of the pews began to empty one at a time. It had been arranged for Westlake to return to his town house in the carriage that had brought Bella, her papa, and Tommy to the church. As she entered the aisle with the duke, he offered his arm. Bella was mortified to see that the hand she placed upon him shook ever so slightly. For a brief moment the duke placed his other hand over hers as he turned to acknowledge a guest who greeted him.

It took some time to make their way out of the church.

Bella waited in silence with the duke for the coach to be brought around. Excitement swirled around them as the other guests chatted with one another during the wait. They all proclaimed it a beautiful, perfectly executed wedding.

The duke’s coach finally pulled up and he handed Bella in before seating himself next to her. Once Tommy and her papa had made themselves comfortable, the duke signaled the coachman to depart.

“There sure are a lot of prime horses in London, your grace,” Tommy stated to the duke.

The duke smiled at the boy and agreed with his opinion.

“Sir,” Tommy began with a note of hesitation in his voice, “Zeus has been at Penninghurst Park for a very long time now. I tried to bring him to London to you, but your coachman said not to.”

“That is because Zeus is now yours, Thomas,” Westlake offered, smiling at the expression of complete stupefaction on Tommy’s face.

“Thank you, your grace, but we could not possibly accept such a generous gift. Could we, Thomas?” Alfred Tichley interjected with a strong hint to his son.

Tommy’s face fell at his father’s words. “No, thank you very much, your grace, but I could not accept.” Tommy choked out the words.

Bella almost laughed out loud at her brother’s conflicted
expression. She looked at the duke, deeply touched by his kindness and generosity.

“Alfred, you agreed not two days ago to call me Alex, or Westlake at the very least,” the duke said good-naturedly to Bella’s papa. “Tommy saved my life. Zeus is but the smallest token of my gratitude. Please accept him. I would be greatly gratified if you would.”

“Well…” Alfred hesitated, turning from the duke to look down at his son. “Will you continue to take very good care of the horse?”

“Oh, yes!” Tommy almost shouted his excitement. “There will not be a better cared-for horse in all of Kent. All of England!” he vowed. In his joy, Tommy threw himself across the carriage to hug the duke.

After the sound of air coming forcibly out of the duke’s lungs, Westlake hugged Tommy back while the boy thanked him over and over.

Bella had to turn her face away from the touching scene, for she did not want Westlake to see what she suspected was plainly evident in her eyes.

B
ella carefully stole up the staircase, glancing behind her to make sure that no one enjoying the festivities would see her sneaking away.

It was midafternoon, and the sumptuous wedding breakfast the Duke of Westlake had provided for his sister and her new husband showed no signs of slowing down. If anything, it was only growing more festive.

After the very formal breakfast, during which the groom’s brother did mumble through his entire speech, the gaiety had moved to the grand salon and spilled out into the gardens. Westlake had commissioned two orchestras to entertain the hundreds of wedding guests. One played on a dais in the salon, and the other was positioned under a canopy in the garden.

Upon returning to the town house after the wedding, the dowager had taken Bella aside and made it implicitly clear to her that she should remain at the duke’s side as his hostess. Bella had done her best to behave with poise and grace, but had found the task colossally difficult. Feelings she had never thought herself capable of enveloped her in a thrilling, confusing cocoon as she and Westlake moved about, seeing to the comfort of their guests.

As various people spoke to her, she assumed she responded normally to them, for no one reacted to her as if she were a Bedlamite.

Bella observed that the duke seemed supremely in his element while he hosted the beau monde. As they moved from room to room, Bella almost shivered at the touch of his fingers on her elbow.

From the moment she saw the duke returning her brother’s hug with such natural affection, her entire world turned inside out. These feelings of longing and passion were so new, she could almost not put names to them. She desperately needed a moment alone, and had stolen away, praying the dowager would not catch her. When she finally gained her bedchamber, she sat on the chaise and reclined with her legs stretched before her. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths.

She knew she could not leave the party for very long. It would be a terrible breach of all that was proper. But she was afraid that if she did not have a few moments to think, she would go mad.

Opening her eyes, she looked out of the window. Below, she saw Tommy, Henry, and the three Edgeton girls chasing each other across the smooth green lawn in the middle of the garden. She observed dozens of other guests enjoying the unexpectedly fine afternoon. The distant strains of a lilting melody reached her as she lay quietly in her room.

Her thoughts again, seemingly for the thousandth time in the last few hours, went to Westlake.

As she had gotten to know him a little over the last few months, it seemed to her that there were two very distinct sides to him: the confident, almost aloof side that he showed in public, and the gentler, though equally confident side he reserved for in private.

The public duke could intimidate her with a glance. The private Westlake, the one who had just given Tommy the horse, stirred the soul of her emotions.

Suddenly she was pulled from her thoughts as her bedchamber door burst open. Bella turned her head to see Triss rushing in.

“Oh, good, I found you! Bella, I must speak with you!” she gushed.

Bella swung her legs to the floor and sat up, noticing that Triss held a small wooden box in her hands.

“Triss, dear, I really cannot have a coze with you right now. We can discuss the wedding later,” Bella told her cousin.

“I do not wish to speak of the wedding,” Triss replied.

Halting in the process of rising, Bella raised both brows and sat back down.

“You
don’t?”
she asked in disbelief. “Well, then, I do not have time to discuss the eligible titles that are downstairs.”

“I do not wish to speak about that either, Bella,” Triss said with asperity. “I wish to give you something, but first I must tell you the most amazing
on dit.
I have just had it from Louisa, who has it from Malverton, who has it from Sir John Mayhew, who was…”

“Triss! You are making my head spin. What are you rattling about?” Bella interrupted.

“Will you please just listen?” Triss demanded.

“Oh, go on,” Bella said.

“Westlake challenged Robert Fortiscue to a duel!”

Bella jumped up from the chaise and stared at her cousin with wide eyes. “A duel? What on earth are you saying?”

“Westlake confronted Robert at some gambling den. He told Robert that his neckcloth was rude, and that unless he took himself off to the country, Westlake was going to shoot him at dawn.”

Bella stared at Triss in disbelief, finding her cousin’s words almost incomprehensible.

“Is it not too delicious?” Triss continued. “Louisa said that Malverton said that Mayhew said that Robert was practically whimpering by the time the duke was done with him.”

Bella felt completely stunned. Slowly she returned to the chaise and sat down. “But why would Westlake do such a thing?” Her voice was almost a whisper.

“Because of you, silly,” Triss said, moving across the room to stand next to Bella. “Louisa said that Malverton told her that even though gentlemen never discuss the real reason a challenge is made, it is most always a matter of personal honor. After the way Robert was so nasty to you at Almack’s, it is no wonder that Westlake sent him off to rusticate.”

Bella put her hands to her head. She remembered that
Westlake had seemed to dismiss Robert when they had spoken of him before their kiss. What could this mean? Her mind cast about for an answer. But she wanted answers to many things regarding her strange relationship with Westlake.

“You must try to get Westlake to tell you about it. I would so love to hear all of the details,” Triss said.

Bella made no comment to this and only lowered her hands to her lap. “We have been away from the party too long.”

“Yes, but before we return I wanted to give you something,” Triss told her.

Bella glanced up in curiosity at the uncertain tone in her cousin’s voice.

Triss handed Bella the small wooden box she had been holding. Bella accepted it from her and set it in her lap. Opening the lid, she saw what appeared to be a bunch of dried flowers and greenery tied together with an ivory silk ribbon.

“What is this?” Bella asked after a moment.

“They are from your wedding, Bella. After the ceremony I went back, pulled some of the ivy and roses from the chancel rail, and dried them. I have been waiting for the right time to give them to you.”

Bella’s brows came together in confusion. “I thought it was very kind of Aunt Elizabeth to have placed flowers in the church, but you needn’t have done this, Triss,” Bella stated softly.

“Mother?” Triss questioned. “Mother did not provide them. Westlake made arrangements to have the chancel rail draped in flowers.”

Bella’s head snapped up. “Are you sure it was Westlake?” she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

“Of course. It has seemed to me that of late you and the duke are in more accord. So I thought now would be a nice time to give you the flowers,” Triss explained.

Bella stared down at the flowers for some moments, her heart very full. “Oh, Triss! How will I ever know what really could have happened? How can he ever forget that Papa and Uncle David demanded that he marry me?”

Triss knelt down next to Bella and placed her arms
around her cousin. “I am so sorry that I am the cause of all this pain, dearest Bella. But it is clear to me that you and Westlake at least respect each other.”

“Somehow that is not enough.”

Triss pulled back and looked at her cousin keenly. “But Bella, respect was enough when you had planned to marry Robert Fortiscue. You made no pretense about feeling anything other than respect for
him.
”

“Please do not remind me how foolish I was concerning Robert Fortiscue,” Bella said with a pained smile.

Triss looked at Bella in silence for a long moment. “Arabella! Do you know what your problem is?” Triss demanded.

“I am sure that you are about to tell me whether I want to know or not,” Bella replied dryly.

“You are refusing to be truthful with yourself. That is very unlike you.”

Bella almost laughed aloud at this comment. Be truthful with herself? How could she be truthful when she no longer even knew her own mind?

“Triss, I cannot discuss this any longer,” Bella said, her tone bordering on desperation. “Please leave me to freshen up a bit and I shall join everyone in a few moments.”

Triss sighed and stood up from the chaise. “All right, Bella.”

When Triss had reached the door, Bella called to her. “Thank you for saving the flowers, Triss.”

“You are welcome.” Triss smiled before leaving the room.

Bella sat on the chaise for a few moments, her thoughts in a confused whirl.

Suddenly galvanized into action by the intensity of her emotions, Bella jumped up from the chaise and set about tidying her appearance. It was imperative that she speak to Westlake. She left her room and walked quickly to the top of the landing.

The flowers Triss had saved presented a whole new set of questions. Why had the duke bothered to arrange for flowers at their ceremony? She determined that as soon as she could manage a private word with him, she would ask
him. Suddenly the answer to this question in particular was of vital importance to her.

As she made her way down the first few steps, she mentally cursed the circumstances that had caused this sham marriage. It had prevented the possibility of something real developing between herself and the duke, she thought with deep regret.

The sound of feet quickly approaching caught her attention. Thinking Triss must have gone to her room to freshen up and was now trying to catch up with her, Bella slowed her steps.

Turning to look back up at her cousin, Bella suddenly felt a sharp push against her back.

Catching her breath in shock, Bella grabbed for the balustrade, frantically trying to regain her balance. Her left foot missed the next step and her hand missed the handrail. Pitching forward, she felt herself falling. A second later she was tumbling down the wide marble staircase.

She was aware of the moment when she finally came to a crashing stop halfway down. With a great effort, she lifted her head slightly and saw that her foot was caught between two balusters. In a daze of shock, Bella realized that her foot becoming stuck more than likely saved her life. She marveled at such a miracle.

Laying her head back down on the cold step, Bella thought it extremely odd that she should be seeing stars.

Her last thought, before the stars faded to blackness, was that she hoped her fall did not ruin the party.

S
lowly Bella’s lashes flickered open. She lay listening for a little while to a rhythmic scratching sound coming from close by.

Turning slightly, Bella winced at the dull throb emanating from the back of her head. Staying still, she allowed her eyes to wander, and soon realized that the room was unfamiliar. The huge, four-poster bed she now occupied had no canopy, and she noticed that the coverlet over her was made of some deliciously soft material in a dark blue color that bordered on violet.

Her gaze continued to move around the dim, cool room, taking in the dark wood furnishings by the fireplace. The upholstery was all the same shade of deep blue, with silver accents. On the other side of the room, in front of a tall window with the curtains almost completely drawn, was a desk and chair.