Duke of Wicked Intentions by Harriet Caves

Chapter Twenty

“You seem to be in a rather good mood today, My Dear. What in the world happened last night between you and His Grace?”

Miranda felt her cheeks heat, but she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face as she glanced toward her Aunt Pam, who was studying her closely. The two were walking together through the garden the afternoon following her rather monumental night with Benedict. Miranda woke up that morning in his arms, and in such a good mood, she felt as though she were floating on air.

“His Grace and I came to an…understanding of sorts, last night,” she carefully answered, though she was certain she was not fooling her aunt. “I believe we will be much better toward each other moving forward.”

Aunt Pam appeared surprised. “Is that so? My, what a wonderful surprise! That’s not at all what I would have anticipated after watching you two storm from the dining room last night. I thought you were for certain about to have a rather heated argument by the looks of things.”

“I admit, that’s what I thought as well,” Miranda replied. “But we discovered that there were misunderstandings between us that were keeping us from one another, and we were able to clear those up.”

She didn’t tell her aunt about the letter, mostly because she and Benedict had agreed to keep it a secret until they were able to determine who had sent it. Miranda’s fear was that it had been someone within her father’s household, but try as she might, she couldn’t think of anyone who would be so malicious as to drive a wedge between her and the man she had wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

Admittedly, she was tempted to tell her aunt about the letter, as there was no one she trusted more, but she kept her lips sealed so as not to break her word to Benedict. And that mattered very much to her now.

Thankfully, Aunt Pam just seemed happy to hear her news, and said, “That’s so good to hear, My Dear. Whatever it was that was keeping you apart certainly could not be worth the heartache I have seen you endure.”

“Indeed, it was not,” Miranda admitted. “We wasted so much time being angry with each other for no good reason. Now, I just want us to move forward and build a real life together.”

Aunt Pam paused and turned to Miranda with a wide smile. She took her niece’s hands in hers and squeezed them lovingly. “I am very happy for you,” she declared. “You deserve a man who cares for you. I’m so glad you’ve found one after all.”

Miranda was glad as well. Though she couldn’t be sure of the depth of Benedict’s feelings for her as of yet, she was delighted that he appeared to desire her so much. He had been reluctant to let her leave their bed that morning, declaring that he wished to spend the whole day in it with her.

It had been a very tempting offer, but Miranda hadn’t wanted to leave Aunt Pam to her own devices all day long. Especially since it seemed that the Dowager and her aunt didn’t get along in the least. The few interactions the two had were tense and filled with biting comments from both sides.

As if her thoughts had summoned the woman, the Dowager suddenly rounded a wall of shrubbery ahead. She stopped short when she spotted them, and Miranda stumbled over her own feet in surprise at her mother-in-law’s sudden appearance. She nervously glanced over to her Aunt Pam, and was taken aback to see the cool smirk twisting her lips.

Miranda looked back to the Dowager, who hadn’t moved from where she stood. For a moment, Miranda was certain she was going to turn and walk away from them, as if she hadn’t seen them to begin with. However, the woman lifted her chin and cloaked herself in her usual haughty demeanor before she began approaching them with purposeful footsteps.

Not wishing to start a conflict of any kind, Miranda dropped into a curtsy and politely said, “Good afternoon, Lady Morgan. Are you enjoying the fine weather?”

The Dowager gave Miranda an annoyed look, as if her innocent question somehow grated on her nerves. It likely did, in truth, as it seemed no matter what she did, Miranda could not earn the woman’s favor in any way.

“It’s too hot today,” the Dowager remarked with a sour look. “The sun will likely leave blemishes upon your skin. Most unfashionable.”

Miranda just managed to keep herself from sighing out loud in exasperation. It seemed the Dowager could even find fault in a beautiful day and the sunshine if Miranda thought it enjoyable.

“Is this a fact you know from experience, Lady Morgan?” Aunt Pam asked in a tone that was disguising itself as pleasant, but was really anything but. “I thought I saw a blemish upon your back the other night when you were wearing that dress that revealed your shoulders. It might have even been a mole. How kind of you to warn the Duchess against the hazards of the sun so she doesn’t suffer the same consequences as you.”

The Dowager scowled and Miranda’s eyes went wide. What was her aunt thinking, talking to the woman in such a blatantly disrespectful way? Even if it was rather entertaining to witness.

With scorn in her eyes, the Dowager snapped, “I have no such blemish. You are mistaken.”

Aunt Pam shrugged. “I must have been seeing things, in that case.”

“Indeed,” the Dowager hissed.

The two women glared at each other for several moments. Miranda just looked between the two of them, unsure what she could say to ease the tension. In truth, she wasn’t sure there was anything she could say. She had no idea what was even going on, but she got the sense that her aunt and the Dowager’s obvious dislike of each other wasn’t based simply on their first impressions of one another.

They must have met when Benedict and I were younger…yet, I can’t remember them ever interacting.

“Well, if you’ll excuse us, Your Grace,” Aunt Pam said after another heartbeat of awkward silence. “We wouldn’t wish to take up any more of your time. We’ll get back to our business.”

She hooked her arm through Miranda’s and steered her past the Dowager without another word, or even an opportunity for the woman to respond. Miranda was so caught off guard, she could only gawk at her aunt and back over her shoulder at the Dowager, who was staring after them as though in shock she had been so easily dismissed.

Miranda turned her wide-eyed gaze to her Aunt Pam once they were out of earshot of her mother-in-law. “Aunt Pam, what in the world has gotten into you?” she hissed. “How do you have the nerve to speak to her like that?”

Aunt Pam shrugged, as if the exchange hadn’t been that big of a deal. “That woman just needs to be reminded she is as human as you or I. Her status doesn’t mean she is better than us.”

Miranda really couldn’t believe her aunt was speaking in such a manner. The strict hierarchy of the nobility was not always fair or kind, but it wasn’t something that was questioned or dismissed.

“Did you know the Dowager previously?” Miranda asked. “Back when I was a child?”

Her aunt waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, we probably interacted here and there. Who can remember? Anyway, enough about the Dowager. I have something to ask you.”

The sudden change in topic was enough to distract Miranda from her aunt’s strange interactions with the Dowager. “What is it?” she replied with a furrowed brow.

“My ladies’ group is meeting this Thursday at a tearoom not far from here. I thought you might like to attend. It could be a good opportunity for you to meet other married ladies of the ton and make new acquaintances. Perhaps even friends.”

Miranda’s first instinct was to politely turn her aunt down, but she paused and considered what would be appropriate for her in her new position as Duchess.

I likely should start making connections more appropriate to my station. It would be good to show Benedict that I am attempting to adjust now that we’ve…come to an understanding.

She blushed once more at the memory of the night before, and found she was somewhat eager to please Benedict. The fact that he desired her so thoroughly made her want to find ways to keep him close to her. If he saw her going about her duties as Duchess without complaint, she was certain he would be happy with her.

Looking toward her aunt, she replied, “All right. I’ll go. It’s likely a good idea for me to attend such gatherings now.”

Aunt Pam nodded, looking pleased. “Oh, I just know that you’ll have a lovely time. The ladies are all quite welcoming, though I wouldn’t call them all sweet.”

She laughed, as if she’d just made a hilarious jest. However, Miranda didn’t find the humor in the situation. She had a rather foreboding feeling that her aunt was entirely joking about the temperament of the ladies of her social group. Miranda prayed attending the gathering wasn’t going to be a decision she would come to regret.

* * *

“Did I tell you that Henry went away for the weekend? He claimed he was hunting, but he can’t fool me. I know he went up north to see that French tart he thinks he’s hiding from me.”

Miranda blinked, startled by the blunt conversation that was taking place around her. When she had told Aunt Pam she would attend her ladies’ group gathering, she had anticipated discussions of household management, childrearing, and perhaps a little bit of gossip.

What she hadn’t expected was to hear the women talk in extensive detail about their husband’s mistresses. And by the sound of it, every husband of every lady in attendance at the gathering had at least one mistress.

One of the ladies, Lady Rutherford, rolled her eyes. “They think they are so clever in the elaborate ways they try to hide their rendezvous. Honestly, I would almost rather Harold be upfront about his comings and goings regarding his little waif. I’d likely respect him more for his bluntness.”

Several of the women nodded their heads in agreement. Miranda, uncomfortable with the topic, focused on her cup of tea, keeping it close to her lips so she could sip it should anyone try to engage her in the conversation as well. Aunt Pam sat next to her, sipping her tea calmly, as though the discussion of infidelity was nothing out of the ordinary for her.

“You’re right, of course,” another woman, Lady Callaway, replied to Lady Rutherford. “It’s not as though we don’t expect it to happen. All husbands take mistresses, after all. It would be so much easier if they were just honest about it so that we wouldn’t have to pretend to be ignorant in public.”

“Surely not all husbands have mistresses?” Miranda blurted before she could stop herself. The women all turned their gazes to her, as if surprised to hear her speak. Her cheeks flooded with heat and she immediately wanted the earth to open beneath her and suck her away from their probing stares.

“I’m sorry to say, My Dear, but that is a reality that all women of the ton must face,” Lady Rutherford said. She at least sounded sympathetic.

“Especially if one is married to His Grace, the Duke of Morgan.” Miranda couldn’t tell who had muttered that, but her shoulders tensed instantly as she felt a swelling of defensiveness rising up within her.

Before she could respond, however, Aunt Pam reached over and patted her hand, as if she could tell that Miranda was about to explode with protective anger. “There, there,” her aunt said soothingly. “We know that His Grace isn’t the man he used to be. He has changed for the better, and that is thanks to you.”

Miranda let go of her pique, but she couldn’t quite shake the anxiety that the unknown woman’s comment had provoked within her. The truth of the matter was, she had no guarantee that Benedict would remain faithful to her at all. He’d made it quite clear when they’d married that he wouldn’t give up his debaucheries.

But that was before. Before we made love. Things are different now.

But were they? Were they really so incredibly different then they had been before? Benedict had not rescinded his assurances of enjoying the company of other women, despite his and Miranda’s new intimacy. What if he was, even at that moment, visiting one of his brothels?

Miranda gave her head a sharp shake, hoping to banish the thought from her mind. Looking to distract herself, she turned to Aunt Pam. “Aunt Pam, can you please tell me why it is you dislike the Dowager so much?” she asked softly so none of the other ladies could hear her.

Her aunt gazed at her with a frown. “Why would you want to know such an unfortunate thing?”

So there is some greater history than I’ve been aware of.

“It’s been bothering me the past few days,” she replied. Though not entirely a lie, that wasn’t completely the truth. Yes, it had been bothering her why her aunt and the Dowager seemed to dislike each other so thoroughly. No, that wasn’t why she was asking her about the rivalry in that moment. If she thought of Benedict with another woman, she might lose all her sense.

Aunt Pam still hesitated to answer. “It’s not really something I enjoy talking about, My Dear.”

“Please, Aunt Pam. If there is some conflict between the two of you, I feel as though I have a right to know about it.”

Her aunt considered her several moments more before releasing a heavy breath and shaking her head. “All right, if you insist. I’ll tell you.”

Miranda felt an odd sense of excitement at the prospect of finally knowing the truth. Aunt Pam glanced from side to side, as if making sure that none of the other ladies were paying attention to them.

With a sigh, Aunt Pam murmured, “The unfortunate reality is that the Dowager…well, she once had an affair with my husband, the late Baron.”

Miranda let out a gasp of shock. “What? The Baron?”

Aunt Pam nodded, looking distraught. “It nearly destroyed me to learn he had been unfaithful. I threatened to go to the Duke, but they begged me not to say a word. I finally relented because I feared her husband would insist on a duel with your uncle. I kept their infidelity to myself, but that is the reason the Dowager hates me so much, as well as you, I’m sure.”

Miranda furrowed her brow, confused. “Why she hates you? And me? Aren’t we the ones who have the right to hate her?”

At that, Aunt Pam rolled her eyes. “Yes, that would be the logical way to look at things. However, the Dowager has never been very keen on logic, and likes to throw out gossip and rumors with the potential to harm the reputations of innocent people. She never liked that I managed to turn the Baron back away from her, and her ego took the hit. She’s hated me ever since, and I’ve no doubt that’s why she hates you as well.”

Miranda was stunned. She could hardly believe the Dowager would behave in such a deplorable manner and yet find fault in her Aunt Pam. “I’m so sorry, Aunt Pam,” Miranda murmured with a shake of her head. “That must have of hurt you so terribly. What was she thinking, I wonder?”

Aunt Pam sighed. “It was a rather ugly situation, to be sure, but I would have willingly forgave her had she not made things so much worse with her vile treatment of me since. And now, of you as well. I can’t forgive her for taking her dislike of me out on you.”

Miranda wanted to hug her aunt right then and there, but she didn’t want to draw attention to their conversation. Besides, she wasn’t sure it was comfort her aunt needed in that moment. She needed an ally against the Dowager, who seemed intent on making them both miserable.

Well, Miranda was more than willing to be her aunt’s ally. If she had to choose between Aunt Pam and the Dowager, her aunt was her clear pick. It didn’t even matter that conflict with the Dowager would likely upset Benedict in some way.

She hoped he would understand. He knew how his mother could be, though she couldn’t be sure he was aware of her past affair. She hoped he wasn’t, anyway. If he did, that would mean he’d kept that information from her, and she didn’t know how to feel about that.

Deciding not to worry about that possibility unless it presented itself, Miranda opened her mouth to say more, but her aunt was distracted by another of the ladies claiming her attention. Miranda sat back in her chair with her teacup clutched in her hands, her mind whirling with the heart-wrenching possibilities that the other women had presented her with that day.