Sympathy.
Kindness.
That was nothing to ruin a life over, and she couldn’t bear to be the cause of his downfall. He’d weathered his parents’ scandal and that was all he ought to bear.
He might not see it yet, but being selfish never led to any good and if she let him help her, she would be making the most selfish choice of all.
Her aunt and Sir William started to head their way.
“Meet me tomorrow,” Damian murmured under his breath. “Promise me.”
She nodded. It was the best she could do.
She never had been much good at lying.
14
Damian stared at the miserable-looking lady’s maid who’d acted as chaperone merely two days before. “What do you mean, she is gone?”
Her sigh was filled with impatience. “I apologize, my lord, but she is not here.”
He gave his head a little shake and scrubbed a hand over his eyes. There had to be some sort of miscommunication here. “Where did she go? Into town?” He was already half turning toward the stables where he’d left his horse, too eager to get to Prudence this morning to walk the distance between properties.
“She’s gone back to London.” It was the Dowager Demon’s voice in the hallway that made him freeze.
“London?” He turned back slowly and found himself facing that frightening smile as the old lady stalked toward him.
“Indeed.”
“When…” He cleared his throat, trying to ignore the panicky sensation setting in. “When did she leave?”
“First light of dawn.” Her tone was so brisk as though her words weren’t crushing him where he stood. “She should be back to that silly school of hers soon enough, I’d imagine, though what she plans to do with herself once she wears out her welcome there, I have no idea.”
His mouth parted as he gaped at the old woman who seemed to be shooing him toward the door as she spoke. “What do you mean?”
The dowager duchess’s mouth turned hard. Cruel. Unforgiving. “I mean, she made her bed when she refused Mr. Benedict. Now she must lie in it.”
His heart was galloping. His blood rushing past his ears in a roar as he struggled to keep up. All he could think was—she refused him! His Pru had refused him!
He gave his head a shake as the ramifications hit. Her aunt was cruel at the best of times, but if Pru had gone against her wishes, thrown away the alliance her great aunt set in place—no doubt for mercenary reasons on her own…
His stomach sank. Oh, his poor Pru.
She needed him now more than ever. “You ought to have let her see me,” he snapped.
The older woman’s eyes widened in shock. No doubt it had been a good many years since anyone had spoken to her in that tone.
He found he couldn’t care in the slightest if she was offended or not.
“Ah, now I see,” the dowager duchess said with a pale imitation of a smile. “The silly brat went and fell in love with you then, did she?” She sniffed in a manner he knew well—but it was far less endearing coming from this witch. “I should have known she was just like her mother. No sense, that one, no matter how much I tried to get it through to her that she was useless. Worth nothing but what value I gave her.”
His hands clenched, his jaw so tight he thought it might shatter.
Never in his life had he thought he’d see the day when he itched to strike a woman. Instead, he forced words out through clenched teeth. “She is worth more than a heartless lady like you could ever imagine.”
She froze in shock, her lady’s maid tensing beside her with wide eyes. The dowager duchess shocked them both when she let out a bark of a laugh in response. “So you’re just as much of a fool as she is, I see.” Her laughter was cold and harsh. “Perhaps you two would have made a fine pair.” She shook her head, disgust plain as day on her features. “Two selfish brats, no better than their good-for-nothing parents.”
He let the insults slide off him. All that mattered now was finding Pru. He needed to make sure she was all right and then make this right.
He straightened to his full height and summoned every ounce of training his uncle had instilled in him for the day he inherited the title. “I’m going to retrieve your niece now, and when I get back, my wife will expect an apology.”
The old woman had the nerve to scoff and when she next spoke she had the sort of smug cruelty of a predator toying with its prey. “I wish you luck, I assure you. But I don’t know what makes you think that headstrong little brat will be any more reasonable for you than me. After all, I told her she ought to see you to formally apologize for embarrassing you with her poor performance the other night.”
His stomach sank as the dowager duchess’s eyes lit with malice. He could see it coming clearly, whatever it was this old witch was holding over him.
“Even this morning, I told her she was free to make a stop at your estate to leave a note formally apologizing and to say her goodbyes…”
His heart twisted in his chest.
“But I’m afraid Prudence didn’t wish to see you.” Her smile morphed into a sneer as she shut the door in his face. “And neither do I.”
His uncle was no help whatsoever. “If she left of her own volition, I’m not sure what you can do about it.”
“But Uncle…” Damian dropped his head back with a groan. “I was going to propose.”
“I know, and I already told you that I believed it was a poor decision.” His uncle’s expression was wary, as it had been the
