“You will rest in your chambers, and that is final,” her father said grimly and rose to his feet.
As he walked to the door, Rebecca said, “Perhaps instead of ridiculing Thomas and imprisoning me, you should be grateful for him rescuing me and trust my words.”
Her father glanced at her over his shoulder and shook his head. “Trust should be earned and not purely given, Rebecca.”
“Father, wait. Please.”
“Connie will be sent to you shortly.”
As her father left the bedchambers, tears of anger filled her eyes and she threw one of her cushions at the door. She had known her father to be stubborn, but never in her life had he been so unreasonable.
Chapter Six.
Thomas stared at the door of the Dowager Duchess’s guest suite from the far end of the hallway, his heart thumping in his chest. The mere thought of facing his mother, especially after what had happened today, was daunting.
The events at the bay had already been circulating around Weymouth – although his heroism had been wildly exaggerated – and there was certainly a good chance his mother had already heard them all. She would wish to know how all that had occurred in fine detail, and who the young woman Thomas had rescued was.
His jaw clenched as he slowly made his way along the long hallway towards the door, and he scolded himself for the feelings inside him. He had never been afraid of his mother, although she did intimidate him.
She seemed pleasant on initial meeting, and her petite stature made you feel as though you should not feel intimidated. But as soon as she began to speak, those feelings changed drastically. She spoke with confidence and authority, and apparently it had been that way even before she married a duke. Her strong personality made her very desirable to men, although they were wary of her. Their father had found her to be a delight. He liked that she would stand up for herself and not allow anyone to trample over her.
The Dowager Duchess was not a doting, affectionate mother, but she loved her sons and had taught them the proper way to treat women.
Thomas drew in one last breath before he stopped in front of the door and knocked softly.
“Come in, Thomas.”
It should not have surprised him that the Dowager Duchess was aware it was him. She had called for him, after all.
He opened the door and quietly entered the guest suite. His mother, who stood by the window, turned to him and cocked her head. She was clothed in a dark blue day dress, her greying hair parted down the centre and pinned tightly at the nape of her neck. For her age, she looked well, although by the set of her eyebrows, she seemed annoyed.
“Good afternoon, Mother,” Thomas said as he approached her. “Lovely to see you again.”
“Indeed, my dear Thomas,” she said and embraced him. “Although I wish it could be under better circumstances.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Sit with me,” she said.
Thomas nodded and took a seat on the sofa near the window. His mother sat on the sofa opposite him and placed her hands on her lap.
“I expected better of you, Thomas. You are an intelligent young man with a brilliant and curious mind, but your silly hobbies and refusal to behave as a responsible adult make me question your character.”
“Mother, they are not silly hobbies. I have a passion for fossil hunting, a deep love for it, and it brings me joy in ways no one seems to understand.”
“Even if it poses a threat to you?”
He frowned. “I don’t understand.”
The dowager duchess sighed and motioned to his leg. “I hear that you badly injured your leg, and that the physician called for Charles to bring you to the estate, as you were incapable of doing so.”
“I lost quite a bit of blood, indeed, but I am perfectly fine. There was no need for you to travel all the way from Portsmouth to be here. I am not a child.”
“Then stop behaving as such.”
Her voice echoed through the room and Thomas lowered his gaze.
“Who is the young woman you rescued earlier this morning?”
“She is the physician’s daughter. I invited her to join me as I hunted for fossils.”
“And she purposely tried to drown herself in order for you to save her?” the dowager duchess asked.
“What? Where did you hear such nonsense?” Thomas asked.
“Answer my question, Thomas? What are her intentions towards you?”
“There are no intentions,” he answered, confused at his mother’s tone. “She showed interest in the fossil I found when I was injured. Very few people show any interest in it at all, and I merely thought...”
“That she was different?”
Thomas sighed once more and glanced away.
“My dear Thomas. You were born into a prominent and noble family. She is the daughter of a local physician, with no titles or nobility. She knows exactly who you are, and who our family is. Do you not think that she only pretended to be interested in you because of your status?” she asked.
Thomas’s jaw dropped for a moment, and he shook his head. “No. Rebecca is not that kind.”
“And how well do you know this woman?”
His gaze lowered and he realised that his mother may possibly be right. He did not know Rebecca very well at all, but he’d never had the impression that she was only interested in him because of who his family was.
Had he misjudged the young woman’s intentions?
The kiss certainly did not seem as though she was pretending. In fact, she had not been the one who made the first attempt to kiss him. He was the one who’d kissed her.
“I am certain her intentions are nothing as corrupt as you claim them to be,” Thomas said and stood from the sofa.
“You barely know the woman,” she said.
“Mother, with all due respect—”
“There is not a trace of respect in your tone, young man. Need I remind you who you are speaking
