Page 40 of It's All About the Duke
“Are you sure he used all of Eugenia’s inheritance?”
She nodded. “I asked him for money to pay the modiste and he told me he’d spent the rest of it on the eggs. I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Veronica said. “Eugenia can’t attend the Season this year if she’s not properly gowned.”
“We won’t worry about the possibility of losing all the gowns and other things she needs just yet. The Season is still weeks away and there may be something we can do to purchase some of them. At least a couple. Maybe not all the capes, gloves, and headpieces but enough to keep her properly dressed. We won’t know what we can do until we have time to think about this.”
“I don’t know of anything we can do that will give us that much money.”
Marlena didn’t, either. Not right now, anyway, butknew she would try to come up with something. Despondency seeped into Veronica’s demeanor. Whenever her shoulders hunched and her chin sank toward her chest, she usually spent a day or two in bed. The last time she was in such a state was when Eugenia had told her the Duke of Rathburne was Marlena’s new guardian. Marlena had finally convinced Veronica that his guardianship of her would in no way affect the scandal sheet or what Marlena was doing to help the sisters stay in their house and keep up appearances in Society. Veronica was desperate for Eugenia to attend the Season, make a match, and have happiness and her own home.
“Veronica, look at me and smile,” Marlena said lightheartedly. “Come on, look at me. Smile. This is not a situation we can’t handle. We took on three rakes with the scandal sheet and we’ll come up with a plan to take care of this, too. We always do, don’t we?”
She faced Marlena but didn’t smile. Her eyes were red and puffy. Dull and distant.
“Let me have some time to work on this,” Marlena said earnestly. “I don’t know whether we’ll make much or any money from the book I wrote. I’ll write Mr. Trout a note and put it in with the next scandal sheet and ask. Listen to me,” she said, taking hold of Veronica’s shoulders. “You cannot take to your bed over this. Do you understand? Eugenia needs you to help her. So you’ll stay strong, right?”
She nodded again.
“Good. I’ll also ask Mr. Trout if he can pay us an advance for the scandal sheets. That’s a possibility. I’ve not missed a week writing them so I do believe he’ll do that for us. And perhaps if the book has sold a few copies, he’ll give us some payment on that as well. So we have hope and prospects to getting enough money to pay for some of the clothing.”
“I know the book is selling well,” Veronica said, seeming to perk up a little.
“Really?” Marlena asked curiously. “How?”
“I hear ladies talking about it,” she answered, brushing her dark-blond hair away from the side of her face. “They are enjoying it and recommending it to other friends, mothers, and aunts. Grandmothers and cousins.”
“Oh.” This information lifted Marlena’s spirits immensely. Didn’t Veronica think this was something that Marlena would have wanted to know? But rather than scold her friend for not sharing the news, she simply said, “Thank you for telling me. Now, it’s important we don’t mention to Eugenia that Mr. Portington spent money that was intended for her. We don’t want her worrying unnecessarily that she may not get the new gowns and other things she needs.”
“Yes. All right. I don’t want her to know what he did.”
“Good,” Marlena said, and then repeated, “Do not take to your bed over this and don’t say a word to Eugenia. Somehow I will see that all is well.”
“She must attend the Season, Marlena, and find a man who is not like Mr. Portington. I will not have her as miserable as I have been for all these years. I’d rather she spend her life unwed.”
“There’s no reason she should have to do either. You know, she’s quite fond of Mr. Bramwell. He’s young, handsome, and prosperous now that he’s inherited his father’s tailoring business. I’m told that his easy charm and intelligence have made the company even more successful.”
Veronica looked at her aghast. “He is a tradesman. Eugenia couldn’t possibly consider marrying him. I’ve seen her watching him in the mornings. He walks past our house every day on his way to work. And they talk overthe hedge when they think I’m not watching, but I am. I believe he’s quite fond of her, too.”
“He is,” Marlena agreed.
“I appreciate his help, and we don’t mind if they visit over the hedge, but she can’t marry him. You know she’d never be accepted back in Society if she doesn’t marry a gentleman.”
Marlena wanted to say,Would you rather she marry a gentleman like Mr. Portington who has no mind for business, no heart for home or family, or would you rather she marry a man like Mr. Bramwell who works a successful business, doesn’t buy odd things, and is good to his mother?But she held her tongue. She couldn’t step into the sisters’ affairs any further than she already had. Writing the column and the book, giving them the money she made from them, was all she could do.
“You’re right, of course,” Marlena said. “I wasn’t thinking.”
And what was she thinking when she started writing about three gentlemen and other people she’d never met? The same thing she was thinking now: Veronica and Eugenia needed her. They had from the moment she’d met them. And though it was trying at times, she wanted to be needed by someone.
She’d thought Veronica would feel better, do better if she knew they were not letting Society forget what the Rakes of St. James had done to young ladies with their secret admirer letters. But Veronica hadn’t changed. She still had periods of hysterics and the depression that followed. The constant reminder to Society of what the rakes had done hadn’t helped her despair.
When Marlena wrote the first four columns and took them to Mr. Trout as a sample of what she could do, she’d never dreamed she’d still be writing them almost threeyears later. But what else could she do when her friends needed the money because Mr. Portington was so reckless with his allowance that the family was at times in dire financial straits? She was forced to keep doing it for their benefit.
It wasn’t fair Veronica’s husband had become so reclusive and didn’t take better care of his family. What was wrong with him? He was supposed to put his wife and her welfare first. Not take from his sister-in-law’s inheritance and send them all to the poorhouse because he boughtgiant lizard eggs!
With that thought, an idea came to Marlena. She didn’t know if she could actually do anything, but she would try. Turning to Veronica, she squared her shoulders and asked, “What is the name of the friend who sold Mr. Portington the eggs?”
Chapter 11
He could be a rake if he hesitates when a young lady makes a simple request.
