Page 45 of The Duke on Her List
She was right. I should never have let them know that this courtship was a sham in the first place. At least if they believed it was real—if they believed I thought it was real—they wouldn’t be so ardently trying to convince me of that fact, and I wouldn’t be stuck defending myself about it the way I seem to be now.
But the past couldn’t be rewritten. Hehadtold them the truth.
The only thing to do now was to see things through to the end with Agnes, just as they’d planned.
When it was all over, his friends would know. They would have to admit they had been wrong.
CHAPTER 21
Did he really mean it?
Agnes found herself unable to focus on anything in the days following the proposal.
Or maybe it was only a mock-proposal.
Over and over, she asked herself that question. Had it been real? In the moment, it had felt like the most real thing that had ever happened to her in her life. She had been certain that she could accept his proposal and that, in doing so, she would change her world forever.
That was what he wanted me to think, though. And doesn’t that mean it was a ruse? If I had accepted, what would have happened? Would he really have married me?Truly?
How could she possibly be so caught up in these thoughts, she wondered, when she had never wanted to marry him in the firstplace? The whole point of the exercise had been for it to play out just as it had—for her to tell him no. She had been given a chance to waver, but that was a test, and she’d passed it. That was all she really needed to know here, all she needed to think about. She had passed the test she’d set for herself.
“My lady?”
She turned. One of her maids stood in the doorway to the sitting room. “Yes?”
“You have a visitor.”
Gabriel!
The thought came into her mind so quickly that she wasn’t prepared for it. Of course it wasn’t him! Why would he be here? “Who—who is it?”
“A young girl. She didn’t give a name. She simply said that she was here to see you.”
Agnes frowned. “You’d better show her in.”
She had a feeling she knew what to expect, and sure enough, a few moments later, Helena appeared in the door to the sitting room. Her eyes were bright and eager, and she looked around with interest. “This is where you live?” she asked. “It’s very nice.”
“Thank you,” Agnes said. “Helena, does your uncle know that you’re here?”
“No,” Helena said. “You’re not going to tell him I came, are you?”
“Where does he think you are?” Agnes asked. “If he’s going to be worried that you’ve gone missing, I can’t very well keep your location from him. That would be cruel.”
“I told him I had gone to visit my friend Cynthia,” Helena said. “She and I have done this for one another before—kept each other’s secrets.”
“Well, you mustn’t do it again,” Helena said severely. “I can’t have you lying to your uncle and coming to my house, Agnes. He’ll be very angry with me if he finds out you’ve done that, and I wouldn’t blame him a bit.”
“So then you are going to tell him?” She deflated slightly. “I thought you would understand, Lady Agnes. You understand what it’s like to be a young woman with men who tell you what to do at every turn. You know how difficult that can be.”
Agnes sighed. “Just Agnes,” she said. “And no, I’m not going to tell your uncle that you were here. But you can’t do it again. Will you promise me that?”
“All right,” Helena said, a little too readily.
“I mean it. If you do this again, Iwillhave to tell him,” Agnes said. “I can cover for you today, but moving forward, I won’t do that.”
“I understand. I’ll speak to him if I want to see you again,” Helena said. “And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in a difficult position. It was just that I thought you might be able to advise me.”
“Advise you with regards to what?”
