Into Chaos Hurled (Book 2)

Five - To Protect At All Costs

Grace

If our mothers were not so close, I doubt that the circumstances of what brought Peter and I together would have been accepted. It was true that we'd played together as children, a natural progression of things given our families' history as well as our proximity to each other. But lately I'd noticed a change in Peter, one that made him a stranger to me. Lottie assured me it was simply infatuation, but I knew it was more. I saw it in his face whenever he spoke to me.

A few days after Peter's visit, I was wandering through our library trying to find something to read. There was no Austen or Alcott – Mother admired them as women but she did not believe in the messages they sent. No woman, she'd said, should have to sit around and wait for a man to take her on adventures. She should seek them out herself. That was why we had Verne, Doyle, Hugo. Adventure, with or without a spot of romance, was ideal to my parents.

My eyes caught Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a book that frightened me as a child. It was worth another go now that I was older. I pulled it out and opened the front cover, noticing an old inscribed message in a hand I didn't recognise – To Master Michael...Many happy returns, Father. That was when the door opened, startling me. I snapped the book shut and straightened. Mother and Mr Burton were crowding through the doorway, both appearing flustered.

"Gracie, darling...visitor for you..." Mother said breathlessly.

"The Duke of Tonbridge for you, Lady Grace," Mr Burton finished, slightly less breathlessly.

The Duke himself appeared behind them, a good head taller. His glowing golden eyes met mine, and I felt a shiver run down my back. He had always made me a little nervous. There was a dark aura around him that I did not particularly like, but whenever I asked Mother about it, she changed the subject.

"Forgive me, milady, for barging in," he said, bowing shallowly when he was allowed through.

"No need to apologise," said Mother. "You were only unexpected, that is all."

He nodded slowly. "I wish I did not have to ask this of you, milady, but...I would like a few words with Lady Grace. Alone, preferably."

Mother blanched. "Your Grace...I..."

"You may say no," he said, adjusting his necktie. "But know that I will return with the same request later."

Mother seemed to consider this. It was understandable, that she did not want to be in the company of this man any longer than she had to be. I felt much the same way, and the prospect of being alone with him felt much like standing on the precipice of a cliff and staring down into the abyss below.

"All right," Mother said, finally giving in. "I will have Mr Burton bring tea in."

"That would be good of you, milady, thank you."

They gave each other inclines of the head, and then Mother was gone. The Duke turned towards me, still rooted to the same spot by the bookcase, his expression apologetic.

"I do apologise for all this secrecy, Lady Grace. It is not as serious a matter as you may be thinking."

"Is that right?" I would think, with his serious demeanour all the time, that hardly anything would be the opposite. "What is it about, then?"

"It has come to my attention that you are acquainted with Lady Charlotte, daughter of the Earl of Dorchester." He fidgeted for a moment. He almost looked nervous about it.

"Yes, you're right, Your Grace, I am."

"That attack the night of her coming-out ball...I also understand that no one has told you what really happened."