Punishing His Ward (27 page)

But Irene needed to do this.  Not
just because Alex was going to reconcile with Lady Grace, or
because she and Eleanor were such good friends, but because it was
the right thing to do.  Irene had been immature and, when she
thought about it, rather uncaring and cruel when Grace had only
been reacting as any wife would in such a situation.  In fact,
Grace had been rather circumspect and tolerant.  In addition,
Irene needed to apologize for her physical attack, which had been
completely uncalled for, no matter the situation.

Irene gathered her courage and walked
up the steps to the house.  

Knocking on the door, she held her chin
up high.  She'd dressed to help her confidence today, although
she'd been steadily gaining in the commodity since being married.
 Today she'd needed the little boost of her favorite bronze
and ivory dress with its dark green trim; she knew she looked
particularly well in it, and even if she wasn’t as fashionable or
sophisticated as Lady Grace, she almost felt like it in this dress.
 

When the door opened, Irene blinked.
 Had she knocked on the wrong door?  "Peters?"

The man at the door looked rather
startled, the first time she'd ever seen such an expression on his
face.  She hadn't seen him in years. This was certainly
the last place she'd expected to find him, and was probably the
last place he would have expected to see her.  Although he'd
never said it, Irene had always thought Peters knew more about what
went on in the Brooke household and the extent of her feelings for
Alex than anyone else. Of course, he’d been a footman then and not
a butler, but she was sure he’d make a good one.  His
surprise was only evident for a moment, and then his face
assumed the usual blank expression of the best butlers.
 

"Viscountess," he said with a
bow.

Somehow it didn't surprise Irene that,
even though he was working in Lady Grace's house where she doubted
her own name was ever spoken, that he knew of her marriage.
 Servants gossip, of course, the most reliable network of
gossip that existed.

"Is Lady Brooke at home?" she asked,
smiling warmly at him. 

For the first time since knowing him,
she saw Peters hesitate.  "The lady is still in residence
although she is scheduled to go out this afternoon, but... may I
inquire as to the nature of your visit?"

Irene smiled, tilting her head.
 "Why Peters, that almost bold for you.  I'd just like to
speak to Lady Brooke."

"I hesitate to inquire further, my
lady," Peters said, every inch of his body managing to give off the
impression of being both deferential and apologetic, yet
protective.  "Lady Brooke has had several visitors at times
who wanted nothing more than to speak with her, but their visits
were rather distressing to her ladyship."

Despite herself, despite
knowing that, in many ways, Lady Grace deserved to be distressed
for her behavior and treatment of Alex, Irene couldn't help but
feel a surge of sympathy for the woman.  It was one thing for
her to be cut in public or be excluded from a guest list, but to
hound the woman in her own home just seemed to cross a line. Yet it
didn’t surprise her that there were those among the
ton
who would do so.
 

Irene shook her head.

"Nothing distressing, I promise,
Peters," she said, looking up earnestly at the man she'd known
since she was a child, when he was a footman on the Brooke estate.
A man who’d, more than once, help her sneak a pastry or tart from
the kitchen.  "In fact, I'm hoping to relieve some distress
that I may have caused her."

Peters studied her, as if trying to
decide on her sincerity, and she realized that if he thought she
was misleading him, she wouldn’t make it through the doorway. In
fact, if he hadn’t known her for so very long, that very well might
have been the case.

"Very well then, my lady, please come
in."

"I didn't realize you were working for
Lady Brooke," Irene said, hoping that Peters might give her some
more information.  Circumspection was part of his job, but
perhaps he might give her a hint as to his change in
loyalties. 

"The lady needed someone to watch over
her," Peters said, his expression blank, but his voice sounded
sympathetic towards his mistress' position in Society.
 Considering his devotion to the Brooke family, Irene found it
rather curious that he would choose to work for a woman who had
betrayed Alex.  Then again, perhaps his devotion extended to
the entire family, including Alex’s wife whether she was estranged
or not, or perhaps he had seen something while working for Alex
that caused him to choose Lady Grace over the Brooke
family.

The idea was not a comfortable one for
Irene, because it made her wonder what she didn't know about her
childhood friend and his estranged wife.  

Peters showed her to a beautifully
decorated drawing room before retreating to see if Lady Grace might
have time to see her before going out.  Irene couldn't help
but wonder where the other woman was going.  During her own
social rounds they'd never been at the same event.  Then
again, Irene was accepted by the high sticklers of Society and
Grace certainly wasn't, so it really wasn't that surprising that
they didn't run in the same circles.

Grace wouldn't be welcome
there.

Even if Irene wasn't enamored of the
social scene, at least she never feared being turned away from
someone’s home.  No one turned up their nose at her or
whispered behind her back or refused to acknowledge her.  In
fact, many of the women seemed to be envious and slightly in awe of
her, since it was a well-known fact that her husband was a former
rake, their marriage was arranged, and yet he was - to all
observers - quite reformed.  Sometimes Irene was a bit in awe
of herself. Lady Grace wouldn’t even have the protection of Lord
Brooke’s name.

Although it did beg the
question why she was received at all, in
any
homes.

The door opened again and
Lady Grace swept in, beautiful and regal as ever.  Irene had
her usual reaction of feeling inferior in the face of such striking
good looks, but then again, what had her looks gotten Lady Grace?
She was on the edge of being an outcast, living alone, and her
husband was publically unfaithful to her – as she was to him.
 Whereas Irene not only had a wonderful husband, she also has
his devotion and the respect of the
ton.
  

It was impossible not to feel just the
slightest bit of pity, although she doubted Lady Grace would
appreciate such an emotion on her behalf.

Standing, Irene nodded her head in
greeting at the other woman.  "Lady Brooke."

Crystal blue eyes, enhanced by the ice
blue dress she was wearing, blinked in surprise. She was absolutely
stunning in that light colored dress, which made her cheeks look
even paler and her hair even darker; a vision of ice and beauty.
 It was the very first time in Irene's life that she'd called
Lady Grace by her proper title. 

"Viscountess."  

Had that brittle wariness been there in
the lady's manner before?  Was it new, or was it just that
Irene was finally noticing someone other than herself?
 Perhaps it was all her new thoughts about the woman that made
her more attuned to her emotional state.  

Despite their past, despite their
recent contentremps, Lady Grace's manner seemed hesitant but civil.
 Rather like a puppy who was hoping to be petted, but had no
reason to expect anything other than a kick.  Irene felt
another wave of shame and sympathy, and was shocked at her own
reaction.  Had she never seen Lady Grace clearly before,
through the bias of her own determination to have Alex and to be
angry at Lady Grace’s treatment of him, or was this a result of
Lady Grace's time in town and her position in Society? Irene had
the unsettling feeling that it was more likely the former. She’d
always taken Lady Grace’s haughty ways at face value and poured
dislike upon the woman for them. Now she was starting to see the
other woman in a new light and it was making her notice things that
she hadn’t before.

Even more than before, Irene was
determined to make things right.  The woman in front of her
may have betrayed her marriage vows, but Irene was starting to
realize she couldn't possibly know the whole story.  What kept
Lady Grace going, despite the disapprobation of Society?  What
made this wary, imperious woman continue on her course when all she
had to do to be welcomed back into Society was act the part she'd
been given to play? Why didn’t she just go to Alex and give him an
heir, so that she could resume her currently life as normal
afterwards?  

And why had Irene never wondered these
things before?

Perhaps she was finally growing
up.

Her next move was part of that. Irene
drew a deep breath, feeling humbled and ashamed, and yet also
feeling a small sense of relief.

"I've come to apologize."

Another one of those heavy blinks, a
tilt of her head, and that same wariness.  Silence descended
and after a moment, Irene realized that Lady Grace might not know
how to respond.  After all, Irene hadn't been very
specific.

"My behavior the other evening was
deplorable.  I'm very sorry for what I did to your dress and I
hope you believe me when I say I didn't intend... well, I didn't
intend any of what happened."  She drew in anther breath for
courage as Lady Grace continued to stare silently at her, frozen in
place. Irene had no idea how the other woman was taking her
apology, but she was determined to finish it.  "Even more so,
I need to apologize for my behavior over the years.  I was
more than immature in my manner towards you after you married Alex,
I was insulting and presumptuous. I understand now how upsetting
that must have been for you, and you didn’t deserve my scorn or my
snide remarks."

Irene realized that Lady Grace's
blinking was so pronounced because of the long, heavy lashes that
ringed those bright blue eyes.  She shifted uncomfortably,
having run out of things to say. The silence in the room was
deafening.

"Would you like to sit
down?"

Now it was Irene's turn to blink in
confusion.  "Pardon?"

"Would you like to sit down?  I
can ring a maid for tea." The offer was made somewhat tentatively,
but it sounded sincere.

She only hesitated for a moment.
 "That would be lovely, thank you."

Staying for tea hadn't been in her
original plan, but it seemed rude not to take Lady Grace up on the
invitation. Besides which, the entire point of being here was to
establish more cordial relations, and what could be more cordial
than enjoying a cup of tea together?  And with her newfound
insights, Irene realized she was incredibly curious what a
conversation with her ladyship might reveal.  

Lady Grace rang for the tea and then
waved to Irene to take a seat again. Lowering herself back onto the
couch, Irene watched as Lad Grace sat across from her in a
delicately carved chair. The easy, graceful manner in which she
settled her skirts was something to be envied.  "I must admit,
when Peters told me you were here... this was not what I
expected."

"I can only imagine," Irene said,
smiling somewhat ruefully.  How would she have reacted if Lady
Grace had one day shown up on her own doorstep?  What would
she have thought? Nothing good, certainly.

"When you said you wanted to
apologize," Lady Grace continued, as if Irene hadn't spoken, "I
thought that you might be trying to mend fences because of Eleanor.
 But that was a rather descriptive and sincere sounding
apology."  

"Because I mean it," Irene said
earnestly.  She felt slightly taken aback by Lady Grace's
bluntness, but hadn't Irene been just as blunt in the past?
 And she could understand the lady's suspicions. Perhaps it
was best to speak bluntly at this point, Irene certainly preferred
that over speaking sideways around an issue. She respected that
Lady Grace was still unsure of Irene’s motivations, and she did
want lady Grace to know that her apology was sincere, rather than
taking it at face value and always wondering.  "After marrying
Hugh... well, let's say I've grown up a bit.  At least, I hope
I have.  And I see quite a few things in a different light
than I did before. Especially when it comes to the difference
between a friendship between a man and a woman and the relationship
between a man and his wife."

"Ah yes... Hugh, the entirely reformed
rake despite the fact that his marriage was arranged and not a love
match," Grace said, her voice light and almost
mocking. 

For a moment Irene bristled, but then
she realized that Grace wasn't even looking at her.  Those
bright blue eyes were unfocused as if peering inward, as if the
comment had been directed more at herself than at Irene. Irene
suddenly realized that Alex had a reputation as a rake, yet
obviously he wasn't reformed. 

Irene had always taken Alex's word that
Grace had separated from him without provocation, that he'd
intended to be a good and faithful husband to her, but something
about Grace's demeanor made her wonder... The woman sounded almost
envious of Irene’s situation.  The brittleness was back.
 As was more than a hint of bitterness.