Unmasking the Duke's Mistress (Gentlemen of Disrepute #1)(46)

‘What are we going to do, Dominic?’ It was the question that preyed on her mind constantly.

‘I do not know, Arabella. I only know that I will not lose you again, and I will not lose Archie.’



Archie was in a frenzy of excitement the next morning. All he spoke of from the moment that his eyes opened was Dominic’s visit.

‘We are to play at horses,’ he told Arabella and she had not seen him smile so much before.

Mrs Tatton, by contrast, looked pale and tired. She seemed to have aged in the past few days. There were deep lines of worry etched upon her face and shadows beneath her eyes.

‘Are you feeling unwell, Mama?’ Arabella looked at her anxiously, worried at the strain events were exerting upon her.

‘I am tired, Arabella, nothing more. I have barely slept a wink since that terrible night.’

‘Mama…’ Arabella came to her and rubbed a hand against her arm ‘…maybe you should go back to bed.’

‘What good would it do when I cannot sleep?’ Her mother shook her head. ‘Oh, Arabella, I wish you would see Dominic Furneaux for what he really is. It pains me that you can so easily believe his lies.’

‘What reason would he have to lie about this, Mama?’

‘Because he wants the boy without losing you from his bed.’

‘Trust me, Mama…’ Arabella shook her head ‘…he is not lying.’

‘Forgive me if I find that hard to believe. For all his pretty words, Arabella, his loyalty lies with himself and his title. Once he has found himself a bride he will leave you behind as he did before, taking the child with him when he goes.’

‘No, Mama, you have this all wrong.’

‘No, Arabella, you are the one whose judgement had gone a-begging. I cannot bear to stand by and watch him destroy you all over again. What will it take to make you realise? Will you wait until he plants another babe in your belly and walks away before you see?’

Arabella stared at her mother, stunned.

‘Grandmama, look at me!’ shouted Archie. ‘I am a horse all ready for Dominic!’ He was jumping all around her mother, pulling at her skirt.

‘Stop this nonsense, Archie, and go and sit down quietly!’ Mrs Tatton snapped, shooing him away. ‘I do not want to hear another word about Dominic Furneaux!’ Archie’s bottom lip trembled and Arabella bit her own to capture the sharp retort she would have uttered to her mother. Instead she turned to her son and spoke calmly.

‘Grandmama is tired, Archie. She needs some peace and quiet. Go and find Charlie and we will take him to the park.’ And then to her mother, ‘We will leave you to your rest, Mama.’

‘I am sorry, Arabella,’ her mother said softly. ‘I did not mean to snap at him. I am just so worried for us all.’

‘I know, Mama.’ Arabella kissed her mother’s cheek. ‘Try to rest; it will make you feel a little better. We will not be gone for long.’

Mrs Tatton nodded and watched them leave.



Dominic had not slept again. He had cancelled all of his appointments for the coming week, refused to see Hunter when his friend had called upon him last night, and thought endlessly over Arabella and Archie and the nightmare in which they were all imprisoned. He knew it was too early to call upon them, but he called for his horse to be saddled anyway. Dominic made his way to Curzon Street and in his pocket was a neatly rolled little scroll tied with a red ribbon.

Gemmell showed him in and as he waited in the drawing room he looked behind the curtain where Archie liked to play his games. A little boy’s den. He moved away when he heard her footsteps coming down the stairs. Followed them along the corridor. But it was not Arabella who entered the room.

‘Mrs Tatton.’ He bowed.

‘Your Grace.’ Mrs Tatton’s voice dripped with contempt. ‘Arabella and Archie have gone out, but I wish to speak to you.’

He gave a nod and gestured for her to sit down, but she ignored him and stood facing him with undisguised hostility.

‘Arabella tells me you have been unwell. I hope you are feeling better.’

‘How could I feel better, sir, with what you have done to my daughter and grandson, and with what you are doing to them still?’

‘It is a very difficult situation. My father—’

‘Oh, do not waste your lies on me. You may fool Arabella, but you do not fool me for a minute. Have you not already hurt her enough? Are you not yet satisfied that you must do it all over again?’

‘I would never knowingly have hurt Arabella. I loved her. I love her still.’ It was the first time he had admitted the truth even to himself.

‘Love? You, who, in her greatest hour of need, bought her as if she was some piece of cheap Haymarketware! She needed help. Any decent man would have given her just that.’

Mrs Tatton’s words confirmed every thought that had taunted him since he had found Arabella in Mrs Silver’s. ‘You are right and I have regretted my action most sincerely, ma’am. There is no excuse. I should not have allowed myself to be influenced by her circumstance.’

‘Which circumstance was that, sir? That of her poverty?’

‘I found her in a bordello, Mrs Tatton.’

Mrs Tatton hit out at him, her swollen old hands thumping ineffectually against his chest.