Page 5 of A Duchess Untouched

The room seemed to tilt. Matthew thought nothing would shock him anymore, but he was wrong. He gripped the edge of the sideboard to steady himself, his knuckles turning white.

“What are you saying, boy? How can this be?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“I am afraid Her Grace passed suddenly. You are required to attend her funeral, which will be held in four days’ time.”

Matthew’s mind was in chaos. Selina. He had married the debutante four years ago. She had looked so delicate, but healthy and radiant. His mother had chosen her for him, as she had been the diamond of the Season.

Again, so much could happen in four years. Guilt slammed into his chest. He did not expect it to be so violent or to make him stagger.

Four years.

He had been gone for four years. He remembered signing the parish register, escorting her to the carriage, and then disappearing from her life almost at once. His own ghosts had seemed more urgent than the woman he had married. In all that time, he had not written, not once inquired after her health or happiness. He had sent money, ensured her allowance and wardrobe were provided for, but nothing more.

Still, in rare moments of quiet between his endless searching, thoughts of his wife would surface. He remembered the night he chose her at the ball. She had been so full of life, and yet he had left her to exist like a statue in the vast halls of his house.

And now she was dead?

It was the final, damning proof of his neglect. Had she died despising him? Had her last thoughts been bitter, her final moments spent cursing the man who had abandoned her?

“Your Grace?” Harrison asked, his voice full of concern.

All the exhaustion Matthew felt was gone. It was replaced by a cold focus, as his mind jumped to what had to be done next.

“Prepare the horses. We must return to London immediately.”

“Right away? The roads are still—”

“I do not care. We must ride through the night and be there in time for my wife’s funeral. I have neglected her for too long. A living and breathing wife. Now, the least I can do is to be there for her and bid her farewell.”

He had a wife to bury now. It was a new guilt, one that would settle beside all the others and never leave him for the rest of his life.

Chapter 3

A Few Days Later

That afternoon, Selina found herself unable to bear the company of her own thoughts any longer. She decided to visit her sister, Madeline, hoping that the comfort of her family might offer some relief.

Her thoughts spun in endless circles, always returning to the same impossible question. What was she to do now that her mother-in-law seemed intent on dissolving her marriage? Grandmama had promised to bring her husband back to London, but Selina could not imagine what she would say to a man who had been a stranger for so many years. Perhaps the company of her sisters would distract her, or even offer some advice, though she had not yet found the courage to confess the truth of her situation.

Cathy got there only a short time after her, and the three sisters then took their seats in the salon while the children were allowed to play.

“Thomas threw a toy at Harry’s head, Maddy! And yet you did not say a single word,” complained Cathy, the Duchess of Baxter and Selina’s eldest sister. “Do try to keep your boy in check a bit,” she added.

It was all in jest, as it always was between them, though an outsider might never guess it.

“Oh, let them play, Cathy!” Madeline replied with a chuckle. “Thomas is three, and the toy is a rag doll. I am sure Harry will survive.”

By now, the room was bustling with children. Madeline’s twins, Thomas and Therese, and Cathy’s boy, Harry, were all tumbling around on the rug, toys strewn all around them. Their governesses watched nearby, even as their mothers also avidly followed their movements.

Selina had never been one to pay much attention to children, but now she found herself unable to look away. In just a few years, Cathy and Madeline had created bustling, joyful homes, while she remained the Duchess of Wentley in name alone. No child of her own. No husband at her side, not even in the same city. Anyone observing the three sisters together would see the truth of her marriage without a word being spoken.

Rejected.

The diamond of the Season was not meant to end up cast aside. Once, men had competed for her hand. Now she sat, childless, feeling like a stranger in her own family. Disappointment washed over her, and she tried her best to push it aside.

Madeline’s home, more than any other, seemed to radiate warmth and joy. It was always lively, yet even with children running wild, the air still held the scent of roses and lavender, softened by beeswax. Selina wondered how her sister managed it.

Harry let out a roar, fierce as a lion, while Therese skipped over to him, clapping her hands in delight. “Mama, look!” Therese called, tugging at Madeline’s skirts until she turned and smiled. A sharp, unfamiliar ache twisted in Selina’s chest. It could only be jealousy.