Page 90 of The Duchess Audition

Marina rose slowly from her chair, holding onto the back of it to steady herself. “What are you doing here?”

Anthony’s gaze flitted from Leonard to Marina and back again, still trying to make sense of the scene before him. Could it truly be true that Marina and Leonard were having an affair, or had he mistaken everything to a catastrophic degree?

“What is he doing here?” he countered, gesturing to his friend.

Marina cleared her throat. “He is here to help with my uncle. I told you when I was recovering from my fever that I only trust him, and my uncle needs the most trustworthy physician.”

“That is very kind of you, Your Grace, but you are the marvel here,” Leonard said, his smile somewhat awkward. “She is remarkable, Anthony. Her breadth of knowledge and understanding of medicines puts most of the Royal College to shame.”

“The Viscount is truly sick?” Anthony murmured, more to himself than to them.

“What?” Marina’s voice was a sharp retort, her blue eyes flaring. “I told you he was. Do not pretend you did not know.”

Leonard nodded. “An ailment of the liver. I have seen it many times in my work, but I have never worked alongside anyone with more determination to ease the sickness than your wife. Her medicine is already proving to be of benefit, though it will be some time before we see its true effects.”

“When did you come to Stadley?” Anthony asked his friend.

“A week or so ago. Her Grace thought he would be more comfortable here at home, so I agreed to stay awhile,” the doctor replied. “Before that, I was tending to him in London.”

“Without my knowledge,” Marina interjected, raising a pointed eyebrow.

Leonard laughed a guilty sort of laugh. “Her uncle asked for me personally, per her recommendation, but he did not want her to know he was unwell. Alas, we were caught, and she has been leading his care ever since, with my assistance.”

Anthony wished there was another available chair, his legs rather unsteady. Everything he had thought he understood had shifted, Marina’s walk in the park with a mysterious man now no mystery at all. It had been Leonard with his hair cut short. It had been completely innocent.

Never in his life had he felt more foolish, aside from, perhaps, the day he had married his previous wife.

What have I done?

The matter of the note crept back into his mind, a small and stubborn part of him refusing to believe that he had twisted things so entirely.

“Leonard, might you leave me and my wife alone for a moment,” Anthony commanded, for there were things that needed to be said and asked that he could not speak in front of his friend.

The doctor dipped his head. “Of course. I need to make sure that the Viscount hasn’t roasted in his bed anyway.”

He cast a glance at Marina that Anthony did not understand, and quickly left the room, closing the study door behind him.

“So,” she said stiffly, the moment Leonard was gone, “you thought I was lying? Is that right?”

Anthony met her fierce gaze, not sure at all how he was going to explain this.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

“Well?” Marina prompted when Anthony did not reply, her heart gripped in a vise, her face hot with a rush of anger and hurt.

She had agonized over his cold dismissal of her a week ago, blaming herself, blaming the neglect of her mothering duties, but what she had seen upon his face a few minutes ago had answered every question: he had not believed her uncle was unwell. Which meant, undoubtedly, that he had suspected her of being up to no good.

But what did he think I was doing instead? That was the part that continued to evade her, and only he could answer.

“When you went to stay for a few days in London,” he began stiffly, “I came to see you.”

Her eyes pinched in confusion. “When?”

“I do not remember exactly, but… I was outside your uncle’s townhouse,” he continued, wearing an expression akin to pain. “I saw you arm-in-arm with a gentleman, walking in the park.”

Marina thought back, settling on the moment. “With Doctor Stanforth, yes. I wanted some fresh air.”

Was something wrong with that? Should she not have taken the doctor’s arm? He had only offered his arm because she had been unsteady on her feet, exhausted and half-starved.