Page 46 of All Duke and Bothered

“Ah, Your Grace,” the duchess said as she stopped. “Congratulations on your wedding and many happy years with your new husband.”

Her sad eyes grew even sadder as she said that.

“Thank you, Your Grace,” said Penelope. “May I present to you my father, Lord Beckett.”

“Of course,” said the duchess with a stilted smile as Papa squeezed her hand. “How do you do, Lord Beckett? I hope you’re finding your walk satisfactory. I couldn’t sit at home a moment longer after two days of rain. With good fortune, we’ll have many sunny days to enjoy the park.”

“Certainly,” said Penelope. “I hope to come here to paint en plein air.”

“Ah!” said the duchess, the sadness disappearing from her eyes. “That is right, you mentioned something about art at Almack’s.”

Papa cleared his throat unhappily at that but, mercifully, kept his mouth shut.

Penelope smiled. “I did, Duchess. Your memory does you justice. I paint quite often. Recently, my husband hired Enrica de Luca to teach me.”

“Miss de Luca?” The duchess’s eyes glinted with curiosity. “Your husband must love you very much, and she certainly doesn’t teach just anyone. She must have seen something in you. Now I am curious. Please, you must allow me to see some of your works.”

Penelope’s heart did a flip. The whole park brightened around her. “Of course, it would be my honor, madam. Nothing would make me happier. Please, you must call on me.”

“I will,” said the Duchess of Ashton with a pleased smile. “Nothing gives me more pleasure than to see new talent. Good day to you both.”

With that, she and her companions continued their stroll. Penelope and Papa resumed their walk as well, her heart drumming so hard, she felt it in her ribs.

“Well, you didn’t marry too poorly after all,” said Papa with a smirk. “All those high connections. Even the Duchess of Ashton wants to butter you up.”

Of course. Because Papa could never imagine the duchess actually thinking that Penelope may have any talent. She swallowed the bitter, angry thought.

“You look thinner, Papa. Are you eating enough?”

“Of course not.” He glanced at her, and there was such a plea in his eyes, her heart squeezed. “Penelope, please, help me.”

She had come to ask him about his conflict with Preston, but seeing him falling so low, she couldn’t take it. Yes, one of Preston’s rules was that she was never to give any money to Papa. But she couldn’t stand her papa being degraded like this. He was still her father. She had no mother anymore, but she still had him.

They stopped. With her hands shaking, she went into her reticule and took out her two-week allowance for dresses and various expenses. It must be two hundred pounds. She pressed it into her papa’s hands and looked over her shoulder. Had Calliope and Emma seen her? She wasn’t sure. They weren’t on the path behind her and Papa.

Papa shoved the money quickly into the pocket of his coat.

Heavy guilt sank in Penelope’s stomach. She was helping her papa but betraying her husband. The husband with whom she’d just started to be at peace; the husband with whom she’d spend the rest of her life.

“Please, Papa, do not gamble it. Use it to pay the servants what you owe and to buy provisions.”

“This is not nearly enough, Penelope,” he said. “I need more. Can you give me more?”

“How much do you owe exactly, Papa?”

He didn’t reply for a bit. Instead, he resumed walking, his steps slow. “Ten thousand pounds.”

She gasped, the ground careened under her feet. “How could you have gambled away such a fortune?”

“It was the thing that made me feel good after losing your mama. I loved her. She and you…were the only light in my life.”

Penelope’s heart squeezed for him. “Of course I’ll get you more money. I can give my whole monthly allowance to you. But, please, tell me, what does Preston have over you?”

Papa stopped again and turned to her; his Adam’s apple bobbed as he looked around. When he’d made sure no one could hear them, he leaned closer to her, his eyes soft and kind for the first time in years. “Thank you, Penelope. You have a good heart. Your mother’s heart. That is why you must help me. I do not know what it is exactly myself. But you could find the piece of evidence that he has and bring it to me. Then it all would be over.”

Penelope didn’t like what she heard one bit. She’d betrayed Preston when she gave her papa the money, but she couldn’t betray him even further by stealing important documents…could she?

“What is it, Papa?” she asked.