A Rake, A Spinster, And An Arrangement

Chapter 19 : To Speak Alone (Ep 4)

Hermione sat in the middle of the Duchess of Nottingham's sitting room, holding a tea cup in her hands that was not filled with tea.

Poor Ginny had swallowed down a single cup of brandy, and promptly fallen straight asleep in the chair.

Neither Hermione nor Pansy had moved to wake her up.

Instead, Pansy had continued drinking, refilling her cup every few sips while Hermione took a few small swallows, choking down each drop. It was horrific, and tasted worse than it smelled, but with each sip, she felt herself growing relaxed and tired.

It was doing wonders to soothe her nerves. No wonder Pansy had insisted she needed a drink.

"My husband was a bastard," Pansy finally said, her tea cup empty on the table and the bottle of brandy sitting beside her chair. She was half slouched into it, one leg up over the armrest, her body contorted oddly to fit onto it. "And I don't mean an actual bastard. I mean, he was a terrible person. No one cried for his death, no one even attended the funeral, save for myself and Theo."

Hermione knew nothing of the late Duke of Nottingham. She had not even been in the city when he had passed, as she had still been working as Bill and Fleur's governess for their oldest two daughters. In fact, until she had met Pansy, she had not known anything about the man, his wedding, his passing, or his son.

"Why did you marry him?" Hermione asked, although she had a guess. After all, Nottingham was a very wealthy piece of property.

"Freedom," Pansy said with a shrug. "We had it all figured out, Theodore and I. You see, my family's country home is near his Aunt's, so Draco and I-"

"Yes," Hermione said, interrupting her. "Draco had mentioned that. And then, once he went to University, he met the Duke of Nottingham."

Pansy gave a nod, then closed her eyes before continuing. "Yes, yes, he told you some things, but Draco doesn't know everything. He thinks he does, of course, and thinks his story is the worst sob story, but he doesn't know the truth of it all. He doesn't really know what was happening at my home. He doesn't know about the abuse Theo was suffering. He doesn't know..."

Pansy took in a deep breath, then let it out.

"After they graduated, it was nearing the start of my first season, and I was dreading it. My mother expected me to find a husband as soon as possible, so they could be rid of me. I asked Theo if he was interested - we all knew he wasn't interested in women, so I thought it was perfect, but he... he had a better idea."

Hermione raised a brow at her, waiting for her to continue.

"You see, Theo made a vow to his father to not pass on his bloodline. And, given that his father knew that he was very much not interested in finding a wife, his father had decided to disown him, and sire a new heir."

Hermione stared at Pansy, imagining it. Disowning your own son? Of course, given her circumstances, she knew that it was done, but did it truly happen so often? She had thought that her father, her real father, was the rarity. What was wrong with these old gentlemen, that they so despised their own children?

"When Theodore found out that his father was searching for a new wife... well, I don't really know who came up with the idea anymore, but the general thought was, I would marry his father, make certain I did not become pregnant on the wedding night, then take to the country house, where I would claim I was with child. I would adopt an orphan, a boy of course, and pass it off as his father's son."

It was a sound idea, Hermione thought. An older gentleman would not want to venture to the country, and if Pansy remained there... she would have freedom.