Just Miss Agatha

Chapter 5

Agatha

"I can't believe you went to the Avondale Manor with Miss Rosalie. If your Mama is to find out, she will be beyond furious." Elizabeth chastised Agatha as she helped her change into her sleeping garments.

"Then she will not find out," Agatha responded weakly.

"How scandalous it would be. The last lady who visited them, they thought her ruined and she lost her prospects during the Season."

The taste the Duke's family left in people's mouths was one of bittersweetness. Some held them in high regard: they had old money and their wealth had spanned over generations, building a name for themselves. No matter what happened, they simply did not bat an eye.

However, some, because of jealousy or the love of gossip, loved to speak of them poorly. The favorite topic of recent had been the scandal of the bastard child, Selina. Why did she make an appearance with the family right after the Grafton elders-their parents and older brother-succumbed to death? For what reason was her existence unknown for many years?

How death befell the Grafton elders was also another hot topic. They burnt to death in their countryside manor in the middle of the night.

The history of the family was even more interesting for people to delve into. Starting with the mad grandfather who committed suicide, the aunt who committed adultery, and the bastard children that popped up over time. Not forgetting the people the family was whispered to have murdered.

Some even went on to say there was the ghost of a woman who cried at night in the west quarters of the Avondale manor. Agatha wondered if this was true as William had avoided that part of the manor when he took them around.

"Oh, Miss. I am sure getting rest will relieve you from the stomachache," Elizabeth worried for her.

Agatha nodded in response and trudged along to her bed.

"Thank you, Elizabeth." She opened her blankets and slowly slid in. "I shall rest early."

Elizabeth corrected a few things in Agatha's room and closed the door behind her.

Their conversation got Agatha thinking. If William loved Rosalie as he professed, then why did he not ask for Rosalie's hand and marry her? Though people would talk for the next months, "The second prince to the dukedom married his mistress," gossip was fleeting as an itch. It would die the same way other scandals relating to his family were shelved.

He was just like many spineless men, speaking of his undying love when not willing to take action to show off those feelings. William would still marry a woman of status his family chose for him and Rosalie would be the shadow in their marriage, a taint that would not go away until William got tired of her and found her unsatisfying for him.

That is why she was with Simon. Her relationship with him was self-sacrificial. They would do anything to be together, a big reason why she was to do what she would that night.

As soon she was sure everyone thought she was asleep, she crawled out of bed and switched on the candle to begin her preparations. Of course, her weakness and stomachache had all been a farce to be left alone earlier for the night.

She had to hurry since her hired carriage was to arrive in an hour. The first thing she did was open the trunk at the foot of her bed. It contained her off-season clothes, so she'd used them to hide the box she received from Madame Anne de Balbi. Not only did it contain her dress, but makeup and accessories she acquired over the week.

Agatha did not want to look like an innocent debutante at the event she was to attend. A wealthy widow who was experienced, voluptuous, and irresistible would do. Men were supposed to go on their knees for her. That was how she pictured it in her fantasies, anyway.