A Penny's Worth of Affection novel Chapter 14

"You are risking our lives for the sake of foolishness. The Duke is powerful, and no one will question his actions, and he will certainly be justified in defending his honour. I beg you to leave off this idiocy. It will lead us nowhere but harm."

She turned her pleading eyes to Miss Rosebury. "Stop this folly, I beg you. You know the kind of man your betrothed is. Think of the scandal and destruction this will bring upon us all. If you truly love Eddie, you will set him free and spare his life."

Jane burst into sobs, sinking back down on the couch in despair. "She is right, Edward. This is madness."

Edward glared at his sister, then stooped to gently take Jane's hands in his, lifting them to his mouth. "Hush, my love. We must not let this come between us. I am not afraid of Newbridge, and I will be honoured to fight for your hand, regardless of the outcome."

She gazed at him, a wild look in her tear-filled eyes. "You do not understand: he will ruin Papa as well if I do not marry him. Newbridge will have him thrown in debtor's prison, and Papa will not be able to survive such horrible conditions. No, your sister speaks the truth: we must end this at once, Edward. I will not be responsible for your demise, or Papa's."

Penny let out a sigh of relief, thankful that Jane had come to her senses. "Thank you. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear those words."

"No!" Edward exploded, startling the women. He rose to his full height, his handsome face contorting fiercely. "I will not allow him to take you away from me. He does not love you Jane, and he will make you miserable if you succumb to him. You are mine!"

Beside her, Lucy gasped in shock, mirroring Penny's horrified expression. "Eddie! You mustn't do this.

Lucy moved to grasp his arm, but he shook her off angrily. "Do not tell me what I must not do. I am not an imbecile."

Lucy stumbled back, hurt by his vehement rejection, tears spilling down her cheeks. Penny felt a wave of fury and stepped up to him, delivering a stinging slap to his cheeks. His head turned from the force of her blow, and his jaw clenched once more, working furiously to control his anger.

"You fool," Penny spat at him. "You are an imbecile if you think you can drag this family into danger. Do the right thing and find someone else to love-that is wisdom."

He looked down at her coldly. "You know nothing of who I am," he growled menacingly, but Penny refused to back down. Not until he came back to his senses would she let him be.

"Then prove that you are a good and honourable man by doing the right thing," she countered, crossing her arms over her bosom stubbornly.

Miss Rosebury touched his arm pleadingly. "Please, Edward, do not fight with your family for my sake. They only seek your safety as do I."

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Fiery

Penny picked the last egg and closed the coop, smiling in satisfaction as she counted the eggs in her basket. The hens had laid quite a substantial amount of eggs, and with the sale of this batch, she would be able to make quite a tidy sum, enough to buy that new hat Lucy was in raptures about.

A gust of wind blew strands of hair across her face, and she brushed them away, realizing too late that her hands were muddied from mucking about in the sty. Now she probably had mud smeared across her cheeks. No matter, she intended to take a bath once she was done with the chores anyway. As she passed the pig sty, Betsy snorted, causing her to wander over to check on the piglets.

"Hello, old girl," she whispered to the huge, pink sow, smiling when it butted its nose through the wooden bars that ran around the sty. "How's your little 'uns doing."

She set the basket of eggs down and rubbed at the sow's cold snort, her first real smile playing across her lips as the little piglets wandered close, also seeking affection. The smile faded just as quickly as it had come as the events of the past weeks came crashing back to her mind. She sighed and folded her arms across the top of the fence, her green eyes troubled and dark.

For three nights, she had lain awake, pondering what to do, but solution had evaded her still. Every hoofbeat stirred up an intense dread within her that the Duke had come to kill Edward. Then yesterday, a liveried footman had arrived at the farm and handed her a note from Newbridge, requesting-no, summoning her to his house. Fear and trepidation had lanced through her at first, and then she had taken umbrage at the imperious way he had written the note. She was certainly not one of his servants to jump at his every bidding and so had ignored him.