Liberty for Paul
Scandalous Sisters Series, Book 2
Liberty Banks loves revenge almost as much as she hates one Mr. Paul Grimes, who, she considers to be the most improper creature she has ever clapped eyes upon. But when her plans for revenge against Paul go bust, she suddenly finds herself walking down the aisle (or shall we say, staircase) to him.
Once married, a battle of the wills breaks out as each tries to reform the other. Liberty wants nothing more than to have a proper husband. And much to Liberty's dismay, Paul will stop at nothing to have is all too proper wife do something--anything--to break the rules of society, specifically do the most improper thing imaginable, fall in love with the most improper man: her own husband. Now available in eBook format for $3.99 at the following: |
Chapter One
Early December 1812
London
Liberty Banks had two loves in her life. One of which her entire family (and most of London Society) knew about: propriety. Her other love she went about hiding a little better. Not perfectly, but well enough that for the most part she was able to keep her second love a secret, and that, was her love for revenge.
Sure, when she and her sisters were young girls, Brooke, her oldest sister, knew it was Liberty who had tied her slippers together with some white string just long enough that Brooke didn’t notice it before she started to walk. After only three steps, Brooke fell on her face because she’d taken too large a step and the string caused her to trip. Both Liberty and their other sister, Madison, laughed, but neither owned up to the prank; nor placed the blame on the other. But Brooke didn’t need a confession. She knew it was Liberty. Not two days later, Liberty opened up one of her drawers to grab a pair of stockings and a toad jumped out at her causing her to nearly leap out of her skin!
When she confronted Brooke, who was the only Banks sister who would dare touch a toad, Brooke simply told her it was what she deserved for tying her slippers together. Liberty just shook her head and didn’t disclose that the reason for tying Brooke’s slippers together in the first place was because Brooke had stolen them from her at the milliner’s shop. Well, maybe not stolen exactly. Liberty had seen them first and was about to grab them and claim how wonderful they would go with her new green velvet gown. Just then, Brooke accidentally knocked them from where they’d been sitting on the shelf because she wasn’t used to how puffy her new stays made her dress. Then, when Brooke leaned down to pick them up, she’d cried with delight about how perfectly they’d match her new green silk dress and wouldn’t part with them. This infuriated Liberty who decided then and there to get her revenge. And quite honestly, she’d been rather pleased to see Brooke fall on her face, even if it were only in front of her family.
The toad was a different matter altogether. It took her a while to get revenge for the toad, but when she did, she was able to escape notice and nothing happened to her in return. It was a good thing she hadn’t been discovered, because she’d done something that really upset Brooke. She’d cut all the heads off her roses. Had Brooke known it was her; she’d probably be missing her own head. Brooke had always put a lot of time into her roses; they were her pride and joy. However, from listening to Brooke drone on spring after spring about her roses, Liberty knew that pruning them, or cutting the tops off, if one was being precise, actually helped the rosebush. So in a way, she did Brooke a favor.
Liberty didn’t always do these things to be spiteful, mind you. On the other hand, some of it was pure, unadulterated spite, but she had a good reason to be a little spiteful. She was the youngest of three daughters and that came with a lot of vexation.
When she was younger, her older sisters would leave her out, saying she wasn’t old enough to join in their games. With her sisters being only a year apart, and the younger of the two, Madison, being three years older than Liberty, it was easy for them to get away with leaving her out.
And, if they were made to include her, she always got the terrible part in whatever game they were playing. Sometimes she had to be the person standing in the middle while her sisters threw a ball back and forth over her head, or sometimes when they’d play Pioneers and Indians, she’d be the Indian who was given the inferior weapon. In short, she always had the unacceptable role.
When she and her sisters got older they were able to enjoy each other’s company more. Perhaps “enjoy” wasn't the right word, but they were able to do activities together and be civil to each other. However, by then, the damage was done and Liberty made up her mind to pay her sisters back in kind for the way they’d treated her when she was younger.
At first, her newfound love for vengeance involved doing harmless, good-natured things to her sisters—either for their past or present sins. But a few months ago she started seeking revenge on someone outside of her family, and it wasn’t exactly harmless or good-natured.
It had only happened a few times seven months ago. But today, she’d decided she was once again going to seek revenge against a man named Mr. Paul Grimes.
Mr. Grimes was a devilishly handsome vicar who lived near Bath. He had a flawless face with high, distinguished cheekbones, a wide mouth that could make a girl swoon when he grinned, and beautiful emerald eyes that rested behind a pair of silver rimmed spectacles. His hair was a sandy blond color and was kept an inch or two longer than was fashionable. They’d been introduced at a house party that was being hosted by her uncle, Edward Banks, Baron Watson. Mr. Grimes had come to the house party to seek out Liberty’s father—who also happened to be a minister. Upon meeting, Paul had told her father he had some problems in his vicarage and had asked her father to mentor him. Of course her father had agreed, because one, he liked to help people, no matter who they were or how awful their personalities; and two, because while spending some time in England, the man needed a hobby—desperately.
John, her father, grew up in England and went on his Grand Tour at nineteen. He was twenty when he reached America and met a woman named Carolina. In no time at all, he made her his wife and they moved to New York where he began work as a minister. It wasn’t long after that the family grew and less than five years later they had three young daughters: Brooke, Madison, and Liberty.
This was the first time in twenty-five years that John had set foot on English soil. He’d said he loved his wife, daughters, and America and saw no reason to return to England. But when Brooke had reached her twenty-second year without any prospects and Madison fell into a state of melancholy after ending a courtship, John packed them up and decided to see if the girls could make matches with English gentlemen.
Liberty had been so excited at the prospect, but knew she lacked the beauty her sisters possessed in abundance, therefore, she’d taken it upon herself to learn all the rules and execute them to perfection as her way of finding a husband. So far it hadn’t worked, but she hadn’t given up hope. Not yet anyway. Following the rules of society always had a way of helping a woman find a husband—she had numerous books to prove it. A man would not wish to be embarrassed by his wife, even if he did hold her in high esteem.
It was Liberty’s love of propriety that led to her complete and utter dislike—and dare she admit, hatred?—for Mr. Grimes.
When they were first introduced, he’d immediately told her his wish for her to call him Paul instead of Mr. Grimes. There was no way she was going to be so informal with a man she’d just met; so she’d insisted he refer to her as Miss Liberty and she would call him Mr. Grimes. Just as she finished explaining her wish to remain formal, dinner was announced, and because no other unmatched lady or gentleman was nearby, they were paired up. So she ended up having to suffer his dreadful personality through the entire dinner.
The whole time he sat there looking angry. His jaw was clamped shut and his face appeared hard and as impassive as stone. When she spoke to him, he’d nod or give monosyllabic answers. He asked no questions and offered no conversation. It took her less than two minutes to conclude he was a bore.
If that had been the end of their acquaintance, she would have merely disliked him. But no, they had four other unfortunate encounters.
The next meeting happened when she was having a private conversation with Madison; which unbeknownst to her, he was eavesdropping on. In the middle of their conversation, he cleared his throat and proceeded to volunteer his unflattering opinion of Liberty. He’d told her she’d never find a husband and had said she was cold and callous. After such remarks, he’d had the nerve to act polite by seeking her out and apologizing; which she’d known he’d only done to save his newfound friendship with her father.
The second encounter had been only days later when he’d purposely let someone roll a lawn bowl over her toe. When he’d shown no real remorse, she’d elbowed him in his midsection; which had then led to the end of their second encounter, but had produced the need for a third.
After she’d elbowed him, he had made a yelping noise and had hobbled away. Not ten minutes later she’d been summoned to the room where he’d been waiting with her parents. Her uncle, the baron and host of the house party, had born witness to the events on the lawn and had told her father what had happened. Papa had demanded she do whatever Mr. Grimes thought was necessary for her to make amends. Then Papa and Mama had left, leaving her alone with Mr. Grimes.
Not two minutes after they left, Mr. Grimes started to remove his clothing! Come hell or high water, there was no way she was going to give her virtue to that beast. So she did the first thing that came to mind: picked up the closest thing to her and hurled it at his head.
She ran to her sister Brooke for help, and then went to the library to hide from Papa. He’d always been kind and gentle before, giving her no cause to be afraid of him, but after what had just happened, she’d be lying if she didn’t admit she was terrified.
When he found her, he told her to stay away from the man, and that’s exactly what she had done—until now.
She’d intended to avoid him forever, but then the most embarrassing accident she could imagine happened; and made it necessary for a fourth encounter.
In late November, winter hit with a vengeance. Snow and ice covered the streets of London and much to everyone’s surprise, by early December the Thames had frozen over. When a large enough patch of ice covered the river, a Frost Fair opened.
Liberty wanted desperately to go, but neither Madison nor their parents wanted to go with her. She was certain Brooke would have gone with her, but Brooke was busy at Rockhurst with her new husband, Andrew Black, Earl of Townson. So when the highly annoying and always ill Lady Olivia Sinclair claimed she had a desire to go skating, Liberty could not agree to accompany her fast enough. She may not enjoy the company overmuch, but it might be the only way she could ever go, she reminded herself as she accepted the invitation.
They were there only a half hour when Lady Olivia took a brutal fall and brought Liberty down with her. Though Liberty had skated many times before, Lady Olivia had not, and she’d been hanging onto Liberty so tightly that when she fell, Liberty had no way to remain on her skates.
They fell on a thin sheet of ice and the weight from their bodies caused it to crack. When Lady Olivia started to roll around kicking and screaming like a banshee, the ice cracked more. Alex, Liberty’s cousin, who just happened to be there, came to the rescue and helped Lady Olivia to her feet first—probably just to stop the ear piercing screams. He was too late in turning back to help Liberty before the ice broke completely, and down she went into the icy Thames.
She remembered splashing and trying to keep her head above water, but her wet skirts were making that impossible, and when she wasn’t able to get a grip on Alex’s hand, she went under. That’s the last thing she remembered.
A week later she woke up to see Madison sitting by her bedside, telling her that her fever had finally broken. Now that the fever had passed, she was able to remain awake for longer periods and conduct a small conversation. But she still had to remain in bed, so Mama or Madison would come and entertain her all day.
Almost fully recovered, Liberty decided it was time to ask Madison what had happened. She told Madison she remembered going skating and her accident, but had no idea what happened afterward.
Madison’s clear blue eyes looked out the window for a few moments before she took a deep breath. “Liberty, you’re not going to want to hear this, but there are two unlikely heroes in your tale.”
“Two? Unlikely? Whatever do you mean? I remember Alex being there, but he’s not an unlikely hero, is he?” Liberty asked, perplexed.
“Yes, Alex was there. However, he fell in, too. The Duke of Gateway pulled you both out,” Madison said evenly, tucking one of her blonde curls behind her ear.
Liberty couldn’t believe it. The duke hardly knew she existed. They had barely ever spoken. What she did know about him though was he was the worst kind of man there ever could be. He never did anything to be nice, and some—most—considered him to be very dangerous and not a man you’d want to be indebted to. Liberty shivered.
“Who was the other?” she asked curiously. If Gateway was one of her unlikely heroes, who else could it possibly be? Nobody was more unlikely than Gateway.
“Mr. Grimes,” Madison said quietly.
“That’s impossible,” Liberty snapped, crossing her arms across her chest. “He wasn’t even there. He was at his weekly visit with Papa. And anyway, he wouldn’t help me unless his very life depended on it.”
“That’s not true,” Madison said softly. “I know you don’t like him, but there’s no reason for you not to like him. He’s actually very nice once you get to know him.”
Liberty scowled. “You can get to know him all you like. My opinion of him hasn’t changed. He is a filthy scoundrel who wants my virtue.” Liberty inclined her chin an inch. “But he shall not get it.”
Madison shook her head. “He doesn’t want your virtue. I know you think he was undressing in order to ravish you; but Papa says he was angry and got overheated, and after everything that had just happened, I’m inclined to believe him.”
“Oh Madison, you may be three years older than me, but you are far more naïve. No man starts to take off his neck cloth and shirt just because he’s hot.” Liberty had heard that explanation, too, and about died of embarrassment when she later thought about it—especially because it made sense. She may be a virginal nineteen almost twenty, but she knew if he meant to have her virtue, he probably wouldn’t have started with his cravat. However, she couldn’t put her finger on if she was embarrassed because of her silly assumption and hasty actions or if it was because he didn’t want her that way. Her cheeks still burned whenever she thought about it.
“Liberty,” Madison said as she idly played with the fringe of Liberty’s counterpane and stared out the window again. Moving her eyes back to Liberty’s face, she swallowed. “I think if he wanted your virtue, he would’ve already taken it.”
Outraged, Liberty balled her hands into fists. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
That’s when Liberty heard about her life’s most humiliating moment, a moment she wasn’t even awake for.
After Gateway had loaded both her and Alex into his carriage (Lady Olivia had gone into hysterics and her maid had taken her home already), he took Liberty to her residence and dropped her off. He didn’t stay, however, because he needed to deliver Alex to his house. The only person at home at the time was Mr. Grimes, who just happened to be there waiting for his weekly meeting with Papa. It was a Wednesday afternoon and all the servants were gone for their time off, so she’d been left completely in the hands of Mr. Grimes.
Madison told her that he had gathered her in his arms and carried her up to her bedroom. Once inside, he stripped off all of her clothes and wrapped her in a blanket. Then, he carried warm water up and filled the copper tub that was in her dressing room. After the tub was full, and he had word that the doctor was on his way, Mr. Grimes took her naked, unconscious body and placed her in the water. Then he sat beside her and waited with her there until Papa and Mama arrived.
Liberty thought she was going to die! Mr. Grimes had seen her naked! She closed her eyes to block the tears of embarrassment that were threatening to spill.
Madison claimed she was in the room when Mr. Grimes explained all of this to Mama and Papa. “He was so uncomfortable and embarrassed talking about it,” she said calmly, as if that would make Liberty feel better about everything. “I have never seen anyone turn that shade of red, except perhaps you. Right now, you are just as red as he was when he recounted the events to Mama and Papa.”
Liberty didn’t respond. She couldn’t respond. She was too busy wishing he had just let her die, rather than take off her clothes and look at her naked. The man was a monster who knew no bounds when it came to decency!
“Liberty, it’s not that bad. As it is, you never even see him. You’ve made yourself scarce whenever he’s been around since that house party. This changes nothing,” she assured her. “You’re not going to see him again, so it shouldn’t matter.”
“You wouldn’t know,” Liberty said between the sobs that were wracking her body. “You’ve never had a man see you naked before.”
Madison looked like she'd been struck. Liberty thought she should say something, she hadn’t meant for it to come out like it sounded. But she wasn’t given the chance to make amends, before Madison quietly stood and departed. That was the last time she saw Madison for the rest of the day.
Sitting alone in silence, she thought of the apology she owed Madison. After she’d worked out the perfect words to express her remorse for her heartless comment, she started to form her plan of how she was going to get revenge on Mr. Grimes. He had no business seeing her naked, which was bad enough, but he’d taken it one step further by carrying her around and bathing her.
Madison said he’d claimed not to have taken her virtue, but he was the only one who really knew for sure. Even she couldn’t be certain she was still intact down there. She suppressed that thought immediately.
There was no denying it, Mr. Grimes had gone over the line this time, and she was going to make sure he never did it again. After she was done with him, he would never show his face in England again. Well, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad that he’d be exiled, but, at the very least, he would not be going anywhere near any member of the Banks family. She was going to make sure of it.
London
Liberty Banks had two loves in her life. One of which her entire family (and most of London Society) knew about: propriety. Her other love she went about hiding a little better. Not perfectly, but well enough that for the most part she was able to keep her second love a secret, and that, was her love for revenge.
Sure, when she and her sisters were young girls, Brooke, her oldest sister, knew it was Liberty who had tied her slippers together with some white string just long enough that Brooke didn’t notice it before she started to walk. After only three steps, Brooke fell on her face because she’d taken too large a step and the string caused her to trip. Both Liberty and their other sister, Madison, laughed, but neither owned up to the prank; nor placed the blame on the other. But Brooke didn’t need a confession. She knew it was Liberty. Not two days later, Liberty opened up one of her drawers to grab a pair of stockings and a toad jumped out at her causing her to nearly leap out of her skin!
When she confronted Brooke, who was the only Banks sister who would dare touch a toad, Brooke simply told her it was what she deserved for tying her slippers together. Liberty just shook her head and didn’t disclose that the reason for tying Brooke’s slippers together in the first place was because Brooke had stolen them from her at the milliner’s shop. Well, maybe not stolen exactly. Liberty had seen them first and was about to grab them and claim how wonderful they would go with her new green velvet gown. Just then, Brooke accidentally knocked them from where they’d been sitting on the shelf because she wasn’t used to how puffy her new stays made her dress. Then, when Brooke leaned down to pick them up, she’d cried with delight about how perfectly they’d match her new green silk dress and wouldn’t part with them. This infuriated Liberty who decided then and there to get her revenge. And quite honestly, she’d been rather pleased to see Brooke fall on her face, even if it were only in front of her family.
The toad was a different matter altogether. It took her a while to get revenge for the toad, but when she did, she was able to escape notice and nothing happened to her in return. It was a good thing she hadn’t been discovered, because she’d done something that really upset Brooke. She’d cut all the heads off her roses. Had Brooke known it was her; she’d probably be missing her own head. Brooke had always put a lot of time into her roses; they were her pride and joy. However, from listening to Brooke drone on spring after spring about her roses, Liberty knew that pruning them, or cutting the tops off, if one was being precise, actually helped the rosebush. So in a way, she did Brooke a favor.
Liberty didn’t always do these things to be spiteful, mind you. On the other hand, some of it was pure, unadulterated spite, but she had a good reason to be a little spiteful. She was the youngest of three daughters and that came with a lot of vexation.
When she was younger, her older sisters would leave her out, saying she wasn’t old enough to join in their games. With her sisters being only a year apart, and the younger of the two, Madison, being three years older than Liberty, it was easy for them to get away with leaving her out.
And, if they were made to include her, she always got the terrible part in whatever game they were playing. Sometimes she had to be the person standing in the middle while her sisters threw a ball back and forth over her head, or sometimes when they’d play Pioneers and Indians, she’d be the Indian who was given the inferior weapon. In short, she always had the unacceptable role.
When she and her sisters got older they were able to enjoy each other’s company more. Perhaps “enjoy” wasn't the right word, but they were able to do activities together and be civil to each other. However, by then, the damage was done and Liberty made up her mind to pay her sisters back in kind for the way they’d treated her when she was younger.
At first, her newfound love for vengeance involved doing harmless, good-natured things to her sisters—either for their past or present sins. But a few months ago she started seeking revenge on someone outside of her family, and it wasn’t exactly harmless or good-natured.
It had only happened a few times seven months ago. But today, she’d decided she was once again going to seek revenge against a man named Mr. Paul Grimes.
Mr. Grimes was a devilishly handsome vicar who lived near Bath. He had a flawless face with high, distinguished cheekbones, a wide mouth that could make a girl swoon when he grinned, and beautiful emerald eyes that rested behind a pair of silver rimmed spectacles. His hair was a sandy blond color and was kept an inch or two longer than was fashionable. They’d been introduced at a house party that was being hosted by her uncle, Edward Banks, Baron Watson. Mr. Grimes had come to the house party to seek out Liberty’s father—who also happened to be a minister. Upon meeting, Paul had told her father he had some problems in his vicarage and had asked her father to mentor him. Of course her father had agreed, because one, he liked to help people, no matter who they were or how awful their personalities; and two, because while spending some time in England, the man needed a hobby—desperately.
John, her father, grew up in England and went on his Grand Tour at nineteen. He was twenty when he reached America and met a woman named Carolina. In no time at all, he made her his wife and they moved to New York where he began work as a minister. It wasn’t long after that the family grew and less than five years later they had three young daughters: Brooke, Madison, and Liberty.
This was the first time in twenty-five years that John had set foot on English soil. He’d said he loved his wife, daughters, and America and saw no reason to return to England. But when Brooke had reached her twenty-second year without any prospects and Madison fell into a state of melancholy after ending a courtship, John packed them up and decided to see if the girls could make matches with English gentlemen.
Liberty had been so excited at the prospect, but knew she lacked the beauty her sisters possessed in abundance, therefore, she’d taken it upon herself to learn all the rules and execute them to perfection as her way of finding a husband. So far it hadn’t worked, but she hadn’t given up hope. Not yet anyway. Following the rules of society always had a way of helping a woman find a husband—she had numerous books to prove it. A man would not wish to be embarrassed by his wife, even if he did hold her in high esteem.
It was Liberty’s love of propriety that led to her complete and utter dislike—and dare she admit, hatred?—for Mr. Grimes.
When they were first introduced, he’d immediately told her his wish for her to call him Paul instead of Mr. Grimes. There was no way she was going to be so informal with a man she’d just met; so she’d insisted he refer to her as Miss Liberty and she would call him Mr. Grimes. Just as she finished explaining her wish to remain formal, dinner was announced, and because no other unmatched lady or gentleman was nearby, they were paired up. So she ended up having to suffer his dreadful personality through the entire dinner.
The whole time he sat there looking angry. His jaw was clamped shut and his face appeared hard and as impassive as stone. When she spoke to him, he’d nod or give monosyllabic answers. He asked no questions and offered no conversation. It took her less than two minutes to conclude he was a bore.
If that had been the end of their acquaintance, she would have merely disliked him. But no, they had four other unfortunate encounters.
The next meeting happened when she was having a private conversation with Madison; which unbeknownst to her, he was eavesdropping on. In the middle of their conversation, he cleared his throat and proceeded to volunteer his unflattering opinion of Liberty. He’d told her she’d never find a husband and had said she was cold and callous. After such remarks, he’d had the nerve to act polite by seeking her out and apologizing; which she’d known he’d only done to save his newfound friendship with her father.
The second encounter had been only days later when he’d purposely let someone roll a lawn bowl over her toe. When he’d shown no real remorse, she’d elbowed him in his midsection; which had then led to the end of their second encounter, but had produced the need for a third.
After she’d elbowed him, he had made a yelping noise and had hobbled away. Not ten minutes later she’d been summoned to the room where he’d been waiting with her parents. Her uncle, the baron and host of the house party, had born witness to the events on the lawn and had told her father what had happened. Papa had demanded she do whatever Mr. Grimes thought was necessary for her to make amends. Then Papa and Mama had left, leaving her alone with Mr. Grimes.
Not two minutes after they left, Mr. Grimes started to remove his clothing! Come hell or high water, there was no way she was going to give her virtue to that beast. So she did the first thing that came to mind: picked up the closest thing to her and hurled it at his head.
She ran to her sister Brooke for help, and then went to the library to hide from Papa. He’d always been kind and gentle before, giving her no cause to be afraid of him, but after what had just happened, she’d be lying if she didn’t admit she was terrified.
When he found her, he told her to stay away from the man, and that’s exactly what she had done—until now.
She’d intended to avoid him forever, but then the most embarrassing accident she could imagine happened; and made it necessary for a fourth encounter.
In late November, winter hit with a vengeance. Snow and ice covered the streets of London and much to everyone’s surprise, by early December the Thames had frozen over. When a large enough patch of ice covered the river, a Frost Fair opened.
Liberty wanted desperately to go, but neither Madison nor their parents wanted to go with her. She was certain Brooke would have gone with her, but Brooke was busy at Rockhurst with her new husband, Andrew Black, Earl of Townson. So when the highly annoying and always ill Lady Olivia Sinclair claimed she had a desire to go skating, Liberty could not agree to accompany her fast enough. She may not enjoy the company overmuch, but it might be the only way she could ever go, she reminded herself as she accepted the invitation.
They were there only a half hour when Lady Olivia took a brutal fall and brought Liberty down with her. Though Liberty had skated many times before, Lady Olivia had not, and she’d been hanging onto Liberty so tightly that when she fell, Liberty had no way to remain on her skates.
They fell on a thin sheet of ice and the weight from their bodies caused it to crack. When Lady Olivia started to roll around kicking and screaming like a banshee, the ice cracked more. Alex, Liberty’s cousin, who just happened to be there, came to the rescue and helped Lady Olivia to her feet first—probably just to stop the ear piercing screams. He was too late in turning back to help Liberty before the ice broke completely, and down she went into the icy Thames.
She remembered splashing and trying to keep her head above water, but her wet skirts were making that impossible, and when she wasn’t able to get a grip on Alex’s hand, she went under. That’s the last thing she remembered.
A week later she woke up to see Madison sitting by her bedside, telling her that her fever had finally broken. Now that the fever had passed, she was able to remain awake for longer periods and conduct a small conversation. But she still had to remain in bed, so Mama or Madison would come and entertain her all day.
Almost fully recovered, Liberty decided it was time to ask Madison what had happened. She told Madison she remembered going skating and her accident, but had no idea what happened afterward.
Madison’s clear blue eyes looked out the window for a few moments before she took a deep breath. “Liberty, you’re not going to want to hear this, but there are two unlikely heroes in your tale.”
“Two? Unlikely? Whatever do you mean? I remember Alex being there, but he’s not an unlikely hero, is he?” Liberty asked, perplexed.
“Yes, Alex was there. However, he fell in, too. The Duke of Gateway pulled you both out,” Madison said evenly, tucking one of her blonde curls behind her ear.
Liberty couldn’t believe it. The duke hardly knew she existed. They had barely ever spoken. What she did know about him though was he was the worst kind of man there ever could be. He never did anything to be nice, and some—most—considered him to be very dangerous and not a man you’d want to be indebted to. Liberty shivered.
“Who was the other?” she asked curiously. If Gateway was one of her unlikely heroes, who else could it possibly be? Nobody was more unlikely than Gateway.
“Mr. Grimes,” Madison said quietly.
“That’s impossible,” Liberty snapped, crossing her arms across her chest. “He wasn’t even there. He was at his weekly visit with Papa. And anyway, he wouldn’t help me unless his very life depended on it.”
“That’s not true,” Madison said softly. “I know you don’t like him, but there’s no reason for you not to like him. He’s actually very nice once you get to know him.”
Liberty scowled. “You can get to know him all you like. My opinion of him hasn’t changed. He is a filthy scoundrel who wants my virtue.” Liberty inclined her chin an inch. “But he shall not get it.”
Madison shook her head. “He doesn’t want your virtue. I know you think he was undressing in order to ravish you; but Papa says he was angry and got overheated, and after everything that had just happened, I’m inclined to believe him.”
“Oh Madison, you may be three years older than me, but you are far more naïve. No man starts to take off his neck cloth and shirt just because he’s hot.” Liberty had heard that explanation, too, and about died of embarrassment when she later thought about it—especially because it made sense. She may be a virginal nineteen almost twenty, but she knew if he meant to have her virtue, he probably wouldn’t have started with his cravat. However, she couldn’t put her finger on if she was embarrassed because of her silly assumption and hasty actions or if it was because he didn’t want her that way. Her cheeks still burned whenever she thought about it.
“Liberty,” Madison said as she idly played with the fringe of Liberty’s counterpane and stared out the window again. Moving her eyes back to Liberty’s face, she swallowed. “I think if he wanted your virtue, he would’ve already taken it.”
Outraged, Liberty balled her hands into fists. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
That’s when Liberty heard about her life’s most humiliating moment, a moment she wasn’t even awake for.
After Gateway had loaded both her and Alex into his carriage (Lady Olivia had gone into hysterics and her maid had taken her home already), he took Liberty to her residence and dropped her off. He didn’t stay, however, because he needed to deliver Alex to his house. The only person at home at the time was Mr. Grimes, who just happened to be there waiting for his weekly meeting with Papa. It was a Wednesday afternoon and all the servants were gone for their time off, so she’d been left completely in the hands of Mr. Grimes.
Madison told her that he had gathered her in his arms and carried her up to her bedroom. Once inside, he stripped off all of her clothes and wrapped her in a blanket. Then, he carried warm water up and filled the copper tub that was in her dressing room. After the tub was full, and he had word that the doctor was on his way, Mr. Grimes took her naked, unconscious body and placed her in the water. Then he sat beside her and waited with her there until Papa and Mama arrived.
Liberty thought she was going to die! Mr. Grimes had seen her naked! She closed her eyes to block the tears of embarrassment that were threatening to spill.
Madison claimed she was in the room when Mr. Grimes explained all of this to Mama and Papa. “He was so uncomfortable and embarrassed talking about it,” she said calmly, as if that would make Liberty feel better about everything. “I have never seen anyone turn that shade of red, except perhaps you. Right now, you are just as red as he was when he recounted the events to Mama and Papa.”
Liberty didn’t respond. She couldn’t respond. She was too busy wishing he had just let her die, rather than take off her clothes and look at her naked. The man was a monster who knew no bounds when it came to decency!
“Liberty, it’s not that bad. As it is, you never even see him. You’ve made yourself scarce whenever he’s been around since that house party. This changes nothing,” she assured her. “You’re not going to see him again, so it shouldn’t matter.”
“You wouldn’t know,” Liberty said between the sobs that were wracking her body. “You’ve never had a man see you naked before.”
Madison looked like she'd been struck. Liberty thought she should say something, she hadn’t meant for it to come out like it sounded. But she wasn’t given the chance to make amends, before Madison quietly stood and departed. That was the last time she saw Madison for the rest of the day.
Sitting alone in silence, she thought of the apology she owed Madison. After she’d worked out the perfect words to express her remorse for her heartless comment, she started to form her plan of how she was going to get revenge on Mr. Grimes. He had no business seeing her naked, which was bad enough, but he’d taken it one step further by carrying her around and bathing her.
Madison said he’d claimed not to have taken her virtue, but he was the only one who really knew for sure. Even she couldn’t be certain she was still intact down there. She suppressed that thought immediately.
There was no denying it, Mr. Grimes had gone over the line this time, and she was going to make sure he never did it again. After she was done with him, he would never show his face in England again. Well, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad that he’d be exiled, but, at the very least, he would not be going anywhere near any member of the Banks family. She was going to make sure of it.