Free To Love, Honor, and Obey... (Fated for Love) by Ella J. Quince Page B

jest? We will never show our faces in public again, so great will be our shame.”
    Obedience shook her head. “What do you mean? What have I done that is so horrendous?”
    Patience grabbed their mother’s hand. Her skin was pale and her bony hand looked almost skeletal. “Don’t tell her.”
    “Tell me what?” Obedience looked back and forth between them. She had a horrible feeling. “Whatever it is, it can’t be as bad as you think.”
    “It’s worse than what your small mind could fathom.” Patience snapped at her. “We are on the verge of scandal and Lord Willowton was our only hope. I will never be able to find a suitable husband who will marry as quickly now. It’s because of you we will come to ruination.”
    Obedience stepped back. Here she was again being blamed, and she still didn’t understand why. There was a very large piece missing from the puzzle , but for once, she had the confidence in herself to know it was not her fault. Something had happened, something awful. “If I am to take responsibility for this scandal and ruination, then surely I have the right to know what it is.”
    Her mother and her sister wore the same tight-lipped expressions.
    “I insist,” Obedience demanded.
    Patience sat down in defeat again and folded her arms over her chest. Her mother walked around the table to where Obedience stood, her face void of any softness.
    “Well, if you insist,” she said with mock sweetness. “A gentleman forced himself on your sister and now she is with child. There, is that what you wish to know?”
    Obedience gasped, her hands covering her mouth in horror. Her sister buried her face in her hands and began to sob.
    “That is what happens when one lets a man take liberties without the benefit of marriage. Why just steal a morsel when he can steal the whole feast.”
    Obedience shuddered. “How can you say that? We should tell the magistrate and the duke, he will —”
    “We will tell no one ,” her mother barked. “It is his word against hers, and he is a well-known gentleman of superior birth. Our only recourse is to find your sister a husband to marry immediately to save our families honor.”
    “Oh my God.” Obedience felt sick. To think that she had aided them last night, however slightly, and thankfully, unsuccessfully, in wedding her sister to him while she carried another man’s child. It made her skin crawl and her stomach turn over. She couldn’t comprehend the horror of what her sister must have endured, the ramifications that she will face once it becomes obvious to everyone else.
    “I wish there was something I could do ,” Obedience admitted with an unusual swell of sisterly emotion.
    Patience glowered at her. “There was, until you ruined it.”
    Obedience swallowed. Dare she tell them what an enlightening afternoon she had? Would it help? They were both staring at her with eyes filled with loathing. She held her tongue and decided on retreat. “I didn’t know... I will leave you now.” Obedience kept her head down and exited the library. She let out a heavy sigh as she reached the stairs and hurried to her room. She didn’t know what to do or say to them at such a time. They always lashed out at her, but something needed to be said. She innately wanted to comfort her sister—she was her little sister, after all, but it would be unwelcome. What else could she do? Her gut told her to tell Chance. He would have an answer, and surely see to justice for Patience, but her mother would be against it. If she knew her mother at all, she knew her mother would try to sweep the situation under the rug. Her mother would rather lose an appendage than lose standing in their small community.
    She didn’t know what to do, so she secluded herself in her room and waited for evening to come. Later, her maid Myra arrived with a tray, and informed her that there would be no formal dinner. Obedience heaved a sigh of relief. However, when she sat at the small table beside her