Chapter 36
Jacqueline froze, her teacup hovering inches from her lips as she stared across the table. A playful, knowing glint had already sparked in Samantha’s eyes.
Sitting together and gossiping in this relaxed fashion felt like a sudden lapse in time, whisking them back to their carefree days at school.
“You’re free this Sunday, aren’t you?” Samantha asked.
“Hmm. I don’t believe I have anything on the calendar yet.”
In truth, her calendar was almost always empty, but Jacqueline saw no reason to admit that. A lady of standing was expected to maintain the illusion of a frantic social life, even when she had nowhere to be.
“Then meet me at the Tiamo café at noon,” Samantha insisted. “The one right in the square—you can’t miss it.”
Samantha’s lips twitched, pulled tight in that specific way they always did when she was fighting back a laugh.
“I see,” Jacqueline murmured.
She narrowed her eyes, studying her friend with growing suspicion. It was a tell-tale sign she recognized from their girlhood; whenever Samantha was orchestrating some secret scheme behind Jacqueline’s back, that suppressed smile always gave her away.
“Just be honest with me, Samantha.”
“About what?”
Samantha tried to play the part of the innocent under Jacqueline's piercing gaze, but she was never particularly good at deceiving her.
“Samantha,” Jacqueline prompted, her voice dropping into a low, warning note.
Samantha pouted, her resolve crumbling under the pressure. Unable to keep the secret any longer, she let out a huff and finally confessed.
“I’m only doing this because I care about you, Jackie. Can’t you just trust me and come?”
“That is precisely why I’m asking. What exactly does ‘caring about me’ entail in this scenario?”
“Well… Mr. Evan Knox asked to see you.”
“Samantha…”
Jacqueline’s brow creased with a faint shadow of annoyance. Sensing an immediate rejection, Samantha rushed to explain herself.
“Mr. Evan Knox is still in love with you! Ending the engagement wasn't his choice at all. He came to me personally the moment he heard we were meeting and begged me to set this up. Honestly, you won't find another man as devoted as him.”
“Love? He was my fiancé, I’ll grant you that, but we hardly spent enough time together to form such a deep bond.”
“But he does love you! Jackie, listen to me as your friend—he’s a wonderful man. If you let him walk away now, you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it.”
Looking at Samantha’s earnest, sheltered face, Jacqueline could only manage a sad, weary smile. Samantha was aware that Jacqueline’s family had lost their fortune, but she didn’t truly understand the gritty reality of it.
She didn’t understand what it was like to be homeless, to have to leave one’s mother in the care of relatives, or to have to work just to afford a meal. She didn’t know the sting of standing before something beautiful and wanting it, only to have to turn away because the cost was too high.
To Samantha, “ruin” was just a tragic word in a novel—abstractions on a page, nothing more.
Jacqueline didn't hold it against her. After all, only three years ago, she had been exactly the same.
Perhaps it was impossible to truly empathize with such a fall without having felt the ground beneath one's own feet crumble.
“I don’t doubt that Evan Knox is a good man, Samantha,” Jacqueline said softly.
Samantha’s face lit up. She leaned forward with an eagerness that lacked the poise of a proper lady, looking more like an excited schoolgirl.
“Right? So, this Sunday, you’ll meet him and—”
“But he is no longer the man for me.”
The words brought Samantha to a sudden halt. She faltered, her enthusiasm dampened by the bitter smile that refused to leave Jacqueline’s lips.
Jacqueline didn't look away. She met her friend’s stunned eyes and spoke with the cold clarity of someone who had learned the hard way how the world worked.
“He is the heir to an earldom; he will soon be the head of the Knox family. I, on the other hand, am a woman who has to worry about where I’ll sleep tomorrow and if I’ll eat today.”
“But Jackie, he would help you! That’s what a fiancé is for, isn’t it?”
“The Earl of Knox has no desire for a daughter-in-law who brings nothing but a tarnished name and a burden to his son. You know as well as I do, Samantha, that marriage is rarely a matter of what two people want.”
Samantha went quiet. For all her naivety, she wasn't completely blind to the rules of their world. Her own fiancé had been handpicked by her parents to ensure a perfect social and financial match.
They had only encountered each other a few times at balls and had never shared a real conversation.
“The Earl would surely grow to like you,” Samantha insisted weakly. “No one could possibly dislike you, Jackie.”
Jacqueline offered nothing but a ghost of a smile in response. If she told Samantha about the visit she had received from Lord Knox, she wondered what her friend would think then.
The Earl of Knox had arrived in a state of agitated fury, terrified that she might somehow cling to Evan and drag his son down with her.
—*“This is a settlement for the broken engagement. Take the money and stay away from Evan. My son no longer has any association with the Somerset name.”*
—*“I have no need for your money. I agree to the annulment freely.”*
—*“Take it. I won’t have you coming back later looking for more. These things must be finalized properly. Once you’ve accepted this, you won't have the audacity to show your face to my son again.”*
The memory of that humiliation burned as fresh as if it had happened yesterday. She had felt small, discarded, and utterly ashamed.
It wasn't because she was heartbroken over Evan; it was the shock of seeing how the Earl—who had once affectionately called her the "lucky charm" of his family—could turn so venomous the moment her value vanished.
Everyone who heard of her family’s collapse had changed their tune just as quickly. The true meaning of being "ruined" had been etched into her skin with agonizing precision.
She was no longer the cherished daughter of the Earl of Somerset; she felt like a non-entity. Watching the shadow cross Jacqueline's face, Samantha asked in a small voice,
“Did… did the Earl of Knox say something terrible to you?”
“Samantha.”
“He did! Oh, that’s just… how could he? How could he speak to you like that? It’s monstrous!”
Samantha’s temper flared as if the insult had been directed at her. Her cheeks flushed a deep crimson, and her voice shook with indignation.
“The nerve of that man! I simply can’t believe it! It’s absolutely disgraceful, Jackie! I won't stand for it!”
“Surely Evan knows about this, though?” Samantha asked, a sudden thought occurring to her. Jacqueline took a slow, steadying breath.
“There’s no point in telling him, Samantha. It would only cause him pain. So please, promise me you won’t mention a word of this to him.”
“But then you’re the only one carrying the weight of it! It’s not fair!”
Jacqueline smiled faintly at the outburst. Fairness was a concept she had long since stopped expecting from life.
“Evan will find someone far more suitable than I am. His father likely already has a list of candidates.”
“How can you be so calm about this?”
Samantha pouted, a habit she fell into whenever she was frustrated. Jacqueline looked at her with a soft, indulgent gaze.
She looked at her friend, who still possessed everything that had been stripped away from her.
It wasn't that she didn't feel the sting. It was just that after being wounded so many times, a new cut didn't seem quite so deep.
Samantha clenched her fists and stood her ground. “Then you should go this Sunday and tell him yourself. Reject him to his face.”
“Samantha…”
Jacqueline tried to soothe her as she would a stubborn child, but Samantha wasn't backing down.
“He said he’ll wait there until you come. If he doesn't know the truth, then he deserves a chance to hear it from you. He truly does love you.”
“That bridge has already been burned.”
“Only because you burned it, Jackie—just like you tried to do with me.”
Samantha’s eyes flashed with a hint of lingering resentment. Jacqueline didn't apologize, offering only a sheepish, awkward smile. Samantha reached for a cookie, her mood shifting slightly.
“If it’s really over, then go and end it properly. Otherwise, let him wait there all day for nothing. My job is done now that I’ve given you the message.”
Jacqueline let out a soft sigh. Samantha’s face brightened instantly as she took a bite of the sweet.
“I noticed this at the ball, too—the chef here at the Preston estate is marvelous.”
“She is. I make sure to thank her every day.”
“Now that I think about it… I ran into Lord Preston a moment ago. He really is strikingly handsome—wait.”
Samantha stopped chewing abruptly, casting a sharp, suspicious look at Jacqueline. Jacqueline, who had just raised her cup, paused with an arched eyebrow, wondering what had prompted the sudden scrutiny.
Samantha’s voice turned suggestive.
“You aren't rejecting Mr. Knox because of Lord Preston, are you?”
“Samantha! Don't be ridiculous!”
Jacqueline’s protest was loud and immediate, her face heating up as if she’d been splashed with hot tea. Her flustered reaction only made Samantha more certain.
“If I’m being ridiculous, why is your face turning bright red?”
“Samantha!”
“Fine, fine. If you say so.”
Samantha took a sip of her tea, though her eyes remained fixed on Jacqueline. Then, her expression clouded over as a different thought surfaced.
“That article…”
Jacqueline’s composure wavered. She didn't need to ask which one; she knew Samantha was referring to the scandalous piece about the “impoverished noblewoman taking a swindler to court.”
“I imagine the ton is having a field day at my expense,” Jacqueline said, her tone detached, as if she were discussing a stranger.
Samantha chewed her cookie in silence, unable to offer a denial.
Jacqueline took a calm sip of tea. “And I suppose they’re talking about my father as well?”
Samantha slumped in her chair, sighing. “Jackie… why did you have to sue the man? It happened years ago. That part of your life was over—why couldn't you just let it go?”
“If I hadn't come forward, James Hammington would still be out there, preyng on families who don't know any better.”
“So what if he is? That isn't your responsibility. No one cares about your sense of justice—they only care about the gossip in the papers. You shouldn't have to deal with that.”
Samantha spoke with blunt honesty. She didn't care about the people getting scammed; she only cared that her friend was being dragged through the mud. To her, Jacqueline's well-being was worth more than the fortunes of a few strangers.
“I don't expect anyone to understand. I simply couldn't live with myself if I stayed silent.”
Samantha sighed again, finally surrendering the argument. Her eyes softened as she looked at her friend.
“You haven't changed a bit, Jackie.”
Jacqueline blinked, truly surprised by the comment. To her, she was unrecognizable from the girl she used to be. The transition from a count’s daughter to a penniless girl had been a violent transformation.
She had learned to beg for work, to hide the wear and tear on her clothes, and to swallow her pride until it felt like it had never existed at all.
