Selina raised her eyebrows at him suspiciously, to her the prospect of him just coming over to observe sounded like a blatant lie and she was convinced he must have some other ulterior motive behind it.
“You have come to watch me practice?” she repeated with disbelief for his words, “Might I ask what invoked this sudden intense and curious fascination of yours for my craft?”
He laughed, “You say that as though it is completely absurd to associate me to any form of art in the same sentence.”
“I might think that, yes,” she replied, now turning back to her piano and playing a few chords.
“Hmm, you do sound quite smooth – how long has it been since you started to play?” he inquired, his eyes now focused on her hands gliding against the keys of the grand piano.
“All my life. Why, I have not a world without it,” she replied with the same passion burning in her eyes as it did each night she put fingers to the piano keys.
“Impressive – I must say, my father tried to persuade me to play as well but it did not catch my interest as much as it did yours,” the Duke replied.
“That does not surprise me,” she said, “My own nine brothers are testament to the fact that such a skill is not everyone’s cup of tea.”
The Duke’s eyes widened at little at this new piece of information, “That is quite a large family you have got there. Are you the only sister?” he asked.
“I am surprised you do not know that already,” she said in a rather snarky manner, “I was under the impression you had been seeking out information about me from your mutual friends.”
The Duke laughed at being called out on his act – indeed he had been seeking out bits of information he could gather about her, seeing as she had piqued his curiosity so. “Why must I seek secondary sources when you are present in front of me right now to give me a firsthand account?”
“Fair enough,” she said, “And I told you this already – I do not have any sisters - the last time we met.”
“Ah yes,” the Duke suddenly remembered their conversation from the carriage, “How could I have forgot! How is Jemma?”
Selina was getting a little irked with all his questioning and how it was interfering with her practice time. “She is well – though I am not sure why you are so concerned of her well-being given as though she is not even someone you have ever met,” she replied sharply.
“No need to be envious, my dear, I was only asking,” the Duke teased knowing fully well that this would ruffle up the already scattered feathers of Selina.
“Don’t you ever even imply that ever again,” she fumed, “I adore Jemma.”
“Well, then, I must say I would like to see her one day,” the Duke replied.
Selina’s patience was running a little dry now. “Can you tell me why you are badgering me with all these questions? Does this have to do with how I refused to dance with you? If I had known, I would have agreed – just to save me from all of this grief. How fickle and weak a man’s ego – once bruised, he will go to great lengths to repair it,” Selina finished her lengthy monologue with a dramatic sigh.
“Now that is where you are greatly mistaken, I am not inquiring about – as you say – repairing my wounded ego because there is simply no bruised ego. I am a man of a curious disposition and you seem to be the attention of it this week, nothing else,” he asserted firmly.
Selina had just opened her mouth to issue yet another witty remark but Joshua cut her off early, “And mind you, Miss, if I was pursuing you, you would already know. However, I am not and have no intention to do so whatsoever. So – please, keep that clear,” he said.
“Oh what is it? Do you hate all women or something of that sort?” she inquired with a half a raise of the eyebrow.
The Duke chuckled, “Hardly so. But I do choose not to involve myself in them so much anymore. You could say I have sworn off of them,” he explained.
“I am sure there is a backstory to that but I do not share your curiosity and would not like to hear it,” Selina replied, “but if it is any consolation, you should be thankful then that I, too, am not looking to be pursued so this works well.”
“That is quite rare, for a woman such as yourself – talent, beauty and age,” the words slipped out of the Duke’s mouth before he could even stop them; so he had just inadvertently complimented her.
Selina realized the compliment that came her way and was a little surprised to hear it but she quickly recomposed herself, “But it is the truth. In fact, I have very narrowly just escaped the clutches of marriage – no longer than a few months ago,” she admitted, her stomach twisting itself into a knot at the thought of marrying Vlad.
“Oh?” this had captured the curiosity of the Duke even more, “You were to be wedded off? Was it against your will?” he asked.
“Of course it was – my father wanted to marry me off to settle his debts with our neighbors. His name was Vlad – quite a detestable fellow, I might add,” she said with a disgusted look on her face.
“Vlad,” Joshua repeated the name, trying to picture the woman in front of him dressed in white and arms interlinked with another man. Somehow, he could not bring himself to imagine the scene. “Is that why you left your home?”
“I did not as much as leave as I was forced to go – your sources were wrong about that part. My father wants nothing to do with me,” a hint of emotion seeped into her words as she said them but she composed herself immediately.
The Duke’s eyes softened – “Well – you are getting to pursue your dreams – you would be surprised but that is still a privilege that few can afford. Besides, Aunt Lavender seems to love you. In fact, this family gathering is an astoundingly intimate affair and no one other than family is allowed to attend. You should be so lucky that you were considered,” he told her.
But even as he was trying to encourage her, it came off as slight condescending to Selina – who huffed and went straight back to practicing. “I only care about my work,” she said curtly.
“That, I can see,” he replied, now a sly smile dancing on the edge of his lips.
“Good – now if you can please – I need some time on my lonesome to practice,” she announced and the Duke knew it was best to leave the conversation at that.
--
Selina’s performance had been a success and the members of Miss Lavender’s family seemed to really enjoy every bit of it. After she had finished her set, she was ushered away by none other than Miss Lavender herself.
“Come, come,” she told her, “There is someone I must have you meet.”
She came face to face with an aged man with greying hair but apart from the hair, nothing in his appearance gave away his maturity as he still had that youthful glint in his eyes.
“Selina!” he greeted her as though he was already acquainted with her, something which she was sure Miss Lavender was behind.
“Selina, this is Thomas. I was just telling him how proud I am of you – such beautiful piano playing,” Miss Lavender gushed and it caused a pang to go through Selina.
Seeing Miss Lavender being so happy and excited reminded her of her own mother - who she had left far behind.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Thomas,” Selina said politely in return.
“Yes well, Thomas here is a great lover of music and the arts – and I must say he has great taste; second only to my own,” Miss Lavender added as light hearted banter, “and he thoroughly enjoyed himself, did you not?”
“I did,” Thomas reaffirmed, “In fact – I must say it was quite comparable to the performances of the top class acts I saw in London. And I would love to listen to you again, if given the chance.”
Selina’s jaw nearly dropped open – did this mean a new opportunity was opening up for her? The thought of it excited her to the bound where it knew no bounds – she grinned wildly. “I would most certainly love to do that,” she said happily.
“Splendid! We shall arrange the details of your visit then – I shall talk to Miss
Lavender,” Thomas said and then promptly excused himself to go talk to another person.
Miss Lavender looked back at Selina, “I must say – I have never married or had the desire to bear any children but for some reason, I look at you and see the daughter that I never had,” she declared.
Selina nearly choked up at the words, “My – Miss Lavender that truly means a great deal to me, believe me,” she told the woman.
“I am glad,” she replied, “Now start preparing! I shall accompany you in your visit to Thomas – oh he will help you reach the heights you truly deserve. Now if you excuse me, it seems that Aunt Martha seems to be wanting my company,” Miss Lavender said and promptly pranced out of site.
Selina was still lost in her perfect daydream when no one other than the Duke sneaked up behind her, “Hello, Selina,” he said to her now, coming into her view, “It seems that lately my own family seems to like you better than they ever have me,” he said with a lighthearted laugh.
“They have good choice, then,” Selina replied, even though she was also touched by their generosity towards her but she did not want Joshua to think of her as any less than him.
“I had a feeling you would reply with something of the sort,” he said, “What was it Uncle Thomas was saying to you, anyway?” he asked.
“Not that it is any of your concern but your uncle has invited me to visit him in the coming week or so,” Selina announced proudly and even Joshua seemed to look impressed.
“He is a tough man to please, for sure,” he laughed, “God knows he has never taken much of a liking to me.”
“You do have quite a large family,” Selina said, now changing the topic and looked around. “Are all of these people related to you?”
“Why yes of course,” he said at once, “Though I cannot say that I am too fond of most of them but Aunt Lavender makes sure that no one outside of family gets the chance to attend such a lavish affair – to keep up with the exclusivity of it all, you know?” he explained to her as though this was a common affair.
“I know but I can hardly relate so let us not delve into further details, please,” Selina told him in an effort to end the conversation.
“Why? I was under the impression the Nott family was quite wealthy on their own,” he told her, probingly.
“Only to keep up with appearances, Duke,” she replied with almost a bitter edge to her tone, “My brothers are no good and they do not help with the making of money, so much as they do with spending it. How can anyone expect my father to sustain his wealth in such a scenario?”
“I get the impression that you still love your father - given how you still talk so softly of him even though he did banish you from your own house,” the Duke was back to his investigative ways.
“You should get no other impression from me, for I most surely do love him dearly and unconditionally – he and my mother mean the world to me,” she said and the sadness had seeped into her voice yet again.
“You must miss them,” he remarked casually now.
“Of course.”
“You know maybe,” the Duke started to say, “Perhaps you can make a name for yourself and they might take you back then.”
The Duke did not know why he was helping her concoct ways to win her family back but he only knew that her case most fascinated him and he could not help himself from participating.
Selina’s teeth grazed down on her lower lip as she considered the possibility – what a dream come true that would be. The vision was a happy one and it only gave her the inspiration to work even harder towards her goals.
“Perhaps,” she replied, keeping it short and crisp.
She then cast another look at the Duke and perhaps for the first time since they had met, she did not look at him with a burning sense of annoyance sprouting from her insides.
“You are always asking all these questions and inquiries from me – it is only fair that I start returning the favor,” she said still looking at him.
He chuckled in response, “That is quite a dangerous proposition.”
“And why is that?” she replied, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion.
“Well for one, you absolutely cannot expect me to spill out my life story to just anyone,” he said, ‘and then there is the question of privacy – you will find that I am quite a well-behaved man for someone of my position. I do not have any scandals to date!” he announced, sounding rather proud of himself.
“You do not have any or are you just excellent at concealing them?” she fired back.
“You are quite skeptical for someone your age – which is, by the way? I never had the chance to ask,” he probed.
“Twenty one and you did not answer my question.”
“Oh – well – the answer to that is that my life is probably a healthy mixture of both,” he replied rather vaguely and passed her a devilish smirk.
“Right of course,” she said with a roll of the eye, “and what is this about you hating all women, then?”
“I do not hate you,” he laughed, “though I just might if you do not cease to ask all these pointless questions.”
“That is very well beside the point, Duke,” she pressed, wanting to uncover a bit of his history.
“Well – then, perhaps another time, my lady. I am sure I will be seeing much more of you, if Miss Lavender remains involved in your life,” he said.
Their conversation was suddenly interrupted when a woman in her forties suddenly came up and greeted the Duke.
“Aunt Martha!” he said to the woman enthusiastically.
“Joshua,” she nodded towards him, “and you, beautiful lady, are you his promised fiancé?” she turned, addressing Selina now.
Selina felt her cheeks burn scarlet and she looked to the Duke in panic. But it seemed that he looked equally embarrassed.
“Aunt Martha! Whatever gave you that dreadful idea?” he asked her.
“Well – I was noticing you two from afar and you seemed to be bickering like a husband and wife pair, I only assumed, of course,” the woman said with a laugh.
“Well, your assumption could not be further from the truth,” the Duke said, “We are more of an unlikely brother and sister pair! All platonic.”
And while the statement caused relief to flood down Selina’s system, she was not the only person who was in earshot as the Duke said the words. In the distant corner, a waiter heard the word “sister” coming out from the Duke’s mouth regarding Selina and he slipped away with an expression of triumph slapped across his face.
He knew that he would get his commission fully this evening.
--
Lucinda Byrne sat at the edge of the sofa, tapping her fingers away on the hardness of the wooden table in front of her.
“So – my little bird had quite a lot to say to me about today,” she started as she looked at her brother Oswald.
Oswald was in the midst of chomping down his cheese and grape combination and replied with his mouth still full of food, “What is it that you learnt, sister dear?”
“Not enough,” Lucinda Byrne sighed, “Curse these gatherings for being so exclusive. I nearly had to trade an arm and a leg to get a reliable inside source.”
“But was it worth it?”
Lucinda stared on ahead of her for a while, “Well – it seems that perhaps a new member of the Windham family is in town for a visit!” she said, bringing her hands together in front of her.
“That old man Thomas? What good do we have with him?” Oswald replied sounding appalled.
“Not him!” Lucinda reprimanded him almost immediately, “It seems that a certain sister is back in town,” she announced.
“A sister?” Oswald sounded confused.
“Ah – it has come to me as a shock as well, Brother but I feel we can use this information to our benefit,” Lucinda replied with an evil spark in her eye.
“You are the brains of this operation,” Oswald said briefly and then resumed eating.
Chapter 4<
br />
“So, you are going to go visit them all the way up in Berkshire?” Jemma said excitedly to Selina as she stood before her, pacing in her room.
Selina nodded, much to the sheer delight of Jemma, who seemed to bubble up and clap her hands excitedly at the notion. “Oh how exciting!” Jemma let out.
Selina nodded, “Yes – I am most excited as well,” she said biting down her lip, “This is quite the opportunity for me.”
A sigh then escaped Selina’s lips as a thought crossed her mind – she instantly thought of her parents and how proud they would have been to see her where she was today – had things been different and not have gone awry like they did.
“I wish Mother was here to see this at least,” Selina finally admitted the contents of her thoughts out loud - she did not feel uncomfortable being vulnerable around Jemma.
This was met by a pause from Jemma and then she promptly left the room without any notice. Selina stared back at the empty space she had left behind – a little flabbergasted as to why Jemma suddenly got up and left without an explanation provided.
But just before Selina had gotten up to go out and inquire for herself, Jemma had returned but this time she was clutching a thick brown envelope in her hands.
“What is that?” Selina asked, pointing towards it.
“This came in earlier for you today – and the excitement of your news made me completely forget to bring it to you,” Jemma explained and then bit down her lip, “It has come from your mother.”
Selina nearly sprang out of her seat and took the envelope out of Jemma’s hand when she heard her say this. Was it true? Had her mother really sent her a letter? Her heart swelled at the possibility.
Quickly, she tore through the wrapping and uncovered the dull piece of parchment that was covered in ink to read out the message her mother had sent her.
It started off with a warm greeting and asking Selina how she was doing. Her mother wrote that she missed her little girl quite terribly and the house was not the same without her. She wrote that she wished that Selina would reach all the success that she wanted and that she must remember that even though her father was cross with her at the moment that did not mean that he did not love her anymore. She had also written that she wished she could come down and visit Selina but that right now was not an ideal time. Furthermore, she had heard that Selina was doing well for herself with her performances.
Historical Hearts Romance Collection Page 3
