by Abby Ayles
She left him sitting there in the drawing room.
After a few more minutes, the Duke of Salisbury appeared. He seemed just as somber as Lady Noelle was, and he looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks even though it had only been a day since Lady Catherine’s flight had taken place.
He sat down in the wing chair that Lady Noelle had just vacated. “Good evening, Mr. Edwards,” he said. “I daresay that I wish we could be meeting again under much more pleasant circumstances.”
Rodrick, of course, had risen up from his chair at the sight of the duke in the room and he slowly eased himself back into his chair once the gentleman had sat across from him. “Good evening, your Grace. Indeed, this is most troubling news for all of us.”
The two gentlemen sat together and discussed what each of them had made from the hurried departure of Lady Catherine into the abyss. Rodrick explained that he believed Lord Drake to have taken her to be married away from parental authority. The duke expressed his hopeful agreement with this.
“It seems to me that Lord Drake was tired of waiting for approval that he certainly would not have received. The man was supposed to wed my eldest daughter, you understand. Catherine is not much more than a child still.”
Rodrick nodded. She certainly acts it much of the time. “Yes, your Grace.”
“We must be relieved that Fairfax is not an imbecile. He’s an honorable gentleman, even if he has made a grievous, very grievous mistake indeed. I have no doubt that he has run off to marry my daughter and they shall reappear soon.”
He sighed a little then. “Of course, such thoughts do little to calm the hearts and nerves of our families. Please do let your cousin Lord Edwards know that this was never our intention. Would that I had a better child to give him as a wife!”
Rodrick nodded again. He could think of one daughter of his who would make an excellent wife, but he would never suggest it. Besides, a duke wasn’t going to be willing to give his daughter away to an earl. Even a well-liked one.
As ever, he thought of Jamie before he thought of himself.
Chapter 29
Noelle was terribly distraught when she realized both the reality and the severity of what she’d witnessed down below her window. Her little sister Kitty had run off with a man. It didn’t matter which man it was, really; she was ruined and her family was going to be tarnished because of her.
It would have been bad enough had it been any other gentleman, too, but the fact that her shadowy accomplice had been Lord Drake made Noelle even more despondent. He was supposed to marry Noelle, or not and move along… He was never supposed to go after Noelle’s younger sister.
And poor, sweet Lord Edwards. I was only just telling her that she must remain true to him. I never could have imagined…
Oh, but perhaps this wasn’t planned. Perhaps he came to her and invited her to go with him. Kitty did always lose her head whenever she was invited to something personally.
Noelle had spent the entirety of the following day with her family, pacing about the sitting room and trying to think of how all of this had happened. While she thought of that dreadful, lecherous man, her mother greeted her with scorn for not being better at securing him herself. “If you had done what you were willed, this would not have happened.”
A fine time to begin blaming me! Noelle cried hot tears as she walked around the room. She could feel Emily, Anna, and Beth’s eyes on her.
“It’s not my fault and you know it.”
Still, Noelle couldn’t help but think that if she had somehow been more like Kitty had been with the gentleman, he would’ve taken an interest in her. She just didn’t think she could’ve ever stomached being a simpering fool like her sister had always been when they were around him. Also, it seemed as though Lord Drake had made up his mind about her before he’d even met her.
Noelle spent much of the day fretting over things she couldn’t change. She worried about her sister and she had a growing fear that everyone now hated her. Mother blames me, Lord Edwards likely hates our entire family… the same goes for Mr. Edwards.
She never doubted that Mr. Edwards would stand on the side of the Viscount of Easton. They were, after all, as close as brothers. Even though he was friends with Lord Drake – despised, abhorrent man! – he was far closer to his cousin.
Indeed, she wished that she could speak to Mr. Edwards now. And then she had a horrible thought. Mr. Edwards probably never wanted to see her again.
After the family meeting in the sitting room, Noelle retired to her bedroom. She wanted to be left alone, but she wished that she didn’t have to feel so lonely whilst being so. She stayed upstairs in her room for about an hour, trying and continually failing to work on some sketches.
Her creativity was sapped by her sorrow and her worry. Noelle left her drawing board in her room and went back downstairs to see if she could find her parents. When she found them, they were deep in conversation in her father’s study and she was too nervous to disturb them.
The only information that she could catch from their conversation was that her father was thinking of arranging a search party with some friends around town. Noelle didn’t think that this was a bad idea, though she thought it was highly unlikely that the marquess would be careless enough to hide somewhere nearby everyone they knew.
When she walked into the drawing room, her jaw nearly fell to the floor. There was Mr. Edwards, sitting in one of the wing chairs with a weary and sorrowful look on his face to match her own. He immediately stood up from his chair as soon as he saw her standing there.
She wished that she could go to him and throw her arms around him. He seemed just as overwhelmed with emotions as she felt. And she also noted that there was a change in him.
He had a strange look in his dark green eyes. He did not seem entirely pleased to see her, and this just about broke her heart. She left him there as soon as she could gracefully do so.
She went to her parents and gently interrupted their discussion so she could inform her father that they had a visitor. “Mr. Edwards is here and wishes to speak with you, Papa.”
Her father left the room in a hurry so as to not keep Mr. Edwards waiting. Meanwhile, Noelle tried to think of what she might be able to do to help her family. This scandal was rocking them at the moment and she wished like anything that things could return to normal.
She decided that the best thing to do was to go spend time at Lydia’s estate. The new Lady Andrews would welcome her with open arms, she was sure. If there was anyone alive who could understand her feelings and her plight, it was her best friend.
Noelle somehow managed to sleep that night. It felt a bit queer to be sleeping upstairs while Mr. Edwards was still downstairs speaking with her father, but she didn’t think she was expected to wait up. She wondered what the gentleman proposed to do in order to help.
In the morning, she had Edith help her into a pretty day dress as quickly as possible, and then she went out to hail a hackney carriage. She rode to the Viscount of Kent’s estate and was shown in at once.
Lydia greeted her with a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you,” she said with a small, sympathetic smile.
The two ladies sat down together in Lady Andrews’ drawing room. The estate house was lovely and modest, much like the happy couple. Noelle smiled appreciatively, recognizing how well everything in Lydia’s life had fit together.
“I knew that I just had to come to you,” Noelle said, feeling ridiculous for needing the comfort of her friend. It was embarrassing; the whole situation with Lord Drake was embarrassing. “I don’t seem to have any friends at home anymore.”
Lydia’s little smile turned into a slight frown. She looked at Noelle with large, sad eyes. “I’m sure that’s not true.”
Noelle nodded her head earnestly. “Oh yes, it is,” she said. “My mother blames me for my sister and my father is so disappointed, and now Mr. Edwards thinks that I’ve helped his poor dear cousin be wronged.”
“Has anyone actuall
y blamed you?” Lydia asked her. “Or are you just assuming that’s how people think?”
Looking down at her hands in her lap, Noelle sighed a little. “No, it’s just what I think they think of me,” she confessed. But she knew her mother well enough to at least know what she thought of her.
And she’d actually yelled at Noelle about it.
She’d assumed her father’s disappointment, though. “I think I might just be disappointed in myself. My father is more concerned with where Kitty is than what I may or may not have done wrong.”
Lydia continued to look at her sympathetically. “It makes sense that they would be worried for her, the poor dear. Do you suppose that she has gone off to Scotland with Lord Drake?”
“Of course, we can’t be sure, but that seems most likely to be the case.” Noelle wished that Catherine had at least given her some kind of warning before leaving. As angry as she felt towards Kitty, she hoped that she would see her again so that she could get some answers.
Lydia looked thoughtful. “Well, I guess that we should be grateful that Lord Drake ran off with her to get married and not to go explore Europe or something.”
Noelle’s eyes widened a little. “Goodness! I really hope that that is not the case… though she could use the education that would provide her.”
Two of Lydia’s servants came to them and placed some coffee and cakes onto the coffee-colored wooden table in front of her and Noelle. They both smiled at the servants and Noelle found herself completely taken aback once more by the fact that Lydia was now a titled member of London’s aristocracy.
“Do you feel any different?” she asked her. She simply had to know, though she didn’t wish to pry and be rude.
Lydia took a sip of coffee and smiled shyly at her. “What? Being married, or being a Viscountess after being Miss for so much of my life?”
Noelle giggled a little, helping herself to a bit of cake. “Both, actually. What’s it like to be married to a viscount, Lady Lydia?”
It amused her so. Now they both got that title, though Lydia’s status was somewhat lower than Noelle’s. Not that such a thing mattered or would ever matter to either of them.
Lydia thought about her question for a few moments, which gave Noelle some time to enjoy her piece of cake.
“I honestly think that being married to dear Stephen has been more of a change for me, and a good one at that.” It felt odd to Noelle to hear Lord Andrews referred to by his first name, though she supposed it made sense for his new wife to call him by this name. It showed an intimacy that Noelle often wondered if she would ever properly find with a gentleman of her own.
“Do you feel like you are a viscountess?” Noelle asked her.
Lydia shrugged, smiling at her still. Noelle noticed that the glow she’d had on her wedding day still remained. “I think it’s a title that essentially means I’m the Viscount of Kent’s wife, doesn’t it?”
That was a good point. Ladies never got titled on their own, unless one was lucky enough to be the King’s only daughter or something like that. Noelle would never be able to be the duke, and that meant that she’d only ever be a duchess someday. Like her mother.
Except that I doubt very much that I shall ever really be like my mother.
Noelle left her friend’s home not long after. “I’m coming to London tomorrow with Lord Andrews and I would love to see you. There is going to be a ball at Lord Prescott’s home.”
This was the first that Noelle had heard of this, and she didn’t have to wonder long as to why. She supposed that her mother had been far too agitated by the recent events to inform her of it. “I would love to attend with you, thank you.”
The two friends smiled and gave each other a parting hug until the morrow.
As Noelle rode the carriage back home to Grosvenor Square, she wondered what her mother would say about their not being invited to the Prescott ball. But at least I have been invited. I do think that it’s about time I was seen around town without having the thought of having to marry that dreadful Lord Drake looming over me.
It pained her to think it, but in ruining herself Kitty had paved the way for Noelle to find happiness for herself somewhere. There were enough handsome and nice gentlemen in town. She was confident that she would find a good one for herself soon.
She wished that her parents would allow her to marry Mr. Edwards, but she thought the chances of that were nonexistent.
Chapter 30
No matter what Rodrick said, James was still inconsolable. Eleanor watched as Rodrick went to Westwood to be with him, knowing that he needed company now more than ever. The old earl wasn’t going to be much in the way of company to him right now.
“I know that I should’ve done more,” James said to Rodrick, currently the saddest person to ever drink brandy. “I should’ve made my feelings known to her parents. I should’ve proposed marriage the first moment that the idea came to me.”
Rodrick shook his head. “You didn’t know that something like this would happen. It’s not your fault. I should’ve warned you when I first suspected that Alphonse was misbehaving.”
“You know, I thought it was a bit odd that he kept being so interested in spending time with me. It was only because the ladies were with us, wasn’t it?” James laughed softly and ruefully, shaking his head.
It was easy for them to sit there and blame themselves, but the real man to blame was Lord Drake. Rodrick never knew that the man could be so shameless and brazen with his desires. Alphonse clearly didn’t care about anyone but himself.
“Let’s not sit at home feeling sorry for ourselves,” Rodrick said. “We ought to go out on the town and see what sort of enjoyment we can find.”
At first, James seemed disinterested, but then after some thought, he nodded his head. “Perhaps we should go to Lord Prescott’s ball,” he suggested. “It’s not exactly an escape from the ennui of the ton, but it would be better than sitting in and staring at your face all night.”
He smiled a small, amused smile at Rodrick.
Laughing, Rodrick clapped him on the back. “Sounds like a plan to me,” he replied.
There were a few hours before the ball was supposed to start, which was good for Rodrick because it would give him the necessary time to get ready for it. He was grateful to James for reminding him of the ball because he had quite forgotten about it. He knew that he’d casually sworn off going to such engagements, but that had been before this terrible ordeal. Besides, his cousin needed his companionship now more than ever.
“I’ll go change,” his mother said to him excitedly when he informed her that they would be attending after all. “This is exactly the kind of thing that James needs right now!”
Rodrick was pleased to see how confident she was. He wasn’t so sure if spending time in society would make James feel completely calm and better, but it was far better for him to show his face than it was for him to just hide away at home for the rest of his life.
He made a good point, too, Rodrick thought. He never actually proposed to the chit, so it was possible that not that many people knew that they were once… Yes, we’re probably safe from any judgment or skepticism.
He changed into a fresh suit that was suitable for an evening ball. Initially, he hadn’t thought of bringing his mother along again but her excitement convinced him that he shouldn’t leave her out. She did enjoy going to balls with him and James, even if she ended up having to catch up on sleep for the next day and a half sometimes.
As soon as his mother was ready, she and Rodrick got into a hired coach and rode it over to Westwood so they could collect James. His father, as usual, elected to stay home with his dogs and his hobbies. He wasn’t a social person; it was good that James went out and met people, even though he was shy.
He will be a good earl someday. He’s personable, even if not the most talkative. He’s a good listener.
The two-hour ride to London was mostly spent by them looking out of the windows and daydreaming about w
ho they might see at the ball. It had been quite a while since the last time they’d spent time outside of the Fletchers’ circle.
When they arrived at the city mansion where the ball was held, Rodrick got out of the coach and assisted his mother down from it. They walked inside the splendidly decorated house and admired the glinting gold that surrounded them. None of them knew what the ball was actually for but they were not going to question a party.
Rodrick smiled at everyone that he saw in the ballroom. There were quite a few elegantly dressed young ladies that he thought about venturing to ask for a dance, but then he reminded himself that he was primarily there to support his cousin. James smiled a little when he saw everyone gathered as well, but he seemed reticent to actually go up and talk to anyone.
