by Abby Ayles
Rodrick didn’t see how that could happen. Lady Noelle had always been kind and thoughtful to him. Even when she had attended Alphonse’s ball, she hadn’t been doing it to harm him.
The trouble was that he didn’t know how he was going to go about asking her to marry him. She’d only just left Wildhill and he didn’t think that her parents were going to say yes to another visit to his house so soon. It would be suspicious if she kept being sent back to his manor house, particularly when there was no occasion for it.
He knew that she would love to explore more of the land here. But he had a feeling that her mother would not understand that the way they did. Exploring tall, old trees was not an event that everyone would find enthralling.
But he just knew that Lady Noelle would love to learn more about every bit of his manor. And if she grew tired of looking around there, there was a vast history at Westwood that she had yet to hear about. The best one to tell her about the estate was, of course, the Earl of Montgomery.
Rodrick knew that his new invitation for her would only appeal to her, but he hoped that somehow her parents would consent and go along with it.
Sitting at his desk in his study, Rodrick got out some paper and quickly wrote a letter to the lady, thinking that if he was denied this visit, he was going to keep trying until her parents permitted her to go to Wildhill again.
Dear Lady Noelle,
I know that it has not been very long since you were last here with me at my manor house, but I have occasion to ask for you to return. I have much and more that I want to show you, both of my land and of the land of my cousin. There is so much rich history here in Hertfordshire and I know that you are interested in learning more about it.
I hope that this letter finds you well and that you have been feeling much better since last we spoke. I know that it is a tumultuous time right now and several changes have occurred in a brief period, but I know that you shall get through them. You are the most optimistic person I’ve ever met and your smile induces me to smile even now when I am only imagining it.
Please, I ask you, do not be alarmed but there is a question that I feel I must ask you. I hope that we may find a private moment so that we may discuss it. I am telling you this now so that you can be prepared and you won’t feel as though I’m surprising you too greatly.
I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Fondly,
Rodrick
He’d never signed a letter to a lady like that before, but this time he did not do it as an accident, nor did he wish to alter it. He folded up this letter and refolded it, handing it off to Smyth so that she might receive this letter as soon as possible.
Rodrick knew that his mother wanted him to be careful and think this business through, but in truth, he had been thinking about doing such a thing for some time. Ever since he’d met Lady Noelle, she had captivated his heart and soul. She was his closest female friend and someone with whom he wanted to spend the remainder of his days.
If that is not love, I don’t know what is.
Rather than sitting around hoping for the arrival of the lady, Rodrick walked up to Westwood so he could confer with James. He didn’t think that it would be much of a shock to James to learn that he intended to marry Lady Noelle. He hoped that he wasn’t overstepping, however, since he knew that James intended to propose to Miss Tate.
“How strange it is that we should have ladies at the same time, in much the same social circle,” he said to James with a mirthful smile. “Only it does seem as if there’s been some kind of error. You wish to be engaged to a commoner and I, an unfortunate commoner myself, wish to marry the daughter of a duke!”
James laughed and nodded his head good-naturedly. “Indeed, I have thought about this many times. I daresay that these titles aren’t always all that they’re cracked up to be, are they?”
Rodrick laughed along with him. He recalled how he used to tell all of his deepest, inner-most thoughts to Alphonse. He thought that his cousin made a far better listener and was better able to give him blunt advice.
“That is the very same conclusion that Lady Noelle and I came to,” he said with a smile at the memory of that moment. “The only people who really seem to care about such things are flirtatious youths and the elderly.”
Shaking his head, James laughed some more. “Upon my word, you have emerged from all of this absolutely wittier than ever!”
Rodrick shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know if I would say that I’m wittier, I’m just exhausted from trying to keep up with all of this nonsense. Did you know that at one point I tried to meet people in Hertfordshire?”
James raised his eyebrows at him. “Then you really would have found someone like Miss Tate. I have heard so much about her humble beginnings. It truly has made me love her even more.”
It was all well and good for Rodrick to talk about Lady Noelle and the upcoming visit, but he wished that the days would go by faster so that he could see her again. He’d never been in such want before, largely because she had attended so many of the same balls as he did. But ever since word got out about her sister marrying the duke, she didn’t go out as much.
I wonder what it is that she does for fun when she is indoors by herself. Surely, she must have some sort of hobby. Perhaps she knits like my mother does.
He thought right away that this couldn’t be it. Too many ladies knitted and sewed. Lady Noelle was far too unique to do something like that in her leisure time.
One of these days, I hope that I find out, he thought. If we ever live in Wildhill together, I hope that she will entertain her hobby in my presence as my mother does.
The anticipation was nearly about to kill him when one morning, just after breakfast, Rodrick heard the sounds of hooves at the front of his house. He rushed to the large window in the drawing room and saw a familiar-looking coach. Rodrick grinned from ear to ear and readied himself to greet her.
He wasn’t going to leave her sitting there and waiting this time. This time, he wasn’t even going to let his butler do the job for him. He stood there in wait at the door, looking forward to her knock most excitedly.
The duke and duchess have let her come, he thought triumphantly. Either they do not actually dislike me or Lady Noelle somehow prevailed upon them to allow her visit.
Chapter 39
Noelle knocked upon the front door and was amazed to find that it was opened by Mr. Edwards himself. She immediately smiled when she saw him standing there at the door. He even took her valise for her and brought it inside for the butler to carry upstairs to her guest room.
“Hello again, sir,” she greeted him in a friendly voice, wishing that she could hug him but gladly settling for a bow again. He looked just as handsome and full of joviality as he’d been when last they met, and perhaps even more so.
“Greetings, Lady Noelle,” he said to her before bowing to her. He still referred to her by her titled name, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that told her that he was basically having fun with it at this point. “I hope that you traveled comfortably.”
She nodded. “Oh yes, I’ve gotten quite used to long carriage rides. My father thought that we should have a house in the city because that is where all of the people are, only now we’ve discovered that just about everyone really lives in the country!”
They chuckled together about that and then all of a sudden Noelle realized that there was no sign of Mr. Edwards’s mother. She was normally right there on the couch as soon as she came in for a visit. “What’s happened to your mother?” she asked him curiously.
“Hmm?” Mr. Edwards asked her. “Oh, she’s quite well. She’s just intently focused on her knitting upstairs right now.”
Noelle furrowed her brows a little bit at him. This sounded an awful lot like it was just a made-up excuse for them to be alone together. “I do believe that you’ve been planning something,” she said, vaguely suspicious.
“Oh no,” Mr. Edwards said, shrugging his shoulders at her. She felt
as though he was putting on airs for some reason, and she didn’t exactly like it. The way that he was acting made her feel nervous.
“What is the occasion for this visit, sir?” she asked him then. She didn’t wish to be rude, but she felt as though she had come all the way from London just so Mr. Edwards could look at her.
He looked down at his hands. “Would it be permissible if I told you that the occasion is really that I wished to see you again and I got too impatient waiting for someone else to host a ball? I know that this doesn’t really count as a ball, but it certainly counts as another chance to be with you.”
Noelle looked at him skeptically. He really was acting so odd. She didn’t know why, but he seemed quite nervous.
Has he heard some gossip about me that he wishes that I’d disprove? she wondered. I didn’t think that anyone told gossip about me anymore. She surprised herself by only feeling a little sad about that.
She didn’t really need gossip to know what people thought about her sometimes. And sometimes she really wished that they wouldn’t.
Mr. Edwards cleared his throat as he gazed at her. She could tell that there was a lot on his mind, but she wished that she could know what it all was. “I know that your parents don’t think much of me,” he began.
“It is true that I do not have much in my name. I don’t have a title. However, I do think that my status as a right-hand man for James and my uncle all of these years means that I and my future wife shall never want for much.”
Noelle stared at him, wondering where this speech was coming from. It made sense to her that he would never be in want of anything, because the Earl of Montgomery would always be his closest family. But what did this have to do with her?
Then she remembered that he’d said the words future wife. She blanched as she blinked at him. She didn’t know how she was supposed to feel about that, what she was supposed to say, because a lady like her was never supposed to marry a man like him!
“I think that it is indeed a credit to you that you have the earl and the viscount as members of your family,” she said to him a bit warily. “One is never in want of much when one has supportive family…”
He was looking at her so sweetly, still smiling that handsome and perfectly white smile of his. “I would never be in want of anything if I could have you as my wife,” he said to her then.
Noelle gasped a little, her breath coming in rapidly as she gazed back at him, unable to believe that he had actually said those words. She didn’t know at all what she was supposed to say now. She’d never received a proposal, but she knew that she must exercise decorum and decency.
She had been grappling with duty over devotion for so long in the case of Mr. Edwards – she knew that she had feelings for him and she wished that she could make those feelings known, but she didn’t think there was any hope of her family ever approving.
“Surely you would be in want of some kinder words from my mother,” Noelle replied with a slight smile. She was teasing, but only a little. They both knew that it was true that her mother would never let them hear the end of it if this was truly brought before her and the duke.
His green eyes sparkled as he looked at her and his smile grew a few inches wider. “I am not afraid of her,” he said. And she fully believed him.
Noelle realized that she still had not answered his question and he was waiting to hear an answer. It would be rude of her to stall any longer, even if she felt that she needed to. “Nothing would please me more than to be your wife,” she said to him, batting her long lashes.
“It will not be easy, for reasons that you already know, but I think that there truly is no one better suited to me, not in the entire world!”
She reached over and took his hand again, this time not expecting it to be kissed. All she wanted was to touch him, hold him, feel him there with her. They were breaking so many rules of the ton, so she wanted to at least be proper when it came to touching him.
For now.
Mr. Edwards beamed at her. She could tell that he was touched because his eyes had grown in size as well. “I have learned by now that nothing is ever easy, but you get by as best as you can; I am sure that we will get by more than fine.”
Noelle couldn’t help herself now. She threw her arms around his neck and they hugged each other. It was a short, loose hug but it felt wonderful and electric to her.
“I will go and fetch my mother,” he said to her then, “and inform her of this happy news. She will be thrilled!”
He left the drawing room and went up the stairs to find his mother. Meanwhile, Noelle sat back down on the couch, smiling and overcome with emotion. There had been seemingly no occasion for this visit to Wildhill except that, of course, there really had been… a secret occasion.
She knew already that this news was going to be greeted with consternation and annoyance by her mother. She could only hope that her father, as understanding as he had truly always been towards Noelle, would approve this union in spite of his wife’s protests.
Now I suppose I shall have something else in common with Lord Edwards besides noble birth, she thought with a little laugh. The difference, of course, was that he got to keep his title whereas she would be giving hers up. She did believe that bothered her mother more than anyone else.
Before long, Mr. Edwards returned with his mother on his arm. As soon as they were in the sitting room, his mother let go of his arm and rushed over to her, sweeping Noelle up in a familial-type hug. Noelle could have cried; she was so overjoyed to be welcomed into this sweet little family.
“I am so happy for you both!” Eleanor Edwards said to her. Her eyes were full of glad, thrilled tears. “We must go and let James and Alexander know this news, but first you should settle in.”
Noelle smiled at her and Mr. Edwards. She should make herself at home because before too long this beautiful little cottage was going to be her home! She went upstairs to the guest room as suggested and she sat on her bed, much too excited to actually nap but grateful for this respite nonetheless.
She took this bit of free time to send a quick letter to Lydia. She wished that she could inform Emily ahead of time but knew that this would be bad form. Everyone in my family should hear this news directly from me in person.
So instead she wrote to her best friend, someone she trusted to keep her little secret until the time was right to celebrate. She hoped that this news would someday be celebrated, even if not by her mother…
My dearest Lydia,
Such wonderful news! Mr. Edwards has invited me to stay at Wildhill and he has just asked me to marry him. I knew that I should receive nothing but scorn from my mother and several members of society, but indeed I have agreed to it!
Now I must depend upon the love and kindness of my father. If he wishes to see me happy, as he always claims to, then he shall override my mother’s ridiculous stipulations and allow us to marry. If he does not, I don’t know what I shall do.
I hope that you and your husband are well. As soon as we return from Hertfordshire together and have had a chance to speak with my family, I would so love to pay you and Lord Andrews a visit.
All my affection and best wishes,
Noelle
When she left the bedchamber a little while later, she handed off this letter to a passing servant, knowing that Lydia would receive her news well within the day. She was excited to know what her friend thought of it, coming as Lydia did from a similar position as Mr. Edwards.
Noelle recalled how her mother had reacted when Lydia married Lord Andrews. There had been no such outcry about ‘commoners’ when it came to them. She was sure that she didn’t know how one couple was different from others.
She wondered if it had something to do with the fact that Lord Andrews was a dear old friend of the family, as well as Lydia, whereas her mother didn’t properly know Lord Edwards or Mr. Edwards. Still, this double standard did not sit well with her. All it did was serve to reinforce her belief that such things reall
y did not matter.
Titles are made up by people in order to give an appearance of importance, Noelle thought. But what is truly important is what is inside a person’s heart. She wished that her mother could grow and come to understand that Mr. Edwards had the kindest and purest heart.
If the duchess could but see that they belonged together… Noelle was determined to marry Mr. Edwards, approval or no approval, but she knew that the man was much too proper to allow that. After everything that he had been through and put up with from her family and the ton in general, Mr. Edwards would still be true to everyone’s wishes.
This proved that he was the best man for Noelle’s hand!
Chapter 40
After only another short stay at Wildhill, it was time for Lady Noelle to return home. This time, though, to Rodrick’s delight, he would be traveling along with her. He would ride in a separate coach, but just knowing that they were going to be arriving at the same place filled him with anticipation and hopefulness.
