by Abby Ayles
He hadn’t been to the family’s townhouse in quite some time. He felt all the more special to have been invited there by Lady Noelle. She clearly wishes for me to speak to her parents right away.
It did make sense for him to go at once and ask for her hand before too much further time had passed. Indeed, Rodrick very much wanted to marry her as soon as possible. They had spent practically all of the Season that year with a keen interest in each other.
At the end of two hours, their coaches stopped outside of the Salisbury townhouse at Grosvenor Square. Rodrick took a deep breath before stepping out of his coach. He had not packed for a prolonged stay; he didn’t think that was necessary.
They will either say ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ and then I shall be on my way. There’s no use in trying to stay around here and get in their way.
He had a feeling that his appearance there alone would upset the duchess.
Walking towards Lady Noelle, he took hold of her valise so that her coach driver could be on his way. Then he held the door open for her, which shocked the waiting butler to no end. The staff there was going to have quite a lot to get used to when it came to him and how he did things.
Rodrick handed off the lady’s valise to the butler, trusting that this man would be able to take care of her things better than he could just then. He didn’t even know where her bedchamber was, let alone where her discarded clothing should be placed.
Meanwhile, Lady Noelle had rushed off in search of her parents. Rodrick went into their sitting room and sat on the edge of one of their chairs, holding the hat that he’d worn on his travels in his hands and passing it from one hand to the other in his nervousness.
He didn’t know what he had been expecting, but he was surprised to find that he was waiting alone in a room now. He hoped that her entire family wouldn’t come in to interrogate him. He wasn’t prepared for that.
Right as he was telling himself not to panic, a butler came into the room. “His Grace, the Duke of Salisbury,” he announced.
Rodrick sat up straight in his chair before standing as soon as the duke came into the room.
“Yes, yes, that’ll do, Geoffrey,” he mumbled as he walked into the room towards Rodrick. Then he reached out a hand for the young man who stood in front of him.
Bowing low, Rodrick took the offered hand and they shook. The older gentleman had lines on his face but his blue eyes were still bright and alert. He really did seem like a genial sort of gentleman, as Rodrick had always heard that he was.
It pleased him to see that the duchess was not joining them in the room for this discussion. He had a feeling that Noelle was somewhere upstairs getting an earful from her mother on his behalf, and that did not make him particularly proud.
“It is so good to see you again, Edwards,” Lady Noelle’s father said to him. As soon as he sat in the chair opposite, Rodrick knew that he could sit and he swiftly did so, still perching on the edge of his seat in case someone else of importance should enter the room. “My daughter Noelle informs me that you have something you wish to speak with me about.”
He did not say this as a question but still, Rodrick felt as though he needed to answer him. “Yes, your Grace,” he replied. “I know that I have come from relatively nothing and I have no land or titles to my name, but as the loyal nephew of the Earl of Montgomery, I believe that I should be able to live a life without want…
I have asked Lady Noelle for her hand in marriage and by the good grace of God, she has accepted. As this matter is not up to us alone to decide, I, therefore, knew that I must come in haste upon her return here so that I may ask you for her hand. Your Grace, may I be so fortunate to call your beautiful and devoted daughter Lady Noelle Fletcher my wife?”
The duke looked at him thoughtfully and for a few rather uncomfortable moments, Rodrick wasn’t at all sure what he might say. “This is indeed a matter that my wife and I have discussed at great length,” he said to him. “It has been no surprise to us, over these many months now, that our daughter is most infatuated with you.”
Rodrick looked at him in surprise, his eyes growing rather wide in his disbelief. They’ve been talking about us for months? But wasn’t she meant to wed Alphonse?
He supposed that just because they were aware of Lady Noelle’s so-called infatuation didn’t mean that they planned to let her abandon her prior engagement, such that it was. They likely hoped that she would get over the infatuation instead. Rodrick, for his part, had been unaware of the lady’s feelings for much of this time, believing instead that she viewed him as a dear friend only.
“I see,” he said at last, afraid to look the duke in the eyes. “I sincerely wish for you to know, in that case, upon my honor, that I did not know of any of that. I can only attest to my own feelings.”
The duke raised a hand to quiet Rodrick. “That’s quite all right, my boy.” He smiled now and Rodrick suddenly had a sense that this discussion could very well turn out in his favor.
“Although my wife does not agree with this, it is ultimately my decision to make – along with Noelle’s – and I believe that only good could come from a union between you two,” Salisbury concluded with a smile. “Though she may lose her title here, I expect that she shall remain no less than a lady to you.”
Rodrick was so elated that he felt as though he might fly straight out of his chair and into the sky. He only wished that Noelle was there with them so she could take part in this happy celebration. “She shall be no less than a goddess to me, your Grace,” he vowed.
The duke nodded his head. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear, my boy.” He had such an amiable, fatherly way about him that Rodrick already could tell that he would be a wonderful man to call his father-in-law.
The two men stood back up from their chairs and shook hands, smiling. Rodrick thought that it was a bit strange to speak and act in this manner as if Noelle was a piece of land instead of a human, but he was not going to fight every last bit of London propriety.
Soon after, the duke took his leave and Rodrick was left there in the sitting room again, only to be joined a few moments later by Noelle and her mother the duchess.
Noelle came right over to him and took his hand, smiling so happily. She’d clearly been given the news by her father that he had consented to this marriage. The duchess, unsurprisingly, did not seem anywhere near as pleased.
When Rodrick looked at the woman, he could see that her mouth was in a thin line. She looked at him with searching eyes, as if she was looking for some sign on him that he could be worth more than he’d once appeared to her.
“Oh, Rodrick, isn’t it wonderful?” Noelle asked him, giddy with the day’s news. He gazed over at her and wished that he could kiss her. Such an action must wait until they were wed, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t imagine doing so now, in front of her mother!
“Upon my word, I could hardly believe your father at first when he consented,” he said instead to Noelle, smiling lovingly at her. “He said, too, that he has known of your love for me for some time.”
Noelle looked down at the rug on the floor and blushed a lovely shade of pink. He wondered if he should have mentioned it, only he thought that it was incredibly sweet when he heard about it. It had never happened to him before, of course – a lady like her being infatuated with him while he felt the same way about her.
“I did try to not be too obvious about the way that I felt,” she said. “I never came forward and told my parents that I wished to break the time-honored traditions and marry you instead of the Duke of Cumberland.”
“I should say not,” the duchess suddenly piped up. “If you had, your father and I would have been quite cross with you. But… after the actions of the Duke of Cumberland and your sister, it seems that we are not quite on the same footing that we once were.”
Rodrick could hardly believe what he was hearing from Noelle’s mother. It was evident that she remained aloof about him, yet she was coming around to the idea of her daught
er marrying him anyway. He didn’t know what had changed her mind about him, but he was ecstatic to see this slight but promising transformation of her attitude.
Though this admittance that she and the duke could no longer expect Noelle to marry Alphonse was not quite an acceptance of Rodrick as the right man for her. “I have heard on more than one occasion that ‘the heart wants what it wants,’” the duchess went on. “If this is indeed the case and you two really do love each other… I won’t try to stand in your way.
“I don’t wish for any of our girls to be unhappy, either in their lives or in their marriages,” she concluded. “I see now that Noelle will be very happy with you, regardless of what I say about this.” At this, she gave a small but amused smile.
Noelle let out a little squeak in her emotion at her mother’s acceptance. Rodrick knew that this was something she had never expected. She’d been fully prepared to run off with him if her parents refused, and he was quite grateful that it did not have to come to that.
She went to her mother and gave her a big hug, and then Rodrick took the duchess’s hand and gave it a grateful kiss. “I thank you, your Grace. This means the world to me – to us.”
The duchess nodded. “Yes, I know it does. Please do not forget this kindness in the future when I may be bothersome at times.” She gave a little wink.
He looked from her to Noelle and he could see that his beloved fiancée was blushing anew. He didn’t know what mortified her more – the knowledge that Rodrick knew about her feelings regarding her mother already or the knowledge now that she hadn’t been as secretive about those feelings as she’d thought.
Rodrick did his best to just laugh a little and nod his head as though he was playing along with a joke the duchess had just told. “I won’t forget,” he said to her. He didn’t believe that she’d ever let him.
The duchess soon left them and then they were alone for a brief time, just Rodrick and Noelle, smiling as they gazed into each other’s eyes.
Chapter 41
Word passed quickly throughout the ton – as it often did – that Mr. Rodrick Edwards was engaged to marry Lady Noelle Fletcher. The response surprised everyone involved when it proved mostly to be positive. Though Rodrick did not have a noble birth, he was known to be an honorable gentleman of good lineage and status otherwise.
His father had been a man of great renown and many friends throughout England. Everyone who knew him came forward if they could in order to vouch for this man’s character and proclaim that his son was surely likewise a good man. Noelle was impressed and pleased by this but no one was more so taken aback and astonished than the Duchess of Salisbury.
Not a week had gone by before they received a letter from the Duke of Cumberland requesting a visit. “I should like to have you all over to my home in Stone Hill at your earliest convenience,” he wrote. “Her Grace and I are quite eager to see dear Rodrick and her sweet sister Noelle again.”
Noelle was surprised to hear such words from the Duke of Cumberland – Alphonse. It felt unusual to her to ever refer to him as that new name. Now that he was her brother-in-law and her fiancé’s close friend, she supposed she was allowed this bit of familiarity. Especially since he’d referred to her in such a way…
There was no figuring out the man, though. He had been surprisingly stern in such matters before, Rodrick told her. “Out of nowhere, he objected to my calling him Alfie, even though it is the name I have called him since we were boys in school.”
They agreed that he was a rather odd man, but that it didn’t necessarily mean that he was a bad man. “We should go see him,” Noelle said to her parents. “It has been a while and the last time was not the best circumstances for either party.”
Her parents didn’t argue with her and the family made plans to go spend a few nights in Haverhill at Alphonse’s castle. Noelle wasn’t looking forward to being there again, but at least this time Rodrick would be there right by her side. That was a comforting thought.
I need never feel alone again now that I have him, she thought. It still felt as though she might wake up from this wonderful dream at any moment.
“Isn’t his house very beautiful?” Emily asked her excitedly in the coach on their way. “I wish that I could live in a beautiful old castle like that, don’t you?”
Noelle didn’t quite know how to answer that question, considering how uncomfortable the place had made her in the past. “It is very old and large,” she said bluntly. “I suppose that you would find it beautiful, you lover of gothic fiction, you.”
She smiled affectionately at her little sister. She wondered what sort of men her mother would be throwing at Emily now that she would be married. She hoped Emily could find someone suitable for herself like she and Catherine had.
One positive thing in all the calamity that had occurred in their lives this Season was that the two sisters had been able to marry whomever they chose. Noelle never could have imagined, when they went back to their townhouse at the beginning of the London Season this year, that her parents would have given them so much freedom in the end.
As soon as their coach arrived at Stone Hill Manor, Alphonse greeted the entire family – including Rodrick – with his usual enthusiasm and friendliness. He spoke a mile a minute about how marvelous it was to be with them all again and ‘oh won’t you please consider having the wedding here in our home?’ and ‘my, I can’t recall the last time I saw Rodrick here look so happy.’ Noelle got rather caught up in the whirlwind that was the Duke of Cumberland, but at least he was being kind to her and giving her the attention that he never seemed to want to extend to her.
Perhaps now that he’s married to Catherine, he has realized that she is not all that interesting, Noelle thought, trying to keep her giggles to herself.
“Thank you, Lord Drake, but I think that we have our sights set on Westwood for the wedding,” her father told him politely. “But it is indeed good of you to offer, sir.”
“Where is Catherine?” Noelle asked him. “I feel that it has been an age since last I saw her.”
In reality, their ball had only been a few weeks prior, but that was a rather long time for two sisters who had been so close when they were growing up together. She used to hear everything from Catherine first before her little sister did anything. Now she never knew what she was up to and it made her miss her all the more.
Alphonse got a strange look on his face that she couldn’t quite figure out. “Oh, she is upstairs in bed. The doctor was here a few days ago and he recommended that she stay in bed until she feels better.”
Noelle frowned. “Oh no! Whatever is the matter with her?”
“The doctor assured us that it is nothing serious,” Alphonse said reassuringly. “She has caught some sort of illness of the stomach but she will be all right with rest. Anyway, she will likely want to come out of bed now that you are here to spend time with her.”
An illness of the stomach, Noelle repeated in her mind. She wondered if what was really going on was that Catherine – dear Kitty – was going to have a baby.
The family went up the stairs and each of them got settled in their bedchambers. Noelle was grateful to have a room to herself this time. One of the benefits of being a bride-to-be, to be sure. She remembered the last time they had stayed there, when she had been forced to room with her mother and Catherine.
There were more than enough rooms in the castle for the whole family plus Rodrick. That means that there are plenty of rooms for children someday. Noelle was amazed that she’d never thought about this before, but it made perfect sense that the Duke of Cumberland would wish to produce an heir as soon as possible.
She didn’t know much about pregnancy, but it made sense to her that Catherine could be feeling the beginning signs of it. An illness of the stomach indeed.
When it was time for dinner, Noelle was so happy to see Catherine join them at the long table in the great dining hall. She looked a bit flushed and tired, but she was also smiling and she
seemed so elated to see her family again.
As soon as she could get her sister alone, she asked her if she was perhaps with child rather than really ill and Catherine nodded her head, smiling shyly. “It is suspected that that is the case, though the doctor doesn’t wish for me to tell many people in case…”
She didn’t need to say anything else for Noelle knew about the dangers that came with childbirth. She gently hugged her sister, excited and hopeful for her. “One good thing about us leaving London soon and moving out to the country is that I should be a little closer to you.”
Catherine appeared to be so relieved to hear her say such a thing. “I am so glad that you do not think ill of me. Alphonse was supposed to be your beau…”
Noelle shook her head at her. “Really, Kitty, it has all worked out for the best. You got your Alphonse and I got my Rodrick.”
