The Devious Seduction 0f A Wayward Duke (Steamy Historical Romance)

by Olivia Bennet

Defeated, she sat down in the chair where she had sat when speaking with Oliver the last time they were there. Her heart sank. If it wasn’t here, where would it be? Then, almost like a bolt of lightning, she had an idea… Wright.

  * * *

  “Wright, thank you for bringing this letter. Next Wednesday, the Earl of Darnerton and his wife will be joining us for dinner. They will stay overnight on Wednesday, and then leave early the following morning. Will you make the arrangements with the staff? I would also like a nice dinner that night. Perhaps with some fine venison and iced oranges or compote of pears for dessert.”

  “All of that sounds wonderful, Your Grace. I will make sure that all of this is completed. Would you care for any certain wine?”

  “Oh, thank you for reminding me. Lady Darnerton enjoys her wine, so just choose one of our best bottles. I haven’t seen her in several years, so I certainly want to impress.”

  “Of course, Your Grace. Please let me know if you require anything else.”

  “Thank you, Wright.”

  Oliver returned to his work as Wright left his office. He was trying to finish his paperwork early so that he could see Priscilla. He wanted to show her the distillery and of course wanted to spend some time with her. However, the distillery could be a loud, dirty place, so he wanted to ask her if she was interested in it before taking her in there. It generally was no place for any female.

  As he rushed through his work, he could see Jamie and Priscilla outside. The weather would soon turn cold, so he was glad that they were able to spend time outdoors while the weather was still warm. He longed to go out there and join them, but he had responsibilities that he must take care of. He would catch up with Jamie at dinner, and then would get word to Priscilla to meet him in the sitting room tonight.

  * * *

  Jamie was curious about what Miss Ainsley might say to him if he asked her about her nighttime stroll. He was very confused because she was rifling through all of the books in the library, but she didn’t seem to have found what she was looking for, nor did she set up any type of prank that he could see.

  “Are you all right, Miss Ainsley? You are quiet today.”

  “Oh, yes, Jamie. I’m feeling fine. I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep well last night. I think it was the moon shining in my window. It was too bright for sleeping.”

  “I was afraid you were getting sick or something.”

  “Oh no. All is fine. I’m sure I will catch up on my sleep this evening. What do you have planned tonight? Anything amusing?”

  “Miss Slade and I will discuss it. Perhaps we can play a game.”

  “That sounds very enjoyable. I’m sure Miss Slade will have a host of different ideas for the two of you.”

  “What will you do tonight, Miss Ainsley?”

  “I plan on doing my lessons for tomorrow, of course, and then I will probably read for a bit, and then lie down early.”

  “Perhaps you will see my father?”

  “Yes, perhaps. If I do, of course, I will have to change my plans a bit, won’t I?”

  Jamie laughed, and then said. “Do you think I should ask him when we can go back to town, like he said we could?”

  “Of course. I can ask him, too, if you like. That way, he will certainly realize that we want to get out of this house sometimes and be amongst other people.”

  “Yes! We do!”

  Priscilla loved watching Jamie get so excited about things. She was getting so attached to him, and he to her. She hoped beyond measure that what she had to do would not have any bearing on her position in the house nor her relationship with Oliver.

  “We will make that a priority, then. I should tell you, though, that I will be going to town in two days. Unfortunately, you cannot go that time. I am meeting with a friend, and I don’t think you would find it very amusing to have to sit and listen to two women talk over tea.”

  Jamie’s face scrunched up. “You are right, Miss Ainsley. That sounds terrible.”

  Priscilla laughed. He was such a funny young gentleman. That’s probably why they got along so well. Both of them loved humor.

  “We will talk to your father about going, though. I think it’s a fantastic idea. For now, though, I need to find Wright, and you, I’m sure, will need to find Miss Slade to get washed and dressed for dinner. I will see you soon, Jamie.”

  “Have a good night, Miss Ainsley,” Jamie said, as he left the school room. Priscilla neatened up the classroom and prepared it for the following day. She then made her way downstairs to find Wright.

  She knew that he would likely be milling around the dining room starting dinner preparations, so she decided to start there, first.

  Sure enough, as she made her way down the stairs, she saw Wright.

  “Wright,” Priscilla said as she approached him. “I have to inform you of something.”

  “Oh, Miss Ainsley. It’s a pleasure.”

  Priscilla could tell that he was feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

  “I’m sorry, is this a bad time? I can talk to you later. It’s just about some time off.”

  “That would be wonderful. Why don’t you meet me in my office this evening after dinner?”

  “Perfect.”

  “If I’m not there, walk in and wait for me.” Wright leaned in and whispered, “The key to the door is under the vase next to the tapestry with the lion and soldier.”

  Priscilla nodded. “Thank you. I will see you soon.”

  She quickly turned around and smiled to herself. Not only did she now know how to get into Wright’s office, she could go under the curtain of night and search it thoroughly.

  * * *

  Jamie kept his distance. He didn’t want her to see him, and he tried to remain as stealthy as possible. He had just left the dining room and was supposed to be going to his chambers to meet with Miss Slade, but Miss Ainsley had passed him along the way, and he wanted to know where she was going.

  He gave her a bit of a head start, and then Jamie slowly started following behind. He remained quiet and was thankful that he was able to walk along a hallway that had carpeting, as otherwise, his leather shoes would surely be making noise as he walked.

  Miss Ainsley got to the end of the hallway, and then turned right towards where the staff quarters were. Jamie was confused. She was a governess and had her own quarters, so why would she need to go into the staff quarters?

  He quickened his pace, and he was worried that he was going to lose her. If she went through the door at the end, he wasn’t sure that he could follow, as too many staff members would be lingering about.

  Jamie approached, and then slowly looked around the corner. He could see Miss Ainsley trying to get into Wright’s office. Was she breaking in?

  Wright wasn’t even in there. Jamie had just seen him. Miss Ainsley wouldn’t do something sinister, would she? He watched until she successfully opened the door and slipped inside, quietly closing the door behind her, just as she did when she went into the library in the middle of the night. Jamie was shocked. He had to figure out what was going on.

  * * *

  Priscilla was waiting for Joan at the local tea shop. They would meet for tea, and then she could hopefully take a walk and run into a certain peddler…

  “Priscilla!”

  She turned to see her oldest, dearest friend walking towards her.

  “Oh, Joan,” she said as the two women embraced. “Please, sit. I’m so happy you are here.”

  The waiter brought over a pot of tea and a tray with various sandwiches and pastries.

  “How are you, Priscilla? Here, have your tea.”

  “Thank you. I am doing so well, Joan. How are you?”

  “Oh, I am doing great, too. Things are going very well. In fact, I am glad that you scheduled this, as I was going to send a letter to you, too. I have some news, too. Shall I go first, or you?”

  “Oh, please…your news sounds very exciting, Joan. I can’t wait to hear it. You go first!”

  Priscilla
watched as Joan took a sip of her tea. She knew her friend well enough to realize that she certainly did have some big news, as she seemed to barely be able to contain her excitement.

  “Well, Priscilla, you might have noticed that I was holding my reticule in front of me as I walked in. I had good reason for that…I am…with child.”

  “Oh Joan! I’m so incredibly happy for you! What marvelous news, indeed. You must be thrilled.”

  Joan looked as if she were glowing, and Priscilla was brimming with happiness for her friend.

  “You are one of the first to know, but you are like a sister to me, so we felt as if that was appropriate.”

  “I appreciate that so much. What an amazing blessing.”

  “Yes, it is. We are beyond happy about this news. Now that you know my news, however, I can’t wait to hear yours!”

  “It certainly doesn’t compare to your news, Joan! Now, I don’t even know if it’s worth it to share!”

  “Oh, come on, Priscilla. I’m sure it is just as important. Tell me!”

  “Fine. The Duke…er…Oliver…and I…”

  “Yes?”

  “We are courting.”

  “Oh! I’m so happy! What do you mean, not as important? I would say that is equally as important! Please, tell me. How did this come to be?”

  “Let me have a sip of tea before it gets cold, and then I’ll tell you.”

  “Oh, Priscilla, I do love a good romantic story.”

  “I know, Joan.” Priscilla laughed. “Well, as you know, I was starting to develop some feelings for him, and I thought that, perhaps, he was developing feelings for me. As the weeks have passed, we have been spending more time together, along with his son, Jamie, and finally we had…the talk.”

  “What did you talk about?”

  “We decided that we want to further our relationship, and that we were going to tell our friends. We also, of course, told Jamie and the staff. Once I knew this, I sent you the letter.”

  “That is amazing, Priscilla. I’m so happy for you. Are you happy? That’s the important question.”

  “I am so happy. I’m nervous…and a bit apprehensive about certain aspects of this relationship, but yes. I’m incredibly happy to be involved with Oliver like this.”

  * * *

  “Jamie, would you like to join me at the distillery? I want to show you something that will change everything.”

  “Yes, Father!”

  Oliver had decided that since Priscilla was off to town today, and Jamie would be doing nothing but enjoying Miss Slade’s company, that he would spend some time with him.

  “Wonderful. Come with me, then. We have a new addition, and I think that you will really like it.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s a new lift,” Oliver explained, as he and his son walked towards the distillery from the house. “It will change the way we operate the distillery. It has the ability to move barrels easily from one place to another. It’s certainly a sight to see.”

  “How will this new lift change things?”

  “You will see it in action when we get there, but basically, instead of having our laborers move the barrels or stack them, we can use this lift to do it for us. Do you know what that means?”

  “That we don’t need as many laborers?”

  “Precisely, Son! You will be a great distiller if you can already see these things at the age of ten. Do you know what happens if we can get the same amount of work done with a smaller staff?”

  “We don’t need to pay as many people.”

  “Yes, and that leads to better profits. Now, in order to obtain this lift, I had to do something to pay for it. Can you guess what I did?”

  “Did you give the seller money?”

  “No, I didn’t. And here’s why. We, as a family, have great wealth, but we don’t have a lot of money that we can take and give to someone. Instead, our wealth is in the form of land and property.”

  “Did you sell property?”

  “Yes, in a way. I gave it to the seller of the lift in exchange for the device. So, as you can see, the process hasn’t been black and white. Now, we have to also account for the loss of that land to determine if buying this lift was a good investment or not. It’s all quite complicated.”

  “I can see that,” Jamie replied with a scowl. “I guess I will probably use my math skills after all, just like Miss Ainsley said.”

  “Yes, Jamie,” Oliver said with a laugh. “You will.”

  Chapter 21

  Priscilla and Joan had a wonderful visit. She always cherished the time she had with her friend, but now, as they walk away from each other in opposite directions, Priscilla had something else on her mind.

  She wanted to find her old childhood acquaintance, Duncan Clark. These days, he was a peddler, but for a long time, they worked in the same circles. She and Duncan had grown up together in the orphanage, and they were roughly the same age. Though she had eventually gotten out, she knew that he had struggled, and becoming a peddler had been the best that he could do.

  He generally set up on a certain corner in a dark, dirty area of the town, and was usually willing to talk when Priscilla approached him. She could easily just pretend to be a customer, and they could have a conversation.

  As she continued walking, and passing other people, she rehearsed what she was going to say to him in her mind. Before talking to him, however, she had to be absolutely sure that she could trust him—she didn’t need this information getting back to the wrong people.

  She turned a corner into a seedier part of town, and sure enough, she saw Duncan with his cart, in the distance. He was easy to see thanks to his fiery, ginger-colored hair and small, thin stature. As she walked closer, she could tell that he recognized her.

  “Priscilla, what a pleasure.”

  “Hello, Duncan. I thought I would find you here.”

  “But of course. It’s not like I would ever have my own shop or anything. The life of a peddler is the life for me. That was my birthright, I suppose, growing up in the orphanage…unlike others, like yourself, who I hear is living the life of a duchess in a fancy castle.”

  “I’m not a duchess, I’m a governess…though, yes, the pupil I teach is the son of the Duke of Dowding. That’s what I’m here to talk to you about…”

  * * *

  “Wright, when Miss Ainsley gets back from town, would you inform me? I would like to see her this evening. The sitting room will be just fine.”

  “Of course, Your Grace.”

  “Thank you, Wright. Oh, and are dinner preparations for the Darnerton’s visit underway?”

  “Yes, Your Grace. We have it all under control and I assure you that the Earl and his Countess will want for nothing while they are under this roof.”

  “Splendid, Wright. I know I can always count on you to get things done when I need them. I think that’s all for now.”

  As Wright left, Oliver couldn’t help but think about what Darnerton’s reaction might be when he told him about the relationship between Priscilla and himself. He expected that his friend might be surprised at first, though perhaps he would be expecting it simply because they had discussed it in the past.

  Of course, he would also be curious about Lady Darnerton’s reaction, too. She was from a prominent family and the second daughter of a Duke. She wanted to marry a Duke, too, but eventually found and fell in love with Darnerton. Knowing that Oliver, a Duke, was courting a governess who used to be an orphan, might be a bit too much for her. He would find out in only a few days.

  As he settled in to look at the labor numbers since the lift had been installed, it was quite shocking to him. He couldn’t believe all of the downtime that some of his laborers had exhibited thanks to the new way they were doing things. This was amazing in terms of business profit, but he also could easily see that he would have to let some of his staff go. He would talk to Wright to see if there were any openings elsewhere in the household or if they were fully staffed.

&n
bsp; In the meantime, his thoughts were on watching the clock and waiting until it was time to see Priscilla.

  * * *

  Duncan had given her some great advice. If she followed it, she could not only find what she was looking for, but also finish this up quickly, and no one would be the wiser.

  As she started to take down her hair, there was a knock at the door.