Leaving the room, Felix went and prepared for his guest. In all honesty, Lady Cordelia was the last person he wished to see after such a difficult night. He feared no matter how hard he tried he would not be a fit host for Her Ladyship. It was times like these that he wished he had a brother or sister to share the burdens of the estate with.
Disrobing, Felix slid into the bath that awaited him in front of the fireplace in his rooms. His valet waited to carry off the offending filthy garments. Felix sighed as he laid his head back and closed his eyes, allowing the warmth from the water to soak into his bones. Feeling himself about to drift off to sleep, he forced himself to sit upright and began scrubbing away the grime of the night from his person.
When he had completed his toilette, he descended the stairs to find Lady Cordelia awaiting him at the breakfast table. “Your Grace,” she stood, curtsying in greeting.
“Lady Cordelia.” Felix bowed in return. “How do you fare this fine morning?”
“Very well, and you?”
“It has been a sleepless night here at Arkley Manor, I am afraid.”
“Oh? How so?”
Felix proceeded to tell her of the night’s events. Her eyes grew wide as he told her of all that had transpired since her departure.
“Oh my,” she exclaimed with a mixture of anxiety, fear, and something else he could not quite identify. “I will admit, I almost did not come after what transpired during my last visit with the ghostly man roaming the halls. Hearing your tale, I am not at all certain that I should be here now. Perhaps we should postpone our breakfast together for another day and allow you to rest.”
“Yes, perhaps that would be best.” Felix had to restrain himself to keep from jumping up and running out of the room he was in such desperate need of his bed. Instead, he walked Lady Cordelia to the door and saw her off in her carriage before he turned to climb the stairs back up to his bedchamber. He hoped that everyone else within his household who had been awake the night through were already in their beds.
Passing his mother’s room, he saw that Mr. Wheatly had done as he asked and posted a guard outside of the room. Stopping, he entered the Dowager Duchess’s bedchamber to look in on her. The Duchess was asleep, as was Marybeth upon a pallet on the floor in the corner. He walked into the dressing room and found an armed guard standing watch over the hole in the wall.
“Once Her Grace has slept, the men will begin work repairing the walls,” the guard whispered so as not to awaken the sleeping ladies in the next room.
“Thank you,” Felix nodded his approval. “Wake me if you encounter the intruder.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” the guard nodded and went back to staring at the hole in the wall.
Leaving his mother’s room, he entered his own bedchamber and fell gratefully into bed without bothering to disrobe. Within moments of his head hitting the pillow, he was fast asleep. His last thoughts were of Marybeth and how it had felt to hold her hand in his.
* * *
Marybeth awoke on the floor in the dark. She was uncertain what had wakened her, but given the events of the night she was hesitant to ignore the feeling of unrest within her mind. Rising from her pallet, she walked over to the Dowager Duchess’s bedside to ensure that her patient was sleeping peacefully. Laying her hand upon the Duchess’s forehead, she tested for fever. Finding none, she moved on to the doorway of the dressing room to see if it had been the guard who had awakened her.
Peering her head around the dressing room doorframe, she found the guard to be asleep. It does naught for our safety if our guards are unable to remain awake. She walked over to the hole in the wall and peered through the gloom. A chalky white face emerged directly in front of her causing her to scream and step back so quickly she fell onto the floor. The sound of her cries awakened the guard and caused him to stand bolt upright aiming his pistol at the now vacant opening.
“He was there. He was right there. I saw him with my own eyes,” she promised, shaking from her head to her toes. Her heart thudded heavily inside her chest at a rapid rate. It had been a terrifying experience to have the ghost like figure in her face as he had been.
The guard peered into the dark passageway but found nothing. “My apologies Miss Wright, but there is no one there now.” The guard helped her to her feet, and she looked into the hole once more, but this time nothing happened. She searched the floor for fresh footprints but found none.
“I saw him. I know I did.”
The Duke entered the dressing room, his clothes in a rumpled state of disarray. “I heard a scream. What happened?”
“I saw the intruder in the passageway, but now he is gone.”
“Why did you not apprehend the man?” the Duke asked the guard.
“I regret that I had fallen asleep, Your Grace,” the guard admitted hanging his head in shame.
The Duke closed his eyes and took a deep breath, presumably for patience, then opened his eyes and leveled a look at the man. “You may go and find your replacement among the footmen. We will discuss the matter later.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” The guard handed the Duke his pistol and scurried from the room.
The Duke walked over to the hole in the wall and leveled the pistol before peering into the space. He squinted his eyes in an attempt to see through the darkness and cobwebs. “I do not see anything, just as it was before. How is he doing this?”
“I do not know, but I have had about enough of his antics,” Marybeth admitted taking a seat in the chair that the guard had vacated.
“As have I.”
They waited in silence for the guard’s replacement. When he came, the Duke gave the new guard explicit instructions that he was not to fall asleep or to abandon his post for any reason. James and Marybeth left the dressing room, reassured the Dowager Duchess that no one had been harmed, and then moved to inspect the other hole in the house. They found the butler, Mr. Wheatly, standing guard.
“Mr. Wheatly, did you rest as I instructed?” the Duke asked. He was clearly surprised to see the older man armed with a pistol. The butler looked as if he were ready to face battle.
“Yes, Your Grace. When I awoke, I found the young footman flirting with a maid instead of doing his duty with diligence. I took his place and sent him on his way.”
“I fear that the guard we posted in Mother’s dressing room fell asleep,” the Duke commiserated with the butler in their disappointment. Had the issue not been so serious Marybeth would have smiled at their matching expressions. “Did he or you happen to see our intruder pass through here?”
“No, I did not. The young footman only had eyes for the maid. I believe an entire herd of deer could have run through the walls and he would have hardly noticed.”
Marybeth snickered at the image such a description wrought, but quickly covered up her amusement with her hand. She had gone from sheer terror to feeling slightly hysterical. Her emotions were bouncing around inside of her in a most uncontrollable cacophony. Deciding to sit down in a nearby chair, she waited quietly for the Duke to finish speaking with Mr. Wheatly. Taking deep breaths, she attempted to calm her inner maelstrom.
The Duke sighed and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “How is he doing this?” he asked looking down into the gaping hole in the floor. “If I had enough men small enough to fit in the walls, I would post guards all throughout the passageway to catch him.”
“You could arm the women,” Marybeth suggested.
The Duke and Mr. Wheatly looked at her as if she had gone mad, then turned back to discuss what they felt were more viable options, completely disregarding her suggestion. Marybeth fought the urge to roll her eyes at them. She knew it was not an acceptable occupation for women, but she knew from her own experience that she was capable of far more than she was permitted to do. She suspected that the other women of the household could say the same.
Making a decision, she quietly arose so as not to draw attention to herself and returned to the Dowager Duchess’s room. She pulled th
e knife from her medicinal supplies and entered the dressing room. Nodding to the guard, she grabbed a candle, took a deep breath, and entered the passageway. She knew the Duke would be angry with her for what he considered to be reckless behavior, but someone had to ascertain how the ghostly figure was coming and going at will.
Scared and shaking, she made her way between the two walls, moving slowly to inspect every aspect of the space. She ran her knife hand over every surface she could reach, looking for a door or latch that might allow him to come and go without being detected. She wondered if it was a coincidence that he had revealed himself to women a majority of the time or if it was an intentional part of his plan, believing them incapable of overpowering him and fighting back.
Heaven forbid, she thought sarcastically. She was not normally a negative person, but recent events had left her feeling rather vulnerable. When she finally reached the top of the staircase, she debated whether to turn back to avoid the Duke’s ire or to continue on in her inspection so that she could reassure herself that she had not missed anything. Deciding to continue on, she slowly descended the stairs, checking the walls as she went.
When she reached the bottom stair, she expected to hear the men’s voices but instead heard only silence. They must have moved on to another part of the house. I wonder if they noticed my absence. Peeking her head around the corner of the wall she was brought up short by the sound of a cocking pistol.
Chapter 12
“Miss Wright!” Mr. Wheatly exclaimed in surprise. His eyes were wide with horror. “I almost shot you! What are you doing?”
Marybeth looked around for the Duke but did not find him. “Where is His Grace?”
“When he noticed that you had stepped away, he went to ascertain your whereabouts and to reassure himself of your wellbeing.”
“I see.” Marybeth cringed as she thought of the trouble she was going to be in when he discovered what she had done. Pulling her head back into the passageway she judged the distance between the bottom step and the other side of the hole in the floor. She was not at all certain that the opposite floor would hold her weight if she were to swing herself across the expanse to continue on with her journey.
Mr. Wheatly’s face appeared in front of her own. “I can see what you are thinking about, Miss Wright, and I must caution you against such a dangerous action. It would be best to wait for the groomsman, Oliver Singer, and allow him to test the flooring.”
Marybeth shook her head. “I will not risk Oliver’s life, if I am not willing to risk my own.”
“That is good to hear,” Oliver’s voice chimed in from behind the butler. Mr. Wheatly moved back, and his face was replaced by Oliver’s. “It looks as if you had the very same thoughts as I.”
“The intruder showed himself again,” she explained. “I regret to report that I reacted in fear without thought to apprehending the culprit.”
“As I am sure I would have done,” Oliver commiserated with her. “I was quite concerned when I fell down into that tunnel,” he motioned toward the gaping hole in the floor.
The sound of clanking tools and approaching footsteps drew their attention away from the hole and back toward the hallway. “’Tis the men from the estate to repair the walls,” Mr. Wheatly announced. “Now, Miss Wright. I must insist that you remove yourself from inside the walls immediately so that the men might get on with their work. His Grace will be greatly displeased to learn of your reckless behavior.”
“Yes, he will,” the Duke’s voice agreed sternly from behind them. Marybeth closed her eyes in dread. When she opened them, she found Oliver’s hand extended to her to aid her in stepping out of the passageway and back into the house. “What were you thinking?” The Duke’s eyes bored into hers disapprovingly.
“I was thinking that we are missing something. I am convinced that we have missed a doorway or some sort of opening that allows him to move so freely. I have felt every section of the walls that I could reach and am no wiser than I was when I started.”
“What can I say or do to keep you from endangering yourself in such a fashion?”
“I will not allow any man to threaten the safety of those I care about, ghost or otherwise. I am simply attempting to do my part.”
“From this point forward, I would appreciate it if you would keep your interests to that of healing my mother and leave the protection of the estate and its people to me, Miss Wright.”
The Duke’s words hurt but she knew he spoke from concern over her wellbeing more than out of actual anger or disdain. She nodded in acceptance of his wishes for fear of pushing him beyond what he could bear or tolerate. It was unwise to push a man as powerful as the Duke into a situation where he was forced to intervene. Marybeth liked him very much, but in truth she had only just met him and had no knowledge of who he truly was when challenged.
Curtsying, Marybeth turned and walked back to the Dowager Duchess’s room where she saw to administering the Duchess’s afternoon treatment. “Felix was looking for you, my dear. He was not at all pleased that you had defied him once more. When he discovered that you had reentered the passageway, he nearly tore out the rest of the wall. I believe I heard him threatening to tie you up as he left the room. He sounded quite serious.”
“I am certain that he would very much like to do just that. I fear I have angered him beyond redemption.”
“Nonsense, Felix is very fond of you. He is simply not accustomed to being challenged; however, he is a great admirer of intelligence and industry in women. Both of which are qualities you have to spare,” the Dowager Duchess informed her with a knowing look.
“I hope that you are right. It was never my intent to vex him so. I simply cannot stand by and watch while others are in danger. I have also never been very good at sitting meekly by while others protect me. In the forest, I am the only one there to protect myself.”
“It sounds like a lonely existence,” the Dowager Duchess remarked, eyeing her with sympathy.
“It was not so when my grandmother was alive, but since her death I have felt increasingly lonesome, even when I am in a room with other people.”
“I am all too familiar with just such a feeling. After my dear husband died, I felt as if all the light had gone out of the world, all but that light which glowed inside of Felix. It was he who brought me back from the brink of despair when all else seemed lost.”
“He is a good man, but I do not think he knows what to do with a woman such as I.”
“I have a few ideas,” the Duke’s voice mused from the open doorway.
“I can only imagine,” Marybeth replied, standing to face whatever punishment he deemed to dole out.
He moved forward and took her hand in his. “You have frightened me more than once this day. You seem to have no regard for your own safety.”
“And if you were able to fit between the walls, would you not have done the very same thing?”
“Yes, I would have, but I am a man.”
“So, it is not a matter of concern,” she retorted angrily. “It is a matter of perceived incompetence due to my sex.”
The Duke stood staring at her, his mouth agape. When he closed it the muscles in his jaw spasmed as he clenched his teeth. “That was not my intended meaning.”
“Oh?” Marybeth knew she was being difficult, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. She did not like the feeling of vulnerability that she felt at Arkley Hall. Feelings of weakness made her lash out in an effort to exert her own strength and independence.
“I simply meant that as the intruder is a man, it would be best if he were apprehended by a man of equal or greater strength.”
“I am strong.”
“I have no doubt, but if something were to happen to you what would become of Mother?” His words gave Marybeth pause. “You and your skill at healing are far more valuable than we mere mortal men.” The light in his eyes told her of his great affection for her. “I would not change one thing about you, Marybeth Wright, but I would very much
like to keep you alive and safe. Will you permit me that?”
Marybeth nodded, suddenly ashamed of her over exuberant behavior. “Yes, thank you, Your Grace.”
“Felix, remember?” he murmured with a smile.
“Felix,” she replied blushing under his fervent gaze.
“Please do not ever scare me like that again,” he requested. The look in his eyes said that he wished to kiss her, but he chose to release her hands instead and took a step back away from her.
“I will do my best,” she answered. Men with tools entered the room and the Duke turned to lead them into the Dowager Duchess’s dressing room.
“We will stop this ghostly intruder if I must plaster over the entirety of the manor house,” he pledged as he disappeared from view.
A Duke Under Her Spell: A Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 10
