Mist still clung in the air as Rafe rode around the fields. Workers were just beginning their day. Rafe waved at several as he galloped by.
His stepmother would be disappointed. She’d set her heart on seeing him wed Lavinia. In a way, she was right. Lavinia had all the criteria to be a duchess. She’d been well trained. When they’d first met, her striking beauty had aroused his interest. Before he’d joined the troops, he’d asked her to marry him. He told her that they’d marry when he returned. But her shocking reaction to his injury had destroyed any feelings he had for her. Now, having known her longer, he saw her selfish behaviors and realized what a mistake he’d have made if they had wed. He was thankful she’d ended their betrothal.
Ellie glowed with goodness while Lavinia tried to hide her darker side but didn’t succeed. Rafe pulled his horse around. He wanted to get back and take care of this business so he could claim the woman he loved.
“Your Grace, the duchess will see you now,” the maid said as he entered the house.
“Thank you.” Rafe strode across the foyer and up the stairs. He hadn’t formed a speech, yet he was determined to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that he was marrying Ellie.
“Please come in, Rafe.” His stepmother waved him inside her sitting room. Dressed in somber black with her hair drawn tight into a bun, she looked old and sad. “It is rather early for you to request a visit. This must be something important you wish to discuss.” She beamed at him. “Take a seat here, right across from me. I must confess I’m sure I know the good news you bring, and I’ll be very happy to welcome Lady Lavinia into our home as your wife. She has such elegance and proper breeding, totally unlike the unsophisticated Miss Upton.”
Rafe leaned forward. “I must interrupt you before more is said. I am not going to wed Lavinia.”
His stepmother waved her hands. “Surely, you do not still hold her foolish words against her. She’d never dealt with illness or injury. Being young, she did not express herself in the best possible way.” The duchess took his hand and stared into his eyes. “You must forgive her.”
“No, I must not. Her words are indelibly traced across my mind. I have asked Miss Eleanor Upton to marry me.”
“Humph.” His stepmother let go of his hand and sat back in her chair. “I do not approve of your choice.” She gave him a stern look. “You are a duke and must think of other things besides your lust for a common woman.”
Her harsh words stunned Rafe. “A common woman? Her father is a baron. She is a member of the ton.”
“Still, she is not accomplished in any of the proper arts. You heard her say she’d rather go riding. Being a duchess would overwhelm her.”
“Not with support and encouragement.”
“I will not help her. You will have to find someone else to take on that task.” She raised her chin and stared at him defiantly.
“In that case, I’m glad we’ve had this conversation. I’m sure my father’s sister, Aunt Martha, will agree to help Miss Upton. I’ll give orders to have the dowager house cleaned and made comfortable for you. You will move before our wedding. I’ll not have my bride made uncomfortable in her own home.”
“What, you would throw me out of my home right after your father’s death? Has this woman cast a spell on you? Never did I dream you’d be capable of such unkindness.”
Rafe took a deep breath. Anger and guilt warred inside of him. His stepmother’s strong floral cologne began to give him a headache. He was tired of dealing with stubborn women.
“I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you.” He stood and walked toward the door. “It was not my plan, but you’ve had enough time to accept that I’d not ask Lavinia again to be my wife. You ignored me whenever I reminded you it wasn’t going to happen, thus giving me no choice but to be more direct.
“I had no wish for you to move. Nevertheless, your words have convinced me that you’d make my new wife uncomfortable and unhappy, and that is not acceptable.”
The duchess patted her eyes with her handkerchief. “I never believed you thought so little of me.”
He opened the door and stood in the entrance. “There is no need for an immediate change of residence. You may wait until the wedding. I will have the staff move your things the week before. I’m sorry it has come to this.”
“What will the Templetons think? You will have to explain to Lady Lavinia.”
“I will talk with her. Good day.” Rafe nodded his head and snapped the door shut behind him.
That had not gone well. He’d always cared for his stepmother and thought she cared for him as well. For a second, he had caught a look of almost dislike flash across her face, not for Ellie but for him.
Father, I miss you so much.
Rafe took the stairs two at time and headed for his office, or what used to be his father’s. He walked inside and drew in a deep breath. The smell of old books and a faint hint of his father’s musky cologne still lingered. Memories of evenings spent here reading, talking, or enjoying a smoke before dinner made his loss slam into his gut. He sank into his father’s leather chair and heard the old familiar creak. For the moment, he allowed himself to grieve for the man who’d been the most stable and dominant person in his life.
His father had approved of Lavinia, but he’d understood when the betrothal ended. He’d not completely understand Rafe’s present choice. Still, he would have accepted Ellie, especially considering her courage and determination to save Rafe’s life.
Taking a deep breath, Rafe decided this was the time to talk with Lavinia. Once the situation was clear to all, he’d go to Ellie.
Rafe found Lavinia in the library. She sat by the window, a lovely picture of a beautiful, refined, young lady staring out the window into the rose garden. He stopped at the entrance and searched inside himself for any latent feelings. None. While just the thought of Ellie heated his body. He must have made a noise because Lavinia turned and smiled.
“Rafe, I’ve been sitting here wishing you’d join me. Now I know that wishes do come true.” She stood and slowly walked toward him, never breaking contact with her eyes. When she stopped, her hand touched his vest. Rafe moved it away. Her rosy mouth pouted.
“We must announce a date for our wedding soon, my love. I can’t wait to be your bride.” Again, she reached toward him. Rafe grabbed her hand and stepped back.
“Wishing doesn’t make it so, my lady. We are not betrothed, nor shall we be. Your insistence in pretending to forget what happened between us will not change my mind. You may have forgotten your callous words. I, however, will never forget what you said to me.”
Lavinia swirled around and walked to the sofa. “Please sit, Your Grace. Perhaps you don’t understand.”
“I prefer to stand. Enlighten me.”
“After we talked, I realized I’d made a grave mistake. My mother does not consider our betrothal broken. If you do not marry me, my father will sue you for breach of promise.”
“Neither your father nor mother desire that type of publicity. Perhaps if I did not hold the title of duke, they’d consider taking such action. Common sense will prevail.”
She stamped her foot. “I suppose you believe yourself in love with that common Miss Upton. I didn’t miss the glances you sent her at every opportunity.” She tramped across the room and stood right in front of him again. “You will marry me or regret it.”
“Threats.” He laughed. “Explain everything to your mother. I’m leaving to visit my future wife.” With that he turned and left the room. He heard a very unladylike scream as a book bounced off the doorframe just as he went through.
“Booth,” he called out.
Booth poked his head around the door from the dining room. “Yes, Your Grace?”
“Pack our clothes. We’re traveling to my hunting lodge.”
“When will we leave, Your Grace?”
“Immediately.”
* * * *
Ellie sulked around the house until the second day when her mother insisted she
go out riding. “All this pacing and your sad expression have begun to make me nervous.”
“Let me help you, Mama. There must be something I can do.”
“Well, I’d suggest you finish your knitting, but the last time you did any work on it you ended up with more tangles than progress.”
“Madam,”—the butler came to the door of the drawing room—”Lord Turner has come to visit.”
“Please show him in.” Her mother glanced at Ellie. “Smooth down your skirts, there is no time to make ourselves more presentable.” She’d barely finished speaking when Lord Turner came to the door.
“Lady Upton and Miss Upton.” He bowed. “I do hope you’ll forgive my spur-of-the-moment visit. I was in the area to see about buying a particular horse and hoped that an unexpected visit would not be seen as too presumptive.”
“Not at all, Lord Turner. Please join us. We were just going to enjoy a cup of tea.”
“Thank you.” He walked across and sat on the chair closest to Ellie. “You are looking lovely, Miss Upton,” he said.
“You are most gracious, my lord.”
The maid rolled in the tea trolley, and Ellie rose to serve the tea. Her hands trembled slightly when she poured the tea into the dainty cups decorated with an ivy trim. She handed the first to her mother and then one to Lord Turner. Fear gripped her. She expected he’d come to propose. He’d make her a good husband, pleasant and probably undemanding, except for wanting an heir.
Her mother and Lord Turner carried on a polite conversation, but Ellie didn’t listen. Her mind raced with the decision looming so close. Two reasons stood in the way of her accepting Lord Turner’s proposal—she wasn’t a virgin and she loved someone else. There was no way she could justify marrying another man with that standing between them.
“Eleanor, Lord Turner asked you a question.”
Ellie looked from her mother to him. “I’m sorry. Forgive me for letting my thoughts wander.”
“You must understand, Lord Turner, Eleanor has been helping me in the house and hasn’t been out in days. Why don’t you two go for a ride?” She asked. “That is, my lord, if you have the time.”
“I’d be honored, and certainly there is always time to escort such a lovely lady.” A pleased expression lightened his rather plain face.
“I’m not dressed...”
“Lord Turner will not mind keeping me company while you get ready. I’m sure.”
“Not all, Miss Upton. Take your time.”
Ellie flashed her mother a quick frown, but she smiled back and waved her on her way. Her mother instructed the downstairs maid to have Trudy attend to Ellie.
No escape. She had to decide quickly how to handle this difficult situation. Trudy met her at the bedroom door and helped her change into a new golden-brown riding habit. She’d loved the outfit and saucy matching hat with two feathers that curled around her face.
“If you don’t mind me saying so, my lady. You look like you’re going to be sick,” Trudy said.
“Sick of my choices and what awaits me downstairs.”
“Shall I tell your mother you are ill and not able to go on the ride?”
“No. She’d never believe that, and sooner or later I’d still have to deal with Lord Turner. Best to do it now.”
When she arrived back downstairs, she discovered Mama had already had Ellie’s mare brought around from the stable.
“Take your time. I had just finished telling Eleanor she needed to go for a ride. This is so much better that she’ll have you for company, Lord Turner.” Her mother beamed at them and waved them on their way.
Lord Turner put his hands together and gave Ellie a boost into the saddle. “Which way shall we ride?” he asked.
Without thinking or perhaps from too much thinking, Ellie pointed toward the direction of Rafe’s hunting lodge. “We can ride around the lake and across several open areas before coming to our property line,” she said.
“Good.” Lord Turner rode alongside her, studying the countryside. Neither spoke. Endless blue skies, without even a cloud in sight, and a slight breeze made the day pleasantly warm.
Lord Turner finally broke the silence. “You are very quiet, my lady.”
“Forgive me. We have few lovely clear days like this. I am enjoying being outside.”
“As long as you are not regretting your mother pushing you to ride with me.”
Ellie jerked her head around and stared at him. He smiled.
“I am not unaware of mothers and their pressure on daughters to marry. My deceased wife and I often talked on all subjects including mothers and daughters.”
Ellie slowed her horse. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. I’ve missed her very much these past three years, but she’d be the first to tell me to continue to live my life.” He stared off toward a hammock of trees growing beside a small creek. “Shall we ride in that direction and walk alongside the stream?”
He was going to ask her. He’d surprised her when he talked about his wife and revealed the close relationship they’d had. He had depth of character and caring. She’d totally misjudged him and found she had begun to like him. Like, not love. A world of difference and yet she thought they’d be pleasantly happy if not for those two obstacles.
She directed her mare toward the river, and he followed. Under a shady tree, he dismounted, tied their horses, and helped her down.
“Shall we walk?” he asked. He didn’t wait for her answer but took her arm, and they strolled along the grassy edge. “You must know I’m attracted to you and have been wanting to ask you a question for some time.”
“Yes, my lord, I have sensed your interest but,—”
He stopped her. “Let me speak first, and then you can answer me knowing my expectations and hopes for us.”
She raised her head and looked into his warm, brown eyes. “Fair enough.”
“I suspect I’m not the dashing young man of your dreams. My mirror does not lie.” He smiled and patted her hand. “There is no need to deny my statement. I am neither sad, nor have illusions. But I do know I was a good husband and love grew between my wife and me. I liked being married and longed for children, not just an heir. So, what I have to offer is a—I hope—a pleasant life filled with good times and support for the times that are not so good. I’d be honored if you’d consider marrying me.” He stopped their progress along the creek’s edge. In the silence, the rush of water over several large rocks sounded uncommonly loud. “I don’t expect an answer today. Take your time to consider my offer.”
“You are too kind, my lord.” Ellie glanced down at the ground. Now was the time to tell him. She started to open her mouth when she heard a rider. Both she and Lord Turner looked around and saw a man riding toward them. Ellie’s heart sped up.
Rafe pulled up his stallion and swung down. “Miss Upton and Lord Turner,” he said and bowed. “I do hope I’m not interrupting, but I was on my way to the Upton’s when I happened to see horses and decided to check. There have been rumors of mischief in the area of late.”
“How nice to see you, Your Grace. I had thought you were at your estate,” Lord Turner said.
“I have been, but I enjoy spending time at my hunting lodge and needed the quiet and privacy.”
“That’s understandable.” Lord Turner turned back to Ellie. “I must be on my way. Perhaps, we might ride back and I will take my leave.”
“Please don’t let me rush you off, Turner. I can visit another day.”
“Not at all, Your Grace. I have a good distance to make to reach home tonight.”
The ride home seemed to take less time. Lord Turner told her mother good-bye. “If you and the duke will excuse me, I’d like to speak privately with Miss Upton before I leave.”
Ellie took his arm. “I’ll walk you outside, my lord.”
“Thank you.” He patted her hand as they walked through the foyer. They started down the steps to where his horse waited. “It was pleasant to see th
e duke, but I am sorry we were interrupted.”
Lord Turner squeezed her hand then stepped away and swung up into his saddle. “You will think about my offer?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Then with your permission, I will visit again in a fortnight. If you do not wish me to visit, please send me word.”
“Whatever my decision, my lord, you have honored me with your proposal. You are a good man.”
“A good man.” He shook his head. “I fear you have dashed my hopes,” he said, but there was a twinkle in his eye as he rode away.
Ellie found her mother and Rafe talking quietly. The conversation abruptly stopped when she entered. Rafe stood. “I must return home. I’ve asked your mother’s permission to take you on a picnic tomorrow. May I come for you around one?”
“I have work to do here, Your Grace. Perhaps another day.”
He smiled that devilish smile that said he knew she had nothing to do, but he bowed and walked to the door. “I enjoyed our visit, Lady Upton. Miss Upton, another day will be fine.”
They listened to his brisk steps across the foyer and heard him speak to the butler then the front door opened and shut.
“Don’t be too foolish, my dear,” her mother said. “He is not a man to play games with, and if I’m right in my suppositions, you love him.” She rose and started out of the room. At the door, she turned. “I also fear you have gone beyond the bounds of propriety with him.” She raised her hand. “I don’t want to know. Think seriously about both these gentlemen.” Lady Upton left the room.
Ellie’s surprise must have shown on her face. What had made her mother suspect? She walked out the french windows and stood watching bees buzzing around the honeysuckle vine curled around a nearby trellis. Her father’s voice carried on the breeze as he neared the house. She heard his caretaker talking to him. This had been her comfortable safe place, her home. Changes were coming, and she had a very important decision to make. Why had Rafe come? Did he love her, or had he come to tell her of his betrothal to the lovely Lavinia?
Cameron, Paige - The Duke's Blind Temptation (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) Page 8
