A Second Chance for the Broken Duke: A Clean & Sweet Regency Historical Romance

by Fanny Finch

Lady Elizabeth was amused. She hoped it did not show on her face. She shook her head, unable to hide her smile.

  “Why are you smiling?” Lady Agatha asked, though a smile had crossed her face as soon as she saw her friend’s. “Something has amused you? Have I said something funny?”

  Lady Elizabeth shook her head. “No. I was just thinking about your brother huffing and puffing, insisting you stay in bed. It is… a little amusing to picture.”

  They both laughed softly before a knock at the door drew their attention.

  Chapter 10

  “Come in!” Lady Agatha called out.

  Both women watched as Smithson came in and approached the bed.

  “My lady, the meal has been prepared and will be brought up to you shortly.” He looked at Lady Elizabeth. “Phoebe is dining with us in the kitchen unless you need to have her with you here.”

  Lady Elizabeth and Lady Agatha glanced at each other. Before Lady Elizabeth could answer, Lady Agatha did for her.

  “She does not need a chaperone when she is with me, Smithson. Make friends with her and treat her kindly.”

  “Of course, my lady. She is a lovely woman. She and Hetty are already friends.”

  “That is nice to hear. You may have the food brought up when it is on the trays.”

  “Wait.” Lady Elizabeth leaned forward in the chair, looking at Lady Agatha closely. “I have an idea, Aggie. Perhaps we could go down to the dining hall for the meal. You said you would like to get out of bed. You are not obligated to stay in bed. Your brother is not a doctor.”

  Lady Agatha looked back at her doubtfully. “I do not want to upset him.”

  “But it is not he who is feeling the pain, it is you. If you stay in bed for too long, you will develop other problems. You will be weakened by it. You will have sores. I do not want to step over my boundaries, but I do believe that if you can walk without too much pain, you should try.”

  Lady Agatha looked as if she was contemplating Lady Elizabeth’s idea, much to Lady Elizabeth’s gratification. She pressed her lips together softly.

  “There will be some pain, I know. Especially since you have weakened since your accident. But do you not agree it is worth trying?”

  Lady Agatha looked down at her lap and nodded slowly. “I do think it is worth trying, Lizzie.” She looked up at Smithson. “Smithson, do not speak of this. You may go set a place for myself and Lady Elizabeth at the dining table. I wish for her to sit across from me where I usually sit next to the Duke.”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  Smithson did not look like he thought it was a good idea to go against the lord’s wishes but Lady Elizabeth did not care. She was not there to please the Duke of Thornwall. She was there to help her friend. And she firmly believed that laying in bed until he thought she was well enough to get up was ridiculous.

  He might decide she needed to stay there permanently.

  Lady Elizabeth giggled on the inside, doubting that the Duke of Thornwall would make his sister stay in bed for the rest of her life. She had to get married and have children, too.

  At least, that was the goal.

  Smithson backed out of the room, bowing at the waist as he did so and pulled the door closed when he was on the other side.

  Lady Agatha looked at Lady Elizabeth with great apprehension. “Are you sure about this? My brother was certain I should not be up and about.”

  Lady Elizabeth shook her head. “He is not feeling what you are feeling. It should be your decision to make. He is not your doctor.”

  “Perhaps not but…” Her voice trailed off and she looked away from Lady Elizabeth as if ashamed.

  “I know that he is only doing this because he cares so much for you,” Lady Elizabeth said softly. “I can see that in his eyes when he looks at you. He only wants to protect you and is upset because he was unable to keep this from happening to you.”

  “We have already lost our parents. And he has lost his first love. I cannot blame him for being overly protective of me.”

  Lady Elizabeth nodded. “I agree with you. However, in this situation, you must realize that you are the one in control of your healing. You and God. The Duke of Thornwall has nothing to do with it, other than to provide you care. You are in your own home. You should be able to come and go as you please.”

  “Yes, I suppose you are right.” Lady Agatha took in a deep breath and said the words as she let it out. She looked down at the covers, grasped the quilt and sheet with her good hand, and tossed them to the side. “Let us depart, my lady.”

  Lady Elizabeth laughed, delighted that Lady Agatha was willing to try.

  She held out one hand to help her.

  “Help me with my legs.”

  Lady Elizabeth blinked. Was Lady Agatha too weak? Had she made a mistake?

  Lady Agatha grinned wide. “I just meant help me make sure my night dress does not get caught up in them, Lizzie. I only have one working arm, you know.”

  Lady Elizabeth bit her bottom lip, smiling at Lady Agatha. “Oh. Yes, of course.”

  “I am not paralyzed. And if you will fetch my robe and my slippers for me?”

  “Of course.” Lady Elizabeth went into action, pushing the chair she had dragged over back to its original position. She went to the small table on the other side of the bed and picked up the robe that was laid out on top.

  She held it up, scanning it. “This is a beautiful robe, Aggie! I must have one just like it!”

  Lady Agatha nodded with a smile. “Malcolm gave me that for Christmas several years ago. He was not with me when I got it. He had it sent to me. I thanked him for it but I have never needed another one since. It is thick, is it not? What a good thread it is made from.”

  “And it is such a pretty color!” Lady Elizabeth brought the baby blue robe over to Lady Agatha and helped her put it around her shoulders. She leaned down and slipped the shoes on Lady Agatha’s feet for her with Lady Agatha holding on to her shoulder for balance.

  When she was properly dressed, the two women looked at each other directly.

  “Are you ready?”

  Lady Agatha looked nervous, pressing her lips together. “I suppose it is now or never.”

  Lady Elizabeth took a step back, holding out her arms in case Lady Agatha stood up and immediately fell. She had been bedridden for several weeks. In Lady Elizabeth’s experience with falls and injuries her family had in the past, when someone did not get up and walk around, their muscles weakened sometimes to the point where they could not walk.

  It would take some time for Lady Agatha to get back to her original healthy state if she had been in the bed for too long.

  Lady Agatha took hold of Lady Elizabeth’s right hand with her left one and pulled herself up to her feet. She wobbled a bit but then found her balance.

  Both women were looking down at Lady Agatha’s legs as if they would reveal their secrets.

  “Are you all right?”

  Lady Agatha looked at her and nodded but Lady Elizabeth could tell her friend was in pain.

  “Do you think you will make it down the stairs? If it is too soon, I will be glad to get Smithson and tell him the plan is off. I am sure he will be glad to have the trays made…”

  Lady Elizabeth stopped talking when Lady Agatha shook her head vigorously. “No. I have made it this far. I will do my best to get downstairs. I am weak but I am not dead. I want to be on my feet and healthy again. This…” She lifted her broken, restrained arm, which was held at a crooked angle in a fabric sling. “This seems to be hurting quite a lot. It is throbbing and itching. The rest of me just aches.”

  “I firmly believe you will feel better when you start walking around and, as you said, getting some more sunshine. Tomorrow, if you feel like, you can take me on a tour of the courtyard and the village.”

  “I cannot go to the village tomorrow,” Lady Agatha said, seriously. “I do not wish to return there until I am recovered. There are those in town that would not like to see me this way.”
<
br />   “My heavens, why is that?”

  Lady Agatha grinned. “They like me in the village, Lizzie. Of course.”

  Lady Elizabeth laughed, taking hold of her friend’s arm and helping her walk to the door.

  “I see. They would hurt for you.”

  “Yes. Some might even try to visit. I do not want any company other than yours, Lizzie. You are such a good friend.”

  “I must repay the kindness you once showed me. You took time from your season to come and help me through my health crisis. Even if you had not, I would still be here if you invited me. I like being around you.”

  “Shall we go surprise my brother?”

  The women smiled at each other, though a sense of nervousness filled them both.

  Chapter 11

  The dining hall was immaculate, other than the five or six paintings leaning on the wall directly opposite from where the Duke of Thornwall was sitting.

  He stared at the paintings, wondering why they had not been put up yet. They were probably cleaning and just did not get around to it yet. He scanned the large room and the tremendously long table in front of him.

  He was sitting at the head of the table in his usual spot. He remembered many dinner parties he had given. The table had been full.

  When he had been courting Sophia, she and her family had often visited. He turned his eyes to the chair she had always used sat in, picturing her there, a feeling of heaviness in his heart.

  He moved his eyes away from the chair. It was too painful. After four years, he felt as though his heart would never mend.

  Lady Agatha. He shook his head. His sister was up to something. He had a strong feeling she had not buttered him up to Lady Elizabeth just because she wanted the two of them to get along. She wanted more than that for both of them.

  He did not see how Lady Agatha could have thought he would be a good match for Lady Elizabeth. The young lady seemed to be less mature than her age suggested. She was, as he had told Smithson, “excitable”. He could not predict what she might do next.

  The Duke of Thornwall did not consider the possibility that his concern for his sister, especially the state she was in at that time, could be skewing his view of things. He did not consider his behavior to be over protective. He had a feeling that was Lady Elizabeth’s conclusion.

  Milla came in with a large plate of food and some other items, which she set on a cart by the door. She crossed and set the plate down in front of him.

  “Your food, my lord,” she said. She put a mug filled with liquid beside his plate. He smiled at it. The effect he had gotten from it before let him know that he would not be able to drink all of it. Only a few swallows was enough. He was not a drinking man.

  “Thank you, Milla.”

  “You are welcome. Is there anything else you require?”

  “I would like a cup of tea.”

  “Yes, Your Grace.”

  Milla moved to the cart she had used to bring the food and poured the duke a cup of tea. She turned and set it in front of him. Without saying anything, she waited to be dismissed.

  “Thank you. That will be all.”

  “Thank you, my lord.” Milla dropped into a small curtsy before hurrying back to the kitchen door. The Duke of Thornwall wondered why she seemed to be in such a hurry.

  After a moment of silence during which the Duke of Thornwall said grace under his breath, he began to eat.

  He had only taken a few bites when the door to the dining hall opened and Smithson came in. He nodded to the Duke of Thornwall before passing through the room and going through the door to the kitchen.

  The Duke of Thornwall stared at him as he went. He had food in his mouth he had been chewing but he froze, watching Smithson pass through. He frowned. Something strange was going on.

  It was not unlike Smithson to go down to the kitchen during mealtime. He and the rest of the servants typically ate after the Duke of Thornwall was settled with his food and drink. He had not seen the older man in such a hurry before. It reminded him of Milla.

  She had tried to get back to the kitchen as quickly as possible, without being impolite to him.

  He had the sudden thought that it was probably because of Lady Elizabeth’s companion. It was understandable. The servants had a visitor as well as the lady of the house. From what he had seen of Phoebe, she seemed like a pleasant young woman. He hoped they were all getting along famously.

  A sense of loneliness passed through him.

  His life would have been so different if he had not lost Sophia. She had been the light of his life. When that light was extinguished, all he could see was darkness. His mourning was lasting so long. He did not know if he would ever come out of it.

  A new love might help him let Sophia go but somehow he doubted it. And how would he find such a love, when he rarely left the castle except for business? He could still see her, her bright smile, the quick laugh that always made him feel like the King of England, and everything about her. She hummed tunes while she painted terrible pictures.

  The Duke of Thornwall snorted, remembering his love’s passion for artwork. She was not a painter and had no idea how awful her paintings were. He would never tell her. No one dared to tell her, not even her own father. She was too well loved. No one wanted to hurt her.

  But now she was gone and he was left here on earth all alone, his heart shattered by his loss.

  He shook his head and continued eating, thoroughly enjoying the roasted lamb and vegetables. He was pleased to see two butter cookies on his plate as well. Dessert.

  His eyes flicked up from his near empty plate when the door to the kitchen popped open again and Milla came through. She was carrying two plates, along with utensils and tea cups. She placed them all on the cart she had used before and wheeled them in his direction.

  He blinked as he watched her set them down on both sides of the table where he was sitting. She lined everything up perfectly and stood back.

  “Milla? Are we having unexpected company?”

  Milla’s mouth opened to respond but the door to the dining hall opened at the same time. Both Milla and the Duke of Thornwall turned their eyes to the door.

  The Duke of Thornwall stood up, staring in angry shock, as Lady Elizabeth and Lady Agatha entered.

  Lady Agatha was breathing heavily but walking on her own, supported by Lady Elizabeth’s hands. She was encouraging Lady Agatha with kind, quiet words.

  The Duke of Thornwall was a mix of emotions. On one hand, he wanted to yell at her and demand that she take his sister back upstairs. On the other, it looked as though she was helping Lady Agatha, not hindering her. And it certainly seemed like Lady Agatha wanted her help.

  “What are you doing? Why are you down here? You should be in your bed!”

  Lady Agatha did not respond right away. She and Lady Elizabeth shared a look that implied they had expected him to say those very words. It made the Duke of Thornwall’s anger heat up.

  “I asked you a question, Lady Agatha.”

  His sister gave him a returning glare. “I apologize brother, I am feeling better and wished to be downstairs this evening,” she said in a soft voice.

  “I can hear your pain in your tone! You must go back to bed.”

  Lady Agatha shook her head. “I will not. Lizzie offered to help me come down. I have been in that bed so long, I was afraid my muscles would surely give in when I tried to walk. One cannot stay bedridden throughout their lives.”

  “It would only be for a short period of time.”

  By that time, Lady Elizabeth and Lady Agatha had reached the table. Lady Elizabeth pulled out the chair for Lady Agatha to sit, looking at the Duke of Thornwall through narrow eyes.

  “Three weeks is a long period of time, my lord.” She did her best to sound respectful. “She will not be able to walk if she stays in bed much longer.”

  “And you are a doctor, are you?”

  Lady Elizabeth frowned. “No, my lord. I am not. But that does not mean I have
no experience with situations like this one.”

  The Duke of Thornwall looked doubtful. “You have known someone who has been thrown from a horse?”

  “I have. And I have witnessed several coach accidents that caused injuries to my friends and family. I helped them recover from their injuries so I do know a bit about the subject.”

  The Duke of Thornwall waited until both ladies were seated before he sat back down. How ironic that Lady Elizabeth knew something about bandaging wounds. He kept himself from rolling his eyes. He was unhappy that his sister was taking risks with her health, but he would be quiet for her sake. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her and put her at further risk.