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

by Fanny Finch

  He got down from the shelves and grabbed the knob. It still refused to turn. He frowned.

  “Get away from the door!” he called out.

  He waited only a moment before grasping the knob and ramming it with his shoulder.

  The door fell open and he saw a very frightened Jacob in the room. The boy did not take a moment before he was past the Duke of Thornwall and out the door.

  “Go to the kitchen!” The Duke of Thornwall yelled after him. The boy ran like a frightened jackrabbit.

  The fire was consuming the house and his lungs were burning from breathing in the hot smoke.

  He crouched down and headed back to the kitchen. He did not see anyone else up here on the second floor.

  He got to the stairs and headed down, trying to stay away from the pieces of wood burning on the ground at his feet.

  He was almost to the bottom of the stairs when he heard a thunderous sound just above and in front of him. He looked up and watched as the ceiling bubbled in and then burst, the entirety of the structure caving in.

  Fire danced in front of his eyes. He saw no way through it. He would have to go up.

  He turned around and started back up the steps when the loudest creaking sound he had ever heard met his ears.

  He looked up and then down. Suddenly, he was light on his feet. He felt like he was hovering in air. He realized the stairs were no longer below him.

  Terror split through him as he plummeted down, landing hard on the remnants of the broken stairs. He coughed, relieved that he was away from the fire but sure that he was injured in a few major ways. He pushed himself up in the rubble, looking around him. Pain split through him but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly where the source was.

  He had to assume it was in various places all over his body.

  He had come through the stairs directly down into the kitchen. There was no one there and the fire had not come down to it.

  Relief flooded through him.

  He tried to stand but one leg was giving him some trouble. He felt blood on his face and neck but did not know where it had come from.

  Knowing he had very little time to get out, the Duke of Thornwall struggled to his feet. He looked around, grabbing the nearest long piece of wood he could find and using it as a crutch.

  He hurried to the stairs leading up to the outside and climbed them in a hurry. The Duke of Thornwall continued using the board as a crutch but found he was able to quickly make it to the front of the house. He rounded the corner just as a loud crashing sound burst through the air. He looked up as the house began to cave in on itself.

  He watched in horror as a large square of the roof came loose and plummeted straight down through the house, causing the outside walls to buckle in. Windows exploded. He ducked as debris rained down on him.

  He looked around at the people who had gathered in front of the house. He spotted the Duke of Argyle, whose wide eyes were as round as saucers. Several of the servants were holding on to his arms, as if restraining him.

  The Duke of Thornwall ran to him as best he could, slamming the board down in the dirt as he went.

  “My Lord!” he cried out. “Are you all right? Where is Sophia?”

  The servants turned to look at him, the horror of it all reflected on their faces. Jacob, the butler and the maid, Mary, were on him quickly, helping to support him.

  They helped him to the Duke of Argyle, who was shaking his head, his eyes filled with tears.

  The Duke of Thornwall was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of fear. Chills ran up and down his arms and his spine. He began to shake.

  “Where is she? Where is she?”

  “She did not listen,” the Duke of Argyle’s voice was strangled with tears. “She wanted to help. She just wanted to help.”

  The Duke of Thornwall’s chest tightened to an unbearable point. He looked back at the house, his first instinct to run back in and find his love. He immediately felt the arms of the servants who had been helping him. Now they were restraining him as he surged toward the front steps of the house.

  “No, my lord,” Jacob cried out in an agonized voice. “It is too late! The house is consumed!”

  “No!” the Duke of Thornwall screamed, yanking his arms away from the servants. They cried out after him as he ran toward the house and up the front steps.

  He was only feet away from the front door when the porch began to fall in. He spun around and jumped away from the falling wood and stone, tumbling out into the grass and rocks, new pain sliding through his body.

  He was up on his knees in seconds, turned around, facing the burning house.

  “Sophia!” he screamed with all his strength. “Sophia!”

  He bent in half and covered his head with his hands, weeping. His only love was lost within minutes and his life shattered in an instant.

  Chapter 36

  Elizabeth’s heart was heavy as the Duke of Thornwall finished his story. She sat in silence for a moment, thinking about it. She had pictured every part of it. The Duke of Thornwall described it so vividly. It was as if, for him, it had happened the day before.

  She could not help letting her eyes fall on the scar on his face. It could have been any number of pieces of debris that caused the cut but the Duke of Thornwall assumed it had come when he fell through the floor.

  “It will forever be my shame that I did not watch over her before anyone else. I should have left that house with her and made sure she stayed outside. I was at fault. I should be in her place.”

  “I know I am not the only one to tell you, but it is just not reasonable. Your Grace, a woman does what a woman wants,” She added as sympathetically as she could.

  Lady Elizabeth hoped she did not sound too aggressive with her response. She wanted to sympathize with the Duke of Thornwall but she also wanted him to know he should not blame himself for what happened.

  It was a burden he had been carrying for so long. She knew a few simple words from her was not going to alleviate that pain.

  The Duke of Thornwall shook his head. “You are not the first to tell me and you may not be the last. Or perhaps it will not be the last time you tell me.” His grin was warm and sad. She smiled back and he continued. “I made a foolish choice in the past and it has cost me someone who meant more to me than anything in this world.”

  “Your Grace. You did nothing wrong.”

  “I should not have let her try my pipe. That simple mistake cost me everything I cared about in my life.”

  Lady Elizabeth scanned his face. There was nothing she could say to help him. She hoped that listening to his story had endeared her to him in some way. She watched his face as he thought about what he wanted to say next. She could see him remembering.

  To him, it was all replaying in his mind, over and over. She imagined it had given him nightmares for some time and he probably still had them.

  She felt sorry for him. She would have hugged him but refrained, knowing it was not her place. The thought was new to her and she continued, pushing it aside.

  “You were so brave to go back and help that young man. I hope he was grateful that you saved his life.”

  “He was,” the Duke of Thornwall nodded, lifting his eyes but still not settling them on her. He looked across the room, still deep in his memories. “They all were. They told me many times and were at my call whenever I needed them.”

  “And Ursula. What about her?”

  The Duke of Thornwall nodded. “After the fire, the duke told me I should not feel blame. For some reason, he blamed Ursula, rather than me, for the Lady’s demise. There was no convincing him that I was the one who gave Lady Sophia the pipe. Though it was true that Ursula should not have left Lady Sophia alone with me, I was to blame. Ursula was against it. When he let her go, I told her to come work for me. I give her a salary to be… well, I suppose to be my companion. This is why she is often by my side.”

  Lady Elizabeth smiled at him. Her heart swelled with warmth for him. She couldn�
��t imagine the pain he’d had to suffer, losing someone he loved and planned to spend the rest of his life with. “I see.”

  “It was my fault, you see. Sophia lost her life because I gave her a pipe to smoke. Ursula lost her position because of what I did. I could not let Ursula suffer because of something I caused.” He sat back in his chair.

  “I am very cautious with Agatha because of this event, Lady Elizabeth. I must make sure this does not happen to my family again. I… I often think fire is something that follows certain people around. I may sound like a lunatic, my lady, but that price is small compared to losing my dear sister.”

  “I would not ever believe you are a lunatic, my lord,” Lady Elizabeth said solemnly and truthfully.

  “If it does follow people, my lady, then it shall follow me again wherever I go. It lurks in the distance parts of my mind, waiting to resurface. I do not want to lose anyone else. Therefore, I must be cautious.”

  “I understand now, my lord,” Lady Elizabeth said, softly.

  “I was frightened that you would undermine all my rules and something bad might happen. I do not know if you noticed, but I had all the candles removed from the unused portions of the castle.”

  Lady Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. “Because of me?”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  They stared at each other for a moment. Lady Elizabeth was confused and the Duke of Thornwall was somewhat amused by that confusion.

  “Why in heaven’s name would you do that?” Lady Elizabeth was taken aback and could not, for the life of her, understand why he would do such a thing.

  The Duke of Thornwall grinned. “I took you as being very excitable and therefore, perhaps clumsy. I did not want any open flame around you. I would lose all grip of my senses if I saw you trip with a candle in your hand.”

  Lady Elizabeth threw her head back and let out an abrupt tinkling laugh. “Oh no! My lord! You did not think of me as this brainless tart, did you?” Lady Elizabeth blushed fiercely, seeing the subtle agony on the Duke of Thornwall’s face. She immediately regretted her words and lowered her eyes. “I would not do anything that would bring shame to you or Lady Agatha.”

  He nodded. “I know that now. I did not know that then. I would trust you with a candle now.”

  He scanned her up and down. “Well, perhaps not.”

  She gasped and he laughed.

  “Well, if you must know, the reason why I said perhaps not is because, well… you and I… we are forming a bond here, are we not? Do you feel it as I do?”

  Lady Elizabeth was glad telling his story had not dampened the Duke of Thornwall’s mood too much. He was still flirting with her, which was a good sign. It also made her feel giggly and excited. She promised herself she would try not get too caught up in the man.

  “I do, my lord. I do, indeed.”

  The Duke of Thornwall nodded, running one hand through his hair and gazing at her with his deep brown eyes.

  “I never thought I would have anyone to live for again, Lady Elizabeth. No one besides Lady Agatha. And what shall I do when she is gone from me? Married and beginning a family of her own? Who will I turn to then?”

  Lady Elizabeth sighed softly, picturing herself on his arm, as Lady Elizabeth Hickson, Duchess of Thornwall.

  “Your sister was right about you, Your Grace. She told me that you are warm and caring. That you truly care about other people and you are not in the least cold-hearted and cruel. I do not know where the villagers could have gotten such an idea.”

  “It is a mystery, my lady.”

  “Perhaps I will make another visit to them and set them straight.”

  “They may not talk to you.”

  “On the contrary,” Lady Elizabeth laughed. “I believe they will talk to me about this. Then I will let them know what I think of you.”

  The Duke of Thornwall’s eyebrows shot up, causing three fine wrinkles to pop up in his head. “That sounds ominous.”

  Lady Elizabeth let out another laugh. “Oh no. I think highly of you. I would not speak negatively of you to anyone. This I promise you.”

  “I trust you, my lady. Thank you for listening to my story.”

  “I am happy that I did. You can trust me, my lord, with anything you wish to tell me. I promise to listen and never lie to you, my lord. I will not lie to you, even if the truth is painful.”

  The Duke of Thornwall looked at her directly, a thoughtful look on his face. “Would you care to join me for a walk in the garden, Lady Elizabeth?”

  “I would very much like to walk in the gardens with you, my lord. But should we not first wait for the supplies so that I can take care of your wounds?”

  “They have been temporarily bandaged,” the Duke of Thornwall said in a dismissive voice. Lady Elizabeth watched with concerned eyes as he pushed himself to his feet. “Come. It is a lovely day for a walk.”

  Chapter 37

  The two weeks that passed from the day of the coach accident were pure bliss for Lady Elizabeth. The walk she had taken with his lordship that afternoon was the first of many. Every other day, she found herself by his side, admiring the same flowers, just happy to be with him.

  She had come to adore his sense of humor and found that there was a good chance she was falling in love with him.

  He had very quiet ways, he was never forward with her, and he had come to calling her “my lady” in a tone that suggested she was, in fact, his lady. She loved hearing it.

  The afternoon was bright and sunny, though the cold air of fall was giving way to the freezing air of winter, as snow mixed with rain began to coat the South of England, where Thornwall and the Thornwall Castle were located.

  Lady Elizabeth, Lady Agatha, and the Duke of Thornwall sat in the reading room, a specific room the Duke of Thornwall had dedicated to the quiet activity after losing his favorite reading partner.

  That afternoon, it was not quite as quiet as usual.

  Upon reading something particularly amusing, Lady Agatha leaned over and nudged Lady Elizabeth. She whispered to her in a loud voice but one that could not be understood by the Duke of Thornwall. He looked up at them without lifting his head, giving them both the once-over.

  They both laughed at the look on his face.

  “If you are going to whisper, whisper loud enough so everyone in the room can hear,” he demanded, mocking disdain.

  “Well,” Lady Agatha turned the book in his direction. “If you would like to analyze the anatomy of a monkey, dear brother, please feel free.”

  The Duke of Thornwall looked at the page she held open in his direction for only a brief moment before turning his eyes away. “What could you possibly have said to make Lady Elizabeth laugh?” he asked bluntly. “I see nothing funny there.”

  “I merely mentioned if she thought the monkey brain depicted here is as large or larger than that of a man’s.”

  The Duke of Thornwall gave her a hard stare but broke it off after only a second so he could laugh. He got the reaction he wanted, as both ladies burst out laughing.

  He turned his eyes to Lady Elizabeth. “And what say you, my lady? Does the monkey have a larger brain than men?”

  Lady Elizabeth glanced at Lady Agatha for a moment, an amused and frightened look on her face. “I do not know what to say, my lord,” she replied. “Some men are not as brilliant as others.”

  “And where would I fall in that record, may I ask?”

  She glared at him, still in a teasing way. “Your Grace, you cannot expect me to say, can you? I do not make up these lists. You cannot make me say another thing.”

  Her companions laughed and Lady Elizabeth continued.

  “I believe you are a brilliant man, Your Grace. I do hope that answers your question.”

  He smiled, satisfied with her answer. “It does. Thank you.”

  “You are welcome.”

  They smiled at each other.

  “You two.” Lady Agatha moved her eyes back and forth between the two of them. She leaned toward
Lady Elizabeth and whispered quietly, “I cannot wait to be related to you, Lizzie. Even if it is not by blood.”

  Lady Elizabeth blushed deep red, widening her eyes at her friend. “Oh, Aggie! It is much too soon for such talk!”

  “It seems you ladies have something on your minds?” The Duke of Thornwall looked amused.

  Chapter 38

  The Duke of Thornwall drew his eyebrows together. It had been one month before his wedding to Lady Sophia, after a year of planning, that he lost her in the house fire.