by Yasmine Nash
Chapter 2
Several mornings later, Jonathan’s horse carried him a few miles outside the village to Haverton Hall, home of the late Walter Kellynch. The estate was more modest than Jon’s own property, but still elegant and well managed. And now, it was his. Squaring his shoulders, Jonathan steeled himself for the unpleasant business ahead. He had put it off yesterday, and instead spent his time riding around the area and getting the lay of the land.
To be perfectly honest, he had also hoped he might run into Lou again, but he had seen no sign of her. If his hunch was right and she was employed at Haverton Hall, then he might see her today.
Jon shook his head to clear his mind. He had more important things to worry about than mooning about over a stranger. He was about to meet his new ward and claim his new property. According to his attorney, Walter Kellynch’s child—his new ward—was a young thing, not even out yet in society. Well, one thing Jon knew for certain: he wasn’t going to be chaperoning any little girls around to balls or parties.
First thing this morning, he’d sent word to the estate that he was on his way, but it was still impossible to guess at the kind of reception he’d receive once he arrived. Only one way to find out. Jonathan dug his heels into his horse’s flanks and spurred it onward.
* * *
Louisa was still in her nightgown, eating a piece of toast and staring dreamily out her bedroom window, when word had arrived that the Lord Duke of Devonshire had unexpectedly ridden into the country a few days earlier than planned. Her father’s heir. This news shattered her daydreaming. With all the thrill of running into Jon the other day, she had entirely forgotten about the old duke’s impending arrival.
Eight months had passed since her parents’ tragic accident, and Louisa still missed them every day. It had taken so long to discover her father’s heir that she had hoped it would never happen, and she could simply continue on living as she had in her parents’ estate. But the hope had been dashed a few weeks ago when the steward informed her the heir had been located at last. Her cheeks flamed red whenever she considered the injustice of everything: that she, Sir Walter’s daughter, should be displaced in favor of a man so far removed from her family it took over half a year to even discover him!
She wanted nothing more than to scream and throw a tantrum, but that wouldn’t solve anything—except perhaps get her sent away to one of those asylums. No. She’d play it smart. She didn’t have a plan so much as an idea that she needed to make as good an impression on him as possible. Perhaps he’d be like a kindly old grandfather, spoiling her.
To be on the safe side, Louisa decided to take great care with her toilette this morning. This duke would hold the rest of her life in his hands; no use getting off on a bad foot. Her pretty blond curls were arranged perfectly around her heart-shaped face, and the ivory morning gown she wore complemented her figure and complexion. The very picture of a proper young lady. She would speak quietly and sit up straight and not betray any wildness whatsoever. Her mother would have been proud.
Lady Kellynch certainly wouldn’t have been proud of Louisa’s behavior from the other day though. Lou’s cheeks flushed at the memory, and her finger absentmindedly traced her lips. She had been so tempted to return to the village and seek Jon out once more, but she hadn’t wanted to try her luck. As things were, she could have been ruined if anyone had been around to see them the other night.
A servant poked her head through the door. “Madam, the duke has just arrived.”
Louisa abruptly rose and ran her hands down the gown to remove any wrinkles. “Prepare tea and cakes. We should welcome him respectfully.” She glanced at the mirror once more, pinched her cheeks to bring a flush to them, and rose to meet her guest in the drawing room.
* * *
Jonathan was waiting in Haverton Hall’s drawing room, admiring the fine arrangement of furniture there. It seemed his predecessor had been a man of good taste.
“The mistress will be down shortly, sir,” a servant said to him, bobbing in a curtsy. The servant looked nervous and ran from the room as soon as she could, which, as she was meeting her new employer, made perfect sense.
Jonathan had not bothered sitting down. The sooner he could get this awkward business over with, the better. He was staring out the window with his arms folded behind his back when he heard a shuffle that alerted him to a new arrival.
“Miss Kellynch, I presume?” he said, as he turned around to look at her. No, surely not.
It took him half a heartbeat before he realized that he recognized that heart-shaped face surrounded by blond curls.
He saw the shock on her face, and he guessed it must be equally mirrored on his own. This was the same young woman he’d run across the other day on the road. But she looked completely altered. Gone were the wild curls tumbling around her face. Instead, her hair was neatly pulled back into a pretty bun.
From his conversations with his attorney, Jon had anticipated Miss Kellynch to be a mere child, but this woman before him must have been nearly of age. His memory flashed to their encounter in the tavern, his mouth pressed to her soft lips. She certainly was no child. He shook his head to clear the memory away.
She was still gazing at him in horror. “What are you doing here?” she asked, eyes wide in her pale face.
“I was going to ask you the same thing. Don’t tell me you’re Walter Kellynch’s daughter,” Jon said stiffly. He had been a fool. Unknowingly flirting with his ward. Completely and truly reckless.
By the devil! He had hoped to see Lou again, but not like this.
* * *
“You’re the Duke of Devonshire?” Louisa sputtered. That was impossible. She had been told the duke’s name was Bartholomew Wallbridge. “But when we met, you told me your name was Jon.” She blushed a little at her allusion to their previous encounter.
Jon cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Jonathan is my middle name. All my close friends and family call me that instead of Bartholomew. A little less of a mouthful.”
But he was so young; not more than 30. Had the steward told her he was older, or had she just assumed he would be and then transformed that to be a fact in her mind? The duke—she wouldn’t call him Jon anymore—looked as though he wished he could be anywhere else but here.
After a few minutes of the two looking at each other in desperately awkward silence, Louisa recovered herself. He clearly didn’t want to mention their previous encounter, so she would just pretend it had never happened.
“Well, be welcome, Your Grace. How do you do?” she asked bravely, walking toward him with her hand outstretched. He clasped it reluctantly for the very briefest of seconds, then let go. Louisa sat herself down very prettily on the edge of a settee, doing her best to feign ease.
“You might as well be seated, Your Grace. I imagine we have a lot of matters to discuss regarding my parents’ estate. I’ve ordered us some refreshments. ” As though they had been listening at the door, several servants entered with a tray full of tea things, cakes, and sandwiches. The chocolate cakes were ones she had made herself. “How do you take your tea?” she inquired sweetly.
The duke finally seemed to recover himself somewhat to talk, although he still looked as though he were suffering from an extreme migraine. “Black, I thank you.”
* * *
Jon sat down in an armchair across from Louisa. The woman in front of him right now looked so altogether different from the wild, free-spirited thing he’d run into the other day.
He had not been expecting her to be so obliging. In the same circumstances, Jonathan knew himself well enough to believe he’d be rather more resentful than this girl was appearing to be. And that was without adding in their illicit kiss this other night. No, better to forget that.
“I was terribly sorry to learn of the passing of your parents,” he began a few moments later, finally recalling his purpose in coming here. “I was never fortunate to meet them myself, but from all I’ve heard, they seem to have been the most up
right, honest people.”
For a moment, Louisa’s tranquility seemed to crack, but she quickly smoothed out her features. “It has been difficult, these past few months without them,” she admitted. Although, if what Jon had witnessed of her behavior the other day was any indication, she had taken the opportunity of their absence to become quite wild.
After he had been there only a quarter of an hour, Jonathan stood up, his tea hardly touched. “I had wanted to come by and pay my respects to you first thing, Miss Kellynch. But I’ve much to attend to. I shall return in the morning to begin my discussions with your father’s lawyer and steward.”
“Are you returning to your room in the village?” Louisa exclaimed. She looked shocked at the very idea. “No, Your Grace, I must insist you stay here. My housekeeper has already made up one of the spare rooms for you.”
“Very kind of you, madam,” he said with a bow. “I’m very obliged. But I wouldn’t wish to impose.” More like, he wanted to be as far from Louisa as he possibly could.
She looked on the verge of saying something else, but then she simply curved her lips into a sweet smile. “As you wish, Your Grace. I shall look for you on the morrow.”
* * *
Louisa watched the duke stride quickly from the room and sank back in relief as soon as she heard the front door close. He hadn’t touched his tea or cake. She took a bite of the chocolate one. Delicious. More for her then.
Over the next few, the duke spent most of his time in discussion with her father’s steward. The man had taken to speaking to Louisa only when necessary, and then only in crisp tones of the utmost politeness. Perhaps he would be more agreeable if he’d had several pints of bad beer in him, she reflected wryly.
Too bad he was still pretending as though nothing untoward had ever occurred between the two. He hadn’t even allowed her to throw a dinner for him, eating only in the village.
So his announcement a few days later that the two of them would be leaving Haverton to his estate Longfield Manor in Devonshire the next day came as a bit of a surprise. She had known the removal was coming, but she hadn’t expected it to occur so soon, with so little warning. Her initial attempts at persuading him to allow her to remain here had proved ineffective. It seemed the duke was eager to quit Haverton. If he couldn’t see the beauty of it, then he really didn’t deserve to be landowner here. If only the law prioritized that, over gender.
Jon and Louisa were to leave in a rented equipage since he had ridden his horse here. Then, the majority of her clothing and other belongings she wished to carry with her to Devonshire would follow. Louisa, who didn’t see any appeal in spending multiple days cooped up inside the small coach, suggested that she ride Peppercorn on the journey. This, Jon had flatly refused, so Louisa was trapped in the carriage for the duration of the trip with no clue when Peppercorn would be able to join them in Devonshire.
But whether this was because the duke was worried about Louisa comporting herself properly, or only because he didn’t want to ride on horseback alongside her, she didn’t know.
Chapter 3
Jon had wrapped up the affairs of Haverton in record time and now he was eager to return home just as quickly. He determined that most of the servants would remain on, caring for the estate in his absence and selected a few of the more trustworthy male servants to transport Louisa’s belongings onward to Devonshire. All that baggage would only slow them down if they brought it in the carriage with them, and Jon wanted to be out of this town as soon as he could possibly manage it.
He hadn’t had time to arrange her place at finishing school yet, so Louisa would be returning to Devonshire with him. With any luck, she wouldn’t stay there for long though. Jon had momentarily considered leaving her behind at Haverton, but his sense of duty as her guardian didn’t allow him to do so. Who knew what other mischiefs the girl would get herself into if she remained behind alone?
Still, he felt for Louisa, being completely disrupted from the world she had known. Jon told her to bring one of the female servants to attend her on the journey and in Devonshire. At least then she would be accompanied by a familiar face. And as a bonus, he would not be left traveling alone with her unchaperoned for several days. There was too much opportunity in that for temptation.
On the day of the journey, Jon packed Louisa, her servant, and a few small bags filled with traveling clothes in the coach and climbed on his horse to ride alongside. He could do with the fresh air, and the thought of being cramped up in that compartment with his ward…well, it would just be better if he avoided that, if possible. They left bright and early, with Jon hoping to make good time. It was still several days until they would arrive in Devonshire.
However, that plan was quickly dashed. They had barely traveled more than 20 miles from Haverton when he heard a pounding on the door of the carriage. After the driver had stopped, and Jon went to investigate, he found the poor young maidservant in tears of distress over being forced to go so far from her parents.
He could see Louisa was attempting to console the girl, but her efforts clearly weren’t working. Jon frowned. He hadn’t expected a disruption quite this early in their journey.
“What’s your name?” he asked the servant.
“S-Sarah,” she said between sniffles.
“And how old are you, Sarah?” he asked.
“I’m 15, Your Grace,” she whispered, tears still streaming down her face.
Jonathan sighed. Fifteen was young, but it wasn’t that young. “Can I speak with you for a moment?” he asked Louisa, motioning for her to join him outside the carriage. “Can’t you calm her down?” He didn’t much fancy the idea of being surrounded by a crying teenaged girl for the next two days.
“She’s worried about her mother,” Louisa said in a low voice so it wouldn’t carry to Sarah. “She didn’t say anything about it to me before, but she just confided her mother is truly ill. And there’s no one else at home to watch over her younger brother.”
“That is unfortunate,” Jon admitted, “but why in heaven didn’t she say something about this sooner?
“She was afraid you’d dismiss her if she refused to attend me. After all, you were clearly impatient to leave, Your Grace.”
Jon may have been impatient, but he wasn’t a monster. “I won’t dismiss her,” he said. “And I won’t force her to relocate against her will. If she wishes to remain in Haverton with her family, we can arrange something. I’ll write to the housekeeper to inform her of the change in plan as soon as we stop to switch the horses. She won’t lose any wages on account of this,” he assured Louisa. “I will not punish the girl for caring about her family.”
Louisa’s smile beamed up at him in response and Jon caught a glimpse of the untamed Lou he had met originally. He had to glance away, or he would have been caught up in its brilliance. Her smile turned to a delicate frown as a thought occurred to her. “Why write the housekeeper though? Can’t you inform her yourself when we drop Sarah off back in Haverton?”
“We’re not turning around,” Jon said decisively.
“But how—?”
“We’ve already lost enough time with this delay. Retracing our steps will only add another half day to our journey. We’ll keep going forward. At the next inn we pass, we’ll hire Sarah a seat on a coach going the opposite direction.” He said this all a little more harshly than he’d intended, still caught slightly off balance by Louisa’s unguarded smile from moments before. He continued, more gently, “There’s an inn not more than 10 miles ahead. She’ll be home before dark,” he promised.
He left Louisa to relay the change of plans to the girl. Jon’s mind had already moved on. Now Louisa would be without a female companion of any sort for the remainder of the trip. Since he was her guardian now, it would be acceptable, but Jon really should have gone back to Haverton anyway and insisted they bring along a different lady’s maid to accompany Louisa. That process would have set them back at least another day though, and Jon was eager to have thi
s whole situation put behind him as soon as possible.
No matter. He would ensure he was never alone with Louisa in private for the rest of the journey. And as soon as they arrived in Devonshire, he’d hire a new maid for her. Problem solved.
Jon kept his word. As soon as they’d come to a suitable inn, they came to a halt again. It was nearing midday anyway, so this was as good an excuse as any to water the horses and take a lunch. While the innkeeper was preparing their food, Jon jotted out a quick note to the housekeeper to send along with Sarah. The poor girl was still blubbering, but these seemed to be tears of relief. She kept sniffing and thanking His Grace for his kindness. Finally, when they’d all eaten and seen Sarah sent off back to Haverton, Jon and Louisa resumed their journey.
There were no more delays, and all went smoothly that afternoon. They had made good time when they pulled up at their inn for the evening. If the group rode hard tomorrow and made sure to switch out their horses for fresh mounts, they might actually make it to Devonshire before full dark the next day.
Fortunately, Jon was able to secure two separate rooms at the inn. Sharing a single room with Louisa…that did not bear thinking about. His ward seemed unusually quiet while the inn’s servants transferred their luggage inside from the coach. Perhaps all the changes were finally sinking in for her. Leaving behind her home and the memories it contained could not be easy. And she was so young, after all.
Jon arranged for dinner with the innkeeper to be sent up to their respective rooms. Perhaps a more gentlemanly person would have offered to keep Louisa company while she ate, but then again, a gentleman wouldn’t be longing to pull her onto his lap either. Jon pushed his sympathies aside. It would be better for him to keep his distance, especially without a lady’s maid present. So instead, Jon said a brisk good night to Louisa in the hallway. He ate his meal in depressing silence alone in his room, only the flames of the fireplace to keep him company.
