Love in the Moonlight: A Regency Romance All Hallows' Eve Collection: 7 Delightful Regency Romance All Hallows' Eve Stories (Regency Collections Book 6)

by Arietta Richmond

  Madalene sat on her bed and focused her attention on Matilda, tossing a small ball to the far corners of the room that she would fetch and return. Pamela pondered her next words and then cautiously decided to speak freely to her daughter.

  “What do you think of the Earl and Countess?” she asked.

  Madalene did not hesitate.

  “Oh, I like them both very much. They have been so kind to us and I do not think that they deserve the things that the villagers say about them.”

  Pamela nodded her agreement.

  “Then rather than stay away, why not attend the dance together and show everyone how much you respect them?” She reached a hand out and lifted Madalene’s chin so that she could look her in the eye. With a wink and a smile, Pamela added, “The Earl was planning to fill your dance card.”

  Madalene caught her breath and felt the pounding in her chest that had become all too frequent this past month. But then she remembered Hester’s words and tears filled her eyes.

  “What is it, darling, what is wrong?” asked her mother.

  “It was to be kept a secret, but I have heard that the Countess and Earl are making plans for the Earl’s wedding. He is soon to be betrothed. So I do not think it would be appropriate for him to dance with me at the All Hallows’ Eve ball.” She lowered her head and even Matilda could not attract her attention to toss the ball again.

  Madalene was taken completely off guard when her mother started to laugh.

  “Oh, my dear daughter. Of course, they are planning the Earl’s betrothal. It is his plan to make his intention known on All Hallows’ Eve. When he asks you to dance every dance in front of the entire village.”

  “What…” Madalene lifted her head slowly, her brow furrowed as she tried to understand the impact of her mother’s words.

  “He wishes to marry you.”

  Chapter Seven

  Gemma brought Madalene her breakfast of toast, jam and tea on a tray in her bedroom. Gemma was beside herself with excitement from the previous evening. Even she had attended the All Hallows’ Eve ball, albeit to help serve, but she had enjoyed herself immensely, nonetheless. Her own importance had risen in the eyes of the other maids when it became known that Gemma was to be the Lady’s maid to the new Countess.

  The Earl had filled Madalene’s dance card and halfway through the evening, the vicar had stopped the music and made the announcement that they were to be married as soon as the banns had been posted for the required three weeks.

  Isabelle Newton and her parents made a few snide remarks about how appropriate it was for the announcement to occur on All Hallows’ Eve as it gave the Earl an opportunity to call on the spirits to rid his family of their curse. The three of them were frozen out in short shrift by all the other attendees who were thrilled for Gabriel and Madalene. It seemed that only the Newton’s were keeping alive the stories about Warfield Manor and the curse.

  As befitting All Hallows’ Eve, Madalene found the night magical as Gabriel swept her onto the dance floor repeatedly.

  She glowed in the candlelight as they twirled through the intricate steps.

  She was equally excited for Hester, who she winked at when they formed a square for a reel, Hester getting her wish and dancing with the young man who had caught her fancy.

  The whirlwind of events was still so unbelievable to Madalene. She had thought that the Earl was avoiding her, and had no interest whatsoever in a romantic relationship with her. Pamela explained to Madalene how she and Elizabeth had been discussing a match between them for weeks.

  Gabriel was smitten with Madalene, but Elizabeth had told Pamela that he had a health concern to address before he felt comfortable proposing marriage. Elizabeth had been vague but assured Pamela that it was nothing serious that could not be remedied. It had been weighing on the Earl’s mind, however, which is why he had seemed distant, and had spent long hours away from the manor. Once he’d felt confident that he could overcome his challenges, he and the Countess had jointly agreed that the All Hallows’ Eve party would be the right time to make his intentions known.

  Madalene finished her breakfast quickly and asked Gemma to help her dress. She was anxious to speak with her fiancé this morning and start to plan their future together. After pinning her hair up and donning a cream-colored day dress, she slipped her feet into house slippers and fluttered downstairs, feeling as if she could nearly fly, so happy was she.

  ~~~~~

  “You must follow your heart, Gabriel,” said the Countess. “Do not feel obligated to move forward to please others. Do what you believe in your heart is best.”

  “I know, mother,” he said sadly. “But I care about her so much, and worry that I shall cause her pain.”

  “Do you think sending her away is best for everyone?” Elizabeth asked.

  “You have seen her,” Gabriel replied. “She is completely unsuitable to be seen in public and it would be totally inappropriate for me to hold her here.”

  ~~~~~

  Madalene froze as she listened to Gabriel and his mother whispering in the parlour. How was this possible? Last night, she was his fiancé, announced to the entire village. This morning, he changed his mind and found her unsuitable? What had she done? How had she embarrassed him?

  Madalene heard footsteps within the parlour and sensed that Gabriel was on his way into the hallway. She ran up the stairs to her rooms, flung herself on her bed and began to weep. Matilda jumped onto the bed and nestled beside her, whining as if she also felt Madalene’s pain. After nearly an hour, Madalene was spent from crying and fell into a fitful sleep. She was still exhausted from the dance the previous evening, but her head was swirling with these new revelations that somehow seemed unreal to her. Was this really happening?

  Madalene heard a crash and bolted upright, certain it had come from above her head. Had she still been sleeping and heard the sound in her dream or was it real? No, she was certain she had been lying awake for some time, planning her departure from Warfield Manor and thinking about how she would tell her mother that the Earl was breaking their engagement.

  “Eeeee-aaaaa-hhhhh.” The piercing scream most definitely came from the upper level. There was no mistaking it.

  Madalene leapt off the bed and Matilda jumped to her feet, ears perked as she waited for a prompt.

  “You stay here, girl,” said Madalene, uncertain whether it was better to follow the sound with or without her little dog by her side.

  One thing was certain. Madalene would, once and for all, investigate the source of the sounds whether or not the Earl approved. She would soon be banished from the manor, be shamed and humiliated by a broken engagement, and she would not leave until she had uncovered whatever sinister events were occurring here.

  She climbed the flight of stairs not far from her own room and stopped on the landing outside of the wooden door that she nearly opened weeks earlier when Gemma had stopped her. With a deep breath, she gingerly placed one hand, palm flat, on the door and the other on the oversized brass knob, hoping it was not locked and that it would turn.

  As she exhaled, she turned the door handle and pushed the heavy door inwards. The hinges squeaked so loudly in the silence that Madalene was sure that they could be heard all the way to the main floor of the manor, but she sucked in another breath and continued into the room.

  She was alone.

  And suddenly awestruck at the gorgeous library that unfolded before her.

  It was breathtaking, with dark wooden bookshelves on three walls, reaching nearly two stories high. A rolling ladder was positioned in the center of one of the walls and Madalene had the sense that someone had recently climbed it to select a volume. The fourth wall was all windows, from floor to ceiling, jewel-toned drapes drawn back to allow the morning sun to stream into the room. Not a speck of dust was in sight, evidence that this room was often cleaned, dusted and occupied. The view was expansive over the grounds and rolling hills in the distance.

  Gemma said that only Gabrie
l and the Perkins’ were allowed access to this room. It was obvious that the Perkins’ maintained the room to perfection. Is this where Gabriel spent most of his time? Why would he not allow anyone else to use it? Why would he not share it with her? Was it the Earl’s movements she had heard earlier, and all those other nights? But what about the scream? Was the manor haunted and the Earl under some kind of curse?

  “What are you doing in here?” The bellowing baritone was so unexpected that Madalene nearly jumped three feet in the air, then whirled to see Gabriel’s imposing figure filling the doorway.

  She had not heard him on the stairs nor approaching the room and her face turned pale as a ghost as she simultaneously wondered if he was some kind of spirit, so noiselessly had he appeared.

  She considered lying, saying that Matilda had run from her and she ended up chasing her this way, but thought better of it, seeing as how the dog was closed in her bedroom one level lower.

  “I… heard a noise,” she said. She winced as he continued to stare at her, unflinching, silently awaiting a response, an explanation expectant in his gaze.

  Madalene lowered her eyes to break his gaze, but then thought better of backing down demurely, the humiliation of his earlier words to the Countess flooding back.

  “I heard noises and a scream, just like those I’ve heard at night that you tried to dismiss.” She raised her chin and looked at him defiantly. “But this time I was awake, and decided to investigate.”

  He stood stock still, arms folded, and waited for her to continue.

  “There are rumours about you and this family in town and I wanted to get to the truth.”

  Gabriel’s eyes remained on her. His voice was barely above a whisper but there was no mistaking his anger.

  “And rather than come to me directly, you chose to sneak into my private office?”

  “I tried to come to you directly, when we were riding. You dismissed me. You lied to me! You told me the noises were the servants and that the rooms had been closed for years.” Her voice was shaking now.

  “In the first place, what I told you was not untrue.” Gabriel’s voice was softening although he was still clearly upset. “The servants do keep these rooms clean and they are generally closed to everyone but me.” He continued after a pause. “In the second place, when you approached me about it out riding, we were still merely acquaintances and I did not feel it necessary to reveal my family’s deepest secrets to you at that time.”

  Madalene opened her mouth to respond, but could not find words to express her disappointment at his indifference to her. He may have been angry to find her sneaking around his private space, but how dare he make excuses for his reticence after his display at the All Hallows’ Eve party.

  And she was still stinging from the revelation she had overheard between him and his mother merely hours earlier.

  “Madalene, we only became engaged last night.” Gabriel took her hand. “We have much to discuss. I was planning to explain everything to you but you are hardly giving me a chance.”

  She drew her hand from his.

  “You do not need to pretend anymore,” she said. “I overheard you and the Countess this morning. I know you are planning to break our engagement and send me away.”

  The loud guffaw was the last thing Madalene expected to hear from Gabriel.

  “Send you away? Oh, my dear, you do have a wild imagination, no doubt exacerbated by all those rumours from Isabelle Newton, about ghosts and curses.”

  Madalene was livid that he would laugh at her as he did and turned to storm out of the room when a noise stopped her in her tracks.

  “Gaaaab-byyy!”

  The muffled shout seemed to come from inside one of the books on the library wall. Madalene shivered as she looked questioningly at Gabriel, who had reached out and grabbed her hand to keep her from leaving the room.

  “Come here, Madalene,” he said, his voice quiet and serious. “Come and meet my sister.”

  Chapter Eight

  Madalene’s eyes widened as her fear and anger turned to bewilderment and she allowed Gabriel to lead her to the wall of books from which she thought she’d heard the voice. He reached up and removed a large volume, placing it on the desk in front of the massive windows, then slipped his hand inside the space vacated by the book. Madalene heard a click and a hidden door was exposed beyond the books.

  The spacious room was light and airy with sheer drapes fluttering in the breeze onto the balcony. The drapes that Madalene and Hester had seen from the vicarage grounds. A young woman, about Madalene’s own age, looked up when they entered, her face animated in a full smile as she reached her arms out to Gabriel.

  Alice.

  Her name was Alice and she was Gabriel’s younger sister. Daughter to the late Earl of Wrotham and his first wife, Henrietta, Gabriel’s mother.

  Gabriel gently calmed Alice, rubbing her back and speaking to her in soothing tones as he introduced his fiancé to her. Alice allowed Madalene to take her hands and eventually smiled in acceptance before Mrs. Perkins carried a tray into the room with tea and sandwiches.

  Mrs. Perkins looked in puzzlement from Gabriel to Madalene. “I can help Alice with her tea, my Lord,” she said, sensing that Gabriel and Madalene had much to discuss.

  Gabriel nodded in gratitude, leaned down to give Alice a brief hug, telling her he would be back shortly, and led Madalene back into the library. He guided her to a black leather settee and took her hands in his to tell her the entire story of his family.

  “When my mother died in childbirth, Alice survived, but just barely. The cord had been wrapped around her neck and she had been deprived of air for several minutes. My father was grief-stricken over the death of my mother and could not care for Alice, so he sent her away to the home of a cousin of the Perkins. The cousin had her own baby was able to be a wet nurse and take care of Alice properly. Everyone in the village assumed that the baby had died along with my mother.”

  For the next two hours, Gabriel told Madalene how his father had grieved so deeply over losing his wife that he could barely care for two-year-old Gabriel, or tend to the estate. Elizabeth, the current Countess, had been Henrietta’s dearest friend and had spent long hours caring for Gabriel after Henrietta’s death, holding him when he cried for his mother and soothing him to sleep. The Earl begged Elizabeth to marry him for Gabriel’s sake, and in memory of her dear friend.

  Elizabeth’s father was against the marriage and wanted her to marry one of the more suitable men, but Elizabeth had become devoted to Gabriel. She stubbornly refused all other suitors and her father finally allowed her to marry the Earl. The townspeople had found it totally inappropriate that the widower Earl would remarry so soon after the untimely death of his wife and child, so Elizabeth became reclusive, staying secluded on the estate, raising Gabriel. Soon after, the Earl revealed the truth about Alice, and Elizabeth insisted that she be brought home to Warfield Manor as well.

  “It soon became clear that Alice was not a normal child. She did not learn to speak the same way that other children do, and she would just rock herself for hours. She did not learn and did not play.” It was clear from the narrative that it was painful for Gabriel to recall the story, even so many years later. “But she was my sister, and I loved her. We were devoted to one another and I protected her. My father could never accept that he had fathered a child who was mentally limited. He assumed there was something physically wrong with his heredity, his character.”

  Gabriel’s face was sad as he spoke.

  “He vowed never to father another child. This was very painful for my mother… my adoptive mother, the Countess.”

  “That is why Isabelle said that the Countess’ barrenness was part of the curse,” said Madalene. “Your father would not allow her to have his child.”

  “No, and as much as she loves me, and has devoted her life to me, I know it caused her pain that she never bore a child of her own.” There was no bitterness in his statement. He loved Eliz
abeth, she was his mother, and he held no animosity that she was disappointed by having been forbidden to have a baby. Gabriel continued the family history, seeing no reason to hold back anything anymore. “When I went to Eton, Alice became intolerable. She would moan and scream constantly and was found some nights running through the grounds barefoot in her robe. My father could not bear it, so he found an asylum where they would take care of her, and had her committed.”

  “The rumours of the woman wandering the grounds, and then the story that she was murdered and now haunts the estate.”

  Madalene softly stated what she had heard from Isabelle and Hester, all of it falling into place.

  Gabriel nodded. “I demanded that my father allow Alice to come home when I returned from Eton, but he refused. We fought about it terribly, and my last words to him were harsh. Finally, I left home and traveled the continent for years, until word of my father’s death reached me. As soon as I returned, as the new Earl, I brought Alice home and made sure that she was as comfortable as possible. The Perkins’ see to all of her physical needs and ensure that she has good food and fresh air. I visit her every day and read to her.”

  It was all overwhelming to Madalene. And there were still unanswered questions.

  “Why do you wish to send me away, my lord?” Madalene asked the question softly, recalling the conversation she had overheard between Gabriel and the Countess and deciding that now was the time for everything to be brought into the open, nothing left unsaid.

  “Send you away?” Gabriel’s brow furrowed. “My darling, we are to be married. Why would you think I would send you away?”

  Before she could speak, Gabriel understood. He slapped his hand to his forehead. “You heard mother and I speaking.” He smiled that teasing smirk that so irritated her and laughed, before explaining in a more serious tone. “I’ve been speaking to a couple who may be able to take care of Alice. They live on a large estate and care for several young men and women who are very similar to her, where they have a pleasant life. Alice may thrive better there than here, and Elizabeth has encouraged me to consider this option so that I can marry and focus my attention on my wife.”