Mending the Duke's Heart: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Bridget Barton

  “Are you sure you're not regretting letting me stay on for a while longer?” Ella had to ask.

  She knew if she didn’t insist he clarify his earlier statement, she would be up all night wondering if dancing with her and their conversation during the dance had been the moment he had referred to earlier.

  “Absolutely not,” he said firmly and a bit louder.

  She turned and looked at him, startled by the strength of his words. Leaning over, he cupped her cheeks in both his hands as he had done earlier.

  “How could you ever think that after what I said? I thought I made my feelings clear— but perhaps not,” he added more to himself. He took a deep breath, “I am falling in love with you, Ella Ward.”

  “You couldn’t possibly be,” Ella whispered, tears pooling in her eyes again.

  “I assure you, I could,” he chuckled back.

  “But I am nothing but a simple seamstress.”

  “You are so much more,” he stated just as firmly as he had done earlier. “I don’t care about your parentage, social class, or any of that. You are a strong, talented, kind, generous, and hardworking lady. All qualities I greatly admire. You are beautiful both inside and out, a rarity in my experience.”

  “But I never meant to make you feel that way,” she said, shaking her head in his cupped hands. “I never had any intentions to pursue a better life or…trick anyone into feeling affection for me.”

  “I would never think you had,” he assured her. “I expect one could not help but fall in love with you, my dear,” he finished as he brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. “But of course if you don’t feel the same,” he said with a flash of worry.

  She turned her body and scooted closer so that there was no room left between them. She let her hands trail up his forearms to rest softly on his shoulder. At the same time, he let one hand slip around her waist while the other curled into the hair at the nape of her neck.

  Even sitting, he towered over her, and Ella had to tilt her head up to look at him. She could feel the warmth of his breath so near to hers, and she was instantly reminded of that almost kiss.

  “I know I can be a bit of a beast, and I let other’s prejudice cloud my judgment at first, but I hope that you could see past that. I am not a whole man, to be truthful with you. I struggle to trust people and their motives, and I don’t know if that will really ever change about me. I do have a title and legacy to uphold. So a connection with me would have the added discomfort of a title and expectation on you. Perhaps it’s not fair of me to ask that of you…”

  Smiling, Ella put her fingers to his lips to silence his nervous rambling.

  “I was just as foolish at first, perhaps more, because I had nothing but good said to me about you. But I was quick to judge you on my own and assume so many wrong things. Despite that, you have shown me kindness and charity. You may not think you are a whole man, but you have a whole heart, and I feel fortunate just to even own a small corner of it. But for me, Your Grace, you are the owner of all my heart.”

  He smiled down at her, relieved that she too shared his feelings. He lowered his head just a little so that their foreheads touched. He hesitated for a moment as he did the last time. Ella wasn’t willing to risk someone interrupting them again.

  Leaning forward, she boldly pressed her lips to his, running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. She could feel his smile against her lips as he responded to her kiss.

  She was new at this, and in her mind very inexperienced. The Duke was slow and delicate as he kissed her slowly, encouraging her in the art.

  Reluctantly she knew that they must stop. It would be disastrous if they were discovered. She pressed her hands gently on his firm chest. Not to push him away, but he knew exactly what she meant. He released his lips from hers and they touched foreheads again.

  She was glad that he seemed just as out of breath as she was.

  “If I have a heart at all,” he said in a hot whisper, “it is only because you have sewn it back together.”

  Chapter 25

  After such a long and eventful night, it was no wonder that the house didn’t rise until well past noon. It had taken a little coercion, but the Duke had convinced Miss Ward to rejoin the party downstairs. He had ensured she stayed by his side or at least very near for the remainder of the evening. At the same time, he was ever on alert to avoid Lady Clarissa altogether.

  The final guest had left just as the sun began to peek above the horizon, and the whole house very sleepily retired to their beds. The Duke led both his sister and Miss Ward upstairs while the servants below began the arduous task of cleaning up. He was glad to deposit his sister off first so that he could steal one more kiss on Miss Ward’s delicate hand before bidding her a good night.

  He loved to watch the blush rise in her cheeks and was sure he would be happy to find new ways to do so for the rest of his life.

  The breakfast table was much subdued the following morning. The Duke sat reading the morning paper, having risen slightly earlier than the others and had already had his meal, while Miss Ward and Lady Pamala quietly munched on toast and cold cuts left over from the night before.

  “Ugh, my feet are throbbing,” Lady Pamala said to break the silence. “I think I must have danced every single set last night.”

  The Duke peeled down the paper to view his sister. She wasn’t at all put out by the fact that her feet were sore. Instead, she seemed to be rather excited about it.

  “I expect you will need to get used to it,” the Duke replied before shaking his paper back into place. “You will be a new shiny object at all the social events for at least the next month,” he continued from behind the pages.

  “I wasn’t the only new shiny object,” Lady Pamala continued. “Miss Ward’s name was on just about everyone’s lips last night,” she finished with a playful look at the miss.

  The Duke didn’t like the sound of that. He quickly closed his paper and pushed it to the side. Clearly, his sister was awake enough for conversation, and though the Duke had been enjoying the silence he was reading in, now there was something far more interesting—and irritating—for him to set his attention on.

  “I think you are overstating things a bit,” Miss Ward replied as she spread some marmalade on her toast. “I was just a new face, and once they knew who I was, that was the end of it.”

  “I don’t think that’s true,” Lady Pamala countered. “I think people were very interested in you. I think you would have seen that too if my dear brother hadn’t been circling you back to our group all night long.”

  Miss Ward let her crystal blue eyes find the Duke’s, and when he gave her a wink, she blushed and looked away.

  “I didn’t mind it,” she replied softly.

  “Really? I thought it was rather of annoying of him,” Lady Pamala gave her brother a teasing annoyed look. “How are you supposed to increase your circle of acquaintances if Winthrope is always keeping you near him? Half the ton avoids him altogether, and the only ones that outright seek him out are those stuffy old lords from Parliament.”

  “I just wanted to keep Miss Ward near to ensure she was being treated well and enjoying herself.”

  “How could she enjoy herself with you hovering over her?”

  “I assure you, Lady Pamala, I didn’t mind it at all,” Miss Ward interjected into the squabble. “It was nice to be near familiar faces for most of the night.”

  Before any more could be said on the matter noise from outside the breakfast room door suggested that they had a visitor.

  “I wonder who that could be?” Lady Pamala inquired. “It is still quite early yet for someone to call. Are you expecting Lord Melvin?” She turned her head from attempting to see through the oak door to her brother at the head of the table.

  “No, I expect he will still be in bed. He spoke of taking a turn around a real card hall before retiring to his bed when he left last night,” the Duke replied.

  Before anymore speculat
ion could be made on the matter, the door swung open and the Dowager Duchess entered the room. She was immaculately dressed in a dark blue velvet walking dress and a lace cap. Even though only a handful of hours had passed since she was last in the house, she looked wholly refreshed, well-rested, and alight with the day's prospects.

  “Mother,” the Duke said, standing and moving over to pull out a chair for his mother at his side. “We weren’t expecting you so early. Have you had breakfast yet?”

  “Oh yes, I ate hours ago,” she said though she still took the chair. “Perhaps just some tea would be nice.”

  Miss Ward went to work making the cup for the Dowager Duchess, glad that the pot had just been replaced by one of the footmen.

  “You did that quite nicely, dear, thank you,” the Dowager Duchess said with a little hint of surprise in her tone as she took the china cup and saucer.

  “Thank you, Your Grace,” Miss Ward said, beaming from ear to ear.

  The two ladies had gotten to know each other very well over the course of the previous night. By the end of it, the Dowager Duchess had commented to the Duke that she was glad that Miss Ward had joined their household. She had determined that Ella Ward was every bit a fine miss as anyone else and even more so having only begun studying the art of being a proper lady.

  He had been relieved to hear such high praise by his mother. It would make it slightly easier when he informed her that he was determined to marry the miss. Of course, he would have to ask Miss Ward first before he could even broach the idea with his mother.

  He had all the confidence in the world that she would agree to the arrangement, however. In any other circumstance, he would have said his title alone was an assurance that a lady would agree to marry him. Still, he knew that such a thing didn’t hold much weight with Ella Ward. If two weeks ago he had asked her for her hand, she would have indeed shot him down and probably decorated it with a great many aspersions on his character.

  Now, however, he was sure that she had seen through the thick exterior that had irritated and infuriated her, and was just as in love with him as he was with her.

  “What plans do you have for the day, Winthrope?” the Dowager Duchess asked in a very business-like manner.

  The Duke was a little taken aback by this sudden focus on his person, and it took him a few moments to speak.

  “I hadn’t really planned much. I suspect Lord Melvin will be by sometime later this afternoon to discuss business. I suspect I should go to the club at some point to discuss the matter of impending riots at the textile factories with Lord Burly. Still, other than that…” his voice trailed off as he scrutinized his mother. “Why? You look very calculating today, Mother, and it worries me.”

  The Dowager Duchess gave a very feminine giggle as she waved off the notion that she could ever be calculating.

  “I was just wondering, dear, that is all. I thought I might walk Covent Garden with Pamala and Miss Ward after breakfast. It will be a good time to arrange outfits and the like for the next few events. Lady Cunningham’s charity luncheon for the orphanage is at the forefront of my mind,” she added in speaking to Lady Pamala. “Though it will be just ladies present, a great many mothers of fine unattached lords will be keenly aware of prospects and how deep their pin money goes.”

  The Duke was elated to hear that his mother spoke of including Miss Ward into her plans as if she was already a permanent member of their family.

  “Oh, and don’t forget to call on Lady Clarissa, dear,” the Dowager Duchess finished before taking another sip of her tea.

  The three remaining members of the breakfast table all gave each other uneasy looks. After learning of Lady Clarissa’s manipulative nature from his sister, he had no intention to call on the lady, hoping his purposeful absence would send the message across that he was not in fact interested in courting her. Though he hadn’t discussed the matter of her personality flaws with his mother, he assumed she had come to the same conclusion after declaring her a prospect worth vetting the night before.

  “Actually, I thought I might skip that,” the Duke said in a soft but controlled manner.

  His mother looked at him slightly taken aback by the declaration.

  “You can’t, not after dancing two sets with her. It will be expected. Not to mention she is shaping up to be a very viable option for you.”

  “Viable option?” the Duke stammered out in surprise.

  “Yes. I spoke with her mother and aunt last night. They are both well-respected ladies, of course. You are familiar with her father, Earl Gatherstone, though I’m not sure if you have met her brother, Viscount Hampton. I hear he is a bit of an adventurer and wishes to join the Royal Army. Of course, his father would never allow such a thing with his one and only son,” the Dowager Duchess rambled on.

  “I do know Lord Gatherstone well, and though I am sure they are a good family if you knew what I learned in regards to Lady Clarissa’s character and tendencies you might not think her a worthy prospect,” the Duke interjected.

  He was sure his mother was ready to prattle on for a full half-hour as she retold every bit of information she gleaned from Lady Gatherstone.

  “What are you talking about? Everything about her is perfect. Honestly, I don’t know why I didn’t think of her before. Such good upbringing and a well-connected titled family to boot, she would make a fine choice. It would solidify your place with the Tories as well, you know. Lord Gatherstone is very respected in the house,” the Dowager continued.

  The Duke did his best not to roll his eyes like his sister might as his mother informed him on political situations he was very invested in, and she had almost no knowledge about.

  “Lord Gatherstone is a splendid fellow, and I’m sure it would be nice to have a connection to him as it would help some of the older Lords that seem to rally behind him connect more with present times, but I don’t think political advancement should be the focus of my personal affairs.”

  “Well, of course not,” the Dowager Duchess replied, “I simply meant it would be an added bonus to the connection. I don’t see how you could find any faults in the lady anyway. Her tendencies? Certainly, if she is good enough to be a friend to your sister…”

  “Do you not remember last night at all?” the Duke cut in. Clearly, he would have to be the one to lay out plainly to his mother that Lady Clarissa was nothing more than a title hungry, self-serving, shallow, manipulative lady.

  “Well, I’m sure it was all just an accident.” The Dowager Duchess reached next to her and patted Miss Ward’s hand.

  At that moment, the Duke realized his mother still thought the debacle was through some fault of Miss Ward and not the real culprit.

  “It wasn’t an accident, Mother,” Lady Pamala interjected. “Lady Clarissa did it on purpose. I showed her my dress. She mentioned she had the same fabric, but I really didn’t think anything of it at the time, but last night she told me that she took it to Mrs Ward’s shop and had it altered in a like fashion.”

  “Why would she do such a thing?” the Dowager Duchess asked in shock.

  “She claimed it was a mistake. That she had forgotten all about me showing her the gowns upstairs after tea and it must have just sat in the back of her mind as she asked for the rushed alterations.”

  “But that clearly wasn’t the case,” the Duke cut in when he saw his mother relax a bit in satisfaction to the explanation.

  He expected she was about to agree that it was probably just a mistake.

  “Tell her what you told me,” the Duke encouraged his sister to continue on.

  He knew it wasn’t in her nature to speak ill of anyone, even one so deserving of the judgment.