Thwarting the Duke

by Ava Stone

  All of those stories made her more appealing to Laurence than her brothers would ever know, and made him more certain he wanted to offer for her. But how could he be sure she would accept? She'd not warmed to him much at all, that he could tell.

  He finally settled down to doze off just before dawn.

  It was once again only Lord Garner, Georgette, and herself in the carriage. But this time both of her companions had dozed off and left Agatha to her thoughts. It gave her ample opportunity to study the viscount without his knowledge and she had to admit that she enjoyed it quite a bit. Today's coat was a lovely shade of spring green, which only served to make her feel that much dowdier in her four-days-worn traveling dress. His dark hair was fashionably mussed, and his eyelashes were surprisingly lush. He had a day's growth of beard, apparently in too much of a rush this morning to shave. He was solidly built, all lithe muscle over long bone. In his sleep he had one booted foot stretch out, nearly touching her skirt. She found that surprisingly flirtatious. He had held her to dance before, but this near-touching of their clothes somehow seemed more intimate.

  She had been so irritated with him that day of the dance. She wondered now if part of his attitude had been because she had been irritating him. Her demur demeanor had met with his sneering scowls, but when she insulted him directly it as often as not made him laugh. A strange man, really. Seeming all the stranger because he had invited her to his estate to slay a dragon, and what on earth did that even mean. Her own family was peculiar, but even they didn't speak in such strange abstracts.

  Her perusal of his form was cut short by the carriage rattling over a bridge followed by the crunch of a drive under the wheels. She suspected they had arrived, and had it confirmed by the smile the viscount had when he peered out the window after waking. He was still stretching and yawning, looking wholly too good for a man just awakening from slumber.

  "Are you ready for the dragon?" he teased.

  "Perhaps this is a good time to remind you that my nickname is Saint Agatha, not Saint George."

  "Any saint in a pinch," he said with a shrug. A footman opened the door and Lord Garner sprang down, reaching back to hold her hand as she descended.

  She stopped on the top step and gaped. The estate was lovely. The house was enormous and made of pale brown carved stone. Flowers bloomed everywhere, racing across part of the lawn and tumbling from pots on the terrace. If she had tried to dream up the most perfect home it would have been this, except that her imagination would have fallen short of the reality.

  Lord Garner tugged on her hand. "Are you coming?"

  She snapped her mouth closed and descended the steps. He tucked her hand through his arm to stroll towards the front door. Leaning closer to her, he asked, "Do you mind if I introduce you as my fiancée?"

  "Do I mind? Why would you do that?" Alarms rang in her head, but she wasn't sure quite what his game was. Was his mother here? Was the duke himself tucked away here, and now Lord Garner simply wanted to prove he had fulfilled his promises to the old man?

  Rather than answer her question, the viscount merely raised his voice to call out to her brothers who were dismounting in the drive. "Fox, can I introduce your sister as my fiancée?"

  Her brother shrugged. "I'm in favor of it."

  "Me, too," Timid agreed.

  "I'll be the dissenting vote," Trouble said. He jogged over. "Don't worry, Agatha, I'm here to be as disagreeable as you need me to be."

  Somehow, having only Trouble on your side didn't feel comforting.

  Chapter 15

  Laurence enjoyed being in the thick of this family's mischief. Agatha looked alarmed while her brothers looked entertained. They undoubtedly thought that Laurence was on about a clever lark, but he wanted her to get used to the idea of being his fiancée before he truly asked her.

  "Come," he waved at all the Chases to follow him into the house. "We barely have time to dress for supper."

  "I didn't bring any of the London clothes," Miss Chase said breathlessly.

  "Surely you have at least one dress in your satchel?"

  She was shaking her head. "Nothing fine enough for a supper here," she said, indicating the door they were entering.

  He stopped to take her hands. "This is my home, Miss Chase. Anything you wear is fine enough. But if you prefer we can dine on trays in our rooms this evening so you have more of a chance to collect yourself."

  She wouldn't meet his gaze, but nodded her head. "Yes, please. That would be best."

  Ask her to slay a dragon and she didn't hesitate. Ask her to dine in an unsuitable dress and it was another matter entirely. He resisted the urge to kiss her hands.

  "Kirkland," he called out to the butler. "This is my fiancée Miss Agatha Chase and her brothers. I would like for them to stay in the east wing. Perhaps the blue drawing room could serve as a place for them to relax until their rooms are ready?"

  "Very good, my lord," Kirkland said, signaling to the staff.

  "They'll take good care of you," Laurence promised her. "If you'll excuse me, I'd best greet Aunt Edna or she'll not forgive me."

  Miss Chase looked up at him curiously. "Is that the dragon?"

  "Don't worry, I can survive at least one more encounter without you."

  "No, you should introduce me. That's why I'm here."

  "So you can't stand the thought of supper without the proper dress, but dragons give you no pause?"

  She gave him a smile he'd not seen before on her. Sly and more than a bit impudent. "I usually only eat dragons for breakfast, but I could make an exception just now as I'm feeling a bit peckish."

  Agatha's hands were horribly cold, but she thought it would be unwise to ask Lord Garner to hold them again. She'd liked that a bit too much. It wasn't just that the long, drafty halls were chilly, but also that she wasn't quite sure what to expect from Aunt Edna. Who brought a strange woman home to introduce to family as a fiancée? But, like it or no, she now owed Lord Garner a great deal and this was the one boon he had asked.

  The footman that had preceded them up the hall stopped by a door and knocked. A little maid answered and the two had a whispered conversation. The footman stepped back and the door closed.

  "Just a moment, my lord," the footman reported. "She will make sure your aunt is awake."

  Lord Garner took her hands in his larger, warmer ones again. "Are you all right? Your hands are like ice."

  "All warriors go through it before battle," she reassured him with mock gravity. "Certainly you went through it as an officer."

  His grin told her that he believed no such thing, but was entertained by her explanation. Before he could reply the door creaked open again and the little maid curtsied as she stepped aside. Lord Garner tucked her hand in his arm and escorted her inside.

  The room was large, but crowded with furniture and bric-a-brac. It was quite a bit warmer here than in the hallway, but the figure in the chair had a blanket tucked up to her chin.

  "I see you've decided to return." If a female toad had a voice, it would be Aunt Edna's. Deep and churlish.

  Agatha didn't have much time to consider her tactics, so she followed her instincts. She rushed up on the woman and threw her arms around the massive shoulders. "Aunt Edna! It's so thrilling to finally meet you. You can't imagine how much I've been looking forward to it."

  "Who is this gel?" she trumpeted at her nephew.

  "Aunt Edna, I'm delighted to present my fiancée, Miss Agatha Chase."

  "I just know we'll be best friends," Agatha gushed, "when I move here. It will be soon. Won't it be soon, Laurie?" She looked over her shoulder to bat her eyelashes at her supposed fiancé.

  He looked stunned for a moment, then replied. "Yes, of course. Very soon. As soon as you like."

  She turned back to Aunt Edna. "Then very, very soon. Won't that be grand? We can sew and chat and take in the air together in these lovely gardens and ride in the carriage and spend all day just doing as we please."

  "I already spend a
ll day doing as I please," Edna bleated.

  "Oh, but you must be so lonely. I'll fix that. I won't have anything to do until the babes come. And even then, I'm sure you'd love to see them crawling all around. No one loves the very young like the very old, I always say! We can knit booties and caps together. I'm ever so clever at knitting."

  Lord Garner drew Agatha to her feet. "Why don't we leave Aunt Edna to her rest, my love? I thought to serve supper in our rooms tonight on trays, if that is satisfactory Aunt Edna?"

  "Yes, that quite pleases me."

  "Oh, but supper is such an excellent time to talk," Agatha said, drifting back towards Aunt Edna as the woman shrank down in her chair. "Just last evening I had the best conversation with a man from Kent who told me all about his trip to Bath. Oh, the stories he had! I'd love to tell you all about them. Have you ever been to Bath? I have not, but just by hearing his stories I almost feel I've been there myself. What a magic it is to make people feel something with only your words, being able to transport them almost anywhere. If I were a fairy that's probably the magic I would want, the magic of words. Or maybe flowers. I love flowers, too."

  Agatha continued babbling until Lord Garner had dragged her out of the room. Once free of the oppressive space, she clapped a hand over her mouth to keep the giggles from escaping. The way the laughter would ring off these walls would ruin all of her hard work, so she kept her hand tightly in place as she nearly sprinted down the hallway. At the juncture she wasn't quite sure where to go and Lord Garner pulled her through a door, closing it behind them. She finally let herself laugh, doubling over in her mirth. Lord Garner laughed heartily beside her as well.

  "You should have seen her face," he said, chuckling, "when you hugged her. She looked like an incensed trout."

  Agatha could finally breathe again and said, "She will either warm to me, or move to another relative's house sooner rather than later. I'm not sure how long you want me to play fiancée."

  "Six months should be adequate, I would think," he said, taking her hands in his again.

  Agatha frowned. "Six months?"

  "I realize a year is more traditional, but you seem just as eager as I am."

  "I'm confused, Lord Garner. What are you playing at?"

  "Well," he said with a condescending sigh, "since you need me to explain it to you. Miss Agatha Chase, I would like to marry you."

  She tried to talk, but no words came out.

  "Now who looks like a trout?" he teased.

  "You would marry me to rid yourself of Aunt Edna?" she finally managed.

  "I think a better measure of my intention is that I would keep Aunt Edna if that's what you wanted."

  She closed her eyes for a moment. "Are we arguing over possession of Aunt Edna or something else?"

  "We're not arguing over anything, as far as I know. I'm asking you to marry me and you keep babbling about Aunt Edna."

  He kissed her hand and her eyes popped open.

  "You're quite serious," she said.

  "I often am. Which is more than I can say for you." He kissed her other hand.

  "I'm quite serious," she protested quietly as he drew her into his arms.

  "Oh? About what?"

  "Dragon slaying, and fairies, and any number of important things."

  "What about kisses?" he asked

  "Kisses sound quite serious," she agreed.

  He was close enough now that his words whispered over her lips. "If you agree to marry me, I'll kiss you quite seriously."

  "Obviously I must agree, so you can see how serious I am."

  "That's a yes?" he insisted, his lips brushing against hers with the words.

  "Yes," she sighed.

  His lips finally teased against hers, a gentle brushing that grew to a sweet clinging of mouths.

  Chapter 16

  Laurence was lost in the taste of her. His love was a ripe, succulent fruit for the sampling. She tasted like summer and hope and sunshine. It physically hurt to pull away from her.

  "I should take you back to your brothers," he said huskily.

  "Why?" Her voice was breathless in a way that stirred every bit of his masculine pride.

  "Because we are only newly engaged and you deserve to be treated with honor."

  She looked up at him as though his words had been in another language she needed to translate before understanding. "I see," she finally said. He wasn't sure that she did, but she took his arm willingly enough. They strolled through the long hallways without speaking, simply content to be together.

  Laurence realized now that in his grief over Horace’s death, and anger quite honestly, he had panicked at the thought of having to step into the role of viscount. Of having to care for the entire estate and all the dependents. It had never bothered him being responsible for so many souls on the ship, having to make difficult and at times terrible decisions that led to who lived and who died in battle. But the idea of being tied to this place forever had terrified him.

  Then he met Miss Chase. Agatha. With her unyielding determination to keep her family together, she was very much his opposite. He had told her once that she would have like Horace, and Horace would have undoubtedly liked her. They both lived and breathed for hearth and home. Or at least Agatha still did. In a way, it was almost a tribute to his brother to be marrying a woman who held tight to some of the same values. Who would make sure those values remained a part of their family.

  They finally came to the blue drawing room. Trouble was, for some reason, standing on the sofa. For Trouble reasons, one had to assume.

  "Trouble, get down," Agatha admonished in the tone he imagined she would use on their children when they were up to foolishness.

  "Are you still against our marriage?" Laurence asked him.

  Trouble jumped off the sofa and addressed his sister. "Am I still against your marriage?"

  "No," she said quietly, with that sly smile Laurence was only beginning to understand.

  "Huzzah!" Trouble cheered.

  He was not only gaining a wife, but three odd and entertaining brothers. Laurence had to admit that maybe the duke did know something after all.

  Epilogue

  Agatha was entertained by the coze she now found herself in. Under the constant barrage of her new grand-niece's affection, Aunt Edna had surrendered some of her surliness. The dragon if not slayed was at least tamed. She had also formed an attachment to Georgette and insisted on the woman's companionship. Now the three of them sat knitting in Edna’s rooms, only talking from time to time about inconsequential things.

  When Agatha would badger her husband about why he had married her, the thing he mentioned most often was her family. Not just the fact that she had one, but that she was capable of making and keeping one against every odd. She missed the boys. Fox still had Selby House, and was slowly repairing it with Laurence's help. He visited at least once a month, which cheered her considerably. But the twins had gone to the winds to seek their fortunes, and a day never went by that she didn't think of them and worry. Hopefully they would come home in time to meet their new niece or nephew.

  Georgette clacked her knitting needles together as she finished off the most recent booty. She'd beat them both again! Old and gnarled as her hands were, they'd not forgotten a bit of knitting proficiency.

  "Gracious, Georgie, I'm not even half done," Edna said.

  Agatha smiled at the two older women. She was truly blessed.

  About Sue London

  Best selling author Sue London created the beloved Regency romance series The Haberdashers. If you like your historical romance with a little action, a little humor, and a lot of strong-minded women, then this is the series for you!

  Connect With Sue

  @cmdrsue

  bysuelondon

  www.bysuelondon.com

  Also by Sue London

  Trials of Artemis

  Athena’s Ordeal

  Fates for Apate

  Saving Persephone

  Lord Lucifer
’s Disciple

  A Common Christmas

  Fortune Said

  Sweet Tannenbaum

  It’s In the Duke’s Kiss

  Julie Johnstone

  Dedication

  For my dear friend Nina who is always, unfailingly there for me. Thank you for the support, the readings, and the advice. Your friendship means the world to me!

  Julie

  Chapter 1

  The Year of Our Lord 1817

  The Serpentine, Hyde Park - Mayfair

  Everyone knew older siblings loved to be bossy. Well, everyone saddled with an officious older sibling understood this. And Lady Emmaline Radcliffe had concluded long ago that her older sister Mary got exceptional pleasure from slipping into the role of nagging mother whenever their own was not present. Mary always did so with a zealous sort of enthusiasm. Just like today.

  “Coming here to capture Lord Nathaniel’s attention wasn’t a good idea, Emmaline,” Mary grumbled.

  Annoyance danced down Emma’s spine, but she’d not show it. She purposely stared past her sister and once more swept her gaze across the frozen ice of the Serpentine in search of Nathaniel Layton. He was supposed to be here. At least according to her lady’s maid, who had been told as much by her cousin, a scullery maid in Nathaniel’s home.

  “Emmaline, did you hear me?” Mary snapped, her voice as piercing as her razor-sharp green gaze.

  Emma clenched her teeth to fight the desire to set her sister straight on how impossible it would be not to hear her. Mary had the uncanny ability to make herself heard without raising her voice, exactly the way their mother did. They both had a certain distinctly peevish tone that caused one’s ears to tingle with awareness. Emma flicked her gaze to her sister and forced a smile. If she showed Mary she was disgruntled, Mary would leave, and if Mary left, Emma would have to leave as well, since Mother would have a fit if she dared skate unchaperoned.