The memory of her in her white day dress with her hair cascading down around her in untamed rivers of honey made him even more eager to see her, to touch her. He looked up expectantly as Noelle and Esther walked into the room, quickly coming to his feet and closing the distance between them. He smiled at her, his dark eyes sparkling with merriment.
Noelle watched as the duke smiled charmingly at her revealing straight, white teeth. He was every bit as handsome as everyone had said he was, but she couldn’t help comparing him to Soren, to the handsome American who had stolen her heart. The duke was taller and broader than Soren, but where his eyes held a gleam of wickedness, Soren’s emerald eyes had always seemed to sparkle with barely contained laughter. As she stood assessing the duke and comparing him endlessly to Soren, her heart ached anew with the fresh grief of her loss and she tried to remind herself that that part of her life was in the past and had to stay that way forever. It would be best if she forgot about Soren completely and embraced this new life, this new man standing in front of her.
Pierce reached for her hand and brought it to his lips where he placed a soft kiss to the inside of her wrist, allowing his lips to linger longer than what was deemed appropriate. Noelle couldn’t help herself as she recoiled inwardly at his overly familiar touch. She pulled her hand back suddenly when she found she could no longer bare his touch. When Soren touched her she felt nothing repulsive, only tingly, like every nerve was on fire and alert to his every movement. When the duke touched her she just felt flat.
Pierce squinted his eyes and looked at her, her aloofness bothering him greatly, especially after being apart for so long. He wished there was some way he could get Esther to leave them for a time so he could pull her into his arms and kiss her as he had been envisioning doing for the last week.
“I know I said I wouldn’t be here for another week but I found I couldn’t stay away from you any longer, love.”
Love? Apparently he and Hope had grown more comfortable than she realized. She knew she’d have to set him straight, for she didn’t want him to expect more from her than she was willing to give. “That’s nice of you to come all this way to see me but I really must get going, I have an appointment with my dressmaker and don’t want to be late.”
Noelle’s attempt to dismiss Pierce confused him. Was this the same girl who had so reluctantly parted with him back at Ridgecrest Manor? He looked at her closely and noticed the way she avoided looking into his eyes, the way she stood with her arms crossed rigidly across her chest as if she was impatiently waiting for him to leave. Well if she thought that was the case, she had another thing coming.
Turning to Esther he said, “Esther, would you mind fetching a pelisse for Noelle? It’s a little chilly out and I’d hate for her to catch a chill.”
“But your grace, it wouldn’t be proper for me to—”
“Now, Esther.” He ground out between clenched teeth.
“Yes your grace,” she said as she scurried out of the room to do his bidding.
The minute they were alone, Pierce wasted no time. He stepped forward and pulled Noelle into his arms, “Oh how I’ve missed you, my minx.” He bent his head and eagerly found her lips and kissed her with all of the pent up passion he possessed. He was so distracted by the feel of her soft lips at first that he failed to notice that she wasn’t responding, or for that matter that he wasn’t experiencing the same tidal wave of passion he had previously experienced either. When the fog of desire finally cleared from his mind he realized that she stood stiff and unyielding in his arms. Never before when he had kissed her, not even that first time in this very same room, had she ever been so unresponsive and never before had he felt such lack of passion, it was as if there was no emotion involved when they touched. He heard an alarm sound in his head as he pulled back to gaze into her amber eyes; eyes that usually sparkled with life were now dull and unwelcoming.
Pierce dropped his hands from her person as if he had been burned and took a step back, “I’m sorry…it’s just that I…” he stammered.
“Yes,” Noelle replied coolly, “I trust you will not allow it to happen again before we are properly married.”
Pierce reeled back as if she had slapped him. Where had his passionate Noelle gone? The girl who so eagerly and hungrily partook of his kisses with an intoxicating mixture of innocence and barely contained passion?
“What’s the matter Noelle? Has something happened?”
Noelle could see in his face that he was genuinely concerned for her. She didn’t have the heart to hurt his feelings and instead opted to tell a small lie, “I am just not feeling well.”
“Why didn’t you say so? Shall I ring for tea?”
“No, no, I think I just need to lie down for awhile. If you wouldn’t mind sending word to the dressmaker that I won’t be able to keep my appointment then I think I’ll just go lay down. Thanks for the visit and have a nice day.” And with that she hurried out of the room, leaving a stunned Pierce gaping after her.
The disappointment that invaded his mind and heart at the reunion wouldn’t ebb. He felt sick inside as he thought back on their past encounters, on the fiery passion that they had shared. He thought about how unassuming and likeable Noelle had been at Ridgecrest manor and the lively badinage they had engaged in. She had been so different from any other woman he had ever known but today she felt like a stranger. The concern he felt on her behalf was immense and so he quickly took leave of her house hoping to find a way to distract himself from his fretting.
Pierce walked agitatedly back to his townhouse where he instructed his groom to ready his carriage so he could drive into town. His first order of business was to purchase a large bouquet of pink roses to be sent over to Noelle. The light, delicate shade of pink reminded him of the color of her soft creamy skin after he had thoroughly kissed her. He had to keep reminiscing on their time together in the country to reassure himself that nothing was terribly amiss, that her sudden alteration in behavior was truly due to illness and not something more formidable.
Next he drove to Oxford Street to make a purchase he had been contemplating ever since Noelle had told him of her penchant for writing. He alighted from his carriage and strolled into Gillow’s to pick out a Bonheur du jour for Noelle. It didn’t take him long to pick out the perfect writing desk for her; the dainty George III desk was made out of a rich mahogany imported from the West Indies and featured a central section bookshelf flanked by two cupboards veneered in tulip wood. The drawers featured turned brass handles and the desk sat atop elegant squared tapering legs mounted on brass castors. It was perfect—the desk radiated an air of elegance and beauty that reminded him of Noelle. He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when he presented it to her.
After purchasing the desk and instructing it to be delivered to his townhouse on Grosvenor Square he left hoping to find something to distract him from the persistent ache in his heart that warred with the persistent desire to be with Noelle.
***
Esther flitted around the room retrieving discarded articles of clothing as she occasionally sent an annoyed glance in the direction of the testered bed. Noelle had been laying face down on the plush cover pane, her body racking with sobs ever since Lord Kerrington had left nearly an hour ago. She hadn’t been able to pry any information from her mistress about the encounter but secretly wondered what had occurred in the short time she had been gone retrieving her pelisse that had disheartened her so.
Quite frankly, ever since Esther had gone in the room to begin Noelle’s toilette that morning she had sensed a change in her demeanor. Her eyes that had been so alive were lifeless and dull. She was morose and almost unfriendly in her dealings with Esther and had shown not even the slightest bit of excitement about her appointment with the dressmaker to begin assembling her trousseau. And, there was no talk of Pierce or the upcoming wedding and that by far unnerved her the most.
Ever since arriving back in London, all Noelle seemed to be able to do was tal
k about Lord Kerrington with a dreamy, love struck look on her face. And Esther couldn’t say she blamed her, if a man as handsome and fine as Lord Kerrington was to become her husband, she’d be walking around distracted and smitten as well. The thought of such a glorious man kissing her made her cheeks instantly flame with heat and so distracted was she that she hadn’t even noticed that Noelle’s crying had finally ceased and the room had become eerily silent.
“Esther are you listening to me?”
Esther guiltily shook all thoughts of the duke out of her head and walked over to the side of her mistress’s bed, “I’m sorry milady, what was it you were saying?”
“I was saying that I want to leave.”
“And where do you want to go? Are you sure you’re feeling up to it?”
“I’m not really ill you twit, I just couldn’t stomach another minute in that vile man’s presence.”
Esther gasped audibly, had she really just heard Noelle correctly? She didn’t know what had happened to change her mood so drastically in such a short time but all she knew was this behavior was completely out of character. “Are you sure you’re feeling well milady?”
“As well as can be expected, now stop asking me that. I want to you to come with me.”
“Come with you where?”
“To Shepard’s Bush. I have a—a friend I need to see, it’s urgent.”
“I’m not sure that’s wise milady, won’t your father object to such an outing?”
“Oh it’s not like he has to know. The only way he’d find out is if you were to say something,” Noelle squinted her eyes at her and assessed her coolly, “You wouldn’t rat me out would you?”
“Of course not, but what about the stable boy? Won’t he tell your father where you’ve gone off to?”
Noelle swung her legs over the edge of the bed, “No because he won’t know, we’ll tell him we’re just going for a ride through Hyde Park and that Devon is meeting us there to accompany us.”
“Very well, milady. But there is just one thing—”
Noelle rolled her eyes, “Pray tell, what is it?”
“I can’t ride a horse.”
Noelle had no sympathy for Esther and her lack of skill. She was so keen on getting to Hope in Shepard’s Bush that she was determined to drag Esther along on the back of her horse if that’s what it took to get them there. They were halfway to the mews when they were interrupted by Devon sitting atop a chestnut mare.
“Good day Noelle, where are you off too?”
Noelle rolled her eyes impatiently before turning to stare up at her brother. “We were just off on a ride through Hyde Park.”
“By yourself, unchaperoned?”
“Well, it’s actually quite good fortune that we ran into you because I was hoping you might be able to accompany us.” She hoped with everything in her that he would say that he had other plans and leave them be so they could sneak off without further interruption, but apparently luck was not on her side.
“What a marvelous idea! We haven’t gotten to go riding together since we’ve been in London this season and it’s such a fine day to be out. Perhaps you should go grab a bonnet to shield yourself from the sun.”
Noelle ground her teeth together in frustration, clearly she wouldn’t be able to follow through on her plans this day. “Please have Geoffrey saddle my horse while I go retrieve a bonnet then we can be off.” Then turning to Esther, “It appears you won’t get the chance to learn to ride today, I won’t be needing your assistance now.” She stalked off back towards the house, irritated beyond belief that she couldn’t go track down Hope and beg her to come back and marry Lord Kerrington.
Though initially Noelle had regretted Devon’s presence that morning and the ride she was being forced to take through Hyde Park, she found as they rode along, the sun beating down on their backs, that she was actually grateful for the opportunity the ride had given her to think through her plan more thoroughly. She found that her initial idea of running off to find Hope and begging her to come back and marry the duke was incredibly flawed—once Hope came back and became her, what was she supposed to do? Where was she supposed to go?
She had always been quite impulsive, one of the traits she possessed in great abundance. It was that same impulsiveness that had prompted her to run off with Soren, but now that she had time to think through her actions more clearly, she knew that there was no way she could bring Hope back and force herself out on the streets once more. She felt her throat clog with frustrated emotion as she thought of the predicament she was in. She silently cursed Soren for having the audacity to die on her, leaving her in this position. Next she turned her anger towards her father, for if he hadn’t so foolishly arranged for her to wed the duke, she would never have been in this position in the first place. She was so dratted mad at anyone and everything that she could hardly focus on the plethora of people who had stopped to greet the pair on their ride.
Noelle remained aloof the entire outing and by the time they had returned home she was once more in a deep melancholy. She felt so hopelessly frustrated and depressed when she thought about her future. Even knowing that she would soon be a duchess couldn’t brighten her mood any. She thought of the kiss Lord Kerrington had so unwelcomingly bestowed upon her and wanted to retch. It wasn’t that he wasn’t attractive, because she could admit that he was dangerously so, it all came down to the fact that she wasn’t in love with him. She was still helplessly, maddeningly in love with Soren, or the memory of Soren since the man no longer existed.
Her thoughts kept whirling around in the same never ending cycle of pity. The only solution she could come up with was not satisfactory but seemed to be the only way—she’d simply have to learn to tolerate the duke and make the most of the marriage, for she could see no other way around her inevitable future.
Chapter 22
The next morning Esther had barely finished arranging Noelle’s hair into a loose Grecian knot on the top of her head when there was a light tapping at her door. Esther scurried over to answer and was informed by the butler that Noelle had a caller waiting for her in the drawing room.
Noelle felt a fresh wave a trepidation wash over her, for surely it was Lord Kerrington coming to call and the last person she wanted to see was him. She contemplated ways she could avoid having to see him before deciding that having to spend some time with the man was inevitable, for surely once she was his wife she’d have to spend more time with him than she’d like.
Entering the drawing room, Noelle was shocked to see that it wasn’t Lord Kerrington at all but a man she had never met. She assessed the man, from his dark head of hair that was just slightly longer than what was fashionable, to his contrasting pale blue eyes set in a well sculpted face. He was dressed in fashionable clothes that had an excellent cut making his overall appearance quite striking. She walked forward and waited for him to make introductions, which he never did.
The stranger just stared at her coldly before she managed to mumble, “May I help you?”
“I certainly hope so. I want to know what you did to Pierce.”
She was momentarily caught off guard by the use of the duke’s given name. She had never used his given name before or even thought of him by it but she decided it was fitting. “What do you mean? I haven’t done anything to the man.”
Without waiting for her to offer, the stranger took a seat on the settee, all the while managing to glare at her as if she had done something horribly offensive. “Maybe that’s the problem,” he muttered crudely.
“Beg your pardon, if you’ve come here to insult me than you’ve achieved your purpose and may gladly take your leave.”
“I’m not leaving until I figure out what you’ve done.”
“I already told you I haven’t done a blasted thing to your beloved Pierce!”
“My beloved Pierce? Last time I checked he was your beloved. When you left Ridgecrest Manor, you had the poor fool practically eating out of the palm of your hand he was so be
sotted, and when I ran into him at White’s last night he was practically despondent, definitely not my idea of a man in love. I deduce that you had something to do with the sudden change in his mood and came here to warn you.”
“How kind,” she said acerbically.
The man leaned back on the settee, his arms crossed tightly against his chest, “I thought it only fair to warn you that if you break his heart, you’ll have to answer to me.”
Noelle laughed mirthlessly at his absurd threat, “What goes on in my relationship is none of your concern. I think it’s time you left.”
The man rose and stood inches away from her, peering his pale blue eyes that looked as cold as ice down at her dangerously, “I’ll not leave until I get the information I came here for and I want an honest answer—do you love him?”
Noelle averted her eyes guiltily and swallowed hard. There was no way she could lie and say she did so she racked her brain trying to come up with an acceptable answer. She looked straight ahead at his cravat to avoid looking into his eyes as she said flippantly, “Since when is love a requirement for marriage?”
The man reeled back as if she had slapped him. He shook his head at her disgusted before he turned and made to leave. Right before he got to the door he turned back and hissed, “You don’t deserve him,” before turning on his heel and leaving, slamming the front door behind him as he went.
***
Elliot was still fuming when he reached Pierce’s townhouse, the encounter with Noelle had caused his blood to boil and it still hadn’t cooled to its normal temperature. He lifted his arm to knock just as the heavy wood door was flung open revealing a startled Pierce.
Deceiving the Duke of Kerrington (Ladies of Deception) Page 16
