Deceiving the Duke of Kerrington (Ladies of Deception)

by Ginny Hartman

  Without saying a word, the man rushed forward and pulled Hope into his arms just as Pierce was about to do. He stood back and watched in horrified shock as the man began patting her face and exclaiming, “My love, oh my love, I never thought I’d see you again.” The man then leaned forward and placed his lips on Hope’s in an intimate kiss full of longing. Pierce felt his gut wrench and thought he might be ill at the sight. He stormed over to the table where his mug of ale was sitting and slammed down a coin before grabbing his coat and racing out of the door.

  Hope reeled back when the stranger finally released her, feeling violated and confused. When her eyes regained focus she took in his appearance and gasped, “Soren?”

  He reached for her once more and made to kiss her once again but this time she was prepared for it and pushed back roughly against his chest. “No, this is a mistake, I’m not who you think…”

  Soren stood back and assessed her long and hard through squinted eyes, “You’re not my Noelle, of course you’re not…I should’ve known, I mean it’s just that…are you Hope?”

  Hope was surprised he knew her name, he must be smarter than she gave him credit for. She glanced at the door that Pierce had just exited and then back to Soren, debating if she should go after him or stay and figure out why Soren was suddenly here in Shepard’s Bush and alive no less.

  Before she could decide what to do Soren was speaking again, “Have you seen my wife, do you know where she is?”

  Hope’s head snapped around, “Your wife?”

  “Yes, Noelle, your former mistress.”

  “I know who Noelle is, I just didn’t know that you and her, that you—she’s your wife?” she finally managed to ask. She wasn’t sure how many more surprises she could handle in one day.

  “Yes, we rode off to Gretna Green once we were informed that there had been a delay in sailing to America. We figured we couldn’t wait any longer, young love and all.” A small smile quirked at the corners of his mouth.

  Hope still had a thousand questions she wanted to ask him, like why he wasn’t dead, but first she knew she had to get to Pierce. “Pardon sir, but there’s something I must do.” And with that she lifted her skirts and ran for the door.

  The minute Hope was outside of the inn she paused briefly, just long enough to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. She glanced around quickly, her heart racing in her chest, hoping she wasn’t too late. She turned and saw Pierce just as he was about to step into his carriage. Without thinking she ran to him and grabbed furiously at his coat, pulling him back to the ground.

  He turned on her, a look of anger and pain etched on his face, “What do you want? I can see I came too late.”

  “No, you don’t understand!”

  “Oh really? I’m sure my eyes wouldn’t lie to me, I know what I saw and I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

  He turned to his carriage once more but Hope reached out and grabbed a fistful of coat in her hand but he jerked it free and disappeared into the confines of the carriage. Hope wanted to scream but instead she did the only thing she could and followed him in. She sat directly across from him and said, “You have to listen to me, that man in there is Noelle’s husband.”

  She waited and watched for understanding to dawn before saying, “You can’t marry Noelle, if you haven’t already. Oh please, tell me you haven’t already gone through with it!”

  They sat in silence then all of a sudden Pierce began laughing. Hope looked at him curiously, “What’s so funny? I don’t understand.”

  “You mean I don’t have to marry that selfish wench?”

  “I mean you can’t. It would appear that she is already married. That man in there is the American Noelle ran off with and apparently they eloped to Gretna Green before they were set to sail. She thought he had died so she returned to reclaim her life and to marry you. She has no idea. Oh Pierce, we must tell her.”

  Feeling happier than he had felt since he had last been with Hope at Ridgecrest Manor he readily agreed, “Yes, we must.”

  Chapter 25

  Pierce couldn’t wipe the silly grin off of his face the entire way back to Mayfair. The American sat in the seat across from him in his carriage while Hope sat right next to him. He felt her leg pressing against his and he couldn’t stop his body from reacting to her presence.

  The drive was relatively short and all three passengers were completely lost in their own thoughts. Hope sat nervously chewing on her bottom lip, trying to ignore the press of Pierce’s muscular thigh against her own. Every bounce of the carriage threw their bodies into further contact with one another and it was enough to distract her from almost anything else. She was nervous and unprepared for the scene that was sure to take place at the Parrish residence. Noelle’s secret was going to come out for her entire family to know and she doubted the earl would be the slightest bit pleased to hear of the charade and to learn that his only daughter was wed to an untitled American. She cringed at the thought of facing the earl and what his reaction would be.

  Soren watched out the window in deep thought, his excitement at seeing his beloved Noelle almost more than he could contain, though if he was being honest with himself, he was more than apprehensive about meeting and explaining himself to her father, the earl.

  Pierce was by far the most jovial of all, though each of them kept their thoughts and feelings to themselves. It was as if all of his prayers had been answered when the man named Soren had shown up at the inn tonight. Relief was too tame a word to describe the feelings he felt at learning he would no longer be honor bound to marry Noelle. His heart soared with that knowledge; he was now free to do as he wished. He knew that it was not socially acceptable or fitting of his position as the Duke of Kerrington to take a common serving girl for a wife, but seeing Hope tonight and feeling his heart swell with love and longing at the sight of her made him not give a fig about any of those expectations placed upon him.

  He couldn’t wait to be alone with her, to kiss her warm mouth and to proclaim his love for her. Then he’d arrange their own trip to Gretna Green so he could make her his wife as quickly as possible, consequences and all. He knew the ramifications his actions would have in society would be immense, but neither him nor Hope were concerned with the ton and what they thought and he was sure as long as they had each other, they could weather any storm.

  As soon as they pulled up in front of the Earl of Brattondale’s townhouse, Soren stepped out of the carriage and Pierce promptly turned to Hope, taking her face into his hands, “Ah minx, there’s so much that we need to talk about. Let’s just get through this and then we need to find somewhere to be alone, somewhere we can have a discussion.” Pierce leaned forward and brushed her lips briefly with his own, withdrawing quickly before he could let the fire that sparked between them ignite and consume him. He helped her from the carriage and the three of them went to the door and knocked, waiting for the butler to answer.

  As soon as the butler opened the door he brusquely insisted it was too late for company and tried to rudely shoo them away. Pierce held firm and said, “We realize it’s late but we are here on urgent business. I recommend you inform Lady Noelle that we are here at once, and you might think to inform the earl as well.”

  “But your grace, they’ve all retired for the night.”

  “Trust me when I say that I’m well aware of the late hour and that I don’t care. See that they are woken at once or I’ll do it myself.” When the butler realized the seriousness of his threat he quickly, if not agitatedly complied.

  Pierce, Soren, and Hope were shown to the drawing room to wait while the servants went to rouse the house’s occupants. Barely ten minutes went by before the earl came storming through the door bellowing, “What is the meaning of all this?”

  The three of them rose from their positions as Noelle came up behind her father, rubbing her eyes sleepily before focusing them on the guests in front of her. The minute her eyes settled on Soren’s she began to swoon. Soren ran forward just
in time to catch her as she gave out completely.

  Lord Brattondale watched in shock then turned to Pierce, “Who is this man and what are you doing paying a call at my house in the bloody middle of the night?” Then turning to Hope he said, “And you! How dare you show your face in this house after you just up and ran off with a stable boy? If you’re here to attempt to collect any money you have another thing coming.”

  Pierce stepped forward and said amusedly, “Lord Brattondale, allow me to introduce you to your son-in-law, Soren Johannsen.”

  The earl’s mouth repeatedly opened and shut, apparently at a loss for words. Just then Noelle began to come to and he leaned down and took her out of Soren’s arms and placed her on the settee. “Tell me what’s going on here, is this some kind of joke?”

  Ignoring everyone around her, Noelle had eyes only for Soren. She turned to him, her face as white as a sheet and said, “I thought you were dead.”

  He sat by her and gingerly took her hand in his, “Oh my love, I can’t even begin to tell you how good it is to see you.”

  “Likewise, but I don’t understand.”

  “The men who beat me down at the docks had left me for dead, apparently I was so horrific they were convinced I was done for and fled, leaving me behind. I eventually came to and believe me when I say that I wished I had been dead. Luckily one of the other ships captains found me and was kind enough to take me onboard where his surgeon ministered to me. They were gracious enough to keep me for a few days before they had to leave port. By then I was able to get around some and the captain helped move me to an inn where I was able to recover more fully. As soon as I was physically able I came looking for you, I knew I had to see you and let you know I was alive.”

  Noelle reached one hand up to touch his face as if to convince herself that he really was alive and not just some figment of her imagination. Her hand trembled and she began to weep as Soren pulled her close and held her to his chest.

  Lord Brattondale looked as if he was ready to explode and with barely concealed anger he turned to his daughter and said, “Explain yourself now child before I lose my temper.”

  Noelle reluctantly let go of Soren, though her hand never left his, and turned to her father, fearful to look into his angry face. “Father, please don’t be angry with me and I’ll tell you.”

  “It’s a little too late for that Noelle, I’m far beyond angry and if you don’t get to the point soon you will all regret it.”

  Taking a steadying breath she continued, “This man is Soren Johannsen, my husband.”

  “What? How can that be, you’re engaged to Kerrington!” His eyes were bugging and a vein was bulging on his forehead.

  “No father,” she replied timidly, “when you were told that my lady’s maid, Hope, ran away it was really me that had done so. I contrived to have her stay behind and disguise as me so that I could sail to America with Soren and become his wife.”

  Lord Brattondale abruptly turned and began stalking towards Hope, his face darkening with unmasked anger, “You! How dare you allow my daughter to do something so foolish? How could you stand by and allow her to ruin her life?” He took a quick breath and forged ahead, not allowing Hope to get a word in edgewise, “You only thought of yourself didn’t you? How perfect that a titled lady would run off and leave everything to you, you selfish child, you unforgivable wench, you will pay for this!”

  The next event occurred so quickly at first nobody was sure exactly what had happened until they saw the earl pinned up against the wall by Pierce, one arm wedged between the earl’s fleshy chin and nonexistent neck as he leaned forward and spat angrily while the rest of them watched on in complete and utter shock. “You watch your tongue. You do not even begin to understand what you are talking about, your daughter is the selfish child, not Hope. Your daughter was the one who practically forced her into this impossible situation knowing she would do it to save your family from disgrace. If you are to be angry at anyone, let it be your precious daughter, for she is the true instigator of this offence. And furthermore, you should consider yourself lucky that she is wed to that man because if not I would not hesitate to cry off from marrying her and believe me, I would make sure to leave her reputation in worse repair then her marriage to an American will.”

  Lord Brattondale’s eyes were wide with shock as he gasped, “You can’t be serious.”

  “Oh but I’ve never been more serious in all of my life.”

  When Pierce finally let the hold he had on the earl go, Lord Brattondale sank into the nearest chair and allowed his head to fall forward into his fleshy hands. He shook his head back and forth as he muttered, “What am I going to do? How could this have happened?”

  Just then, Hope gingerly walked over to where he was sitting. She tentatively reached one hand forward and laid it on the earl’s shoulder in an attempt to sooth him. “I apologize for my actions, milord. I was truly doing what I thought best given the circumstance. Noelle was bound and determined to go through with her plans whether I agreed to participate in the deception or not. I had hoped to save your family the heartache and scandal that her actions would’ve caused. I know I can’t justify my actions but I hope that you can understand my intent.”

  The earl slowly raised his head to look at her and just as he began to speak he gasped, “Where did you get that necklace?”

  Hope let her hand drop from his shoulder as she quickly reached up to enclose the ruby pendant that hung around her neck, “It was given to me by my mother.”

  With a swiftness that defied his girth, Lord Brattondale rose and took both of her shoulders into his hands. “That’s impossible! I had that necklace commissioned for my wife for our first anniversary. It was most likely the simplest piece of jewelry she owned but it was true to her form, for she much preferred the simplicity of this pendant to the gaudiness of the other family jewels.”

  Hope’s face had gone ashen, “No, that’s impossible. Perhaps it’s just similar.”

  He reached forth and without permission clasped the pendant and turned it over and pointed out the initials F.P. engraved into the delicate gold. “F.P. Fiona Parrish—I’m positive this was her necklace. How did you acquire it? Did you steal it?”

  “Of course not milord, I swear to you that my mother gave it to me. I honestly can’t tell you how or where she acquired it but I can tell you that I’m positive she didn’t steal it, she’s never even been to your home.”

  “What’s your mother’s name and where is she?”

  Pierce stepped forward then, coming to stand right next to Hope. “Her mother was Matilde Hillburn, she just recently passed on.” He reached over and squeezed Hope’s hand ignoring the questioning look she gave him.

  Lord Brattondale looked thoughtful for a few minutes before recognition sank in and he whirled on Hope once more, “I remember that name! Your mother was a midwife that came to help with the delivery of our children. I paid her handsomely, but apparently she felt the need to compensate her wages by pilfering from my wife’s jewels.”

  “You must be mistaken, my mother was never a midwife. Maybe you are confusing her with somebody else.”

  “Maybe you are the one who is confused child. Now hand over the necklace and I’ll agree not to press charges, seeing as how she is dead and all.”

  Hope reluctantly did as he bade, unsure of what else she could do. Pierce watched her knowing that her heart was breaking at having to give up the only thing she had left of her mother. When Lord Brattondale had slid the necklace into his pocket, patting it with one plump hand, he turned to them once more. Pierce put one hand up in objection, “Please, not another word. We have no further business here so if you don’t mind, we will depart and leave you to get acquainted with your new son-in-law.”

  Turning, he bowed his head slightly towards Noelle and Soren, then Pierce grabbed Hope’s hand and led her out into the dark, starless night and into the safety of his carriage where he instantly pulled her into his arms. He felt her body
go limp and shake with sobs he was sure she had been trying hard to conceal. He said nothing as he held her and soothed her, knowing she just needed time.

  He had instructed his driver to take them back to his townhouse and the ride was a short one. When the carriage came to a halt he turned her in his arms so that he could look into her face. Though it was cast in shadows, he could still make out the sadness and confusion that marred her beautiful features. “My darling, I’m so sorry for all you’ve had to endure. I will get you a new necklace, an exact replica if you like.”

  She shook her head, “No, it wouldn’t be the same.”

  “You’re right, it wouldn’t but I’m not sure what else to do.”

  She smiled faintly then, “You don’t have to do a thing, it isn’t your problem to fix.”

  “Of course it is. Anything involving you is my concern.” Just then the carriage door was swung open. Hope wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand than allowed Pierce to assist her down from the carriage.

  Hope felt exhaustion overcome her as they entered his house. He led her to the parlor where he knelt to prod the embers in the fire then turning to her he said, “Have a seat, I’ll ring for tea.”

  “Don’t bother, it’s the middle of the night and I’m sure your servants won’t appreciate the imposition.”

  “Nonsense, they are employed by me to do my bidding day or night and right now I’m more concerned with your well being then with interrupting their sleep.”

  “Really Pierce, I don’t mind. Right now I’d just like some sleep, I feel so exhausted.”

  He turned to his butler, “Please make sure the yellow room is readied for her and that a fire is going.” Simon nodded and left.

  As soon as they were alone Hope turned to him, “I can’t stay here and you know it, it wouldn’t be proper.”