Fate Is A Stranger: Regency Romance

by Gay, Gloria

  The duke laughed. "A well-deserved riposte, Miss Durbin; I assure you."

  "Such assurances from you, your grace, must be accepted with a bit of wariness."

  "It is of that I must speak to you, Miss Durbin, among other things, but only to beg for your forgiveness. I apologize most wholeheartedly for my bumbling idiocy of last night."

  "Apology accepted," said Violet, impatient at standing around on her mare, who was fidgeting.

  But please disclose your news," said Violet. "I assure you, Dalia does not like to be kept waiting. See how she fidgets?"

  "Could we not enjoy a little privacy in this fine day? He asked, with a glance at Jed.

  Violet turned to Jed. "Ride a few feet behind, if you please, Jed, his grace has something to discuss with me."

  "Yes, Miss Violet," said Jed, good-naturedly.

  "Now, sir, what is it that needs discussion so early in the morning?" Violet did not look at Hawk as she asked him this. She was beginning to realize that the less she looked into his moss green eyes the better it was for her; he unsettled her so that she could not think straight.

  "Well," said the duke, a bit disconcerted at her direct question, "it does not necessarily need discussion. What I wanted to ask you, Miss Durbin, is if you and your family would honor me with your presence for a few days next month, at my county seat…"

  "Your county seat? Surely not—"

  "Cynweir Castle."

  "Cynweir Castle! Do you actually hold soirees there? In such a legendary castle?"

  "We most certainly hold all manner of social gatherings there, Miss Durbin. Those old castle stones can withstand a few more centuries of wear and tear and a few more scandals, you can be certain."

  "It has withstood the test of time, and numerous battles," said Violet. The duke's invitation had taken her by surprise. To be invited as houseguests to a place that figured in the history books was an honor in itself, apart from the fact that it would be extremely interesting to view both the castle and the grounds which were said to be without match. He was certainly trying to make up for his behavior of last night. But Violet was still not convinced that the invitation was in the up and up.

  "And who is to be the hostess, your grace?" she asked. Should the answer be that there would be no hostess, or that she had been assigned that honor, Violet would know for certain that the event would be for the demimonde and would decline the invitation firmly. But the duke's answer took her by complete surprise.

  "My sister, the Marchioness of Deckworth will be the hostess, Miss Durbin. She is my closest relative."

  "Well," said Violet, "That’s even more impressive than that the soiree will be held at the castle, sir."

  "Well, Miss Durbin? Shall we be honored then with your and your family's attendance?"

  "Thank you, your grace. It is we who are honored," said Violet. "I am certain papa will be delighted at the invitation, as will my mother."

  Violet was happy for her father and mother more than she was for herself. She knew that this would go a long way to eroding the wall that had been built between society and her father. For herself, she was not so trusting that she did not see through the duke's intentions.

  The duke must feel the castle would be a strong persuasion into convincing her to accede to his proposition. Or perhaps he was convinced it would be a good place in which for a few days he would use all his powers of persuasion in a setting that allowed them to be in each other's company on many occasions. And it would certainly be an experience to visit and live for a few days within the walls of a castle of which Violet had often heard, as a child.

  "I am glad, Miss Durbin. I will have the invitation sent to you on the morrow."

  "Thank you, your grace," said Violet, "And now—"

  "Would you allow me the pleasure of riding with you, Miss Durbin?" interrupted the duke.

  “Just for a few short minutes," he pleaded when she remained silent. “It is much too beautiful a morning for me to waste in sad solitude when we could ride together. You cannot be so callous as to send me off to ride by myself into the mist, from whence I came."

  "Well, I’m not…"

  "The few minutes that would have taken you to receive me and my bouquet this morning, Miss Durbin," pressed the duke when Violet still hesitated.

  His eyes had the spark that appeared on rare occasions, when his smile stole to his lips, sending delicious shivers that pooled in Violet’s belly. Yet because of this she saw the danger in his company.

  "But you did not take a bouquet to my house, did you?"

  "I sent you three dozen white roses by messenger, Miss Durbin, having learned that you would not be there to receive flowers from your admirers but would be here in the park, instead."

  "You have trusty spies, I see," Violet laughed. "Very well, a few minutes, sir. Let us proceed then.

  Well, he did make her laugh and for a few minutes forget her sad past, she acceded."

  "I cannot promise to stay away every time, now that I have found your morning hiding place," said the duke, taking the moment to establish the ground for future meetings.

  He seldom made a bumbling misstep, thought Hawk, and he had done so with Violet. He should not have shown his colors so quickly. Because she was the daughter of Sadie, a strumpet whom he despised for having trapped Lord Kelly in her spider's web, he had assumed the daughter was of equal character. What a mistake!

  Was he so sure of his consequence in her eyes that he had actually thought she would jump at his offer? Now he must back track and hope Violet would forgive the awful beginning. He never for a moment doubted that Violet would eventually become his mistress, just not in the small amount of time he had wagered it would take.

  In fact, the invitation to Cynweir Castle had come out of desperation. He had invented the house party out of whole cloth by mentioning a forthcoming invitation to Lord Kelly in order to tempt Violet. In fact, he could not think of one person in all of London who would not accept.

  He was aware that this invitation would elevate Violet, her mother and Lord Kelly and that should give one pause. It would certainly give his shrew of a sister pause.

  The chore ahead, to convince Arabella to be the hostess at this extended house party was something he didn't look forward to. He could just imagine a high stickler like his sister and an even higher stickler that was his brother-in-law, Marquess Deckworth, to host a party for a couple of demimonde ladies and the bumbling idiot who had elevated them.

  Well, he, the Duke of Hawkinston, no less, was helping to elevate them further, he thought with chagrin. But there was not another choice. His hunger for Violet grew by the minute and if it took the monumental task of forcing his sister to be hostess at the party, he would undertake it gladly, so long as it advanced his pursuit of Violet.

  * * *

  Hawkinston would have been jolted had he known that Violet's interest in Cynweir Castle other than its historical value was mostly for her father's and her mother's sake. And had he been able to see into Violet's mind and her steely resolve, his conviction that Violet would eventually be his mistress would have been considerably shaken.

  Violet regarded the duke with growing interest. She could not deny that she was drawn to him and to his rare smile. She noticed that he smiled seldom and only to her. This was extremely flattering to a girl who had known great hardship, danger and humiliation in her life.

  "I have learned of your heroic actions of six years ago," said the duke, as they walked their horses over the misty green, "and was impressed by your courage, Miss Durbin. I don't believe there are many young ladies who would have taken the chances you took to save another person from extreme harm."

  "I’m glad that I was able to be of assistance to Lady Arandale, who at the time was Miss Cecilia Sentennel," responded Violet, "but I can’t say it took any great courage on my part. I don’t believe I thought much of what I was doing, only that it needed to be done."

  "That is what courage and resolve are made of, Miss D
urbin."

  "I always imagine courage to be more like the courage displayed by our officers and soldiers in their direct combat in the battles against Napoleon, sir. They saved our nation from being conquered and enslaved."

  "Courage is not counted in numbers alone, Miss Durbin. You saved one person, while they saved a whole nation."

  "Thank you, sir," said Violet and asked, in an effort to divert attention from her: "And did you participate in the battles?"

  "I was for three years in the Peninsula, Miss Durbin, under Wellington. Though the battles were bloody and the conditions often appalling, I do not regret one minute of it."

  CHAPTER 5

  The following week, Violet's time was taken up with visits to the lending library and with fittings.

  One afternoon, on returning from shopping in Bond Street with her maid, Violet went in search of her parents. Her mother had gone to the Bond Street but she found her father in the library.

  Lord Kelly was smoking a cheroot by the window and Violet went up to kiss him. He turned to her with the delight in her that he always showed. This sweet daughter he had acquired late in life was surely a gift from heaven.

  "Papa, my dear," she said as she hugged him, "I have seen little of you in the last two days. I’m glad you will now be able to be with us a bit more before you leave again."

  Lord Kelly was organizing the estate of an uncle who had died and left everything to him. The estate was in Northampton and required much of his time of late, for his uncle had been ill for the last five years of his life and the estate had been dangerously neglected.

  "I am glad too, my sweet," said Lord Kelly as he kissed her and hugged her back.

  "I noticed a plumper correspondence tray this week," he added. "Sir Bentwell has sent us an invitation for a musicale and dance at his house in Berkeley Square. This bodes well for our Season in London this year."

  "I’m very glad of that, Papa. The duke's invitation will perhaps open other doors for you and Mama," Violet removed her chip bonnet and gloves and handed them to her maid.

  A cloud passed over Violet’s blue eyes once the maid had left. Even after six years, Violet often had the fear that her present life would suddenly go up in smoke and that she would be thrust once more into that violent horrible past that seemed more like a nightmare she had endured than actual reality. She often thought that she may not deserve her present good fortune and the love of her father and that it might be taken away from her.

  "What is it, my dear," her father asked with concern.

  "Nothing, Papa; why do you ask?"

  "Just that the saddest look clouded your eyes for a moment and it appeared you were in extreme mental pain. You'd best tell me, for I do not want that look in your eyes ever again."

  "I—I suppose I sometimes can’t entirely grasp my good fortune in being recognized by you, Papa. It seems sometimes an incredible gift that may be taken from me at any moment."

  "That’s an awful way to live your life, my dear, in such fear, and I take exception to it. You must promise me you will never doubt your present life—ever again. You didn’t earn any of it so that it may be taken away—you were born to it, just not immediately acknowledged as such, because I didn’t know of your existence. Had I known, you would not have known any other kind of life because you would have grown as an infant within these walls."

  "Thank you, Papa," said Violet, her eyes welling up with tears. She hugged him and sighed in relief. Until the next time, she thought sadly, when similar thoughts would send shivers throughout her body.

  She would long ago have become accustomed to this life and not doubt that it would last if all she had to do was to see the love in her father's eyes. Unfortunately, she had to deal with others and those others reminded her with word and deed that she had not been born to her present life and with their disdain made her vulnerable to such dark thoughts that sometimes invaded her.

  Society men reminded her by their belief that she could easily be made their mistress and society women by their whispers and remarks as she went by, loud enough for her to hear.

  An incident at a milliner shop on Bond Street had upset her so much at the beginning of the Season that she had been unable to leave the house for a whole week.

  Seldom did members of the aristocracy, other than the royals, acknowledge their offspring. And the few who were intrepid enough to dare do so aroused great disdain and anger toward them, which was meant to discourage such acts. "Ellen," the woman in the shop had said to her companion, "Perhaps we should buy our hats at an establishment that does not cater to strumpets."

  Once the women had left the shop, the proprietor of the shop had taken Violet aside and advised her that she would only serve her needs if she came in the afternoon. Violet knew, as did all of the ton, that the afternoon shopping was relegated to the demimonde.

  "Now, let’s talk of happier things, my sweet," said her father, unaware of Violet’s sad thoughts. “Here is the invitation from the duke. Your mother and I are very happy for you more than for ourselves."

  Lord Kelly smiled with great satisfaction as he took a sip of his brandy. Outside, the park beyond the front gate seemed a faraway place. It occurred to him for the hundredth time, how happy he was with his little family. And to think that this wonderful change in his lonely life had come about purely by chance! He could not imagine his life now without Sadie and Violet.

  "And how is my young miss faring with her callers?" he asked Violet, in order to put a lighter tone to their talk for he did not like that Violet seemed unfairly tormented by unworthiness. "Has the duke's invitation made changes for you in the way young men now consider you, my dear?"

  "A little," laughed Violet. "But I would not put too much stock on the duke's invitation. Society is finicky. We may have just seen a momentary lapse in their attitude toward us."

  Violet went to the window and glanced out at the rare blue sky and at the small orchard and bit of garden below. The sliver of sky above the treetops in the garden was a bright cobalt and the day seemed made for enjoyment.

  "I hope not," said her father. "You have been snubbed by society and undeservedly so. I hope this marks a turning point toward better times for you, my dear."

  "Papa, don’t fret over it so. I do not mind. I’m blessed with you and Mama; to ask for more would be greedy."

  "Let me be greedy for you, then, my dear," said her father. "I believe Jared will, under our changing circumstances, offer you a marriage proposal."

  "Under other circumstances that would be, for instance, that his uncle not be in this earth," said Violet laughing.

  She turned back from the window.

  "I believe he would tie Jared to the nearest tree were Jared intrepid enough to ask me to marry him, Papa," she said, and added, "Besides, Jared's purse strings are tightly controlled. You can’t see him as a serious prospect for a husband. Why, he spends his time in gaming halls and horse auctions. He looks even younger than his years, too.

  "His uncle has forbidden him to see me. He has told me so himself."

  "Well, the duke seems to have an eye for you himself, Violet, and that may be the reason he would not allow Jared near you. He did act strangely at the musicale; several people remarked on it and he seemed not to be able to take his eyes off you. I heard a report that you left him standing in the middle of the ballroom, even in the middle of the waltz you were dancing with him, my dear, is this true?"

  "It is true, Papa, and I assure you it was well-deserved. Hawkinston's reasons are best left unexplored."

  Violet frowned as she did whenever she recalled the duke’s reasons for his pursuit of her.

  "Men in his position seem to believe no wish of theirs can be denied," said her father. "I’m glad you do not encourage his advances, my dear, for he is a powerful man.

  "Instead, I believe it would be advisable to encourage Jared. Hawkinston cannot forbid his nephew to marry, though he is his guardian, once Jared reaches his majority. I have observed him and
I’m certain that young man’s feeling for you runs deep. Your influence would instill in him the seriousness and maturity he lacks, my dear."

  "Forgive me, Papa, if I prefer not to encourage Jared, for I don’t want to complicate his life. He is too young to know what is in his best interest. He would find himself using his better judgment after a marriage with me if such a marriage ever took place, and after he attained more maturity. It would then place me in a very uncomfortable position. He is much too young to make such a decision and I would not encourage him to do so. I consider him only as a sweet friend. He may be smitten with me but he lacks the depth and maturity to make such a decision. In this I am on his uncle’s side."

  "You take a much too insightful view of it. Jared is an ardent admirer and would be even more so beyond a wedding to you, should such a felicitous event take place," insisted Lord Kelly, his face earnest. "I have hopes that his admiration for you will give him such eloquence that he will convince Hawkinston to allow him to marry you. And convince you too, by and by."

  "But his youth, Papa," objected Violet.

  "I have seen marriages between even younger couples," pressed her father, "So his age does not pose a significant reason to oppose the marriage should he propose. I would certainly agree wholeheartedly to it. I have seen men even more immature than Jared grow in stature when allied to the right woman. You, my dear, would improve the character of any man who married you."

  "You endow me with more attributes than I possess," said Violet, blushing at her father's words, yet happy that he held such views of her.

  "I cannot endow you with what you already possess, my dear," said her father. "The duke is used to having everyone bow before him, so he may already be set in his ways. I recall the father he had and it’s no wonder he didn't turn out even worse than he did."

  "What sort of a man was the duke's father, Papa? I recall a description of him as a scoundrel. Was it so?'"

  "The fourth Duke of Hawkinston was a scoundrel all right and lived only for his own pleasure. He neglected both his wife and his children while he lived a desultory life in which womanizing, gambling and drinking were his three interests. It was the drinking that took him to his grave. I remember hearing that he had demolished his liver with alcohol. He died while the present duke was in the Peninsula, alongside Wellington."