Fate Is A Stranger: Regency Romance

by Gay, Gloria

  During the revolution, Sadie, the oldest had gone to the streets, selling her body to feed her twin brothers and baby sister. It had been to no avail, though, for the children had all died, her mother, as well, during childbirth.

  The carriages were stopped so that Lord Kelly, who had been riding alongside on his horse, boarded, and they again resumed their journey to Castle Cynweir, all of them lost in their thoughts. Sadie finally slept while Lord Kelly perused the newspapers and Violet gazed at the rolling countryside that sped by at her carriage window.

  Finally, even Lord Kelly slumbered, his head resting against the squabs, while Violet still held her vigil at the window and wondered what awaited her at the castle.

  * * *

  A stop at an inn for a luncheon finally distracted them from their uneasy sleep and the travelers spilled happily out of the carriages to partake of their meal.

  This was the best part of the journey for Lord Kelly, who appreciated the chance for a good meal, a cheroot and a drop of brandy. The latter half of the trip he would then spend in deep sleep, unlike the fitful slumber of the past hours.

  Bendy found a hostler to water their horses and care for their needs, while Violet looked on with interest at the busy crossroads inn. There was a heavy mail coach arriving and another large and lumbering coach from which several passengers were alighting.

  The sky was still low with dark clouds but at least behind the clouds the sun's light spread out in silver streaks and there was a strong smell of wood smoke.

  And as the forest cut to the road's edge, there was also a heavy and pleasing scent of pine in the air. Violet smiled, feeling better now than when they had left London.

  During the years after the war, many of the displaced soldiers who had come back from the battles wounded and emaciated had settled down in the farms and many of the younger ones had married and now had children of their own. Violet had been a child during the war but had been strongly affected by the many years of hardship and the deaths that had affected so many families. There was hardly a family left in England who had been left intact. Most had lost a brother, a father, a son…

  Lunch was a pleasing meal of roast duck and beef broth with new potatoes and a plate of steamed vegetables while an apricot cobbler drowning in clotted cream completed it. So good was their meal that a few crusty loaves of bread and a chunk of butter and marmalade were purchased for their afternoon tea on the road.

  They lingered a little in the tap room after their meal. Lord and Lady Kelly spoke of their plans to replace the shabby furniture of the London townhouse which had not seen change in over a hundred years. Violet listened, feeling good after the wonderful simple meal as she basked in the warmth between her parents that never ceased to bring her joy.

  The satisfied travelers were on the verge of returning to their carriages when they saw a man heading toward them.

  "I beg your pardon, my lord—Lord Kelly, is it not?"

  "Yes, sir, and whom am I addressing?"

  "Viscount Souten, my lord, at your service."

  "Ah—well, Souten, and what seems to be the matter?" asked Lord Kelly, for he saw that Lord Souten seemed agitated.

  "You are headed to Castle Cynweir?" asked Souten.

  "Yes, we are, and what is the reason you ask. Is there a problem?"

  "Yes there is, as a matter of fact, Kelly," said Souten. As Violet, gazed at him from the window, she realized that she had seen the man before, but she could not remember where. His pale, chalky complexion against which the color of his lips stood out and the glazed-over eyes were familiar. In the silver gray light of mid-day, his face seemed ghostly.

  She recalled that Jessie had introduced her to him in the park and she had seen him at several other functions after that. There was an uneasiness about him that was most disturbing.

  "I was wondering if I might beg your assistance," the gentleman added in earnest. "There is a lady heading in the same direction whom I have been escorting there. Her name is Lady de Compte and she claims an acquaintance with Lady Kelly."

  "Yes, we are acquainted with Lady de Compte," agreed, Lord Kelly, as he glanced at his wife.

  "My carriage has become inoperable," continued Lord Souten, "At least for the next few hours, and Lady de Compte and her maid find themselves stranded here. We were wondering if perhaps you might not be so kind as to allow them to travel with you to the castle."

  "Well, certainly, always glad to help a lady out," said Lord Kelly. "What say you, my dear?" he asked Sadie. He did not like the look of Viscount Souten, but he could not appear inhospitable to a fellow peer and traveler.

  "We would be glad to be of assistance to Lady de Compte," said Sadie. And where is she at present?"

  Souten turned and walked back a few spaces. He then assisted Lady de Compte out of their carriage and walked back with her to Lord Kelly's carriage.

  "Here she is, my lady. Come, Vera. What a happy occasion, that you already know these good people. They have generously offered to take you and your maid to the castle with them. Are you not lucky?"

  "I am," agreed Lady de Compte with wide smile. "I am most lucky in having met my dear friend, Sadie, on the road, and her lovely daughter Violet. Lord Kelly," she said, turning to Lord Kelly, "A pleasure to see you again. Have you had a good journey so far?"

  "Yes, we have, my lady. Ah—here is Lady Kelly and my daughter, Violet."

  Lady de Compte greeted Violet.

  "My dears," said Lady de Compte, "If one is to be stranded on the road, one cannot wish for better company than yours. I had become saddened by our accident but now I am all smiles."

  Once Lady de Compte's maid had been settled in the other carriage and they had bid farewell to Souten, the travelers resumed their journey.

  Violet noticed that Lady de Compte was the picture of discretion. She did not talk overmuch, only a bit of small talk and she appeared to realize that after the meal both the ladies and Lord Kelly were drowsy and desired rest. After she thanked them for their generosity in allowing her to invade their privacy, she took up her correspondence case and busied herself with her letters for a couple of hours.

  But once she had seen that the ladies had taken their fill of sleep and were rested and desirous of talk, she spoke quietly and pleasingly and always flatteringly, especially toward Sadie.

  Violet could see that Lady De Compte was anxious to secure her mother as a friend and she wondered why. It was not often that a lady of the nobility reached out to them.

  * * *

  Lady De Compte was glad that she was making great inroads toward securing Sadie as a friend. Arranging matters so that she would be making a stretch of the journey with Lord Kelly and his family had been her idea. Souten had expressed admiration at her clever idea when she related her plan to him. He even admitted that arranging to appear to be a lady in distress due to a carriage mishap and asking Lord Kelly if she could continue on to the castle in the Kelly carriage was a clever plan by half.

  She realized though, that although Lady Kelly was easy to maneuver, Violet was an altogether different proposition. There seemed to be a wall around Violet that would be difficult of not impossible to overcome.

  Vera wondered how a person so young could be so skilled in erecting such a sturdy fence where no one could even peek through. It was a challenge, but she had enough trust in herself to be able to overcome it. She must, for a lot depended on her scaling that wall around Violet.

  "My dear, you have the most astounding blue eyes," she said to Violet, because from experience she knew that flattery opened even the iciest of doors. "It's a wonder men don't just sit and stare at you," she added.

  "How well do you know the Duke of Hawkinston, my lady?" asked Violet, ignoring the compliment, which took Vera De Compte aback. Well, thought Vera, The girl must be used to such compliments and become adept at evading any kind of remark in reference to her looks.

  It became quite obvious to Vera from their discourse that Violet never answered any ques
tions posed to her. She was adept at turning a phrase so that she did not reply to questions she did not feel like answering.

  * * *

  Violet turned away from Lady De Compte and gazed out the window again, glad that the lady had given up on complimenting her and spoke now with her mother.

  Violet was convinced that beauty was fleeting and to grasp onto such things as the pleasing shape of eyes or lashes was as useless as grasping water in one's hands. It would all pass. Eyes that were smooth around the corners would grow wrinkles eventually and skin that was as smooth as the petal of a rose would keep such a bloom only for a few years. What was inside was what counted.

  As a little girl, Violet loved to rub her face against the cool petal smooth skin of her mother's face. As she grew up she realized that although Sadie's skin was now lined with fine wrinkles, to her it was the same as it had always been because it was what was behind Sadie's face that counted, the love and warmth toward her that was always there.

  Violet was brought back to the conversation with their traveling guest when her mother answered a question posed to her.

  "The duke?" Well I met him last winter," replied Lady de Compte. "Quite an imposing man, do you not think so, my dear?" she asked Violet.

  "Do you know him well?" asked Vera, directing her question to Sadie."

  "Just what we saw of him at the musicale at our house. That was the only time we have come into contact with his grace.

  They finally arrived at Castle Cynweir.

  CHAPTER 10

  "Part of the keep is inside that rocky hill, Miss Durbin. It was where my ancestors retreated when things got a bit hot."

  "Your grace!" Violet was startled by the duke's voice behind her.

  She and her family as well as Lady de Compte had arrived an hour before and been formally met at the castle by the duke and his sister and brother-in-law at the same time as a group of other travelers.

  After being shown their rooms, Violet left her mother and the rest to their unpacking and slipped away to be alone.

  She had found a stone stair after being directed there by a footman and she was gazing at the fortress walls of the back part of the castle where Hawkinston had found her.

  "I imagine things got a bit hot very often," said Violet with a smile. This castle dates back to the 15th Century, does it not?"

  "Yes. Very accurate, Miss Durbin. Fourteen-eighty three, to be exact, and though parts of it have been added through the decades, it is still very much the style of the crusader tradition, at least the main building and the keep and fore building. Even the grounds around are the original bailey.

  "Not much has changed in the ensuing centuries, except that most of the fortifications around the bailey are gone, except for the north wall that I am certain you saw from the road. It is there that we will hold a picnic in the next few days, Miss Durbin, if old castle fortifications interest you."

  "England's history interests me, your grace, as does world history in general. It is endlessly fascinating."

  "Then you must have been enthralled by our recent history with France. Although perhaps history so close to one and so bloody may not be to your liking."

  "I was a child during the war, but I could well feel the effect of the war years on my mother and those close to us. Yes, it is a lot different to live during a war as it happens. You mentioned before that you participated in the events that involved our nation. Was your participation as an officer?"

  "Yes, I fought in the war. I also participated in other ways such as policy and diplomacy. Thankfully, it is now behind us and Napoleon safely tucked away where he does no harm.

  "But I have come out to inform you that afternoon tea is now waiting, Miss Durbin. I imagine your journey, however much it was done in a comfortable coach, must have left you tired and wanting your tea. Shall we?"

  "You have beautiful gardens."

  "In the ensuing days I hope you will allow me to show them to you."

  "That would be nice," said Violet politely as she was led to a long and imposing drawing room where many people had gathered.

  Immediately several people broke away from the groups they formed and came to greet the duke. Violet took advantage of the duke's distraction to slip away from him. She joined her mother and father who were sitting by themselves balancing cups of tea and cakes in small plates and chatting with Lady Bea.

  "So many people," said Sadie. "And I thought this was to be a small gathering. Why, there must be at least two dozen people in this room alone and many continue to arrive."

  "From what I gather the duke wants to have at least two balls," said Lord Kelly, "so that may be the reason for such a large house party."

  "Oh, my dear," said Lady de Compte, as she reached them and pressed Sadie's arm, companionably. "I cannot begin to express my admiration at our rooms. Such luxury and such regal hospitality."

  "Yes," said Lord Kelly, glancing briefly at Lady de Compte, "One cannot but observe that everything has been thought of for the guests' comfort."

  "Who is that, my dear Lady Kelly?"

  "Who is who?" asked Sadie, trying not to frown. She was beginning to resent Lady de Compte's intrusion into their privacy.

  "That's Countess Maddington and her daughter, Lady Galena," answered Lord Kelly when Sadie looked puzzled. "They are from the north and have come to participate in the Season. I met the Earl of Maddington at White's yesterday. He has a sweet mare I want to buy for Violet."

  "The girl is pretty, in a confection sort of way," observed Lady de Compte. "What a divine dress,” she added. “If she wears such a dream of a gown to a mere tea, I can’t wait to see what she will wear to the ball tomorrow."

  "She will catch her death of a cold in that filmy dress," said Lady Bea, who was dressed to the nines in bottle green embroidered silk and a deep velvet overskirt that split on the middle with rows of buttons on the sides.

  * * *

  "What is so important that you should pull me away from the guests," asked Souten of Lady de Compte in the garden where she had asked to meet him.

  "It is about Lady Galena."

  "Lady Galena? I don’t know her."

  "She will be of interest to you, I’m certain, Cade," expressed Vera excitedly, "for I believe she can be of use to us."

  "In what way?"

  "You will hardly believe this, Cade, the girl has set her cap on marrying Hawkinston. Can you fathom that? As though it were as easy as buying a length of silk."

  "How did you come upon this knowledge, Vera?"

  "Pure luck, I hazard to say. Well, rather," amended Lady de Compte, as she recalled that her remuneration from Souten would be directly tied to the information she obtained. "I believe my 'feelers' have begun to bear fruit. This girl, Lady Galena, has one aim in mind, and that is, to marry the duke. After finding this out, I observed her every action and so came upon this knowledge."

  Vera had fallen on this information purely by chance when she overheard a conversation between Lady Galena and her mother in which Lady Galena reiterated her objective, which was to marry Hawkinston.

  "I believe we might have an ally in Lady Galena, Cade, though she does not yet know it," Lady de Compte expressed with satisfaction.

  "You might be right," agreed Souten. "To have a chit like Lady Galena working on our side will be of great help. She can get into places where we cannot."

  Lady de Compte had rarely had such a thoroughly satisfying day as this one and she was basking in it, taking delicate sips of wine as she reveled in her triumph. Her mind was churning now, preparing ways to approach Lady Galena and convert her to their side. It could not be too difficult, she thought, for Lady Galena appeared to be a selfish, egotistical kind of girl, the kind that would succumb to flattery.

  * * *

  "Uncle Perry," said Jared to his guardian, bursting in on him in his private chambers as the duke was engaged in his toilette, "I have heard the most unnerving piece of gossip that surely must be countered by you."

&n
bsp; "And that is?" asked the duke as his cravat was being tied by his valet.

  "That you have made this house party purely to convince Violet into becoming your mistress!"

  "And of course you believed it."

  "I’m asking you to contradict it, sir. If you say it's not true, of course I shall believe you. I have not, in the course of the year, heard anything that can challenge such an outlandish piece of news!"

  "And what will you do if I contradict it, take it as a license to pursue Violet during this house party?"

  "Well…and what if I do, Uncle Perry?"

  "Then perhaps it is better not to contradict the general belief," His uncle smiled broadly. "As you well know, I don’t approve of you chasing that girl. You had best court young debutantes from good families, for I will never agree to an alliance between you and Violet and that surely is where your ardor toward her is headed."

  "It’s true, then," said Jared, his face falling. "The gossip was the truth."

  "Do you always take gossip as truth?"

  "No—" A ray of hope lit Jared's eyes. "It's only gossip then, Uncle?"

  "You should concentrate on the hunt and ball tomorrow and leave off singling out young ladies that are inadequate for you, as I have pointed out to you several times," said the duke, evading Jared's question. "In fact, I have invited several girls who have my complete approval.

  "But you're very young and shouldn't yet saddle yourself to a wife and nursery. There will be time enough for that."

  "I will certainly take your advice if it’s Lady Galena you have lined up as a matrimonial prospect for me, Uncle Perry, for I ran into her carriage on the way here and a more devious piece of work I have yet to see. She looks over my head and straight at you, in case you haven't noticed. I believe she considers my title a pittance compared to yours."

  "I hope you are not becoming a cynic at so young an age, Jared," said his uncle with a rare laugh. "And as for Lady Galena, she is a comely young girl and I don't believe what you say, that she cannot look below a duke."