Regency Romances

by Grace Fletcher

  “I hope you do. Because I won’t stand for my son marrying a singer.”

  That was when the blush turning to an annoyed flush. Catherine gritted her teeth and fixed the dowager duchess with a haughty stare. “Insistence to make me stay for refreshments is not a declaration of love or a proposal,” she pointed out.

  “With the way my son was looking at you, I highly doubt it.” Lady Georgia gave her a scathing look before turning around, her nose in the air. “Just make sure you leave in the next five minutes, or I will have you forcibly removed.”

  ***

  The conversation with Lady Georgia had been unsettling, to say the least. Catherine wasn’t about to push her luck and slipped out quietly shortly after. Roberts had helped her get her things into the carriage, and Vaughan, the coachman, took Catherine home with the promise to bring Louisa back shortly after. Catherine hadn’t wanted to interrupt Louisa, and the threat had only been directed at her.

  She should have been strong and stayed – the duke was the one with sway over the guests not his mother – but Catherine hadn’t wanted to create a scene. And from the look of it, Louisa had his attention. He wouldn’t pay much attention to whether she stayed or not once Louisa was there. Her younger sister was pretty and knew how to hold a man’s attention. Newcastle wouldn’t remember her now.

  That hurt more than it should have.

  Catherine spent the night telling herself that she shouldn’t even be having thoughts about the duke. They were not what she needed right now. Having thoughts about a man in Society was dangerous. Catherine knew it was far above her station. She had to keep herself collected and cut off all these thoughts altogether. If she brought herself to have Newcastle in her mind, that would bring a lot of trouble for Catherine. Trouble she couldn’t afford to have.

  Chapter 4

  Courting a Duke

  Try as she might, Catherine couldn’t forget the handsome duke. There was something about him that had caught her attention. Maybe it was the fact he was a lot taller than she was, so she didn’t feel like she was looking down at him. Maybe it was the way he smiled at her. Or maybe it was looking into those stunning blue eyes. They had been on her mind ever since that night.

  It was going to affect her. Catherine needed to focus on her work. Attention from a duke did not mean everlasting love. She had to stop, or this was going to ruin her.

  Clearly, Newcastle didn’t have the same thoughts. The morning after the performance, a bunch of flowers arrived at the house that Catherine and Louisa shared. It was addressed to Catherine with a letter from the duke, apologising for his mother and asking for her to come to his house for dinner. Catherine didn’t respond to the note even though she was desperate to. Dinner with a duke? It was unheard of.

  And it could never happen.

  But every day for the rest of the week – sometimes twice a day – flowers would arrive at the house. How the duke had figured out where they lived, Catherine had no idea. And each bouquet came with a note asking her to dinner.

  He wasn’t going to give up. Not until he had an answer.

  Louisa came into the living room as Catherine sat by the window, looking at the most recent bouquet of roses that had been delivered to their door. The note was unopened on her lap, but Catherine knew it would be the same as the others.

  “Catherine?” Louisa reached her sister’s side and sat down. “Are you all right?”

  “Not really.”

  “What is it?”

  Catherine sighed and passed the flowers over. “It’s from the Duke of Newcastle again.”

  “Again?” Louisa whistled. “My, you must have made an impression.”

  “I wish I hadn’t.” Catherine gave her sister a woeful look. “Why didn’t he send you flowers instead? You had his attention for most of the evening.”

  “Not most of the evening.” Louisa laughed. “But whenever you’re around, I fade into the background.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re a beautiful woman, Louisa.”

  “Compared to you, I’m not.” Louisa indicated the flowers. “These are gorgeous. But what’s so different about them? You’ve had flowers from admirers before.”

  “Not this many in such a short space of time. And not with invitations to come for dinner every time.”

  “You, what?” Louisa stared. “He’s asking you to have dinner with him?”

  “He is.”

  The messages were the same. In his latest one, Newcastle warned that he would keep asking her every day until he got an answer. Catherine hadn’t sent back an answer yet. Everything about her wanted to take this chance and have dinner with the duke, but there was a small part that stopped her from accepting. She wasn’t part of Society, and people would talk. Catherine had her reputation to think about. As she had told Lady Georgia, she knew her place.

  Clearly, Newcastle was not thinking the same thing.

  Louisa was still staring at her sister. For a moment, her face went white. And then her cheeks flushed, and she whistled. “Whoa. Sounds like he’s more than impressed with you.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  “What do you mean?” Louisa raised an eyebrow. “Are you scared?”

  “I…” Catherine started to protest, but then she hesitated. Was she scared? A little, if she had to be honest. She sighed and put the flowers onto a nearby table. “I suppose I am a little nervous about it all. This attention is a bit… a little too intense.”

  “I’ve never known you to be so scared about someone showing an interest before.”

  “But there’s something different about this, Louisa. Very different.” Catherine pressed a hand to her chest where she could feel her heart racing. “I don’t know how to describe it, but I can feel it. And it’s not good.”

  “Not good?” Louisa laughed. “You are a strange woman, Catherine.”

  “What?”

  “If you find the duke attractive, you won’t be the first one. He’s an eligible bachelor. I saw the way the girls at his dinner evening were looking at him. They would certainly agree with you about how handsome the Duke of Newcastle is. And why wouldn’t he be showing an interest in you?” Louisa laid a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “You’re a beautiful woman. He clearly noticed that.”

  Catherine was normally receptive to Louisa’s flattery. Her sister knew what she needed to hear to make her feel better. But not this time. Catherine couldn’t shift the doubts in her mind.

  “You know the dowager duchess told me to leave that night, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do.” Louisa gave her sister a knowing look. “You’re concerned about that old lady, aren’t you?”

  “Don’t be rude, Louisa.”

  “She’s not here. She’s not going to hear what I have to say about the miserable old…”

  “Louisa!”

  “All right, I’ll stop.”

  Catherine shook her head. “I know my place in Society, and that is not doing anything beyond a simple conversation with dukes and duchesses.”

  Louisa sighed. “Catherine, it’s just dinner, not a marriage proposal. I’d kill for Newcastle to ask me to dinner.” She fanned her face with her hand. “That would be a dream come true for me.”

  “If I can get him to stop inviting me, you can have that dinner with him.” Catherine looked at the message again. “But he’s insistent. Very insistent.”

  Catherine had met admirers who wouldn’t take no for an answer before, but they eventually went away. Not the duke. And there was a part of Catherine that liked the idea of a duke pursuing her. Especially Newcastle, with those stunning blue eyes. Even when she tried to distract herself with her singing, those eyes of his wouldn’t go away. Catherine couldn’t forget about them.

  The Duke of Newcastle had snared her, regardless of whether she wanted him to or not.

  “I know what you should do,” Louisa said.

  “What?”

  “Go to dinner with him.” Louisa held up a hand as Cat
herine started to protest. “It’s only one evening with an admirer. It’s not a declaration of love.”

  Yet.

  “It could cause a scandal,” Catherine protested.

  “You don’t know that, Catherine. Give it a try.” Louisa giggled. “You never know, you might actually enjoy yourself.”

  She did have a point. It was only one evening, nothing more. Catherine didn’t see it going beyond that. Perhaps the duke would leave her be afterwards. And she did need to do something other than singing in her life. Singing was beginning to get very boring.

  What could go wrong with an evening with a nobleman?

  ***

  She had finally said yes. Newcastle had begun to think Catherine Patrick wouldn’t agree to it at all. She refused to respond to him. But now her letter said she would have dinner with him, and that evening as well.

  Newcastle felt like a younger man again when he had come of age and at his first Season. The excitement was building, and it wouldn’t abate. Newcastle wanted this to be perfect for Catherine. This was to be the perfect evening for both of them.

  The moment he had seen her in his hallway, Newcastle knew that he wasn’t about to let Catherine Patrick walk away. He had been intrigued watching her in the theater with her singing and that beautiful smile, but being that close was something else. Newcastle couldn’t turn away. Looking away from Louisa Patrick and finding Catherine missing had sent him into a panic. Then he had seen the smug look on Lady Georgia’s face and knew what had happened.

  His mother had figured it out. And she wasn’t about to let her own son have his way. Newcastle wasn’t going to let that stop him. Lady Georgia wasn’t finding a bride for him. If he wanted to marry, Newcastle would go out and do it himself.

  And he had been considering marriage, for the first time in his life, since the night he had seen Catherine sing in his drawing room.

  Everything was going to plan. Between Bradley, Roberts and Mrs Bell, the housekeeper, preparations for the evening were underway. It was going to be perfect. Newcastle would make sure it was. This wasn’t a one-off evening. This was meant to be something more.

  He just needed to get Catherine to understand what he wanted.

  It was nearly five when Newcastle decided he would start getting prepared for Catherine’s arrival. She would be at the house at seven. A hot bath, shave, and a change of clothes was in order. Newcastle wanted to look his best.

  He was whistling as he went through the foyer, but he came to a sharp halt when he saw his mother coming towards him. What was she doing here? Newcastle hadn’t permitted for her to enter. Lady Georgia was smiling in that way Newcastle didn’t like. She was up to something. And then he saw the tickets in her hand, which she held out to him.

  “Here you go, son. Your tickets. And you had better get yourself ready or you’re going to be late.”

  Chapter 5

  Much Preferable

  Company

  “I beg your pardon?” Newcastle stared at the tickets. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your tickets. For your evening at the theater.” Lady Georgia beamed. “Miss Caroline Olsen said she would meet you in the lobby with her father.”

  Caroline Olsen? Newcastle had never heard of her or the family. They had to be new to London. Then he realised what Lady Georgia had been saying. She had set him up again. He shook his head and pushed her hand away. “I didn’t know anything about this, Mother.”

  “Of course you didn’t,” Lady Georgia said airily. “I arranged it all. Everything’s been organised. All you need to do is to turn up.”

  Newcastle gritted his teeth. How dare she? He had warned her about this before. Clearly, the dowager duchess didn’t have the ability to listen to anyone, not even her own son.

  “Mother, I am not a child. You cannot arrange an evening for me again. Not like that disaster of a dinner party.”

  To say that Newcastle had given his mother a telling off had been an understatement. Newcastle had been incensed, mostly because of the company and also because she had sent Catherine away. Newcastle had been under no illusions as to why it had happened. Lady Georgia still hadn’t apologised for it.

  Lady Georgia sniffed, sticking her nose in the air. “It was only a disaster because you chose to shower attention on that awful singer you wanted to perform for us.”

  “Catherine Patrick is one of the most sought-after singers in London,” Newcastle pointed out.

  “I don’t see how. She was crass. And she sang out of tune.”

  Newcastle barked out a laugh. “What would you know about music, Mother? You can’t sing in tune to save your life if you were standing on the gallows.”

  The dowager duchess flushed. “How dare you? I know how to sing better than that little chit.”

  Newcastle put his hands behind his back. His fingers had curled into fists. “Miss Patrick was the only highlight of the night for me. She was doing nothing wrong, and you had no right to make her leave.”

  “She wasn’t one of the guests. She was a performer, and they weren’t invited.”

  “I classed her as a guest, and I wanted her to stay.”

  “Well, I didn’t.” Lady Georgia sniffed. “Your father’s attitudes seem to have rubbed off on you far too much. He preferred the company of lesser ladies and gentlemen, believing them to be better company than people of our own kind. I was hoping you would never associate with people like her.” She sneered at the last word.

  Newcastle growled and took a step forward. “People like her?” His voice was low. “Would you like to elaborate, Mother?”

  “Would you like a list with that?”

  “You mean a meaningless, pathetic list because I should be finding one of the girls you paraded in front of me that night attractive and consider her for a wife instead.”

  Lady Georgia’s mouth twisted. She looked like a shrivelled prune. “You need an heir, Newcastle,” she said stiffly.

  This again. Newcastle was beginning to dislike the idea of having children the more Lady Georgia pushed women towards him. “I’m still young, Mother. And I’m not going to be controlled by you. If I choose a wife, it’s going to be on my terms, not yours.”

  “You can’t do that!”

  “Yes, I can.” Newcastle took delight in his mother’s face going white in her fury. “I’m not a little boy you can mould to your satisfaction. I’m not a puppet, either. Besides, I’m going to be busy tonight.”

  “You never said anything about it.”

  “And last I knew, you didn’t have control over my social diary.” Newcastle smirked. “Miss Patrick is coming over for dinner.”

  For a moment, he thought his mother was going to end up in a dead faint. She was even paler, and she was swaying on the spot. Then she started breathing faster. “What?” she shrieked, causing a maid walking past them to jump with a little squeal before scurrying away. “You’re inviting that… woman here for dinner?”

  “I am.”

  “I forbid it!”

  Newcastle barked out a laugh. “Mother, this is my house, not yours. You do not live here, nor do you run anything in my house.” He raised his eyebrows. “Come to think of it, I don’t remember inviting you in here.”

  Lady Georgia’s cheeks flushed under the heavy makeup. “You’re my son,” she said hotly. “Should I need an invitation into my own son’s house?”

  “Yes, you should.” Newcastle beckoned Roberts over. His valet had been hovering close by. “Roberts, escort Lady Georgia out.”

  “Yes, Your Grace.”

  But the dowager duchess stood firm, shaking her head. “No one is escorting me out, Christopher.”

  Newcastle snorted. “Using my Christian name when I was a boy worked because I was a child, but it’s not going to work now. You are leaving. Right now. And don’t even think about coming over tonight when Miss Patrick is here, or I will be more than furious.”

  Lady Georgia was still protesting as Roberts hustled her away.

>   ***

  Newcastle could tell that Catherine was nervous. As soon as she had entered the drawing room and took a glass of sherry from Roberts, Newcastle saw the way her hands shook. She was quiet, looking everywhere but at him. This wasn’t the same woman he had seen before.

  But he persevered. He wanted to see that woman, that singer, come back. So Newcastle worked on getting Catherine to relax. The conversation started small, on meaningless subjects. And it worked. Newcastle had learnt the ability to break the ice from his father. He could see Catherine thaw as she started meeting his eye, giving him small smiles before looking away again. Soon she was sitting across from him without flushed cheeks, smiling in that way that had Newcastle feeling like he was the King of England.

  By the time dinner was announced, Catherine was back to the woman Newcastle remembered, smiling and laughing. She was even meeting Newcastle’s quips with some of her own. The nerves seemed to have completely gone. Catherine took Newcastle’s arm as they walked into the dining room. Newcastle felt ten feet tall.

  He was relieved when he saw that Catherine had a healthy appetite. She didn’t shovel food into her mouth, but she didn’t pick at her food, either. Newcastle couldn’t understand why women wouldn’t eat a plate of food in front of anyone. Everyone needed food to keep going. It was no wonder so many women fainted, in his opinion.

  They finished their main meal, and the dessert was brought in, a sumptuous chocolate cake that had been baked that morning. Catherine cut off a piece with her fork and tasted it, her eyes closing as she sighed. “This is delicious.”

  Newcastle chuckled and sipped at his wine. “I was going to ask how the food was so far, but I guess I have my answer.”

  Catherine grinned. “You certainly have. Your cook is an absolute wonder in the kitchen.”

  “I’ll let her know.” Newcastle indicated his own slice. “I practically grew up on this when I was little. It’s no wonder I have a sweet tooth.”

  “She’s been around that long?” Catherine gasped. Then she flushed and looked down at her plate. “Forgive me, that was unkind.”

  Newcastle laughed and patted her hand. He found himself very reluctant to pull away after that. “No need, it’s true. She has been around a long time. Just not as the cook. Her mother, Mrs Natalie Barnes, was the cook when my father first acquired the dukedom. Her daughter, the current cook, was born shortly after I was. She became cook when her mother retired last year. She learnt a few things from her old ma.”