He broke the kiss, and looked tenderly down into her eyes. Leading her over to the bed, she willingly went with him, and gasped when he put his arms around her waist and lifted her up onto the high bed. She smiled at him, as he moved forward to join her.
“And now for your story,” he said, settling on the bed beside her. The bed shook suddenly, and the force almost sent him crashing onto the floor. His bedchamber was thrown open, and a gust of wind blew through the room. He groaned. The ghosts were doing it again.
Damnation.
“Leave me alone,” he grumbled. “She will come to no harm with me.” His stubborn refusal to believe that what he was doing was wrong, made him hesitate. He had to catch a hold of himself before he did something he would later regret—and more importantly something, she would later regret. He walked over and slammed his door shut. Turning to smile at her, “Now, where were we?”
“Your Grace,” she said, her eyes wide in horror.
He turned back to the door. “Damnation. Why won’t you bloody well leave me alone?” he growled.
The door was open again, and it seemed that it would stay that way until he admitted defeat and told her to leave.
“I…I think we should put this off for another night. The ghosts, it would seem, have a higher moral code than I do.”
A smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. “I rather think they are passing judgement on your sins, sir.”
“They bloody well are,” he said exasperated. “They think that you are an innocent damsel in need of protection from me.”
“And…” she paused. “Mayhap, I am. You, sir, are leading me into temptation, and I don’t know if I have the willpower to decline your invitations.”
He laughed. “You don’t, eh? Just as well. I shan’t ever stop desiring the honour of your company, Ruby, but I think you and the ghosts that brattle throughout this old place are right. You are…above reproach. You have a good heart, and you deserve more than what I can give you at the moment. Allow me to court you, Ruby. Give me that one boon, and I promise you, you won’t ever regret it.”
“If you dare, sir, and, if I dare. I shan’t want a scandal from it all.”
“You needn’t fear. I pay my servants for their discretion.”
Confliction passed across her serene features. “I am no prize, sir.”
“I disagree with that sentiment, Ruby. Let me show you how beautiful and desirable you are.”
Her eyes filled with unshed tears, and he felt miserable.
“Thank you, sir,” she said, slipping off the bed, and walking toward him. She reached for his hand, which dwarfed her small one. “Thank you for giving me the gift of your affection. I am not entirely convinced it is the right thing to accept it—but for just this once, sir, I dare to throw caution to the wind. Once you see what a terrible horsewoman I am—you might have second thoughts. You might not want me anymore.”
“Nothing on God’s Green Earth could make me stop wanting you, Ruby. Please believe that.”
“I have lived my life not thinking anyone like you could come along, Your Grace. I have had other men interested in me, but you…you want nothing but my love. You want me for who I am…and perhaps, the way that I have been raised—maybe I have been conditioned not to hope. Not to dream, and you, Your Grace, seem far too good to be true.”
“You are the one that is far too good to be true, Ruby. And now…before I find myself wallowing in sentimentality, and wanting to recite you poetry and make sweet love to you, I think you should go. Our supernatural chaperones shan’t be happy if you remain one minute longer.”
She sighed. “I think you are right, much as I am loathe to admit it. I don’t mind the other ghosts that ramble through these halls, but what…the man who laughs like a madman…do you think he is the Earl?”
“Do I think he is Miranda and Cordelia’s father? Aye. However, that my dear, is a story for another night. I shan’t want to you lose any sleep over it. The other ghosts have taken you under their wings. You won’t be bothered by him anymore.”
“Are the children quite safe?” she asked softly.
He sighed. “Aye. The nursery never experiences such things. It never has—and I daresay it never will.”
“Some would think us quite mad to be talking about ghosts in such a blasé manner.”
“Those people would be the skeptics, the ones who have never experienced such things. The people around here—well, they wouldn’t doubt it. This land is filled with magic…this land is touched by the supernatural, Ruby.”
“And touched by pixie queens, and their consorts?”
“Aye,” he said. “They are grand stories to tell, Ruby. They make my nieces quite happy, and I can be assured that they shall dream of fairy stories instead of dreaming about the demons that sometimes haunt them. They almost lost their childhood—and I am bloody well determined to make sure they have it back.”
“How…how did their father die?” she asked softly.
“That as I said, is a story for another day. It is a grim tale, and it fills my heart with sorrow whenever I dwell upon it, for I just didn’t lose that bastard that night, Ruby. I lost my sister. I lost my precious Isolde.”
A tear slipped out of its watery prison. “I am so sorry, Your Grace. I have overstepped my bounds. I shall take my leave now.”
He caught her hand, as she turned to leave. Lifting it to his lips, he kissed it gently.
“Never apologize to me, my dear. You have a genuinely caring soul. Souls like yours, are a rarity in this world, and people like you must be cherished. And, I shall endeavor to cherish you for the rest of my life.”
Ruby pulled away from him, and raced back through the house to her bedchamber. Closing the door, she let out a shattering sigh. She couldn’t keep doing this. She couldn’t fall in love with him, only to have it all taken away.
Chapter Fourteen
The next morning came far too fast for Ruby’s taste. She didn’t want to climb out of bed and face the day. There would be no way to avoid the Duke today. No way to avoid him from now on. He was in her heart, and she couldn’t push him away, no matter how hard she tried.
She ate her breakfast in contemplative silence, wondering how she should proceed. Rising to answer whoever was knocking on her door, she opened it to find an excited Lady Miranda dressed in a riding habit made for her small size.
“Uncle says we can go out riding before we have our lessons today. He has requested your presence, Miss Massey.”
“I am not a good rider,” she said, and I am hardly dressed for it.”
“We shall wait,” Lady Miranda said.
“You are a lot like your uncle,” Ruby said, sighing.
“I take that as a compliment,” Lady Miranda said, her eyes twinkling while she pet Joan.
“I shall ring for a maid,” Ruby said reluctantly.
“Splendid,” Lady Miranda said, leaving to return to the nursery. For being so young, she acted far too mature for her years at times. Ruby sighed, and looked over at her trunk. Had she even packed a riding habit? She hardly ever rode…even though her uncle sometimes urged her to do it, as he said it was one of the best kinds of exercise.
She bent down, unlocked the trunk, and started sorting through her things. She reached for her tan and brown velvet riding habit, and stood up. Placing it on the bed, she went back and reached for the matching hat, gloves and boots, and then, locked her trunk up again.
She would have to unpack her all of the things at some point, and trust the servants that lived here not to rummage through them. A maid arrived, and helped her to get into her outfit, and then, she left her. She sighed, looking at herself in the mirror. She didn’t mind horses, but she hated riding. Add to it the nervousness she felt about being with the Duke once again, and it was a bloody recipe for disaster.
The worst thing that could happen was that she would make a right and proper fool of herself. It wasn’t as if she had ever been thrown from a horse. Sighing, she left t
he safety of her bedchamber, and walked to the nursery, where she found the Duke, Lady Miranda and Lady Cordelia waiting for her, although Lady Cordelia looked as pleased as Ruby felt. Maybe she had found someone else who wasn’t too fond of riding the ponies.
*****
The two Shetland ponies that had been prepared for Lady Miranda and Lady Cordelia were beautiful, and Ruby wished she had one to ride. The one had a black silver coat and the other one was a pretty strawberry roan colour.
Lady Cordelia looked a little nervous at first, and then visibly relaxed, as she pet the horse. Ruby’s horse was a lovely grey colour, and had a bit more spirit than she had wanted.
“Don’t worry, Mabel is a good horse,” the Duke said reassuringly, as he confidently swung up onto his black stallion, that made the Shetland ponies look even smaller than what they were.
“We haven’t been riding since Mama left us,” Lady Miranda mused, “and oh, how I have missed it.”
A groom walked with Lady Cordelia’s pony, probably owing to the fact that Lady Cordelia was so skittish.
“We shan’t go far,” the Duke said, though he looked like he wanted to have a nice wild ride across his grounds. If only Ruby was the sort to dare him to a race.
Ruby closed her eyes, and prayed that she would survive the morning. She would much rather be indoors, as there was a bit of a nip to the air, and she had been determined to explore the Library with the girls while the Duke was out for his morning ride. All of her plans had been dashed, and now, she was somewhere that she didn’t want to be.
“Miss Massey doesn’t look very keen, Uncle. She looks a little peaky. Maybe we shouldn’t have urged her to come along,” Lady Miranda mused.
“I think I just might need to get down and walk for a bit on my own two feet.”
Before she could protest against it, the Duke dismounted, and a groom took charge of his horse. The Duke came over to her, and looked at her expectantly. “Well, come on then, I shall help you down.”
“A groom could have helped me,” she protested.
“They could have, but I didn’t want them to,” he said softly. She bit her lip. The man couldn’t be deterred. Smiling, she allowed him to help her down, and she stood for a moment, her legs shaking. Holding onto him, he looked ready to pick her up again. “We shouldn’t have encouraged you to come riding. I didn’t imagine that you were so afraid of horses.”
“I…I am not afraid of them, I just never feel quite confident enough riding them. I much prefer riding in a carriage. My father was a competent rider. He used to ride every morning like you do…and the day that he died, he went out riding, and never came back. They found that he had either been thrown from his horse or fallen. The doctor thought that his heart had given out and he fell from the horse. Since that day, I have been nervous to ride. It is silly, really.”
“Now, I understand. You should have confided in me, Miss Massey. If that is how you feel, no one here will make you get back onto a horse again.”
“Maybe…maybe someday I will want to—but today…I suppose I wasn’t ready, sir.”
His brown eyes reflected deep regret and sorrow to her. “Come, we shall walk the rest of the way. The grooms can take our horses back to the stables, and you and I shall lead Miranda and Cordelia, although I daresay that Miranda is fast becoming a skilled horsewoman.”
Ruby laughed, and walked over to pet Lady Cordelia’s pony. “This one has a shy temperament, Lady Cordelia. Just like you and I,” she mused.
Lady Cordelia smiled at her. She looked over at the Duke and then at Lady Miranda. She could easily get used to this life. Perhaps, she shouldn’t struggle so much with the Duke being besotted with her. It might be time to let him catch her.
*****
They returned to the house with two laughing little girls. She had promised to give them another music lesson once she had changed out of her riding habit.
“Can you give me another dance lesson, Uncle? Mayhap this time, you and Miss Massey can demonstrate for me.”
“Would you like that, Miss Massey?” the Duke asked, a delighted glint in his eyes.
She sighed. “I wouldn’t be much opposed to it, Your Grace.”
Surprise lit his gaze, and he gave her a smile. “In that case, we should all make haste to change our clothing,” he said. Her heart skipped a beat.
Lady Cordelia tapped him on his leg. “Yes,” he asked, dropping her gaze to him.
Lady Miranda sighed. “I don’t think he wants to carry you into the house and up the stairs, Cordelia.”
“If that is what the lady wants,” the Duke murmured, “You wish is my command,” he said, crouching down so she could climb onto his back. He held her firmly, and laughing, they all went back into the house. Once they entered the Entrance Hall, they heard fervent murmurings.
“The Duke shall want to see us. We have just returned to Cornwall, and we haven’t given our regrets to him about the darling Earl and his wife.”
His wife.
That was how The Duke’s sister, Lady Isolde was described. Ruby took an instant disliking to the woman who had spoken. She didn’t even need to see her to know that she wouldn’t be her kind of people.
The Duke gave her an uneasy look and glanced with concern down at Miranda. They walked toward the staircase, and found that Mr. Chegwin still hadn’t taken the couple that had come calling to a receiving room, so they had probably arrived only moments before they had returned from riding.
“Oh, God,” the Duke said under his breath. “It is Sir Conrad and his wife, Lady Trenowden. Even after all of these years, that voice of hers resonates with me. It is not one, I could ever forget. I didn’t know they were keen on the Earl. I barely remember them back from when I was a boy. They must be…well, they must be up in years.”
Mr. Chegwin looked their way, Ruby suddenly felt rather faint.
“Your Grace,” the woman said, walking toward him to give him a perfunctory curtsy. Her husband remained with Mr. Chegwin.
The Duke sighed, and knelt down again so Lady Cordelia could climb off his back.
“Can you take the girls upstairs, Miss Massey?” he asked softly, locking gazes with her.
“Of course,” she said.
“Yes, do let the little maid take the children,” Lady Trenowden said, a snide tone to her voice. “Conrad, we should have brought along Morwenna. Why…she is around the Duke’s age, maybe we could arrange a little match between the two,” she finished boldly.
Phineas made a strangled noise. “I would rather be keelhauled,” he muttered beneath his breath so they wouldn’t hear.
“I don’t think that Finn and Morwenna were fond of each other, dearest,” Sir Conrad said. He was obviously the better natured of the two. “They rather clashed like Titans, don’t you remember?”
“Ah, well, their childhood is such a long time ago. Morwenna has forgiven him for anything he did as a lively lad.”
From the look on the Duke’s face, it was Morwenna that had been in the wrong, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.
“Come along, Sir Conrad, Lady Trenowden, why don’t we retire to the Library?” he asked.
“Oh, that does sound like a Capitol idea,” Sir Conrad said. “I wouldn’t mind a brandy, Your Grace.”
“I wouldn’t mind a whisky,” she heard Phineas say. “If only there was something stronger.”
She chuckled. He looked as if he was being led to the gallows. Miranda looked up at Ruby. “He wouldn’t actually offer for their daughter’s hand, would he? I have seen Morwenna Trenowden, she is horrid. She called us the two little snot nosed brats, once when she didn’t know I was listening. I don’t want her as my new mother, oh, indeed, not, Miss.”
Ruby smiled. “I don’t think there is much chance of that happening, Lady Miranda,” she said, touching the top of the girl’s head in a fond gesture.
“Good. Because if I thought he might, I would have to have a tantrum, and make that Morwenna’s life utterly miserable. Now, if
he wanted to marry you, I wouldn’t be opposed to that match.”
“Well, thank you, Lady Miranda. I am touched that I have your blessing. Come on, now, why don’t we go and change, and then, maybe, I will ring for a maid and see if she could bring us up some hot chocolate, bread, and jam. How does that sound?”
“Oh, yes, please,” Lady Cordelia said softly.
Even though she was with Lady Miranda and Lady Cordelia, a part of her wanted to know what was going on in the Library.
“We are ever so happy you came to Penryn House, Miss Massey,” Lady Miranda said, as they walked up the stairs.
“So am I, Lady Miranda, so am I,” Ruby said.
*****
The next few days passed by in a blissful blur. Ruby had been given the morning to herself, and the nannies were minding Lady Miranda and Lady Cordelia as they enjoyed themselves out in the Gardens.
The day was unusually warm, but Ruby didn’t want to spend it outdoors. Instead, she had decided to finally explore the large library that the house boasted. She been there on the night that the Earl had scared the poor maid, but she hadn’t had the time or the desire to look through its many wonders that night.
The Duke was out riding, and by her estimation, he wouldn’t be back for another hour. Sighing deliciously, she walked into the expansive library and feasted her eyes on the many tomes. It was a paradise for a book lover like her, and the Duke had assured her that she could borrow any book she desired. Right now, she wanted to find something that she never would have been able to read before she had come to Penryn House.
Her eyes went to The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. This was certainly something her mother never would have approved of. Smiling, she reached for the first volume of the book, and realized that it was out of her reach, but maybe if she stretched up a bit higher, she would be able to reach it. She stood on her tiptoes, and reached for it again, gasping, as someone lifted her off her feet, and the boost allowed her to claim the book she wanted.
His Bewitching Jewel (A Regency Holiday Romance Book 7) Page 13
