A small part of Erienne, the one that had foolishly hoped Lucy had come to say Collin was beside himself and wanted her back, died a quick death within her soul. “I knew it was a mistake to take the position, and I did so out of greed. It’s entirely my fault.”
“It wasn’t greed, though, was it, dear? I cannot believe you took the position only because of the pay.” She peered at Erienne with those knowing, different-colored eyes.
Erienne bit her lip. “I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’d wanted to learn more about Collin.”
“To see him?” Lucy prompted.
“Eventually. I never expected it to happen so quickly, however. It was too much. I’m afraid I was too weak.”
Lucy reached across the small table and squeezed her hand. “Nonsense, Erienne. From what I’ve seen, you’re one of the strongest women I’ve ever known. You left your home and a life of comfort to take a position as a servant rather than compromise on true love. I don’t know many women who would have done that.”
Erienne stared unseeing at the dusty wooden floorboards. “I never saw it that way.”
“Of course you didn’t, dear. Strong people rarely recognize their own strength. But I see it. I see it and I admire you for it.”
Tears burned Erienne’s eyes. “I hope you’ll be able to forgive me. I’m certain you’ll find another governess quickly. One far more suitable than I ever was.”
Lucy pulled her reticule atop her lap, opened it, and withdrew a folded sheet of vellum. She handed it to Erienne. “This is a character reference, signed by both Derek and myself. I’d hate for my pestering you to take the position with us to cause you trouble with Mrs. Griggs. I intend to visit her myself tomorrow morning, speak highly of you, and ensure you’re given every opportunity to interview for the next suitable position that becomes available.”
Erienne pressed her lips together. “Thank you, your—er, Lucy. That is far more generous than I deserve.”
The duchess stood and stepped toward the door. “You deserve much more than you’ve got, Erienne. And if my brother-in-law wasn’t such a fool, you’d get it.”
Erienne tried to withhold the instant response that sprang to her lips, but they had a mind of their own. “How is ... he?” Why, why couldn’t she stop caring about him? Stop wondering about him?
Lucy turned to her, sympathy shining in her eyes. “I don’t know what happened between the two of you, Erienne, either all those years ago or over the last few days, but I do know that one drunken night not too, too long ago, Collin told me about you, and I knew without a doubt he loved you desperately.”
Tears slid down Erienne’s cheeks. She dashed them away with the backs of her hands. Lucy had said loved. The word was in the past tense.
“I hope you know that’s the only reason I attempted to meddle in your affairs,” the duchess continued. “I truly did it for the very best of reasons.”
Erienne heaved a sigh. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at her eyes. “I know you did, Lucy. I know.”
Lucy turned back toward the door. “I should go. The coach is waiting, and I need to be awake early to visit Mrs. Griggs before I return to Huntingdon.”
“Thank you for coming all this way and giving me the reference,” Erienne said, rising to follow her to the threshold.
“You’re more than welcome, dear.” And with that, the duchess was gone.
Chapter Twenty
Collin was fishing in the creek the next morning when Derek caught up to him. He’d brought his pole and a bucket of bait. As youths, the brothers had spent countless hours silently fishing side-by-side. Derek’s appearance felt strangely like old times.
Derek baited his hook and slung his line into the water. “Catch anything?”
“Not yet,” Collin replied.
“Pity.”
It was an old jest between them. As children, whenever their mother had come looking for them, asking if they’d caught anything, and they said no, she’d respond with, “Pity.” As children, it had made them laugh. Neither of them laughed today.
Several silent minutes passed before Collin finally asked, “Lucy went to London yesterday?”
“Yes. She’ll be back this evening.”
“She went to see Erienne?”
Derek stared out across the lake. “She wanted to make certain Erienne has a decent reference. Lucy blames herself for all of this.”
Collin flashed him a rueful glance. “Funny. I could have sworn she blamed me.”
A half-smile appeared on Derek’s lips. “She blames you for being an obtuse male.”
“Guilty as charged, I suppose.”
Derek continued to stare out across the water. “I would never ask this, of course, because I am a man and we don’t ask such things of other men, but if Lucy were here, she would want to know why you let Erienne go.”
“I didn’t let her go. She left me … again.” Collin’s voice was cold as ice, even to his own ears.
“She didn’t leave you the first time, did she?” his brother asked. “You told her you wouldn’t marry her.”
He frowned at Derek. “How did you—?”
“Lucy told me you mentioned Erienne to her once when you were in your cups. I think you’re forgetting another time you were in your cups,” Derek added, finally shifting his attention from the water to Collin’s face. “One night, fourteen years ago, we’d both come home on leave together. You’d been out for a while that afternoon, and we went to the pub in town. You drank more that night than I’ve ever seen you drink. And you told me what happened with Erienne.”
Collin cursed under his breath. “Leaving her was the bloody most painful thing I’ve ever done.”
“I understand, believe me. I also understand what it feels like to think you’re not good enough.” He set down his pole and scooped up a stone from the creek bed. “After I was made a duke, it took a great deal of time before I felt anywhere near comfortable around the aristocracy. Lucy was the only one I felt right with for a long time. And that’s because she’s so unconventional.”
Collin blew out a breath. “What are you trying to say, Derek?”
“I’m saying that you and I are the same. We came from nothing, and we’ve felt as if we deserve nothing because of it. But that’s not true. You’ve made yourself the man you are today, Collin, and you deserve everything good in life. Including love.”
Collin hung his head. “You don’t understand. She’s always been too good for me.”
“She’s always loved you. She sees who you are, not where you came from.”
Collin clenched his jaw so tightly it hurt. “But what if I don’t know how to be good enough for her?”
“You’re already good enough. You always have been. That’s what it means to be loved.” Derek clapped his brother on the shoulder. “What do you want, Collin? For once in your life, think about your own desire, your own pleasure, not what’s expected of you, not what you think you don’t deserve.”
Collin shook his head and tried to retort, to douse the emotion roiling in the air, but the words caught on the lump that had formed in his throat.
“You’ve spent your entire life denying yourself everything,” his brother said more gently. “You’re more interested in your paperwork than your feelings. Believe me, I understand, but when you’re on your deathbed one day …” Derek pitched the stone at the water, watched it skip and sink, then he looked at Collin again, hard. “Paperwork is cold comfort, Coll. Ask yourself, for once … what do you truly want?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Exactly one sennight later, Erienne sat in the Countess of Marsden’s drawing room. The countess had four children ranging in age from six months to six years, and she was looking for a suitable governess. Mrs. Griggs, having spoken at length with the Duchess of Claringdon, had seen fit to send Erienne to this interview, and Erienne was hoping against hope she’d be offered the position. She’d spent her last shilling on this week’s rent, and she’d
just received a letter from home indicating that Peter had taken a turn for the worse.
“Your references are impeccable,” Lady Marsden said. “You speak fluent French and—”
The door to the countess’s drawing room flew open and Collin Hunt came striding in, looking handsome and dashing in his uniform, his rows of medals shining in the sunlight that streamed through the windows.
Well.
For an instant, no one moved. Then Erienne gulped and hid an involuntary smile.
“What is the meaning of this?” Lady Marsden glanced around as if someone might explain to her why a strange man had just burst into her drawing room.
The butler came running in behind Collin. “My apologies, my lady,” the man said, looking as if he’d never been so affronted in his life. “I tried to stop him, but this soldier insisted upon seeing ... Miss Stone.”
“Miss Stone?” the countess repeated, clutching at her pearls. She turned to Erienne and stared at her. “Why is the army after you?”
Erienne could only stare at Collin. “What are you doing here?”
He marched over to her and dropped to one knee in front of the settee where she sat. Then, as though he and Erienne were the only people in the room, he took both of her hands in his and gazed deeply into her eyes. “I’m sorry to interrupt you like this, but I couldn’t wait another moment to tell you that I love you madly and cannot live my life without you. Will you marry me, Erienne Stone?”
The countess rapidly fanned herself while the butler looked aghast.
Tears of joy and repressed grief burned her eyes. “Do you mean it, Collin? You’re not here out of guilt?” She searched his handsome face for even the faintest flicker of something amiss.
“Never.” He shook his head.
“Duty?” she asked next.
“Absolutely not.” He shook his head again.
“Because Lucy sent you?” she finally asked.
Collin’s bark of laughter filled the room. “I’ve never done anything Lucy told me to before, and I’ve no intention to begin now. I’m here because we’re meant for each other, and always have been. I’ll never let you go again.”
Erienne laughed. Then she cried. Then she jumped up, threw herself into his arms, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes, Collin Hunt, I’ll marry you. I’ll marry you whenever you like.”
“Excellent.” He slid an arm beneath her legs, lifted her, and marched toward the door.
“Miss Stone?” the forgotten countess called from her perch on the settee, waving her handkerchief in the air. “Does this mean you’re no longer interested in the position as governess?”
“That’s right, Lady Marsden,” Erienne replied over Collin’s shoulder, torn between tears and laughter. “I’ve changed my plans. I’m now set to wed General Collin Hunt, high-ranking official in the Home Office, and the only man I’ve ever loved.”
“I see,” Lady Marsden called as the newly betrothed couple made their way into the foyer. “Perhaps you should let Mrs. Griggs know?”
Erienne and Collin both laughed uproariously as he carried her out the front door, down the steps to the street, and to his waiting coach. He helped her inside and pulled himself up after her. Once the coach door was closed behind them, he tugged her into his arms and kissed her until she couldn’t breathe, which was fine because she’d always secretly imagined she could survive on his kisses alone.
“You came for me,” Erienne murmured after the kiss ended.
“Just righting a wrong I made fourteen years ago,” he replied with a tender smile.
“What took you so long?”
“I’ve been a fool,” he said, lifting her hand to his lips, “but I intend to make up for it with all due haste.”
She watched, hypnotized, as his tender kiss brushed across her knuckles. Then she swallowed and said, “You thought I was married in Shropsbury, didn’t you?”
Collin gave a solemn nod. “Your mother told me you were.”
“What?” Horror washed over her. How could her mother spin such a lie, and one that would destroy her own daughter’s future for so very long?
“I came for you that Christmas,” Collin said. “The Christmas after you left. Your mother told me you’d married a viscount and moved to Shropsbury.”
Erienne pressed a hand to her throat, tears welling anew on her lashes at the thought of him, so young and hopeful, arriving at her family home and meeting with the impenetrable brick wall of righteousness that was her mother. “That’s horrible. I never knew.”
“At the time, I assumed it was for the best. I thought I wasn’t good enough for you, Air. I still think that. But I intend to spend the rest of my life attempting to become good enough.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck again. “You only have to be yourself, darling.”
“Yes, well, as to that. I intend to stop working so much and take a great many more holidays.”
She laughed as he nuzzled her neck. “Is that so?”
“Yes,” he said lightly, and with complete certainty. “I find I’m quite preoccupied with my new pastime.”
“Which is?” She leaned her head back against the velvet squabs of the coach and closed her eyes.
“Making love to my beautiful wife.”
“Hmm. I like the sound of that.”
“Lord Treadway is just going to have to manage without me.”
“He’ll be fine,” Erienne replied.
“I agree,” Collin declared, pushing the sleeves of her gown over her arms to kiss the tops of her breasts.
“Are you going to make love to me in a carriage of all places?” she asked, slightly scandalized.
He arched a brow. “Any objections?”
“None whatsoever,” she said with a laugh. “Carry on, General.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The wedding took place exactly four weeks later, after the banns had been read in Brighton. Erienne’s parents both attended, even though she’d had strong words with her mother for her deception all those years ago. Her parents were quite willing to accept Collin into their family now that he was a general, a highly valued spy, and an official at the Home Office. Not to mention he was wealthy. He’d set about paying all of the bills for Peter’s surgery; and had even given her father money to perform some much needed restorations to their family home. Derek sent a virtual army of craftsmen to complete the work. Seemed the Hunt boys from the small cottage on the wrong side of town were the pride of Brighton these days.
Little Lady Mary and Lord Ralph were dressed in finery for the wedding, and Lucy hugged both the bride and groom an inordinate amount of times. “I must admit,” she told them after the ceremony, “you two frightened me more than any couple in the history of my matchmaking endeavors.”
“Yes, well, it seems we’re going to be in need of a new governess ... again,” Derek said with a sigh.
Lucy smiled and patted her husband’s arm. “Don’t worry. I kept all the letters from Mrs. Griggs.”
Derek’s brows shot up. “That confident, were you, that these two would get back together?”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t,” Lucy replied with a nonchalant shrug.
Her arm resting comfortably in Collin’s, Erienne leaned in and confided to her friend, “Your unswayable romantic convictions are nothing short of admirable, dear Lucy.”
“Indeed.” Collin added dryly, but then shared a gentle smile with his bride.
Derek looked less certain. “Very well, Lucy, but next time, can you please find a governess who is already married, or perhaps a nice widow?”
“I can make no promises.” Lucy winked at him.
“Seriously, Lucy, when will you stop matchmaking?” Collin asked.
Lucy tapped a finger against her cheek. “I suppose I’ll die eventually. Perhaps at that time I’ll consider retirement. Until then ... my friend Delilah Montebank has made her debut, and hers shall be the match of the century.”
* * *
&nbs
p; Thank you for reading Mr. Hunt, I Presume. Please page forward to see a complete booklist, an author’s note, my biography, how to contact me, and the first chapter of No Other Duke But You!
Also by Valerie Bowman
Playful Brides
The Unexpected Duchess (Book 1)
The Accidental Countess (Book 2)
The Unlikely Lady (Book 3)
The Irresistible Rogue (Book 4)
The Unforgettable Hero (Book 4.5)
The Untamed Earl (Book 5)
The Legendary Lord (Book 6)
Never Trust a Pirate (Book 7)
The Right Kind of Rogue (Book 8)
A Duke Like No Other (Book 9)
Kiss Me At Christmas (Book 10)
Mr. Hunt, I Presume (Book 10.5)
No Other Duke But You (Book 11)
Secret Brides
Secrets of a Wedding Night (Book 1)
A Secret Proposal (Book 1.5)
Secrets of a Runaway Bride (Book 2)
A Secret Affair (Book 2.5)
Secrets of a Scandalous Marriage (Book 3)
It Happened Under the Mistletoe (Book 3.5)
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Mr. Hunt, I Presume. I hope you enjoyed Erienne and Collin’s story.
Second-chance romance is my absolute favorite and this little book flew off my fingertips in a week’s time.
I’d love to keep in touch.
Visit my website for information about upcoming books, excerpts, and to sign up for my email newsletter: www.ValerieBowmanBooks.com or at www.ValerieBowmanBooks.com/subscribe.
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Follow me on Twitter at @ValerieGBowman, https://twitter.com/ValerieGBowman
Mr. Hunt, I Presume: A Playful Brides Story Page 10
