by Abby Ayles
He looked down at her with disbelief written on his face.
* * *
“If it were so,” Lady Louisa continued, “I simply would not come at all. I believe life is too short to spend it on things that only bring you unhappiness.”
* * *
“I believe the reason you are here tonight is that Jasper insisted you should, though I have no idea why he would care to do such a thing.”
* * *
Lady Louisa was surprised that the Duke was aware of the letter she got.
* * *
“Lady Hendrickson informed me that you received a note from him. She is under the impression that he has interest in you,” he added with a chuckle. Lady Louisa was a little off put by his laugh. Was it really so abhorrent that the Colonel could have interest in one such as her?
* * *
Lady Louisa did her best to check her hurt feelings. Colonel Jasper had asked her to give the Duke a second chance. She had come at his request. It would seem, however, that the man was everything she had thought and perhaps more. It was one thing to politely pretend to enjoy an evening you weren't; it was quite another for him to suggest that she was unworthy of affection from anyone in his acquaintance.
* * *
She cleared her throat before speaking.
* * *
“I am terribly sorry for the confusion, Your Grace,” she said rather coolly. “Perhaps I should have corrected my aunt right there, but she would not see things any other way. I was unwilling to explain to her the true reasoning for my hesitation to come tonight. I probably should have. I will be sure to correct my aunt's gross miscalculation that any man might have interest in a lady such as I at my earliest possibility.”
* * *
He looked down at her with narrowed green eyes and opened his mouth to speak. Before words could escape the door opened, and Mrs. Vance walked into the room.
* * *
Mrs. Vance’s hair was frizzed around her cap, and her plump cheeks were flushed, no doubt from rushing to the breakfast room as quickly as possible from all the way downstairs in the kitchen.
* * *
“Your ladyship,” she said with a curtsy. “I was told you wish to speak to me. I do hope that the meal was to your liking.”
* * *
“Yes, Mrs. Vance,” Lady Louisa said standing and turning all her attention to the cook. “I actually was wondering if we could perhaps discuss another matter that you might help me with?"
* * *
“I would be happy to help you in any way I can,” Mrs. Vance said standing as tall as she could muster for her robust size.
* * *
“I shall leave you two ladies to business then,” the Duke announced he turned to Lady Louisa and bowed politely, “I bid you good evening.”
* * *
Before any more words could be uttered, he took three long strides and exited the room. He stopped for just a moment in the hall to tell Fredrick to give his condolences to the guest.
* * *
He couldn’t bear to go back into that room and pretend to enjoy himself after having yet another blow from Lady Louisa. She always seemed to do her best to see nothing but the worst in him.
* * *
Giving his message to the butler, he bounded up the stairs and to the privacy of his own quarters. He knew he would get flack from his uncle on the morrow for such rude behavior, but he cared very little for that at the moment. He was ready for this whole ordeal to be over and his life to go back to the way it was. If only he could find a way to make that possibility a reality.
Chapter 18
Lady Louisa was pretty sure that she might have been a little quick to take offense by the next morning. Things did always seem much clearer after a night of rest after such a long and tedious night like the one before.
* * *
She was confused by his bidding of goodnight when he left her with Mrs. Vance in the breakfast room. All was made clear after her discussion with the cook and returning to the drawing room. The Duke never returned stating that he was suddenly not feeling well and to please excuse him for the night.
* * *
She then proceeded to be railed on by her aunt and elder cousin of what she could have possibly done or said to him to offend him so. She was still determined that if anyone should be hurt by their time in the breakfast room, it should be her.
* * *
Perhaps he didn’t mean the words to come out as he said them but he still said them. It had nothing to do with the jealous feelings welling deep down inside her every time she heard him compliment Miss Elisabeth.
* * *
Lady Louisa had to admit that she was a bit relieved when they first spoke alone in that breakfast room and he told her of the tedium he too felt over the night. She couldn’t believe all that he had been subjected to from Miss Elisabeth and then to take it with such an air of appreciation and flow of complements was astonishing to Lady Louisa at first.
* * *
But then it also just solidified the fact that the Duke was no more than a spineless creature who did and said anything to please others. How could someone like that ever be trusted when the fact of the matter was they would say anything, disguise themselves in any way, to get the desired result.
* * *
Lady Louisa was determined to shake all ideas of the Duke promptly out of her head. This would be a complicated matter as she would be seeing his cook later that afternoon.
* * *
Mrs. Vance was all too ready to help Lady Louisa with her medicinal garden endeavors. She even suggested that Lady Louisa return the following day from their discussion in the afternoon so that she might show her around Mrs. Vance’s own medicinal herb garden.
* * *
Perhaps if Lady Louisa was not quite so exhausted at the time from listening to Miss Elisabeth’s high pitched singing all night long she would have the clarity of thought to suggest they meet elsewhere. As it was, the meeting was set, and Lady Louisa could not cancel it.
* * *
“I must confess I was very disappointed with your behavior last night,” Rowland’s uncle announced upon finally finding him sitting in the library.
* * *
“Uncle James, I know you are, but I fear I have no way to make you feel better about the matter,” Rowland said finding himself feeling decidedly defeated at the moment.
* * *
He spent the whole night in his room tossing in his bed wondering how he could have said things so wrong to Lady Louisa and on two different occasions. Even worst was the fact he cared so much about it and didn’t know why.
* * *
“I suggest you find one,” Mr. Vaughan said sternly looking down at his nephew. It was much the way he tried to scold him as a child. “You could start by telling me why on earth you left your own dinner party without so much as a farewell. It was very embarrassing for me to see the ladies off after such an event.”
* * *
“I couldn’t bring myself to return to the room,” Rowland simply answered.
* * *
“Why ever not?”
* * *
“Because I was sure that if I did, I would have told Miss Elisabeth Hendrickson what I truly thought of her incessant chatter about herself. Ugh,” he said getting up from his seat and pacing the room. “I could bear it no longer. I am tired of these stupid superficial games. If this is what it takes to get my inheritance, then I am quite ready to wait until my thirtieth birthday, Uncle.”
* * *
“You could force me to be a beggar on the streets until then, and I wouldn’t care in the least. I cannot bring myself to marry at this time. I will not be subjected to pretending that I care when I don’t. I have no desire to have wife hold me down, and I don’t know that I ever will be.”
* * *
“My boy,” Mr. Vaughan said in a softer tone as he took his nephew's place on the cushioned chair. “It is my fault really that you feel this way. I
influenced you against such a thing. You must know that I am the exception to a rule that must be followed.”
* * *
“Then perhaps I will follow it, perhaps I will not. Why does it matter so much that I am not an exception also?”
* * *
“Because you have a title to think on. With no heir of your own, and certainly none from me, there would be no one left. Do you really want your father, and grandfather’s and great-grandfather’s legacy to end in such a way? It is not always easy, these responsibilities we are born into. But this is yours, and you must find a way to bear it. The sooner you do this, the better. There are certainly worst things in life,” he added with a lopsided smile.
* * *
Rowland didn’t answer but instead stared into the unlit fireplace as he thought over his uncle's words.
* * *
“Listen, Lady Hendrickson suggested something last night, and I rather like the idea. Let us have a private ball here at the estate. We will invite all the ladies and respectable families in all the counties surrounding the area. Perhaps then you will find a girl who peaks your interest.”
* * *
“The problem with this is all these ladies see is the Duke and not the man I am. They will not be themselves, and I won't be able to be myself. How am I to discern an agreeable match in such situation?”
* * *
His uncle thought on this for a few moments. It was clear that Rowland was looking for that elusive fairytale that children were fed. That he would find love. James Vaughan knew it to be a fantasy and nothing more.
* * *
“We shall make it a masquerade ball,” Mr. Vaughan announced after a few moments of contemplation. “No one will know one from the other if so desired. In that way, you can find the truth and realize that your silly dream of a perfect match is nothing but that, a dream.”
* * *
“And if I don’t find someone to my liking, will I be forced to choose anyway or suffer consequence?” Rowland asked his uncle with a wiry look to his emerald eyes.
* * *
His uncle gave a long huff, “If I stick you in a room full of eligible beautiful women all hoping to marry you and you yet to find one to your liking, I will have to suppose that all my years influencing you have rotted you to the core, and there is no other hope. I will be guilt free knowing I did all I could for the sake of your parents. Your soul will be in your own hands,” Mr. Vaughan announced before rising from his seat and leaving the room.
* * *
The arrangement seemed agreeable to Rowland. It would give him a proper chance to search out a possible companion in earnest, and also free him of the obligation if he was unable to do so, which he found very likely.
* * *
He thought if he would be able to hurry the proceedings then perhaps he could be done with the matter and set sail for the Indies before any winter storms settled in. With that hopeful thought in his head, he began to orchestrate the preparations needed that very moment.
* * *
Lady Louisa was very hesitant as she arrived at Bassen Park. It was a massive estate, however, and the likelihood of her actually seeing the Duke was no doubt very small. It was an interaction she didn’t want to deal with. In all honesty, she wasn’t even entirely sure how she would deal with it.
* * *
Luckily when the butler, whom she recognized as Fredricks, opened the door he showed her straight back to the kitchen without any interruption. From there she all her attention was given to Mrs. Vance, and all apprehension left her.
* * *
The afternoon was first spent walking the gardens directly behind the kitchen. They were vast and glorious to behold. Though Mrs. Vance couldn’t grow everything she needed, she endeavored to grow as much as possible right here on the property. She was sure that it made the produce that much sweeter to the taste.
* * *
While they talked of various plants and herbs and their medicinal properties, Mrs. Vance also shared a lot about herself with Lady Louisa. Mrs. Vance had not grown up far from Bassen Park, and her father was even a gardener of the property before the house was shut up for the extended time. Even after the house was closed down, he still came to tend to the gardens and park in proximity to the estate.
* * *
It was because of this dedication that the Duke sought her family out immediately upon arrival. Though her father had passed, he had also given Mrs. Vance all his knowledge of the land and the ability to produce incredible nourishment from it.
* * *
Up until the Duke's return, she had solely used that knowledge to help others with any ailments in the village. Lady Louisa learned that the nearest doctor was at least a day’s ride away. She was very often the only source of help in situations of illness, accident, or birth.
* * *
“You must be very busy all the time,” Lady Louisa remarked. “I do feel poorly to know that I am taking up your free time when you must get so little of it.”
* * *
“I don’t mind it at all. In fact, I rather like having someone to pass knowledge on to as I have no children of my own. I must admit,” Mrs. Vance said as she looked around as if she was about to spill a deep dark secret, “I have a bit of a selfish reason for it as well.” “And what is that?” Lady Louisa asked.
* * *
“I was hoping if I showed you a thing or two, your ladyship wouldn’t mind tending to those in need when I can’t. It wouldn’t be anything horrible or the like. Just perhaps if a child goes sick or the like. I could show you what to do real simple like, and it would be a great relief to me knowing that someone was available when I couldn’t be.”
* * *
“Mrs. Vance I scarcely think you could have asked a more willing participant.”
* * *
Mrs. Vance gave a sigh of relief at her words.
* * *
“Now, it seems you know well about the various uses of plants,” Mrs. Vance said while she rubbed her hands together as if they were truly now getting down to business.
* * *
“Yes, I have been studying in books for some months now on different herbs and their uses. It is what inspired me to plant the garden here. I am afraid I know nothing past what I have read in books, however.”
* * *
“That’s quite fine. Let’s come inside,” she waved and started the way back into the house. “I will show you how to dry and press what needs it. Then we can move on to extractions and teas.”
* * *
Lady Louisa happily followed behind her teacher as they made their way back into the kitchen for the rest of her lesson today. She promised herself to pay close attention to all the knowledge that Mrs. Vance could give her so that she could also pass it along to Miss Mary. She was sure her youngest cousin would also find this work most interesting.
Chapter 19
Over two hours later Lady Louisa was making her way back down the Duke’s gravel road with her basket now full of dried herbs and various bottled concoctions and a list of names to visit over the next week.
* * *
She was feeling a little apprehensive to the task but also relished actually having some use beyond adding embellishments to her aunt and cousin's clothing.
* * *
“Lady Louisa,” she turned at the sound of her name being called.
* * *
For a second, she tensed at the male voice that it might be the Duke. Upon turning around, however, she was pleasantly surprised to see Colonel Jasper hurrying over to her.
* * *
“Good afternoon, Colonel,” she said as he finally reached her.
* * *
“I’m so glad I ran into you. I was hoping to ask if your opinion of the Duke changed after last night. You two seemed to be getting along well during the meal.”
* * *
Lady Louisa hesitated a moment longer. She wondered how much of the disaster that was the end of the eveni
ng she actually wanted to share with the gentleman.
* * *
“Unfortunately, though I can say that I have found a great many friends in the Duke’s circle, I don’t believe the Duke, and I are ever destined to get along. May I ask why you concern yourself with this so much?”
