The Duke's Marriage Mission

by Hale Deborah

  By now they had reached the point where the lane to Renforth Abbey joined the village road. The inn was within sight. There were not many villagers out and about, but enough to shatter Hayden and Leah’s privacy. Especially since the unaccustomed sight of the duke going about on foot was apt to attract attention.

  Hayden pitched his voice lower. “I will arrange for you to receive a sum of money that should allow you to travel wherever you wish to go.”

  Leah shook her head. “I cannot accept that. Not from you. Not after everything that has happened between us.”

  “Nonsense.” Hayden scowled. “You must allow me to do this. All you have done for Kit... and for me is worth far more than any amount of money I could give you. Besides, if you have an opportunity to experience the freedom you yearn for and see all the distant wonders you wish, perhaps you will find yourself inclined to settle down one day.”

  If she did, he doubted Leah would choose a man so encumbered as he—a man who had destroyed his best chance of happiness with her by failing to acknowledge his true feelings until it was too late.

  Had Hayden meant the things he’d said to her when they parted, about proving he loved her by giving her the freedom she craved? Or had he simply been trying to atone for hurting and deceiving her? Leah asked herself those questions every day for the better part of a year as she travelled through France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. The answers she received had varied from one day to the next depending upon her mood. Now, as she stared toward the familiar house and gardens of Renforth Abbey, they still gave no sign of having reached a firm conclusion.

  The past year had been the most stimulating of her life by far. She had seen so many wondrous sights, met interesting people and learned more than she’d ever imagined. The experience had enriched her beyond measure and she would never regret having made the most of the opportunity. And yet...

  Scarcely a day had gone by when she did not wonder what Hayden and Kit were doing. Was the child well and happy? Had Hayden continued to expand his son’s horizons or had his fears driven him back to his old ways? Whenever she gazed upon some stirring new sight, part of her had ached to share it with the duke and his son. One of the happiest moments of her entire journey had been just last week when she’d glimpsed the coast of England again after so many months abroad.

  Was her heart entrapped by her feelings for Hayden, or had he helped her set it free to find love at last?

  Leah suspected the latter and hoped she would know for certain when she saw him again. Anticipation had built inside her with every mile she’d travelled closer to Renforth Abbey. Now she could scarcely contain it.

  As she alighted from the pony cart that had brought her from the village, she strained to catch the voices of children at play or the deep, resonant bark of Kit’s dog. The stillness troubled her. Was all well at Renforth Abbey? The fear that it might not be made her stomach plunge.

  Surely Hayden would have found a way to contact her if anything had gone wrong, if any harm had come to his son. But why should he? She had not been part of Kit’s life for nearly a year, though she had sent him cheery letters from many of the places she’d visited.

  Anxious to make certain they were well, Leah plied the brass door knocker with urgent vigor. It felt odd having to knock for entry to Renforth Abbey.

  After two or three very long minutes, the door swung open and Mr. Gibson peered out. The moment he recognized her, his solemn countenance gave way to a broad, welcoming smile. “Miss Shaw, what a pleasant surprise! I was not aware you had returned to England. I trust your tour of the Continent was satisfactory in every way. Pray come in.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Gibson.” As she stepped across the threshold into the familiar entry hall, a strange but very agreeable feeling came over Leah. Was this what homecoming felt like? If so, it was the first time in her life she had ever experienced it. What had she been missing? “My travels were very satisfactory indeed. Any inconveniences were more than made up by the many new things I had an opportunity to see and do. I collected a few presents for Kit... I mean Lord Renforth. I thought I might take the opportunity to deliver them in person.”

  The look of regret with which Mr. Gibson greeted the explanation for her visit roused Leah’s anxiety once again. “I am sorry you were obliged to come all this way, Miss Shaw. I am certain Lord Renforth and His Grace will be even sorrier to have missed you. But they are away from home at present. Your friend Lady Steadwell invited them to visit her family. They left last week for a fortnight in Berkshire.”

  A sharp spasm of relief made Leah’s eyes water at the same instant a joyful laugh burst from her lips. “A holiday at Nethercross? What a fine idea!”

  The butler nodded. “Who would have imagined such a thing when you first came to Renforth Abbey? Not I, certainly.”

  Gratified as she was to hear of the progress Hayden had made, another thought occurred to Leah. She struggled to maintain her smile and willed her voice not to contradict it by wavering. “I suppose Lord Renforth’s new governess accompanied them to Nethercross?”

  “Tutor, I believe you mean, Miss Shaw.” The butler corrected her. “In fact, His Grace gave the young man a holiday to visit his family, as he did not wish to impose upon Lord and Lady Steadwell by bringing a large retinue.”

  The butler invited her to stay for tea. Though Leah appreciated his kindness, she declined. Her thoughts were racing and she needed to sort them out.

  On the way back to the village, she mulled over the surprising news about Hayden and Kit’s travels. Clearly they had managed far better without her than Hayden had once believed they could. Had he realized that as well? Would he still want her to be part of their lives if Kit no longer needed her?

  “Thank you for bringing me to visit Sophie, Papa.” Kit gave his father a squeeze around the neck as Hayden helped him onto the saddle of a stocky brown pony. “I do like it here.”

  “So do I.” Hayden marveled at his son’s strength and rejoiced in his obvious happiness. “The Kendricks have been very kind to us. I feel quite at home at Nethercross.”

  There was a bittersweetness to their visit, though Hayden made every effort to conceal it from his son. Because their acquaintance with the family had begun with Leah, there had been frequent reminders of her. Each one brought Hayden a pang.

  He sought to ignore the present one by concentrating on Kit.

  “Have you got a good solid seat?” He checked that the child’s feet were inserted firmly in the stirrups. “Don’t forget to keep a tight grip on the reins.”

  “I won’t forget, Papa.” Kit chuckled in a way that sounded exasperated but indulgent. “Don’t worry so much. Phoebe says I am a fine rider and this pony has never gone faster than a walk in its life.”

  “I am well aware of that, thank you.” Nevertheless, Hayden checked over the harness and made certain the saddle was properly cinched.

  He had not abandoned all caution when it came to Kit’s welfare and he doubted he ever would. But he had learned not to let his worries interfere with his son’s happiness and independence. Seeing Kit’s delight in being able to ride, just like any able-bodied child his age, was well worth any unease he might suffer.

  “Look!” Sophie pointed toward a carriage coming down the lane between two rows of linden trees. “More company. I wonder who it can be.”

  She rode her pony to the edge of the paddock. Her elder sister Phoebe followed, raising her hand to shade her eyes from the sun. “It’s a lady. I believe she is by herself. Is it... Aunt Leah?”

  The name smote Hayden hard in the chest. He had to lean against Kit’s pony to keep from staggering. That did not help for long.

  “Miss Leah?” Kit jogged his pony’s reins, urging it toward the fence beside Sophie and her sister. “Is she back from abroad? Why did you not tell me, Papa?”

  Hayden tried to inhale a deep breath of air, but the Nethercross paddock seemed to be in short supply at the moment.

  “Perhaps there is some m
istake,” he warned Kit as he trailed after the boy. “It may not be her at all.”

  Was he trying to protect the child from disappointment... or himself?

  “It is her,” Phoebe insisted. “I recognize her hat. It is the same one she wore the last time she came to see us, just before she went abroad.”

  “Aunt Leah!” Sophie called and waved as the lady climbed out of her carriage. “Welcome home. You’ll never guess who has come to visit us.”

  As the lady approached, Hayden hastily smoothed back his hair and wished desperately that he had worn a newer coat.

  “I’m sure I never will.” The familiar lilt of Leah’s voice made it impossible for him to deny her identity any longer. “I hardly recognize you two girls. You have both grown at a perfectly scandalous rate since I saw you last.”

  “Do you recognize me, Miss Leah?” Kit sounded anxious that she might not.

  Leah pretended to look puzzled. “There is something rather familiar about you, young man. You remind me of a very dear boy I know. But he is not nearly as big and robust as you. And he certainly could not ride a horse.”

  “It’s only a pony.” Kit laughed, clearly reassured that his former governess had not forgotten him. “And you know I am that boy. You’re only teasing.”

  “Partly,” Leah admitted, reaching over the fence to grasp his hand. “It is true that I can scarcely believe how you’ve grown.”

  Until that moment, Hayden might have been invisible for all the heed she had paid him. But now Leah’s glance flitted toward him. Did he glimpse a depth of vulnerability beneath her usual show of high spirits? Or was he only seeing what he wished to? There could be many reasons she had come to visit Nethercross, none of which had anything to do with him.

  “Have you come home to stay?” Kit asked her. “Or have you only come to visit for a while before you go travelling again?”

  Though Hayden longed to know the answer to that at least as much as his son, he gently reproached the child. “You mustn’t be such a busybody, Kit. Le—Miss Shaw’s plans are her private business.”

  “But I want to know,” Kit persisted then directed his next words to Leah. “I did not like it when you went away last time, but Papa said if we truly love you we should be happy that you were doing what made you happy. I tried to, but I missed you quite a lot and so did Papa. So I hope you can be happy to come back home again.”

  Before Hayden could muster his breath to protest, an even better idea occurred to the child. “Or perhaps you could take us travelling with you!”

  When Leah replied, it was not to the boy but to his father, “You said that?”

  Hayden gave a self-conscious nod. “I hope you have been happy on your travels. Your letters to Kit certainly made it sound that way. It was kind of you to write to him so often.”

  Phoebe, bless her heart, seemed to recognize the need for Hayden to have a private moment with Leah. “Sophie and Kit, why don’t we show Aunt Leah how well you can ride?”

  Until now, Hayden had insisted on leading the pony when Kit rode, but Phoebe added, “It will be all right, Your Grace. I promise to stay close to him.”

  Hayden cast the girl a grateful smile, only faintly shadowed with worry. “Thank you, my dear. I have every confidence in you.”

  As the three young riders headed off at a careful pace, Hayden stepped closer to the paddock fence.

  “Kit will be fine.” Leah reassured him. “So you read my letters, did you?”

  “We read them together. It was good practice for him.” That was all Hayden intended to say, but more words tumbled out, in spite of his strenuous effort to contain them. “After Kit grew tired of reading the latest letter over and over, I kept on until the paper nearly fell apart.”

  He patted the breast of his coat, over the inside pocket. “I still have your last one here. It is in tatters.”

  Would she make a jest of his lovelorn fancy? Hayden did not care.

  “There were times I would have given anything to have a letter from you to read over and over.” A wistful note in Leah’s voice gave him more hope than he had permitted himself since she went away.

  “You’re not watching!” called Kit, prompting his father and Leah to wave and exclaim over his and Sophie’s horsemanship.

  That seemed to satisfy the child, who turned his attention to the girls.

  Leah lowered her voice for Hayden alone to hear. “The two of you have managed admirably without me. It seems Kit does not need me as much as you thought he would.”

  She sounded pleased and proud of their self-sufficiency, yet somehow forlorn.

  Her gloved hand rested on the top rail of the paddock fence. Hayden covered it with his. “Kit may not need you, but I do—more than ever! My feelings for you have not changed in your absence, except to grow deeper. At the risk of being rude, I must repeat my son’s question. Have you come home to stay?”

  “That depends...” Her gaze locked upon his, giving Hayden the feeling that he had come home at last after a long, lonely sojourn. “...on whether it is too late for me to reconsider your proposal.”

  “Never!” Reaching over the fence, Hayden grasped Leah under the arms and swung her into the paddock with him. “It will never be too late for that, if you mean to accept.”

  Leah gave a squeal of surprise that turned at once to joyful laughter.

  Throwing her arms around his neck, she clung to him as if she never meant to let go. “I do accept, with all my heart!”

  Epilogue

  Somerset, England

  July 1818

  NEARLY TWO YEARS to the day since she had first arrived at Renforth Abbey, Leah waited with her dear school friends at the entrance to the cloisters, on their way to the chapel.

  “I am so happy to have another wedding in our group.” Rebecca adjusted Leah’s veil one last time before the ceremony. “It gives us all such a welcome opportunity to gather together with our families.”

  “Thank you all for coming to share my special day!” Leah embraced each of them in turn—Rebecca, Grace and Hannah, grateful for the precious blessing of their friendship. “I do wish Evangeline could have been here to complete our circle, but I know how busy she must be with plans for the new school. Did I tell you Hayden insists on making a large contribution to the endowment fund?”

  “That is excellent news!” Hannah clasped Leah extra tight. “The larger the endowment, the better school we can build to replace that horrid Pendergast institution. Evangeline is eager to get started, but she cannot bring herself to leave her present position until she finds someone capable of filling her shoes.”

  “No wonder it has taken her so long.” Rebecca gave a chuckle and shook her head. “Those will not be easy shoes to fill. I wonder what her employer thinks of Evangeline hiring her own replacement. You must admit, it is rather presumptuous, even for our intrepid leader.”

  “I’m not certain she means to hire a new governess for Mr. Chase’s children,” Hannah confided, “so much as find the gentleman a wife.”

  That set all four of them talking at once, until Grace’s stepdaughter, Charlotte, pulled open the door to the cloisters. “Are you coming or not? Poor Lord Northam is looking awfully anxious that he might be left at the altar.”

  After the way she had bolted a year ago, Leah could hardly blame him.

  “We must not keep him waiting any longer.” She motioned her friends to go off and join their families in the chapel. “I delayed this wedding once already. I don’t intend to do it again.”

  “I am quite amazed you are going through with it.” Rebecca winked at her. “If I were a gambling woman, I would have wagered Leah Shaw would never willingly give up her precious freedom.”

  Leah did not mind her friend’s good-natured teasing, for she knew she would have done the same if their places were reversed. Still, she could not let the gibe go unanswered. “But I am not giving up my freedom, you know. It is only since coming to Renforth Abbey that I have found true freedom from my fear
s and from my past. Now I am free to love Hayden as he deserves and make a happy life with him.”

  “Well said, my dear.” Grace brushed a tear from the corner of her eye. “I believe we can all echo that sentiment.”

  The others exchanged nods and smiles of agreement as Charlotte hustled them off to the chapel.

  After giving her friends a moment to take their places in the chapel, Leah followed. Morning sunlight streamed in the windows on the south face of the cloisters, making the stonework inside glow like gold. The perfume of Renforth Abbey roses enveloped Leah as she glided along the ancient walkway between pots of flowers that lined both walls.

  They reminded her of the night when Hayden had given her the wondrous gift of springtime in the middle of winter. Though there might be cold, dark moments in the years to come, she trusted their love would bring them through to springtime again.

  The chapel was decorated with still more flowers and bathed in softly colored light from the great stained glass window behind the ornately carved rood screen.

  Inside the chapel door, Kit sat waiting in his wheeled chair with his tutor standing behind it. He grinned up at Leah when she entered and held out his hand, in which she placed hers. As a harpist and flautist began to play a pastoral air, Kit’s tutor pushed his chair down the aisle while Leah walked alongside, holding the child’s hand.

  Somewhere in the congregation, Leah knew Hayden’s sister sat watching with ill-disguised disapproval as the duke wed his son’s former governess. She hoped Lady Althea would feel differently once she saw how happy they were together.

  When they reached the front of the chapel, Leah stooped to press a kiss on Kit’s cheek before taking her place beside his father.

  The vicar opened his prayer book to begin the ceremony that would unite them. Hayden leaned toward Leah and whispered, “I hope you are not too nervous about getting married at last, my love.”