Charlene hardly paid his gaze any attention, though. Instead, she turned to Eric, grabbing his arm in a vice grip. “We need to be at that trial,” she said.
“Yes,” Eric agreed immediately, steering her back out the door that they had just entered.
The courtroom was busy when they arrived. At first, the guards did not wish to let them inside. However, when Charlene told him that she was, in fact, the daughter of Dr. Ellington, he relented.
They entered just as Harvey’s testimony was coming to a close.
There were scandalized whispers throughout the room, and Charlene wondered exactly what the man would say. Perhaps she would never know, but she nearly sunk to the ground in relief as she saw the jailors removing the shackles from her father’s wrists.
“This is absurd!” Lord Ambrose thundered, getting to his feet and pointing a long finger at Harvey. “You truly believe this man’s lies? It’s preposterous!”
The judge eyed him mildly. “Lord Ambrose, do you mean to tell me that the paper evidence that was submitted to this court is incorrect?” he asked.
He flipped through the information in front of him. “Not only do these papers offer a clear motive for Harvey’s attempt to pin the blame on Dr. Ellington, but the missives from yourself to him corroborate what he had just told the court.”
“That evidence was submitted anonymously!” the Marquess said, a hint of desperation to his tone. “He could have sent it himself!”
The judge snorted derisively. “Given the pains that this man went to in hiding his work, I doubt that he would suddenly decide to submit all the evidence that we needed to prosecute him, especially while he remained here in the city of London.”
“You would trust him over me?” Lord Ambrose demanded. “This is an outrage! I’m a peer of the realm! He has no land, no title…”
“From this moment forward, neither shall you,” the judge decreed. “In light of your role in this case, as well as your gross misuse of power when it came to Miss Ellington, I order you stripped of your lands and title. I also charge you with conspiracy to murder in the death of Lord Henrich.”
Guards stepped forwards to put shackles on the chubby man’s wrists and led both him and Harvey away. Harvey was whining about leniency the whole way, but something about the judge’s expression told Eric that there would be no leniency. It would be Harvey Parsons, and perhaps Lord Ambrose, who were hanged.
Not Dr. Ellington. He was now a free man.
Eric smiled a little to himself. His plot had worked. He hadn’t had to admit to the courtroom at large that he was the one who had sent those letters and other documents to the judge. The judge had taken them at face value. Some of it had been fabricated, of course, but with Harvey there to tell the truth, it mattered little.
Eric’s gamble had paid off. The right men would go to jail.
Charlene was staring over at him, like she could barely believe what he had done. “How did you…” she began.
Eric shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, my dear,” he told her in an undertone. “Let’s just say that you weren’t the only one who wanted to see Lord Ambrose locked away.”
She shook her head, still marvelling, but then saw that her father was being released. She grabbed Eric’s hand and dragged him out to the hallway.
Epilogue
Miss Charlene Ellington
Charlene wasn’t entirely certain what had happened during the trial, and something about the ‘anonymous sender’ of the documents made her curious. Of course, she was certain Eric was the one who had sent them, but the only reason he would choose to remain anonymous was…
If there was some reason that he had to protect his reputation.
Were the documents real, or had he uncovered as much of the story as he could and then falsified evidence? Surely he wouldn’t have done that!
But then, she knew that he had been desperate to save her father. And she now knew just how far he was willing to go to help her. He loved her, and he would do anything for her.
Should the fact that he was possibly willing to falsify official documents bother her? Surprisingly enough, it didn’t. She was certain that he had found the truth, and Harvey had apparently admitted to all of it.
Anyway, she couldn’t let it bother her. Her father was free, and that was the only thing that mattered to her right now.
Outside the courtroom, she flew into her father’s arms, giving him a tight hug. She could practically feel his bones, and she knew that even though his time in jail was over, it had been an ordeal, one that would likely stay with him for the rest of his days.
But he was safe. He wouldn’t hang.
She felt tears prick the corners of her eyes as she clung to him. “Oh Father” she murmured as he lightly stroked her hair.
Then: “Charlene!” the quiet gasp behind her made her turn. It was her aunt, who immediately gave her a hug. “Charlene, I was so worried about you,” Helene said.
She pulled away. “If you ever do anything that stupid again, I’ll…” She trailed off, not even seeming capable of coming up with a threat bad enough of what she would do.
Charlene couldn’t help but smile wearily back at her. “Well, thanks to Eric – um, Duke Cumberland – I should never have to deal with Lord Ambrose again,” she said.
Helene arched an eyebrow at Eric. Dr. Ellington looked confused.
“I must have missed some developments while I was interred,” he said slowly, looking back and forth between the two of them.
Charlene was suddenly aware of how close behind her Eric was. If she but leaned back, she was sure that she would brush against the man’s chest. As though even that weren’t enough, Eric stepped closer, putting a hand on Charlene’s lower back. When Charlene looked up at him, there was a challenge in his eyes.
It made a shiver run up her spine. But she bit her lip as she looked back at her father. Would he approve of them? She didn’t even know exactly what Eric was trying to prove at the moment.
Slowly, her father nodded once. “I assume that I have you to thank for all the work in proving my innocence?” he asked.
Eric nodded. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you sooner,” he said, sounding regretful.
Dr. Ellington’s lips quirked into a small smile, and he inclined his head towards the duke. “I consider your earlier promise fulfilled, and I’m sure my daughter agrees,” he said. “Charlene once saved your life, and now you have saved mine.”
“More than fulfilled,” Charlene said fervently. “Eric, thank you.”
She couldn’t seem to keep his Christian name from slipping from her lips. It wasn’t right for her to address him thus, not here in public as they were. She couldn’t help it, though.
Eric smiled at her and then turned back to her father. “I always respected you,” he said. “It’s my pleasure to have been able to aid you. As for Charlene…”
His eyes, when they found hers again, were searching, as though he was trying to gauge the depth of her own emotion. “I’ve loved Charlene from the moment she found me dying in Raven’s Hollow.”
There was a momentary silence. Dr. Ellington’s eyebrows were nearly disappearing into his receded hairline, and Helene looked as though she might faint. She looked around to see who might have overheard that, but fortunately, most people were still inside the courtroom, buzzing over the trial.
“In fact,” Eric continued, his voice hesitant, “I was hoping, Dr. Ellington, that you would approve of my courtship of your daughter.”
Charlene blinked in surprise. “Eric,” she cautioned.
Eric turned back to her. “It’s entirely up to you as well,” he said, holding up both of his hands. “If you want nothing more to do with me now that your father is free, then you shall never have to worry about me. However, I would like to court you. And eventually, I would like for you to be my bride.”
“Eric!” Charlene gasped, looking back and forth between him and her father. “If you are only doing this be
cause you’d like to salvage my reputation, I can assure you that it’s unnecessary,” she said.
Of course, she couldn’t help but think of what it would be like. But being with Eric was only half of what he was proposing. There would be more to it than waking up together like they had that morning. She would have certain responsibilities. She didn’t know the first thing about being the wife of a duke.
Oh, she knew some of what would be expected. She would have to bear Eric a son. An heir. But the running of the estates? She knew nothing of that. She was the daughter of a doctor, nothing more. Surely Eric couldn’t want her as a wife.
Oh, she knew the commoner’s side of things, and she had had some training in the ways of society. But young lords and ladies were brought up learning their roles on the estate, and Charlene had learned none of that.
She would do a terrible job of that, and then he would come to resent her. She was certain of it.
It was the true reason that she had never responded to his letters before. She had been afraid. Once the young son of a duke learned who she truly was, of how terrible she was at managing his affairs, he would grow tired of her. He would desire someone more witty, someone who had been brought up around society. He would grow tired of her, and she would lose him.
She had never wanted to lose him. She had always wished to hang on to the idea of the two of them, the one that she kept there in her mind. The ideal.
Now, it seemed as though he was offering her the ideal. But could she trust him not to grow sick of her?
She looked up at him. As Eric grinned at her, her nervousness faded somewhat. He put his hands on both of her shoulders. “Charlene, trust me when I say that I’m not only saying this because I want to salvage your reputation,” he said. “I want to marry you.”
Charlene felt as though she would melt. Or as though she would lift off into the air and soar like a bird. She wanted nothing more than to kiss him, but she at least managed to check that impulse while they were here in public.
She looked hopefully back at her father, realizing that she had never heard his decision. He smiled at the happiness on her face. “I suppose I have no choice but to give my blessing,” he joked. “But then, I could picture no one else with my daughter. You’ve shown how important family is to you, and that means everything to me. I trust that you will take care of Charlene and ensure that she is happy. So I give you my blessing to court her.”
He paused, then narrowed his eyes at Eric. “However, if you ever do anything to harm her…” he began.
Charlene shook her head, smiling fondly at her father. “He’s more likely to save me,” she said, glancing up at Eric. She knew that they were both thinking back to the night before, when Eric had found her in that alleyway alone with Harvey.
Was that only the night before? It felt like a lifetime ago. Charlene could barely believe how much had changed since then.
Harvey had been arrested, and her father had been exonerated. And now Eric had asked her father for his blessing. Somehow, things had worked out perfectly.
Just as Eric had told her they would.
She smiled up at him.
Just then, however, Miss Annabelle came up to them. She leaned against Eric, putting her hands possessively on his arm. “There you are!” she said. “I had thought that you might miss the trial. You’ve been so quiet lately.”
Eric politely took his arm away from her and put a hand on Charlene’s shoulder, making his intentions even more obvious to the other woman. “Miss Annabelle, please,” he told her. “For the last time, there is nothing between us.”
Annabelle gaped at the two of them, but then she did a quick look around. More and more people were beginning to file out of the courtroom, and a few were looking curiously over at the group of them.
She stomped her foot slightly, and Charlene had a feeling that there might be more drama from the woman in the future. But right then, she didn’t care. Whatever drama the other woman could create, she had Eric by her side to defend her.
Having him by her side, she realized, and her family around her? Those were the only two things in the world that she cared about.
She no longer had to worry. She had Eric. And whatever tribulations they had in the future, they would find their way through them.
The Extended Epilogue
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His Devilish Grace - A Preview
Chapter 1
Miss Teresa Wolcott
“Oh, my. The Devil Duke is at it again.”
The morning sunlight glimmered through the windows as the two women sat in the reading room, sipping their tea and reading.
Teresa Wolcott avidly read the most recent news of the war in France, and barely registered what her sister-in-law just said. “What, dear?”
Amelia laughed over the top of the scandal sheets she currently perused. “It says here that His Devilish Grace was the last person to see the Baroness Elize Beaulieu alive. Rumors have it that he was her lover and that he pushed her down the stairs when he wanted to break off the affair and she did not.”
Teresa eyed Amelia sardonically. “Why are you so fascinated with rumors of scandal? If he truly murdered a woman, then he should face justice in the courts, not people’s opinion.”
“Are you that naïve, Teresa? Dukes don’t go to prison, they are not tried in courts. When one has a high title and wealth, one can do pretty much as one pleases.”
“Even murder?”
“Of course. Unless there is an eyewitness, someone who has a higher title, Thornehill will never face justice.”
Teresa shook her head. “In truth, that man is in and out of the scandal sheets so often I hardly believe he is truly the monster the sheets say he is.”
“How can you say that? You can’t have smoke without a fire, and where that man is concerned, he is burning London society down to the ground.”
At last setting her newspaper down, Teresa stared out the window. “I met him once,” she said quietly.
“And you survived the scandal?” Amelia tittered. “How extraordinary.”
“It was last year, at the market,” Teresa went on, smiling. “A boy of about ten years of age was accused of stealing. There was nothing found on his person, but the shopkeeper was going to whip him anyway. I was right there, arguing with the foolish man and demanding he let the boy go. He refused until Thornehill stepped in.”
“What did he do?’ Amelia’s eyes had gone round.
“He ordered the shop owner to release the child, then paid him thrice the value of what had allegedly been stolen, gave the boy some coins and kissed my hand.”
“No!”
“Oh, yes.” Teresa’s smile widened into a mischievous grin. “He is most devilishly handsome, Amelia. A brooding, sinister look about him, but when he looked into my eyes, I saw nothing but kindness in his.”
“One act of charity cannot erase years of his terrible deeds, Teresa.”
“He thanked me for standing up for the boy,” Teresa went on as though Amelia hadn’t spoken. “It was not just a single act, I have also heard rumors of other kind deeds he has performed amid the poorer classes around London.”
“And you believe them?”
Teresa scowled. “Just as you are so quick to believe the terrible deeds he has supposed to have committed. I think the world would be a much better place if people ceased talking about one another.”
Amelia chuckled over the rim of her teacup. “Then where would we get o
ur entertainment?”
“How about from books of fiction, of walking in the parks, of performing acts of charity, of simply loving one another.”
“Your outspoken views will get you into the scandal sheets yourself, my dear,” Amelia commented dryly, picking up her paper again.
“You know I don’t care about that,” Teresa replied with a snort. “If people practiced more charity and forgiveness, those bloody sheets you read would not exist.”
Amelia stared at her, shocked. “You cursed.”
“So I did. Are you going to write that into one of your precious scandals and spread them around town?”
Regency Diaries of Seduction Collection: A Regency Historical Romance Box Set Page 83
