“No need to worry, Your Grace,” Mr. Ludlow had told him. “You are being forced to learn everything your grandfather learned over the course of his lifetime. Over time, you will become accustomed to completing all of these tasks without any aid, but feel free to ask any questions you might have until that day comes.”
“I cannot thank you enough, Mr. Ludlow, for all of your help,” William said. “I would be completely lost without your guidance.”
Mr. Ludlow had beamed at William’s praise, but William meant every word he said. His businesses would have been in shambles without the man.
Now, William and Mr. Ludlow sat in the study with a man by the name of Mr. Simon Pinningstone, a merchant looking for investment in a shipping scheme that, if William agreed, would increase his wealth quite nicely.
“So, you can see, Your Grace,” the man was saying, “if we begin as soon as possible, we should be up and running in no time. What do you say?”
William glanced over at Mr. Ludlow, who sat in a chair and said nothing. A small smile played on the man’s lips, however, and William knew what decision he would make.
“Very well, then,” he replied, “I agree to those terms. I will have Mr. Ludlow draw up the contracts immediately.” He rose and stuck out his hand.
Mr. Pinningstone rose, as well, and grasped William’s hand and pumped it. “Oh, thank you, Your Grace,” the man said with great enthusiasm. “I will go home straightaway and tell my wife what an incredibly gracious man you are.” Then he bowed himself out of the room, which William found greatly amusing.
This had been one of more than a dozen meetings he had held with men of varying levels of wealth over the past few days, and although he continued to struggle with the fawning and overly-courteous actions of those not of his standing…
William paused. His standing. Not two months prior he had been of a lower standing than any of the men he had met with over, and the idea that he now stood above then gave him a myriad of emotions. However, the feeling he had above all else was pride. For a man to rise from the lad he had been while living in the streets to undergardener of a grand house—grand to him, that is—and then suddenly to become a Duke was overwhelming, to say the least. Yet, his ability to learn so quickly the requirements of that station, to the point that others did not doubt he should be there, was enough to make his pride burst.
“Who would have thought that agreeing to do business with someone would bring them such great joy?” William said as he stared at the now empty doorway.
“It is because of who you are, Your Grace,” Mr. Ludlow said. He glanced at the clock on the mantle. “You have done well. I do not believe you will need my help any further, at least not in making business decisions. Would you like to conduct the next two alone?”
“I believe you are right,” William replied. “I am finding each meeting to be easier than the previous.”
“Now, remember that it is you who is in control,” Mr. Ludlow counseled. “You may choose to say yes as easily as no, or even postpone your decision if you need time to consider it.”
A bolt of pleasure went through William. What the man said was correct. It was not William who needed to do business with these people; it was they who needed him.
“How many more wish to see me today?”
“Two more and then the remainder of your afternoon is free,” Mr. Ludlow said. Then he got a twinkle in his eye. “If you would like, there is something I would like to show you in the village later.”
“Yes, that would nice.” He stretched and glanced at the clock. It was just after one, and the idea of leaving sounded wonderful, for he had not yet made an appearance in the village since receiving the Dukedom. He sat back in his chair and straightened his back to give off a regal air. “All right, send in the next man.”
Mr. Ludlow nodded and then walked out of the room.
William’s plan was to get through these next two meetings as quickly as possible and then be on his way. Being a Duke could not mean business meetings at all hours and no time to enjoy oneself, could it?
The door opened and he brought his attention to the person entering. He was surprised when a woman and not a man entered before Mr. Ludlow.
“Your Grace,” Mr. Ludlow announced, “Sofia Eston, Dowager Duchess of Durryham.”
The woman walked past the adviser without noticing him and gave William a deep curtsy. Her chestnut hair was piled atop her head in an elaborate coiffure, and she wore a green gown that matched the flecks in her brown eyes. However, one thing troubled him. How was he, now a Duke, to engage with a Dowager Duchess? Did he treat her with the same courtesy he did those who were not of his station? Yet, would she not be considered of his station? All the rules confused him terribly.
Deciding that he would show her the same respect people had been showing him, he gave her a deep bow. Yet, now he had to deal with how to address her. Again those rules plagued at him. Finally, he decided simply to not address her at all. “How may I help you?”
“Oh, it is an honor to finally meet you, Your Grace,” she said, her hands clasped together at her breasts.
“Is it?” William asked with great skepticism. “How so?” Although his pride was now stronger than it had ever been, he had had enough groveling over the past two days to fill the gardens threefold. Something inside him said this woman was no different.
“Your grandfather and I had many business dealings together, and I dare say, he was my friend.” Her face took on a sad repose. “When he passed, I mourned for some time, but when rumors about you began to circulate, well, I just wanted to see if they were true. Forgive my bluntness, but it is the truth.”
William scolded himself inwardly. This woman wished to see the grandson of a friend, and he had assumed the worst.
Her cheeks reddened and she lowered her head. “Forgive me,” she said. “I have spoken out of turn.”
“No. It pleases me to meet a friend of my grandfather’s.” He extended his hand toward a set of chairs before the empty fireplace. “Please, sit, and I will have a tray brought up.”
The Dowager Duchess smiled and took the seat he indicated. “Thank you, Your Grace.”
William took the seat opposite her. “Is there anything I can help you with?” he asked. “There must be something more than rumors that brought you here today.”
She smiled. “Just like your grandfather, ever the wise one.”
William flushed with pride. “You can tell I am like my grandfather? But you have only just met me.” He knew his grandfather was a great man, or so he had been told by Mr. Ludlow, and if this woman had been his friend and a business partner, she could give him an opinion that would differ greatly from that of an employee.
“Indeed,” replied the woman. “As soon as I entered the room, I saw a younger version of the man standing before me. Your presence alone demands respect, a trait no one can simply learn.” She leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner. “Already, just in talking with you, I find your words as sharp as his, and yet I see a kindness behind them, as well.” She looked down again and let out a small sigh. “I am sorry. You do not wish an old woman to bore you.”
“No,” William said, too quickly, but he did not care. “First of all, you are not an old woman.” She blushed again from his words, which pleased him immensely. He spoke only the truth. The woman might have been ten years his elder, but she was still quite beautiful. “And I would have words with anyone who would say such a thing.”
The smile on her face showed that he had made her feel better, and he realized that doing so came from the power of being a Duke. He could make people happy; it was not all business.
“Your Grace is too kind,” she said. She shifted in her seat, smoothing her skirts that held not a single wrinkle. “There is a matter of business I wish to discuss with you.”
“Please, I am interested.”
“For some time, your grandfather and I were working on various dealings, including new buildings to be built in
the village. I wish to show you these plans and would hope, if you approve as he did, that you may wish to continue with the business he and I began.”
William smiled. The woman was kind with her words and yet not demanding. “If my grandfather was interested, then I am, as well. How would you like to proceed?”
“This Saturday, please call over to my house for dinner. Afterwards, we can go over the plans. If you are not too busy, of course.”
He thought for a moment. He would be calling over to Marianne’s to ask her father’s permission to court her, but once he completed that task, he would still have plenty of time to have dinner and discuss business with his woman.
“There is one condition,” he said as he stood, The Dowager Duchess doing the same.
“Your Grace?” Her voice held a tinge of worry.
“I would like to hear more stories of my grandfather. Would you share them with me?”
The woman relaxed and gave him a smile. “But of course,” she said. “I knew the man for many years, and I will answer anything you would like.”
A few moments later, with a promise to see her on Saturday, William escorted her out to the front of the house. He was ecstatic. Not only would he attend his first dinner, but the woman would also tell him about his grandfather, and possibly his own father as a young man. His memories of his father were dull after so many years, but he referred to them often so he would not lose them forever. The idea that he could learn much about his family brought him great joy and a sense of belonging in this new world he was experiencing.
Once the woman was gone, William asked the next man, a nervous man with nothing more than a ring of hair circling his head, into the study. However, throughout the meeting, his thoughts kept turning to how he would share with Marianne what had transpired this day.
***
As promised, William rode with Mr. Ludlow into the village of Chertsey, his first real outing since arriving at Silver Birch Estates nearly two months earlier. Dozens of shops lined each side of the main street as men, women, and children moved about. William was greeted with numerous diffident smiles and bowing of heads as he walked amongst the throng of people.
“How is it that people smile at me, but they do not know me?” William asked. “Are the rumors about me that rampant?”
“I am afraid so, Your Grace,” Mr. Ludlow said in a sober tone. “You are the Duke they have been waiting to have returned to them. Now that you are here, there is much excitement.”
William gave him a quizzical look. “That does not make sense.”
The man stopped, the people moving around them. Not one person told him off for standing in the middle of the footpath!
“Do you see the tailor across the road?” Mr. Ludlow asked.
Looking behind him, William nodded. “Yes?”
“And the millinery next door?”
William nodded again.
“Even the cobbler’s beside that?”
“Yes,” William said in irritation. He wished the man would get on with it.
“Those are all yours,” Mr. Ludlow explained. “Not only the buildings but the very businesses themselves. In fact, you own many more shops, or have a large holding of several businesses, throughout the village,” he pointed to the shop they stood in front of, “such as the butcher’s and the haberdasher’s.”
William walked a few paces and stopped in front of the window of the building the man had indicated. Inside stood a beefy man with a large cleaver cutting some sort of meat.
The man looked up and his eyes widened. He wiped his hands on his already bloodied apron and came to the doorway.
“Lawrence,” Mr. Ludlow said to the man, “may I introduce William Hawkins, the Duke of Stromhedge.”
The man bowed, as well as he could with his round stomach. “Your Grace,” he said in awe, “it is an honor to meet you.”
“I am glad to meet you, as well,” William replied. He almost shook the man’s hand but pulled it to his side just in time. “Is business going well?”
Lawrence looked up at William, a wide smile on his face. “Oh, yes, Yer Grace. In fact, it’s grown as the village grows. Though I must admit, I’m a bit worried.”
William glanced at Mr. Ludlow, but the man gave no indication that he knew what this worrisome issue was. “Tell me. What troubles you? And do not worry, you may come to me with any problems you may have.”
The man breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Your Grace. There be rumors that the Dowager Duchess of Durryham herself wants to put in another butcher’s at the end of the street. Now, I’m not worryin’ much about a bit of competition, but the village ain’t big enough for two butchers, at least not yet. I worry that another shop’ll take away business from ours.”
William patted the man on the shoulder. “Worry, not, my friend. The Dowager Duchess is a friend of mine, and I am going to speak to her. Rest assured that your family will continue to be the finest—and only—butcher in the village, at least for the time being.”
“Oh, thank ye, Your Grace,” the man said. Then he gave a hasty bow, ran inside, and returned moments later with a woman and a young boy in tow. “Linda, Benjamin, this is His Grace, our master. He told me that we needn’t be worryin’, that he’ll not let our shop fall from under us.” The man beamed with pride as he spoke, and William could not help but beam a bit himself.
The woman, Linda, bobbed him a curtsy. “Oh, thank you, Your Grace. You don’t know how happy this makes me. We have worried so many nights ‘bout our futures, you see, but now we’ll sleep much easier knowin’ you’ll be takin’ care of it.”
William nodded and felt a rush of power go through him. He knew through observation that people of the nobility could do so much, but he did not realize how much until now. “Let it be known that I, the Duke of Stromhedge, will have all of my businesses protected from any competition. You may sleep well at night knowing that your Duke fights for you.”
The look of admiration on their faces warmed his heart, and thanking him again, Lawrence pushed his family back into the shop.
William began his stroll down the footpath, Mr. Ludlow at his side, and he could not have felt more alive than he did at this moment. Why did not more of the nobility do such things to help out the common folk?
“I see two sides of being a Duke,” William said to the man beside him.
“And what are those?” Mr. Ludlow asked.
Two women walked past them, their fine dresses showing them to be of some level of wealth, and they both smiled at William and then giggled once they were past him.
“There is the side that has to do with business dealings to create wealth for myself. Then there is the business of watching over my investments, much like the butcher. I now see the need these people have for one such as myself.” He extended his arms out to the sides. “They need someone to look up to. Not only as their Duke, but also the person who looks after them. That allows them to continue with their businesses.”
He walked out into the middle of the street and stood looking around him. A realization came over him at that moment—almost the entire village was his! He owned nearly every building and a majority of the businesses within. Yes, he had power, and he vowed to use it for good.
A carriage driver shouted at William to get out of the way. William waved at him with a merry smile and returned to the footpath.
An outsider who does not know who I am, he thought of the driver. Ah, well, he would not allow the man’s mood to lower his.
“I fear there is nothing more for me to teach you,” Mr. Ludlow said, his voice marked with pride. “I suppose I will no longer be needed.”
William clapped in on the back. “I do need someone to share a drink with,” he said. “Shall we head to that pub over there?”
Mr. Ludlow’s gaze turned to where William indicated. “Ah, The Fox and Rabbit, a pub your grandfather frequented. It is filled with the finest gentlemen in the area.”
“Hopefully I will like it, a
s well,” William offered as he set off for the pub.
“I should hope so, Your Grace,” Mr. Ludlow said with a light chuckle, “for you own it.”
Chapter Twelve
The sun shone in a bright blue sky as Marianne sat with Julia in the back garden. She could not contain her excitement, and she twisted the silk handkerchief in her fingers until the tips turned white. Would they not finish with their talk?
William had arrived an hour earlier, and after some polite discussion, he and her father had sequestered themselves in her father’s study, leaving Marianne with Julia to wait in agonizing disquiet. Julia had tried numerous times to ease Marianne’s anxiety, but nothing she said helped, and the woman had finally gone quiet.
Marianne had been sharing with Julia what had happened while she was in residence at Silver Birch Estates, and her friend had become more astonished with each event.
“Let me see if I have this straight,” she said, the shock clear in her tone. “Not only did you dress as a man, but before you returned home, you allowed him to kiss you? I am afraid I do not know you anymore.” She stared at Marianne but followed with a burst of laughter that caused Marianne to laugh, as well.
“I am the same woman,” Marianne assured her friend. “Although, you must promise that what I have told you remains between us. It would hurt him if word got out.”
“You know you can trust me,” Julia replied. “So, when he kissed you, did you feel as if you were being lifted off the ground?”
Marianne’s jaw dropped. “Yes. How did you know?”
Julia leaned in closer. “I allowed Mr. Ambrose to kiss me last weekend,” she said in a secretive tone. “And not just once, but twice.” She giggled as her cheeks reddened. “My mother was chaperoning us, and when she left to check on the tea, I must admit…” Her words trailed off.
“Yes?” Marianne asked, the excitement too much to bear. “And? What happened?”
The woman was a crimson as a tomato as she replied, “I kissed him first!”
Marianne gasped. “You did not!”
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