She couldn’t wait to hear his thoughts.
When the night was finally over, and the whole family had seen the guests to their carriages, Selina returned to her room. She was not disappointed when there was a knock at her door. She opened it to find her brother there.
“Can we talk for a little bit?” he asked, waggling the bottle of brandy that he was carrying. The liquid inside sloshed about.
“Certainly,” she said, letting him into her room. He was carrying the bottle along with two glasses. He poured them both a few fingers.
She accepted it, and they sipped in silence. Her heart was racing, but she waited for him to speak.
“I like him,” he said, at long last. She looked at him, beaming. “He’s everything that your future husband ought to be.”
“Good.”
“I look forward to speaking with him about his intentions tomorrow,” he went on. “And then I will write to Father, to let him know of my approbation.”
“Thank you.”
“However,” he said, and she knew exactly what he was going to say next. “We should go and soon.”
“I can’t leave him,” she said, shaking her head firmly.
“Selina! It’s going to be a scandal of epic proportions,” Thomas said. “The farther we are from it, the better.”
She sighed.
“When it’s blown over, the two of you can become reacquainted during the Season, perhaps,” he suggested, shrugging. “Where we can begin the engagement as it should—properly. Our parents may be a bit unconventional, but we still adhere to propriety, you know.”
She was disappointed, but he was right. She nodded, taking a sip of her drink. “I suppose you’re right.”
“It’s for the best, my dear sister,” he said. “Just think how romantic it’ll be, when you meet up in London, during the Season, when all of the ton is out and about, looking for love.”
She smiled at him. “I’m glad that you’re here.”
“Me too, old bean, me too,” he agreed. “Now, tell me all that you know about these crimes.”
It was a bright, sunny morning. Jasper rode Pilot over to Kirby Hall, where Lord Windermere and Selina met him out front. They were carrying poles and the other gear, and Selina held a basket with some refreshments in it.
Jasper left Pilot with one of the grooms, and then they all walked in a group, toward the other side of the lake, where they would not be overheard.
“How is Lord Sandbourne holding up?” Selina asked.
“About as well as can be expected,” Jasper replied. “He’s been wrongly accused, and if you can keep a secret—Sandbourne Hall was robbed, while he was in custody.”
Her hand went to her lips. “No.”
“Yes. His staff was tied up, downstairs, then his safe robbed and his clockwork swan smashed.”
“Oh, dear,” she said, going pale. “It’s all my fault.”
“No. Not at all, Selina,” he assured her. “You came to a logical conclusion. If anything, it’s my fault for letting them take him into custody.”
They arrived at a good spot, all the way on the opposite bank from Kirby Hall. The gentlemen both prepared their rods, casting off. Selina meandered a short way away, picking a bouquet of wildflowers.
Jasper settled in. He knew that Lord Windermere wanted to question him thoroughly, so he waited for the other gentleman to proceed.
“She’s told me everything,” Lord Windermere said in a low voice.
“Everything?”
“Well, all that’s relevant,” he said with a chuckle. “Although, I have to ask, Your Grace—why haven’t you ended the engagement with Lady Leah? If you’ve been sure, why are you still going forward with that?”
“Don’t think that my intentions with regard to your sister aren’t honorable,” Jasper began, his eyes on the lake.
“That’s the thing—it does, in fact, lead me to question,” Lord Windermere explained. “If you’re keeping Lady Leah in suspense, then you could easily do the same to my sister.”
“I can see where you’re coming from,” Jasper admitted. “I love your sister. I would never do that to her.” He glanced over at Selina, whose back was to them. She knelt down to pick another flower, adding it to her handful of buttercups.
“I believe you,” Lord Windermere said. “I want to believe you. I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt since you seem to have your hands full.”
“I’m going to do everything in my power to stop the wedding,” he said.
“I can see it in your eyes that you desire her,” Lord Windermere said. “Do you love her?”
“Yes,” he said, with no hesitation.
“Let me take her to Staunton, then,” Windermere urged. “Until things blow over.”
Jasper panicked, at the idea of Selina being away from him, for any amount of time.
“Perhaps you can both reunite in London, during the Season,” Lord Windermere said.
“The Season? Next winter?” Absolutely not. He planned to marry Selina as soon as possible. By late August, at the very latest. He couldn’t imagine being away from her for months.
“If Selina asks it of him, my father will extend an invitation to Staunton. He’s like putty in her hands.”
Jasper turned to Lord Windermere. Their eyes met. Windermere looked sad for him.
“This is for the best,” he insisted. Jasper felt a flash of anger. He was used to others bending to his will. Lord Windermere seemed to be cut from a similar cloth.
“I don’t want to be away from her,” Jasper replied firmly.
“I can understand that,” Lord Windermere stated, not backing down. “It’s going to be hard for me when she marries.”
“How are you both going to leave, if you’re here for the wedding?” Jasper asked.
“Leave it to me, Your Grace,” Lord Windermere replied. “I’m good at coming up with reasons to flee.”
Jasper sighed, looking away from the Viscount. “How long do you need?” He didn’t like that he’d been backed into a corner. Unfortunately, the Viscount was right. It would be best if Selina wasn’t a guest at the very home of those who would be most upset by the end of his engagement to Lady Leah.
Lord Windermere beamed, triumphantly. “A week. I don’t want it to seem abrupt. Will that give you enough time to make a plan and be prepared to put it into effect?”
“I’ve already got one,” Jasper admitted—he’d planned to have it done by the end of the week, but he could put it off. Give Selina and Lord Windermere time to make their polite excuses and head for their father’s county seat.
“Capital!” Lord Windermere said. There was a downward tug on his line. “Oh! I think I’ve caught one!”
Leah watched from her room, as the two gentlemen fished, and Selina picked wildflowers. They looked like a merry little group. She wondered what they could be talking about.
Her wedding had been called off—with no sign of it being rescheduled. There, in the privacy of her boudoir, she became suspicious. Everything had fallen apart—starting with Selina’s arrival.
It was now or never. It was up to Leah to start putting things back into motion. She would go herself, to see the Dowager Duchess, who had always been on her side. She had told Leah, right after the engagement had been decided, just how glad she was that Leah was to become her daughter-in-law.
She would go to speak to the Dowager Duchess, to help her advocate on her behalf. Together, they would confront the Duke, get him to reschedule the wedding.
What if the culprits are never caught?
The title of Duchess was rightfully hers. Gillingham Manor, hers. The stolen pearl necklace, hers. Standing there, watching the trio on the other side of the pond, Leah had the sneaking suspicion that Selina meant to take it all.
Selina was standing in between the two gentlemen. Leah froze when she saw Selina place a hand on the Duke’s arm. Selina’s face was turned toward the Duke, and Leah’s stomach did an awful flip as she grit
ted her teeth.
Leah wouldn’t stand idly by and watch Selina usurp her. It was everything that she had always feared. The Dowager Duchess would help her; she just knew it.
Turning away from the window, Leah put on her best bonnet. She collected Maria to act as her chaperone, and then went downstairs, where she ordered the carriage to be brought around for her.
“Off to Gillingham Manor, My Lady?” Mr. Wickes asked her.
“Yes, Mr. Wickes,” Leah said. “I’m going to see if the Dowager Duchess might help me get this wedding rescheduled.”
He looked at her, sadly. “I’m sure you will, My Lady.”
She frowned at him. “Of course, I will,” she scoffed. The Dowager Duchess would make him honor his commitment. She was a good lady. One who cared for Leah more than she did Selina. “Come, Maria,” she ordered.
Her lady’s maid followed after her silently.
Selina stood in between Thomas and Jasper on the bank of the lake. She’d enjoyed finally being out in the fresh air. Her cheeks felt rosy, and she beamed at them both proudly. Her two gentlemen spending quality time together.
“Are they biting?” she asked brightly. She knew that they’d been talking about her. She’d overheard her own name, several times.
She grasped a bouquet of wildflowers in her hand, which she planned on giving to Aunt Georgiana. She’d found buttercups and daisies.
“I’ve caught two,” Thomas replied, smugly. “And His Grace has caught none.”
“Oh, what a shame!” Selina said. “A nice fish dinner for Kirby Hall and none for Gillingham Manor!”
They all laughed.
“Poor Mother,” Jasper said. “She was looking forward to some fresh fish.”
“Here,” Thomas said. “You can bring her one of mine.”
“I cannot, My Lord,” Jasper declared, shaking his head.
“Oh, do take one, Jasper,” Selina said. “The Dowager Duchess cannot be disappointed.”
“Thank you, My Lord—I am in your debt,” Jasper said, gallantly.
“I do like the sound of that,” Thomas said as they all walked in together. “Selina—do tell me, what should we request in exchange for a fish?”
“Hmmm.” She tilted her head to the side. “I think you should save it, brother. You never know when a favor from a Duke might come in handy.”
“I’ve been taken for a ride by the both of you,” Jasper said, although he was grinning.
“The Drakes are all known for their cunning,” Thomas said.
“Are you related to Sir Francis Drake, by any chance?”
“Distantly,” Thomas replied vaguely.
“We could never own to being related to a pirate, after all,” Selina added brightly. She knew—they were, in fact, related to him. It was a point of familial pride, albeit a secret one.
When they arrived back at Kirby Hall, Jasper ordered one of the grooms to bring his horse. Selina and Thomas waited with him.
“Have you gotten anywhere with the search?” Selina asked him.
“Not yet,” he replied. “I plan to, though.”
“Indeed.”
The groom arrived with Pilot and handed off the reins to Jasper. “Well, thank you for the pleasant morning, My Lord and Lady,” he said to both of them, bowing.
The two siblings bowed and curtsied to the Duke. “Thank you for the illuminating discussion, Your Grace,” Thomas said. Selina glanced at her brother sideways. He had a smugly-satisfied look on his face, leading her to feel suspicious.
Jasper smiled, halfheartedly, touching the brim of his hat before urging Pilot into a canter. As they watched him ride off, Selina was the first to speak.
“So?” she asked. “What do you think of him?”
“I like him very much,” Thomas replied. “I’ve talked him into allowing us to leave before he ends the engagement. I’ll be making our excuses, and then we’ll be on our way to Staunton within the next few days.”
Selina sighed nodding. “Good,” she said. She didn’t want to leave Jasper, but she knew that her prompt removal was necessary.
Chapter Twenty-Four
When Leah arrived at Gillingham Manor, she was shown straight to the Dowager Duchess, who was sitting in the parlor. She smiled at Leah kindly, and Leah dared to allow herself hope.
“Lady Leah,” the Dowager Duchess said. “How kind of you to visit me. Come in.”
“Your Grace,” Leah said, curtsying. “I’ve come on an urgent errand.”
“Oh, then do sit down,” the Dowager Duchess said, frowning in concern as she sat back down on the settee. “What can I help you with?” She looked toward the door, where the butler stood. “Tea, please, Mr. Sotheby.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” the butler replied. Leah sat down across from the Dowager Duchess. She held a handkerchief in her hands—one of the newly monogrammed ones, with her future initials on it. She’d brought it to bring her luck—and to show her future mother-in-law how dedicated she was to making the marriage work. She held it, monogram side out.
“Now, My Lady,” the Dowager Duchess said, kindly. “What can I help you with?” She folded her hands delicately in her lap.
“Your Grace,” Leah began. “I was wondering if you would be so kind as to speak to your son on my behalf.”
“In regard to what?” While a frown furrowed the Dowager Duchess’s brow, her lips were curved upward in a sympathetic smile, which gave Leah hope.
“That our wedding be rescheduled immediately,” Leah explained, looking down at the monogram on her handkerchief. She rubbed her finger over the delicate stitching. “He seems to be so wrapped up in catching those criminals, that he hasn’t given it another moment’s thought. If I’m at all important to him, then he must act as though it means something.”
“Surely you don’t want to put your guests in harm’s way,” the Dowager Duchess said, gently. When Leah looked up at her, the lady was watching her, intently.
“Of course not! But what if they’re never caught? Is he just going to leave it go?”
“Certainly not, My Lady,” she replied. “My son is doing his best to ensure that justice be done.”
“He doesn’t ever come to see me anymore,” Leah said. “He never takes me for walks or anything. He doesn’t act like an engaged gentleman at all.”
“I can agree to speak to him on that account,” the Dowager Duchess replied. “But I cannot ask him to reschedule the wedding. Not when there are people who mean harm still very much in the county.”
“But you must—” Leah insisted. “He only listens to you, Your Grace.”
“I’m afraid that I cannot,” she repeated. “My son is the Duke. He makes his decisions without my interference.” She smiled at Leah, sadly. “I do know that he’s trying his best to do what he believes is right. If anything, my son’s heart is always in the right place.”
Leah nodded, deeply disappointed to find that the Dowager Duchess was not going to help her. She had thought that they were on their way to becoming very close, but clearly, Leah had been mistaken.
The tea things were brought, and the two ladies talked of other, less fraught topics. Leah struggled the whole time to keep her attention on the discussion. She had the niggling feeling that there was something that the Dowager Duchess was not telling her.
Inside, Leah was panicking. Her suspicions were now worse than they had been when she arrived. By the time that they had daintily sipped the tea, finished a small portion of tea cake, and exhausted most polite lines of conversation, Leah was desperate to return home.
“Unfortunately, I must return to Kirby Hall, Your Grace,” she announced.
The Dowager Duchess nodded, and both ladies stood. She took Leah’s hands in her own, pressing them. “I wish you all the best, My Lady.”
Leah looked the lady in the eye. “Thank you, Your Grace.”
As the Dowager Duchess accompanied Leah down to where her carriage waited, Leah wondered what it could be that she knew and wasn’t saying.
After freshening up and placing her bouquet in a little vase of water, Selina went to go and find her brother. He was in the library, furiously writing at the large wooden desk.
“To whom are you writing so intently?” Selina asked.
“To father,” he replied, not looking up. “To let him know that we’re heading to Staunton at the end of this week.
Sins of an Intoxicating Duchess: A Steamy Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 22
