Regency Romance: Fallen Duchess (A Historical Victorian Murder Mystery Love Regency Romance)

by Tracey D Morgan

“I just got your letter yesterday,” he was saying as she jolted from her thoughts and appraisal of him, her cheeks coloring. “I must admit that I’m a bit ill-prepared, but I’ve arranged for us to be married right away by the justice of the peace.”

  “Oh!” Caroline’s mouth formed a perfect “o” as she stared at Elliot. She had not expected things to move so quickly, though when she took a moment to think about it, she was amused that she would even wonder at that.

  Elliot ran a hand along the back of his neck. “I know it’s awfully sudden,” he said. “But I don’t have a chaperone for you, and it would be unseemly for us to live together without being married.”

  “No, of course, I understand,” Caroline said hurriedly. A surge of something at once familiar and strange washed over her. “I can’t wait. That’s why I came here.”

  The grin that flashed across Elliot’s face was so surprisingly brilliant that Caroline’s breathe caught in her throat. She smiled back at him, as he said, “Well, then, let’s go.”

  Caroline noted that the wagon and horse that he led her to was simple but sturdy, and she had a flash of insight into how her life was going to be. Elliot took the carpetbag out of her hands and set it gently in the bed of the wagon. Then he put his hands around her waist and lifted her up onto the bench seat. He was so gentle that her heart started to beat wildly in her chest. This was the man who was going to be her husband in just a short time.

  “I took the rest of today off of work,” he said as the wagon pulled out into the busy main street. Caroline was touched, though she wasn’t sure why. Of course she should expect Elliot to take the day of their wedding off. That only made good sense. But she knew that her father had rarely taken time off work, so the fact that Elliot had done so on such short notice touched her. She also realized that she would gladly make her impulsive decisions all over again if it meant having a man as kind as she knew Elliot was and would be. She knew that she could tell a lot about a person’s character from their actions.

  “And I’ll take you up into the hills on Saturday,” he said. “There are a few places that are especially nice this time of year.”

  Caroline smiled at him feeling shy again. She wondered what he thought of her, sitting there beside him in her rumpled traveling dress. For a moment, her pride took over, and she wished that she had the chance to freshen up, but then she remembered all the verses she had read on the train about putting one’s pride away and looking toward the Lord.

  “That sounds lovely,” she said. “I … I have to admit that I’m a bit overwhelmed to be here. Everything seems to be happening so fast.”

  Elliot nodded. “I was surprised to get your letter, though I can’t say I’m disappointed. I feel we’ll be able to get to know one another much better if we’re face to face.” He fell silent for a few minutes. “Can I ask why you decided to come so quickly?”

  Another flush rushed across her skin, and she looked away from him, intently studying the people walking in the street. This was a moment of definition, as Pastor Danforth would call it. She could go one of two ways: toward the truth or away from it. She knew in her heart where the Lord was leading her.

  “Honestly?” she said. “My father was going to marry me off to some old doctor. I didn’t even know him, and I probably would have only met him once or twice before the wedding. My father only saw me as a pawn in his quest to consolidate his business power.”

  She heard the bitterness in her voice and couldn’t look up at Elliot. They themselves were virtually strangers, and she had just shared something that cut to her core. Finally, Elliot said, “So, you ran away.”

  Looking down at her fingers, knotted together in her lap. She couldn’t really argue with him, but she did need to correct him on one point. “I didn’t run away,” she said softly. “I ran, but I ran to you.”

  Chapter Six:

  The fever started the day after the wedding. Elliot had woken early to go to work, and Caroline had risen with him to start his breakfast. When she’d started to make an omelet, he had seemed surprised that she knew how to cook. Hanging around the kitchen had served some purpose other than irritating her parents, she realized. He had gone out to the stable to check on the horse, cow, goat and chickens, but when he came in, he had nearly collapsed.

  Thus began Caroline’s marriage. She felt like she was jumping straight into her wedding vows of sickness and health. Yet she was thrilled to find that she didn’t mind a bit. She thrived on taking care of Elliot. Cooking and cleaning felt natural, even after being served her whole life.

  After a week of the illness seeming to wreak havoc on Elliot’s body, Caroline woke early to find him sitting up in bed. Although he was in an upright position, his skin was cold and clammy to the touch, and his eyes were glassy.

  "Elliot?" Caroline asked, reaching out to touch his arm tentatively.

  He stared at her with a blankness that ran straight to her core and fear blossomed in her chest. There was no denying the fact that he was getting worse. Whatever he had was unrelenting. As she stumbled out of bed, she realized that her head felt a little thick. But she couldn't think of herself at the moment. She had to go into town to find the doctor. There was no way she was going to let Elliot die. They had just found each other, and she wasn't going to let that go. She didn't let the fact that she wasn't feeling well or the fact that she didn't know where to find the doctor stop her.

  After she dressed hurriedly, she got Elliot a drink of water, coaxed him to get back under the covers and rushed out of the house into the warm late-spring morning. Even though it was only a mile to town, she decided to hitch up the horse because the muscles in her legs felt so weak.

  Caroline paused outside the barn, leaning her head against the rough wood of the door. She let her gaze drift to the mountains out in the distance and remembered Elliot’s promise to take her there. She knew that they wouldn’t be going that Saturday, as Elliot would need to continue to rest, but Caroline felt an inexplicable tug to go there. Something deep in her bones told her that there was something there that she needed.

  Taking a deep breath, Caroline pushed the door open and stepped into the dim light of the barn. When she got back with the doctor, she would need to take care of the animals. That could wait, though. For the time being, her only focus was going to be Elliot.

  Luckily, the horse was a calm animal, so she didn't have any trouble fitting the harness on and hooking it to the wagon. Hoisting herself up on to the wagon took a lot more effort than she had thought it would. She remembered the way Elliot had lifted her up to the bench seat the day she'd arrived. The feel of his hands on her waist, the way he had smiled at her, his gentleness. All those things were the reason she was heading into a strange place to find a stranger to care for a husband she barely knew.

  "Come on," she said to herself and the horse. "We've got a job to do."

  The horse walked forward, and Caroline clutched the reins. If she had been feeling better, she mused, she would have thrilled in the fact that she was doing so many new things. As it was, all of her energy was focused on keeping herself upright and the horse on a straight, forward path. If only her parents could see her now, she thought. Her parents. A pang of guilt and regret washed over her, but she shook it off. When Elliot was better, Caroline intended to sit down and write a long letter explaining everything, describing Elliot and her new life and asking them to come visit when they had the chance.

  When she got to the edge of Rapid City, she pulled up alongside the first wagon she saw. "Excuse me?" she called, her voice coming out in a scratchy rasp. Her throat ached, and her eyes watered with sudden tears.

  The woman in the next wagon turned, startled. When she looked at Caroline, her eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" the woman asked.

  "Can you tell me where to find a doctor? My husband is very sick," Caroline replied.

  The woman's mouth thinned into a hard line as she studied Caroline, but then she gave a quick nod. "Dr. McGillium has an office ju
st up the road, a quarter of a mile on the right side of the street. He has a shingle hung out front. He'll help your husband. And if you don't mind my saying, you should have him take a look at you while you're at it. You look like death warmed over."

  "Thank you," Caroline said. As she pulled away from the woman, she started to giggle. She had just thanked the woman for commenting on her hideous appearance.

  By the time she pulled up to the doctor's office, she was feeling worse. As she climbed down from the wagon, she swayed on her feet. Somehow she managed to make it to the office door before she swooned. The doctor had just opened the door when Caroline fainted, everything going dark.

  Chapter Seven:

  The light streaming through the windows sent a wave of pain coursing through Caroline’s head as she blinked awake. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to stop the dizzying swirl of the room. Where was she? How had she gotten here? What was going on?

  Her throat ached, and her limbs felt floppy. She was also finding it hard to focus. The thoughts that were flitting through her head seemed to swim away just as she was about to pin one down. Still, she focused on remembering, and an image of Elliot floated through her head. She gasped.

  “Elliot!” she rasped.

  “I’m here,” he said.

  “Elliot?” She squinted up at him, relieved and confused to see him hovering over her. He reached out and took her hand, stroking her palm with his thumb. Shivers raced through her body, but she didn’t think it was from her illness.

  “I’m here,” he repeated. As her eyes grew accustomed to the brightness, she realized through her haze that he looked much better.

  “How? What?” she asked, not completing the thoughts that accompanied the questions.

  Elliot reached out and smoothed a cool hand across her feverish forehead. “Just rest,” he said. “I’m going to talk to the doctor again, and then I’ll bring him in to explain everything.”

  She leaned back against the pillow and closed her eyes. Putting the pieces together proved to be more confusing than she had anticipated. Somehow she had ended up … here, wherever here was, and Elliot had gotten better. She vaguely remembered driving the wagon into town, but anything that happened after that was hazy.

  The door creaked open again, and Elliot re-entered the room followed by an older balding man with spectacles. “Ah, Caroline, it’s good to see you awake finally. I’m Dr. McGillium. You’ve been here at my office for over a week now. You’ve given us quite a fright.” He rested his hands on his rotund belly and smiled down at her jovially. Caroline liked him instantly, and she felt comforted that he had been caring for her while she had been ill.

  “What happened?” she asked, coughing after she spoke. Elliot poured her a glass of water and held it up to her lips so that she could take a sip. She smiled up at him gratefully.

  “From what we can piece together,” Elliot began, “you came into town to find the doctor while I was ill, and when you got here, you fainted.”

  “You had influenza just like your husband, and it’s a good thing you managed to make it to my office when you did. You were nearly delirious from your fever, but you were able to tell me about Elliot. After I got you settled, I went out to your homestead to help him. He improved enough to come here to sit with you. He hasn’t left your side since.”

  Caroline’s eyes widened. “But what about work?” she rasped.

  “I took some time off,” Elliot said. “There will always be news to report when you are well.”

  She could have melted into a puddle right off the bed the way her insides turned to mush after he spoke. “I’m afraid that while you are on the mend, this illness seems to have hit your system pretty hard.”

  “I don’t understand what you are saying,” Caroline said.

  The doctor sighed. “I think that you will need an extended recuperation time.”

  “What can we do to help her get better, Doctor?” Elliot asked.

  “Honestly?” Dr. McGillium said. “I think you should take her down to Hot Springs. The hotel just opened, and a good soak in the springs might be just the thing she needs.”

  “We’ll go right away. Caroline, I’m going home to pack our bags and buy a train ticket. When I get back we’ll leave. I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  Caroline smiled as she drifted back to sleep.

  ****

  A short while later, Elliot helped her into the window seat on the train that was now running from Rapid City to Hot Springs. The journey would take the better part of the day, as the train had to go slowly through the twists and turns of the mountains, but Elliot assured her that the ride would give her a good chance to see the Hills.

  “This is beautiful,” Caroline breathed as the mountains came into view. The pine-tree-covered slopes looked pristine, and she longed to walk beneath their cool branches. When she was well, that was exactly what she intended to do. As she looked up at the sky, she was struck by how intensely blue it looked, reminding her of Lake Michigan on a summer day. It was nice to have a bit of her old home here in her new home.

  “I have something to tell you,” Elliot said.

  Caroline sighed. She didn’t want this newfound relationship to falter under the stress of whatever he was about to say. “OK,” she replied warily.

  “I wrote to your parents,” he said. Without waiting for her to answer, he rushed on, “You were so sick. I just thought that they should know that I was taking care of you. And that you took care of me. And that our life together will be wonderful. And … I invited them to visit whenever they wanted.”

  Caroline gaped at him, her mouth hanging open in surprise. That she hadn’t expected. “Thank you,” she said.

  “You aren’t angry?” he asked.

  “No, not at all,” she replied. “I was planning to write to them once you were well, but obviously, then I got sick. I’m glad that you did. I didn’t leave on a good note. I didn’t even really say goodbye. All I can do is pray that they forgive me and understand that I needed to follow God’s path for me.”

  “I think they’ll understand that someday,” he replied as he slid an arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him gratefully and closed her eyes.

  Chapter Eight:

  The town of Hot Springs was more beautiful than she could have imagined. From her seat on the porch of the massive hotel they were staying in, Caroline had a perfect view of the red sandstone bluffs that surrounded the town and the downtown area that was made from the same red sandstone. The river that ran through the center of town was fed by the hot springs, and small waterfalls trickled down the cliffs. The green of spring had burst into full brilliance during the week she’d been sick, and now she luxuriated in the beauty of the season.

  “How are you feeling?” Elliot asked her as he sat in the chair beside her.

  “Better,” she said. “I’m going to take another soak today.”

  “So, I have some news,” Elliot said.

  “Yes?” Caroline’s stomach knotted with nerves. She still hadn’t been able to let herself relax when he said that he wanted to talk to her. Even though she knew that her fear was from all her years being her father’s daughter, but she couldn’t stop the reaction no matter how hard she tried.

  “Well, I was thinking that this town is right on the cusp of experiencing a population boom,” he began.

  “It certainly seems like they are doing well here,” she agreed.

  “I went down to the local newspaper office, and it turns out that they are looking for an editor. With my experience, they offered me the job if I wanted it.” He turned to her with arched eyebrows, but she wasn’t sure what he wanted her to say. Her father had never included her mother in any business conversations so she wasn’t sure how to respond.

  “That sounds … good?” she replied, searching his face to see if she had given the correct answer.

  “I just need to know if you could see living here,” he said.

  “In Ho
t Springs? Oh, yes, I love it here,” Caroline replied. “I don’t understand, though. Why are you asking me?”

  Elliot’s brow furrowed. “Why wouldn’t I talk to you about this kind of thing? It’s a move that involves both of us.”

  The feeling that had begun the moment she got off the train broke forth, and she realized that she had fallen head over heels in love with Elliot. He was the exact opposite of her father, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord had led her here, to this moment, to be Elliot’s faithful wife.

  “Thank you,” she said softly. “But I trust you. Anywhere you think that we should live is fine with me.”

  Elliot smiled at her, leaning close across the chairs, bridging the distance between them. “I knew there was a reason I loved you,” he said before pressing his lips to hers.

  Caroline sighed and leaned into the kiss. When they broke apart, she said, “I love you, too.” Just at the moment that she should feel happiest, she felt a wave of sadness wash over her.

  “What’s wrong?” Elliot asked, concern etched onto his handsome face. “Are you feeling sick again?”

  “No, I feel OK,” she said. “It’s just, I wish that I hadn’t left my parents the way I did. I know that you wrote to them, but I think maybe it’s time that I do, too.”

  Elliot nodded. “I’ll go get you some paper and a pencil,” he said.

  After he disappeared into the building, Caroline peered up and down the street again. She was going to live here now, and that thought made her ridiculously happy. Somehow she needed to convey the feelings that she had about this place and Elliot to her parents. She wanted them to know how truly happy she was and how sorry she was that she had left the way she had.

  “This was waiting at the front desk for you,” Elliot said as he sat down beside her again.

  Caroline took the envelope and smiled as she saw her mother’s familiar handwriting. “I can’t believe she wrote back,” she said, opening the letter. “I’ll read it out loud.”