The Duke's Bride: Book 5 (The Clearbrooks)

by Teresa McCarthy

  Jane watched in disbelief as the two men left her side and parted the crowds of the Pump Room. Men! They were acting like foolish little boys! Well, she did not care what happened to them. Let them knock each other senseless.

  She pressed her lips together, too angry to even stare at them anymore. She was slowly aware of the buzz moving about the room. People were starting to stare at her as if she were a bug on their favorite piece of pie. Perhaps they had finally heard the stories about Garette last night. That’s why she wanted to prove to Society that she was not doing anything wrong and being with the captain meant nothing to her. But Roderick had ruined it all. The ninny!

  Yet as words floated in and out of her ears, she had a vague feeling the chatter had less to do about Lord Garette or the captain, and more to do about her. Her stomach churned with unease. Something else was in the air.

  “Knew she wasn’t one of us.”

  “Could never really believe it.”

  “The duke never loved her.”

  “Strumpet!”

  “A Jezebel!”

  “Little more than an orphan when Stonebridge took her in.”

  “Took advantage of the situation.”

  “Not one of us!”

  “Was just looking for a title. Thought she caught the duke.”

  “A good laugh he has on her.”

  “That’s why things were in such turmoil.”

  Jane stood and brushed the imaginary lint off her skirt. Heat rushed through her veins. First, it was the loss of the baby, and now these vicious lies? She didn’t understand why things had taken such a brutal turn. What rumor had someone started now? The malicious things people were saying about her made her feel as if she were living in some nightmare. She was the Duchess of Elbourne. How dare they treat her so? Roderick would not put up this! She was carrying his baby. They would see.

  “Duchess, what have you to say about the news?”

  Jane turned her head to see Lady Horatio and Lady Philomena blocking her way. Their delightful expressions made her stomach sink. She had no idea what they were talking about.

  “Jane, dearest,” Emily’s voice drifted to her ears. “There you are. I have been looking all over for you. You do seem to get lost in the crowd.”

  Jane’s shoulders dropped in relief. She turned to her friend. “Oh, Em. Forgive me. I have no idea why I keep losing you.” She let out a light giggle, knowing the gossiping ladies were standing beside her, waiting for something else to add to their pack of lies.

  Emily looked a bit frantic. “Where is Roderick? I thought I saw him.”

  Jane clenched her gown with sweaty hands. Something was dreadfully wrong. Emily was rarely out of sorts, and Horatio and Philomena were now staring at them with mouths agape.

  Jane bent towards Emily and whispered in her ear. “Roderick is outside with Captain Argyle, and they were not being too friendly with each other. Frankly, I do not care if they give each other black eyes.”

  Emily frowned.

  Lady Horatio lifted a brow.

  Jane felt like sinking into the floor. She wished she could eat her words. Had the lady overheard?

  “Perhaps he is defending your honor?” Lady Horatio added, obviously hoping for more details.

  Jane pressed her lips together. She needed to leave. The entire day was turning into a disaster.

  “My dear lady,” Jane said in a haughty tone as she faced Lady Horatio. “I have no idea what you are talking about? But perhaps if you minded your own business, you might find that you have no need of the waters at all. Healing might occur naturally if you kept your ears to yourself and your mouth closed.”

  Lady Horatio gasped in outrage.

  Scowling, Emily took Jane by the elbow. “Dearest, we must leave here at once,” she said in a low voice. “There is something I need to tell you.”

  “She doesn’t know,” Lady Philomena whispered, waving a fan about her face. “Poor girl. Ruined now.”

  Jane felt sick as she let Emily pull her along. “Why were those ladies so cruel? I simply do not understand people like that. I admit, I was a bit harsh with them, and I feel terrible, but truly, I felt provoked”

  Emily looked as if she wanted to cry.

  The music in the Pump Room had stopped, and all eyes were upon them.

  The scrutinizing stares made Jane feel as if she were parading naked. The low hum of conversation directed her way felt like a thousand needles sticking into her body. Her cheeks flamed. “Em?”

  “Not now, Jane. Just come along.”

  “But what’s happening?”

  Emily’s face was as white as a sheet as she tugged her toward the exit. “You did nothing, dearest. Come along.”

  Trembling, Jane glanced over Emily’s shoulders and saw Jared coming fast in their direction. His face was hard and purposeful. Then Clayton and Briana closed in on her, with Stephen and Lizzie flanking her other side. They removed her from the rising murmurs of the crowd as if she were encased in a bubble. They didn’t let anyone touch her or talk to her. They were an intimidating presence. But what were they protecting her from?

  When she withdrew from the Pump Room, there was a large crowd outside, staring at her. She stumbled, and Clayton all but lifted her into his arms and stuffed her into the duke’s carriage. Emily followed with Briana and Lizzie by her side. The door closed, leaving the men outside to handle the ogling crowd.

  Jane’s body was shaking uncontrollably. “Whatever is the matter with everyone? It is as if I had some disease. Did those terrible ladies let out some silly story about me? Perhaps Aunt Agatha whacked them with her parasol again.”

  “I fear it is much worse than that, dearest.” Emily patted Jane’s hand. “There is an awful rumor going around, a terrible, nasty rumor.”

  Briana nodded. “It’s inexcusable. I am livid.”

  Jane looked on in dread. Their faces were filled with concern, and more than that, anger. Not anger at her, but at the people who had started the rumor. “What exactly are people saying?” she asked.

  “They are mean-hearted people,” Lizzie said softly.

  “Bullies,” Briana added. “I don not know why we even came here today.”

  Emily stared at them while she patted Jane’s hand. “Jane hasn’t been feeling well, ladies.”

  It took the ladies a few seconds before their eyes popped in recognition.

  Briana squealed in delight. “Goodness, why did you not tell us you were with child?”

  Lizzie frowned. “Gracious. That can only add fuel to the fire.”

  Jane felt her head spinning. “I am in the dark, ladies. Will you please stop changing the subject and tell me exactly what is going on?”

  Chapter Nine

  “Ah, Elbourne, just the man I wanted to see.”

  Roderick stood on the side of the Bath Abbey, out of sight of the Pump Room. He was ready to have it out with Captain Argyle when the booming male voice made him blink. He had heard the thunder of horses’ hooves and the clamor of carriage wheels, but he had been too enraged with the captain to even turn to see who had been coming down the street.

  Blast it all. He should have known something was up when the captain’s green eyes had narrowed on something over his shoulder. For a second, Roderick had hoped the man was reacting to his fury. But he realized now it was astonishment in the man’s eyes, not fear. James did not fear anything. Anything but marriage, he thought.

  Biting back a frown, Roderick looked over his shoulder. Two rows of black horses with mounted soldiers in red coats stood alongside an ornate carriage.

  “Y-Your Majesty?” Roderick uttered, surprised to see the king poking his head out the carriage window. In all truth, he had expected the man to visit his home later that day.

  Prinny, now King George IV, flipped his hand in the air. “Curse me! You are looking younger every time I see you, Roderick.”

  Captain Argyle straightened and gave a neat bow. “Your Majesty.”

  “And Argyle. Hear y
our shipping line is doing quite well too. After I take care of matters here, I may want to talk to you.”

  The captain chuckled. “I fear you may have to wait in line. The duke is ready to box my ears.”

  Roderick clenched his jaw.

  The king stuck his head further outside the window. “What? Always enjoyed a good fight, eh? But curse me, this is not the time.”

  The hair on the back of Roderick’s neck stood on end when the man’s chubby face puckered into a frown. “Elbourne, how could you do this to me? Of all things. This journey to France is enough. With that man after any of us, England is not safe. I am not safe. And now this. By Jove, it is the outside of enough, I tell you.”

  Roderick lifted his brows in confusion. Finding Devereaux’s son was important because the man not only threatened Jared, Roderick and their families, he also wanted the king dead. But what other matter was the king referring to?

  “Your Majesty?” Roderick asked, noting the king’s soldiers were now flanking the carriage, preventing any onlookers from coming near the man. “I understand about the investigation in France, but as to the other matter, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

  The king adjusted his cravat. “Your marriage, my boy. Devil of a mess.”

  Roderick grimaced. What did the king have to do with his marriage?

  “I fear I am still in the dark,” Roderick said, wishing the captain was not standing beside him, smirking.

  The king swore. “Step in here then! I gave you word I was coming. And you too, Captain. Might as well come along too. Give the duke some moral support. I know what it’s like to have marriage problems. The thing is, women can make a man quite blue-deviled. Yes, quite blue-deviled indeed. But of all things, Elbourne! Curse this day! I cannot fathom what I did to deserve this. But I must see this right and tight. My duty, you know.”

  Roderick felt his head swimming as he and the captain were maneuvered into the royal carriage. He sank back on the velvet set and frowned.

  What in the blue blazes was the king talking about? And what had it to do with his marriage? Did the man know about his troubles with Jane? But why would that matter to the king?

  “Now, now,” the king said, scowling. “It’s a blasted coil, but if you would just marry the girl again, it will be quite acceptable, eh?”

  “Marry the girl?” Roderick asked, baffled.

  “Ah, know the feeling,” the king went on. “Might not be the one for you, eh? Well, curse it, you are the duke. Pay her off then. Send her to the Americas. Don’t want to be leg-shackled? Cannot say I blame you. Devil of a coil for me too. I can tell you that. I had my love and lost her…”

  The older man looked pensive, and Roderick wanted to knock him on his head. But he was the king, after all. Still, Roderick had no wish to hear about the king’s marriage troubles. The story of the man’s estranged wife Princess Caroline and his mistress Maria Fitzherbert were not something Roderick wanted to talk about now or ever.

  “Are you suggesting the duke is not married, Your Majesty?” The captain’s voice seem to pull Roderick back to the present.

  Roderick looked up at the captain’s twinkling emerald eyes and scowled. Thunderation, he would like to pummel the man.

  The king shook his head, as if coming out of a stupor himself. “I am not suggesting! I am declaring it!”

  “What?” Roderick shouted.

  The king’s gaze narrowed. “Do you forget to whom you are speaking?”

  Roderick clamped his jaw tight, afraid of what he might say.

  The king sighed. “Yes, well, I can see how this has come as somewhat of a shock. And for this one time, I will let your foul language toward me pass.” He turned and snapped his fingers near the window. One of the soldiers handed him some papers. “Right there,” the king said, pushing the documents under Roderick’s nose. “Seems your license was not dated correctly. It’s a year off. Curse it all. You married Miss Greenwell under havey-cavey conditions, my boy.”

  Roderick burst out laughing. “Ah, this is a joke. I beat you at cards the last time we met. Now, you are getting even!”

  The king stared at the captain. “My dear sir, would you please tell your friend I am not joking. His marriage is not legal. At the time of his so-called wedding, the license was dated a year later than the man was supposed to have wed, therefore making the document invalid. A stupid mistake. But curse it all, the duke is not married and never has been married to the lady in question, a Miss Jane Eleanor Greenwell.”

  The captain turned to Roderick, his face grim. “Roderick, it seems you are not married to her.”

  “Impossible!” Roderick protested. “This is a minor detail. We married at St. George! Confound it! You were there!” He pointed to the king.

  “Detail or not,” the king said, frowning. “It was brought to my attention the other day, and I could not very well dismiss it. Not a duke’s marriage, mind you. This is simply not something I could push under the rug. I have my own problems, don’t you know. The coronation is next year. It will be quite the thing, and nothing can foul things up. This marriage scenario of yours would only compound my problems. Caroline is giving me a devil of a time as it is. Must do the right thing here. Either marry the girl again or pay her off. There is no other way.”

  Roderick stared at the date on the license, his mind going a hundred different directions. How could this have happened?

  “Hell’s bells,” he finally said, frowning. “There is no decision to be made. I will marry her again. Today. By special license.”

  The king smiled. “Have the special license right here.” He laughed. “Know the archbishop, don’t you know.”

  Roderick’s entire body stiffened in outrage. This was not a laughing matter.

  The king handed him the new license. “I wouldn’t wait if I were you. And read the fine print, my boy. Look at the date! You were so meticulous during the war. But love has that way with one, does it not? But hey ho, if you don’t care for the female, you could marry another? It worked the other way around for me. But what, the world is our oyster, is it not?”

  “There is no other woman for me,” Roderick snapped.

  The king nodded. “Thought so. That is why I am here. You and your family saved England during the war. Did things no other men would do. Not many like you or the captain here.”

  Roderick stared at the thoughtful look on the captain’s face. If James thought he was going to marry Jane, the man had another thing coming!

  “I am beholden to you,” the king continued. “And so is England. My presence in Bath will give credit to this marriage as final. No one will question it. Especially since we will have the licensed double-checked by a handful of people before the ceremony, making it al nice and tight. Then, when you sign the papers afterwards, all will be well. This will be just a little hitch in the scheme of things, eh?”

  Roderick glared at the captain. Was the man waiting to hop from the carriage and make his way toward Jane? Roderick balled his hands by his sides. He would die before he let that happen.

  The king sat back against his seat and sighed. “This disagreeable mess will be set to rest, and you will have your duchess again. There will, of course, be a few whispers here and there, but that will die down as soon as another one of the Beau Monde falls, eh? What say you to that? Besides, you have to be off to France as soon as possible. We must take care of this before you leave or tongues will be wagging for quite a while.”

  Tongues will be wagging?

  Roderick’s brain began to start working again. Blast it all! What would this do to Jane? He had to get to his wife!

  With a curse, he lurched from his seat. “I left her in the Pump Room!”

  Jane sat in her drawing room of her Bath home, worrying her hands against her gown. Hot tears swelled in her eyes as the gloomy faces of Emily, Lizzie, and Briana stared back at her. Were these ladies her family anymore? The very thought they were not made her sick to her stomach.

  A ban
g brought Jane’s gaze jerking toward the hall.

  “Out of my way, Jared,” came a loud female voice. “I have come to see Jane. Not you! Not the duke! And certainly not the rest of you men…blathering idiots the lot of you!”

  Jane wanted to smile, but her heart wasn’t in it. She looked up as Agatha entered the drawing room in high dudgeon.

  The older lady marched in with her trusty parasol at her side. She closed the door behind her with a snap. Her gray gaze softened as they met Jane’s face. “What’s this I hear about you not being married?”

  Jane blinked back a sudden rush of tears. She shrugged, afraid to speak because if she did, she might start sobbing.

  Agatha moved to her side and looked down at her. “So, we have a problem. Now, what have you decided to do about it?”

  Jane swallowed past the hot lump blocking her throat. She peered up at the older lady. “Me? How can I do anything?”

  Agatha’s brows rose as she took in the three ladies surrounding Jane. “No doubt you are here because you know of Jane’s situation?”

  Briana, Lizzie, and Emily nodded.

  “We are all here to help her,” Emily replied.

  “Our husbands know about the marriage,” Lizzie put in. “But they have vowed silence on the matter.”

  “Silence?” Agatha cried, looking frustrated. “Silence means nothing now. All of England will know of this soon enough. And what about the duke? What does he say about this?”

  “He’s not here,” Jane said, her voice crumbling.

  Agatha’s face went taut. “I see.” Her lips feel into a tight line as she took a seat on the sofa next to Jane and patted her hand. “There, there, child, we will figure something out. Everything will work out for the best. You must trust me on this.”

  “But I am going to have Roderick’s baby,” Jane sobbed. “And now they say I am not legally wed to the man. Trusting you does not change that fact.”

  “Well,” Agatha said, grimly. “It is a bit of a coil. But this should make Roderick think about things, I daresay.”

  Briana tried to lighten the mood. “All Jane has to do is marry the duke again, and all will be well.”