A Fiery Love for the Reluctant Duchess: A Clean & Sweet Regency Historical Romance

by Abby Ayles

  The duke nodded in agreement to this. It was sad to say that she was right. Young men had greater opportunities, a solid education if the family could afford it, and greater investments were made into them. For a young woman, the lessons of life tended toward reminders of how to be beautiful.

  “Have you any siblings?” his wife asked.

  The duke thought about the fact that she had never asked him this directly. Her sister had asked about eligible younger brothers, but he had told her he had none. He knew that his wife had probably discerned he was an only child, but it was strange to have never spoken to her of it.

  “Indeed, I do not. My father died when I was very young, you know,” he answered her.

  “Oh, forgive me. I was not aware,” his wife replied.

  “There is nothing to forgive. You could not have known for we’ve never spoken of it,” he pointed out.

  “True, I suppose,” she said.

  “So, alas, I was the only child of my parents. I am quite certain that my mother had wished for more but to be honest I think the Lord was rather merciful in giving her no more,” he joked.

  His wife tried to suppress her laughter at that and the conversation came to an end as she returned to the food she was preparing.

  He went and sat in the open parlor and waited for his wife to finish, at which point she allowed the footman to serve them to avoid another catastrophe like they’d had in the morning. All the while, he considered his plans for the day.

  Was he an awful husband for what he had in mind? Was he a bad man for not trusting his wife?

  All that the Duke of Arborshire had accused her of seemed silly but having seen her with the son of Lord Davenberry had only rekindled the suspicion and jealousy. This whole trip was merely in an attempt to see how she truly was when on her own and among men.

  The duke sat patiently and soon his wife came to sit as the footman brought out the food. Not only had she prepared the eggs and bread just the way he preferred them, the duke noticed that his wife had also gone into the garden to pluck fresh tomatoes to eat with the meal and a few herbs that she had ground into it.

  He had to confess that he was impressed by her. She was an excellent chef to be sure. He was moved that she had taken pains to see what he liked so that she might prepare the meal well for him.

  They enjoyed the meal and the duke complimented his wife despite the tension he had underlying his every word and kindness.

  After they finished their breakfast, the duke spoke with her.

  “Now, you are free to go about the town as you wish. Would you like to take the carriage?” he offered, knowing with certainty that she would turn it down in her preference to walk.

  “No, thank you, Mr. Tyndale. I would rather go by foot,” she replied as predicted.

  “Yes, and the footman will go with you, of course,” the duke added.

  “Yes, indeed, Your Grace,” she replied.

  “Well then, I wish you a pleasant day,” the duke said with a kind smile.

  He had given his wife money to enjoy herself and he waited until she had gone ahead. Close to fifteen minutes after, according to his pocket timepiece, the Duke of Sandon followed on foot.

  He could see them faintly up ahead and made every effort to stay close to the tree line once he had made it past the meadow. He could not allow his wife to see that he was watching her.

  Perhaps he was being foolish and paranoid. What sort of husband followed his wife thus?

  The air did him well and polished his mood, although he knew that his mood could not be fully recovered until he had proven that his wife was a faithful woman. But he wondered how he could prove her faithfulness when they had come all the way out here to get away from the familiar?

  He had been a fool. It was true that he might be able to see if she behaved unnecessarily with other men, but even if she spoke with no men at all that day, could that prove her innocence back in Cambridge or even her small town?

  It didn’t matter. They were here now and he would follow her to see what he might learn.

  He watched as his wife entered the town and managed to pick up his own pace until he was not too far behind. It would be easier to hide in the town and he would have an excuse if she caught him.

  He had told her during breakfast that he would go out for a hunt that day, but he could easily claim that the hunt had been cancelled for some reason or another. It would not be a surprise to come upon one another in town when there was not much more than town to do here.

  The duke continued to follow and watched as his wife first found a confectionary. It was not the same which he had told her about, but he knew that most, if not all, would be a delight to her anyway.

  The duke watched from the window as his wife chose a few pieces to purchase before leaving. There had been no more interaction than little choices and again the duke thought himself a fool for following her.

  On and on through the shops, he watched as his wife interacted only with those she must. Shopkeepers and bakers and any whose wares she found interesting.

  She spent a great deal of time within a bookseller’s shop, but the windows were quite dark and the duke could not easily see inside.

  The duke knew he ought to give up. He was wasting his own time, but something caught his attention then. His wife had entered a small tearoom where he presumed she would wish to get a warm beverage and something to eat as the hour of lunch was nearing.

  The tearoom was divided, and it was easy for the duke to stand outside near a small window where he was able to observe her, although she could not see him.

  “Gregory?” the duke said, seeing the footman outside the tearoom.

  “Yes, Your Grace. How good to see you,” he replied.

  “Might I ask what you are doing out here rather than with Her Grace?” the duke asked.

  “The duchess bade me wait outside, Your Grace. She said she would need a great deal of privacy,” the man explained.

  The duke was angered by this. Who was she to demand privacy? She was a duchess. It was not right for her to think she could be afforded a luxury as privacy.

  She requested tea and sandwiches from the owner of the crowded tearoom and soon more people began filing in.

  A young man came and looked about for something before noticing the duchess. The duke noticed him glancing at his wife who was at a table with only herself and an empty chair.

  Mrs. Tyndale looked up at the young man and smiled politely. The duke could not hear their conversation of course, but the young man sat down in the empty chair.

  The Duke of Sandon felt his heart drop. As he watched, his wife began discussing something in depth with the young man. He then pulled something out and onto the table that the duke could not see from his vantage point.

  Did this young man have a gift to give to his wife? Had she taken a lover already? Or had he followed them from her town? Had she written to him in advance to meet her there?

  Seething rage boiled beneath the duke’s skin. How could his wife do this to him? They had never agreed upon love, but he had also never agreed to be made a fool of. He expected respect from her. He expected loyalty in the very least.

  And here she was, exchanging gifts with a lover.

  He watched her laugh and the light danced in her eyes as she spoke with the man she had come to meet. There was such a joy in her that the duke could not comprehend when he knew well that she ought to be cowering in shame for her actions.

  The flirtation was visible through his wife’s carefree nature, a nature he had yet to see her display with himself. The young man spoke with his fluttery hands and it was an entertainment to his wife. He had no doubt anymore. Any woman who met with men they were not married or related to was clearly a woman of ill repute and a woman not to be honored.

  The duke considered all of his options. He could storm inside now and demand that she throws herself at his mercy. He could simply stand outside the window’s glass and allow her to see him and feel the
terror in her heart at being caught.

  He could even write to society, his mother and his friends, there and then declaring his wife’s infidelity.

  But the duke knew he had been rash in following her. While his suspicions had turned out to be true, it did not mean that he ought to be rash in exposing her.

  The duke watched for a while longer before turning on his heel and making his way from the tearoom. “Not a word about my presence here, Gregory,” he ordered the footman before he left.

  “Of course, Your Grace,” he had promised, bowing his head, ever the loyal servant.

  The Duke of Sandon slowly walked back in the direction of the cottage knowing that his wife would have to return at some point. Perhaps she might even try to come with her lover, believing her husband to be away at the hunt.

  The meadow did not seem so pleasant anymore. It seemed bright and harsh and cruel.

  He arrived at the cottage and decided to send his coachman on an errand to purchase a grand dinner and have it brought to the house. He instructed the man to spare no expense.

  The duke sat and waited, knowing the food would arrive first and then, eventually, his wife. He had everything planned now. He would invite her to dine on a feast before exposing her for what she really was.

  Chapter 25

  Thea was nearly dancing when she returned to the cottage with the package in her hand. The day had gone more brilliantly than she had ever anticipated. The young man had given her exactly what she had hoped for.

  When she came upon the cottage, she noticed through the window that the duke had prepared something significant and unique. The table was filled, not just with food, but with stunning, silver bowls and lit candles in elaborate candle holders.

  A smile spread across her face. The duke had no idea what she had done that day and here he was, surprising her. She supposed they had both held their plans close to themselves.

  She walked through the door and the duke came out from the dining room to greet her.

  “Mrs. Tyndale,” he said brightly. “How was your day?”

  She had not seen him appear so delighted before. She thought he must be waiting to surprise her with the dinner and she would have to act as though she had not seen it upon coming to the cottage.

  “It was very well, Mr. Tyndale. And how was yours?” she asked in reply.

  “My day was most illuminating,” the duke replied.

  Thea smiled, assuming he was referencing something to do with the hunt. She quickly tried to place the package in a nook by the door where he would not see it. Then Thea followed him to the dining room where she pretended to be completely taken by surprise.

  “Good heavens, Your Grace!” she exclaimed, remembering only after to use the more familiar title. “It is exquisite. I am in shock at all you have done. You must have stayed quite busy after the hunt.”

  “Oh indeed. I was very busy today,” he said in a way that made Thea feel suddenly on edge.

  The Duke of Sandon urged Thea to sit and she did so, quietly, uncertain what he had planned next.

  The duke waited for the footman to fill their plates before speaking. Thea smiled and thanked him and soon after, they bowed their heads.

  Dutifully praying a short prayer of thanks, the duke said amen and nodded for Thea to begin.

  “You are all dismissed,” the duke said, addressing the staff. The three women and Gregory, the footman, departed awkwardly.

  Thea was uncertain why the duke would send them away but assumed he had his reasons. Still, it made her nervous to think that they would be alone.

  The food was beyond what she could have imagined, and she sensed that the duke had truly spared no expense in having the very best brought to them. She knew not what sort of bird it was that they were eating, but she found herself overwhelmed by the taste.

  “This is quite a magnificent dinner,” she exclaimed.

  “That was my hope. Are you satisfied with it?” he asked.

  “Extremely,” she answered.

  Thea then thought about the package she had left by the entrance and how she hoped the duke did not see it before she had a chance to take it upstairs. A bit of worry crept in that he would find it.

  “Is it better than what you ate for lunch?” he asked suddenly.

  Thea tried not to look at him directly when she nodded.

  “Indeed, this is better than my lunch,” she said.

  “Where did you eat? Somewhere in town?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she replied shortly.

  “Which place did you go?” he pressed.

  Thea was not enjoying this sudden line of questioning. She worried that the duke was searching for something and she was not yet ready to tell him the truth.

  “It was a small tearoom,” she said. “I do not recall the name.”

  “Well, I suppose your thoughts were concerned elsewhere,” he growled.

  Thea looked up at the duke, astounded by his tone and the way in which he spoke to her.

  “Whatever is the matter?” she asked in horror.

  “You think that it is right to make a fool of your husband?” he demanded, smashing a hand on the table.

  Thea jolted back in her chair and pushed it so she might be able to run quickly. The Duke of Sandon was frightening her and she did not know what to do. She had nowhere to go and was not from anywhere nearby. The staff would not be able to stand against their master in her defense.

  “I did no such thing,” she insisted.

  “You did! You met with a man for a meal. You exchanged gifts with him. You flirted and enjoyed your time with him as you have never enjoyed your time with me,” he said angrily.

  “Can you imagine why not? Listen to yourself! How could I enjoy my time with a wealthy, titled man who views me as his property?” Thea yelled, terribly angry that the duke would suggest something so heinous and untrue against her honor.

  “You would deny it? I saw you with my own eyes this time. I had not fallen prey to the truth when my friend told me he had seen you once with your sisters flirting with a shopkeeper. Nor did I allow myself to fully believe it when I watched you with Lord Davenberry’s son.

  “But sadly, after what I saw today, I simply cannot deny what I now know to be true. You are unfaithful. I have bound myself to a worthless woman who has no respect at all for me!” the Duke of Sandon roared in his accusations.

  Thea seethed from where she stood on the other side of the table from the duke.

  “It is such a shame that you do not realize what a fool you are,” she said in a quiet tone.

  She watched his face grow an even deeper crimson at her words. Thea knew well that a duke would never grow accustomed to being called a fool. But that was exactly how she now saw him.

  “You know nothing of what you speak,” she spat in an even tone.

  “Do I not? Then tell me. Tell me what it is that I do not understand,” the duke ordered.

  “When I speak with a shopkeeper it is because I must make a purchase. I know not what your friend thought he saw. I know not when he saw it. If I was with my sisters, then I can guarantee you that I was more entertained than I normally might be. But I have no desire to marry any man, Your Grace,” she said in a viper-like tone.

  “And for your accusation about Lord Davenberry’s son, you should know that I was speaking to him of my youngest sister, Georgette. She is the only among us who has a strong desire for marriage and I seek to find a good family for her to marry into. While I cannot expect many men to so debase themselves to marrying a woman of our rank, he was kind and I considered that I might speak about her,” Thea continued.

  “And as for the accusation you hold against me today, you must give me the briefest of moments from which I shall return with an explanation,” she said with a glare before storming out of the dining room and grasping hold of the package.

  Thea returned to the room with a force like thunder. The duke had not moved even a fraction from the time she had left him, and s
he knew that he was recognizing his folly.

  “This, Your Grace, is what I met with the young man for at lunch. He is a book seller. Or rather the son of the owner of the bookshop. His father was out when I asked for this title and the young man agreed to meet me in the tearoom as I asked him so that he might deliver the book to me once his father had returned and found it,” she began to explain.

  “It is a very rare volume. One of the few that I have not found in your library. I thought perhaps that I might get you a small token with the generous funds that you have provided me for our time away in the countryside,” she finally finished, throwing the wrapped book on the table with a loud thud.