The Light in the Duke's Shadow: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 23

  “That remains to be seen,” Jules informed him. “Where is Lord Portland?” The man below Jules did not seem inclined to answer but gasped when Jules brought the knife down towards his throat.

  Leander raised his hands up to ward off the blade. “He is at the Winchester estate. He was going to kill the young lady in case I failed yet again.”

  “Has madness consumed you all? She did nothing!” Jules pushed up off the ground and felt the world sway at the far too quick movement. He steadied himself against the fence row. “Get out of my sight. I swear that if I ever see you again, I will cut you down. The only reason I let you live is that your ancestors were good people. You do them a dishonour with your very presence here.”

  Leander upon hearing Jules’ words scrambled up off the ground, bobbing his head in quick acceptance. Jules watched the man’s form beat a hasty retreat down the pathway towards the streets. He had half a mind to set the guard on him, but Jules would not go back on his word.

  Besides that, he had to get to Penelope. He was a fool to ever let Leander talk him into leaving her side when all the time it had felt wrong to do so. He only prayed that Penelope would have the good sense not to be fooled by Lord Portland into being alone with him.

  He raced towards the house as quickly as he could. Inside, he roused up the carriage driver and stable staff. Clint, one of the senior carriage drivers, swore at the sight of Jules. “What has gotten a hold of you, Your Grace? We shall get a doctor!”

  “There is no time for that,” Jules said as he cut the man off. “I need a carriage to take me to the Winchester estate now!”

  The men looked at each other but did as Jules asked without any further comment. The maids came out of their rooms and peered at the commotion. Charlotte called out, “What is going on?”

  Jules waved for the women to go back to bed. “There’s nothing to be concerned about. I have to leave to go to the Winchester estate.”

  Daniel came racing in from the back door. “Your Grace, I just saw Leander running off in something of a hurry. Is everything well?”

  “Daniel, I might need your assistance,” Jules said in relief when he saw the young man. “Ladies, please, go back to bed, I beg you.” Jules gave Charlotte a smile as he winced when he turned towards her.

  Eva too had come out, and she shrieked as she covered her mouth with her hand. “Your Grace, you are bleeding!”

  Daniel gasped at the sight of blood soaking through Jules’ shirt under his coat. Jules raised his hands to ward off their concern. “Please, I do understand your concern, but Lady Withersfield is in need of my help far more than I need a doctor. Which direction was Leander headed when you saw him, Daniel?”

  Daniel blinked and said, “Oh, he was headed towards the inn, Your Grace. I thought perhaps he was going to their stables to fetch a horse.”

  “He might very well have been; if he is, then I need to get to the Winchester estate before he does,” Jules said with a long sigh. “I hope that he is not going there, though.”

  Daniel’s brow knitted together. “No offence, Your Grace, but what would Leander be going to the Winchester estate for at this hour?”

  Jules’ eyes flicked over to the ladies who still stood near the door to their part of the staff quarters. “This would be best left to another time outside of this gentle company. Come, Daniel, let us see that the carriage is ready as swiftly as possible.”

  “Your Grace, what shall we do to help?” Charlotte called out behind him, determined it seemed to be of use.

  Jules sighed and called back, “If you do not wish to sleep, then I suggest putting on a kettle, Hen. We shall all need it by the time this is over, I am sure.”

  Daniel and Jules made their way out to the carriage house, Jules leaning far heavier on the cane with every passing moment that he walked. Daniel’s eyes cut to Jules with every sharp intake of breath that he made. “Would it not be wiser to send me and one of the others since you are injured, Your Grace?”

  “There are some things a man must do for himself,” Jules explained. “I need to see with my own eyes that she is safe. It is my folly that brought her to this fate, after all.”

  Daniel looked confused but kept his peace as they walked through the carriage house doors. The horses were being fastened to the carriage, and Jules watched the process with impatience. It always seemed as if things went so much slower when time pressed close.

  When the last belt was fastened, Clint looked over at Jules. “She’s ready to go, Your Grace.”

  “Finally,” Jules said with agitation that Clint did not seem to take personally. Daniel and Clint offered to help him up into the carriage, which Jules gratefully accepted. He sighed with relief as he sank down onto the carriage seat. The ride would be torturous, but speed was more important than comfort at present. “Go as quickly as you can, Clint. Never you mind the holes and bumps, do you understand?”

  “Yes, Your Grace,” Clint said as Jules felt the footman take his position at the back of the carriage. A moment after the carriage door closed, Clint’s weight pivoted up into the carriage seat, and there was a snap of the reins.

  Jules regretted his hasty instructions almost immediately, but the pain would be worth the end results if Lady Winchester were safe. They moved over the ground so swiftly that Jules thought they might very well just fly off the road. He braced himself with shaking arms.

  “Do you need a bracing?” Daniel asked as he leaned forward in his seat, ready to sit next to the Duke and give him his shoulder for support.

  Jules gave a shaky laugh. “I think that brandy might be good now.”

  With a laugh, Daniel nodded and quickly swapped seats so that Jules could use his shoulder to brace himself. “It is a good thing that the Winchester estate is not any further away than it is, Your Grace.”

  “There is always a blessing, is there not?” Jules leaned his head back and tried his best to just not think of the wetness against his right side, or what that wetness meant. No, he would last long enough to see this through. Jules swore that to the very wind that howled past the carriage window. “Is that a banshee coming for my soul or a storm, I wonder?”

  Daniel looked over at the carriage window. “I think it might be a storm, but I shall have them play the bagpipes to scare the old girl away, Your Grace.”

  Jules gave a fatigued laugh. “You are a good man, Daniel.”

  Chapter 13

  (Winchester Estate - Earlier in the evening of the party.)

  “You look like a vision of shimmering gold,” Lady Winchester said in adoration that Penelope seldom heard from the woman as she came down the stairs into the foyer.

  Penelope gave her mother a smile. “I feel a bit odd with my hair up like this,” she said as she patted her hair which had been twisted up into a rather uncomfortable top bun and adorned with some flowers.

  “I think you look beautiful like that. I must admit that I get used to your hair down, but it really is quite exquisite up like that.” Lady Winchester gave Penelope’s arm a gentle pat.

  Despite the dress being wool, Penelope felt rather comfortable. “It is just a good thing the temperatures have chosen to dip lower tonight. I should hate to ruin this dress by sweating through it.”

  “I fear that we may get a storm actually,” Lady Winchester said as she steered Penelope towards the kitchens. “Now, you did eat earlier, did you not?”

  Penelope rolled her eyes, making sure her mother did not see the gesture. “Of course, Mother. You always say to eat an hour before a party. I have not forgotten.”

  “Very good,” Lady Winchester said as if she were doting on a small child who had answered a quiz correctly.

  “Ah, I am so glad that I caught you, two ladies, before the guests began to arrive,” Miss Lorraine said as she came out of the dining hall and into the kitchen. She held a glass of golden liquid that Penelope was sure would end up being wine if she were to ask, not that she would.

  Lady Winchester smiled, her lips turni
ng ever so slightly downward as if the smile very much wanted to be a frown. “Madam Lorraine, I was wondering if you would be out for the party.”

  “I would not miss it. You throw such wonderful parties, Lady Winchester,” Miss Lorraine said, her soft French accent accentuating every word.

  Penelope smiled at Miss Lorraine, a genuine and warm smile. “I am glad to see you out and about as well. Have you heard from your captain then?”

  “Who knows the heart of men,” Miss Lorraine said as she raised her shoulders in a dismissive shrug. “Life is to be lived with or without their scowling faces.”

  Lady Winchester shook her head. “I was not aware that you had a paramour.”

  “He is merely an old friend, but he is an old friend who wishes he was more than that at times,” Miss Lorraine told Lady Winchester much to Penelope’s amusement at the look on her mother’s face.

  Lady Winchester frowned slightly. “Well, I do hope your friend can be in attendance.” She turned towards Penelope. “Do remember your promise, will you not?”

  “I will, Mother,” Penelope assured the woman as Lady Winchester swept out of the kitchen. The cook who had barely looked up when the women all entered the kitchen, sighed and carried on with her work.

  Miss Lorraine giggled and slipped her arm through one of Penelope’s golden encased arms. “So, is your Duke to be in attendance?”

  Penelope felt her heart fall into her stomach at the question. Miss Lorraine must have seen the expression change because she gently rubbed Penelope’s forearm then. Penelope shook her head. Her words were mere whispers. “According to his letter, I should say not. He has things to do.”

  “Things more important than love?” Miss Lorraine seemed astounded by the very notion. “Why, he might not be worthy of such a prize as you then.”

  Penelope leaned her head to the side, the weight of her hair making her regret the motion instantly as she brought her head back up straight. “I keep trying to tell myself that it is better to know this of the man beforehand, yet I find I wish I were more ignorant.”

  “With men, sometimes ignorance is a blessing,” Miss Lorraine agreed. “Are you so ready to give up on the grandeur of love then?”

  They walked back towards the foyer as the sound of a carriage outside echoed dimly. “No, not just yet.”

  They shared a smile before Penelope cringed at the booming of her father’s voice. “Penelope, I should like a word.” The man loomed out of his study, and Penelope reluctantly left her governess behind to see what her father wanted.

  The man held the door to his study open until she was through, so as not to snag her delicate dress. “Please do sit down,” Lord Winchester thundered; his voice was not angry, but merely too loud. Penelope often wondered if being down on the docks or perhaps hunting had damaged her father’s hearing beyond repair.

  Penelope did as he asked and sat down on the edge of one of the leather chairs in front of his desk. Lord Winchester settled himself in his desk chair and propped his hands up on the desktop. He smiled over at her.

  “I should like you to know that I have received an offer of marriage for you,” Lord Winchester said with as pleased an expression as Penelope had ever seen.

  Penelope’s heart leaped clear into her throat at her father’s words. It took a moment for her to register that he was waiting on a response. Penelope cleared her throat and asked, “Can I ask who it is from?”

  “A merchant by the name of Gregory Stalson. Apparently, you made quite the impression on him at the Havenshire dance you attended.” Lord Winchester tapped the top of the desk. “He seems to have a good head on his shoulders.”

  “I am sorry,” Penelope said in confusion. “Did you say merchant?”

  Lord Winchester nodded. “Yes, why?”

  “I …” Penelope’s words trailed off. How could she tell her father that she did not even recall the man he was speaking of? “I was just caught off-guard.”

  Lord Winchester eyed her for a moment then he laughed. “You do not know who he is, do you?”

  Penelope opened and closed her mouth for a moment before she bowed her head in defeat. “I think I might know who he is, but I did not even recall his name. It does not even sound familiar now that I hear it.”

  “To tell you the truth, I think he might be a bit dull for you, beneath you even,” Lord Winchester said with a solid thump on the desk. “And if you think so too, then I shall tell you of the letter I received from the Duke of Richmond.”

  At the mention of the Duke, Penelope’s head popped up. “And what was in that letter?”

  “It contained an apology for his not being able to be here tonight with us,” Lord Winchester said as if there were more to it, but the man seemed content to keep it to himself.

  Penelope frowned. “Father, what are you not telling me?”

  “I just thought it oddly thoughtful that he should send both myself and you a letter about the party,” Lord Winchester said as he leaned forward a bit.

  Penelope crossed her arms in irritation. “The doorman told you of the letter he sent me?”

  “It is my estate, Daughter,” Lord Winchester said pointedly. “As much as it is clear to me that the man has some interest in you, I must warn you, Penelope that the Duke of Richmond is in no great standing at present. You might do well to take the merchant.”

  Penelope sighed at her father. “You were ready to pack me up and send me home with the Duke the last time he was here.”

  “Yes, well, you had no prospects then,” Lord Winchester said with a dismissive flick of his wrist.

  She scoffed. “I have no prospects now. That merchant could barely look at me for looking at other women. I would not be surprised if he did not send the letter by mistake or out of desperation because he knew no one else would even consider it.”

  “I have to consider what is best for you in all cases.” Her father leaned back in his chair, his hands over his belly. The sounds of guests arriving brought them both back to the awareness of the time. “Now, I know your mother has been at you to make a good showing tonight, and I want to put my piece in as well. It would do us all good if you made sure that everyone sees the best of you, Penelope. You have so much to offer that you would almost certainly marry well if you just tried a bit.”

  Penelope wanted to scream out of frustration, but she smoothed her dress as she stood up. “I have already assured Mother that I will do my utmost to make you both proud, and now I tell you the same thing, Father. Please, believe me when I tell you that I have no interest in bringing shame to this family.”

  Lord Winchester regarded her for a long moment before he nodded. “I do believe that you are telling the truth, dear Daughter. Now, I need to get out front before your mother forgets herself.”

  Penelope bit down on her tongue. Her mother was more than capable of taking care of greeting guests, but Penelope had no interest in getting in the middle of any of their marital spats at the moment. She simply nodded and left the room.

  She avoided the foyer and went through the dining hall. She had no interest in getting caught up in greetings just yet. She would no doubt be spending most of her evening curtsying and smiling. Her face hurt already just from the thought of it.

  The sounds of the musicians her mother had hired drifted out and down the halls from the ballroom. The ballroom of their manor house was small enough that Lady Winchester often had cards made to allow smaller groups to dance in an orderly fashion. Penelope had thus far avoided her mother and her dance cards, but she was certain that she would be given one before the night was over with.

  “Penelope,” a young female voice squealed, and Penelope turned to see the niece of Dowager Reynolds. The girl had been introduced to Penelope a few years before when they both were taking dance instruction.