Kind Ella and the Charming Duke: A Historical Regency Romance Book Read online

  “Because I have a duty to perform, even if I do not care for it.”

  “What is that duty? What duty is so great that you must make yourself unhappy to fulfill it?”

  “I am the Duke of Hillington, My Lady, and it is my duty to marry and secure the Duchy for future generations of the Darnley family.”

  “And you sound as if the idea of it makes you thoroughly miserable,” Ella said before she had a chance to stop herself. “But forgive me, for I have been labouring under a misapprehension in our conversation.

  “How so?”

  “I have been addressing you incorrectly, and you have allowed me to continue, Your Grace .”

  “I allowed you to continue because I enjoyed it. By not knowing who you were talking to, you allowed yourself to speak freely. You cannot imagine what a treat that is for a man in my position. And now, now that all is known, I fear I am to lose you to the herd.”

  “No, you need not fear losing me to the herd. I was never part of the herd, and I never shall be.”

  “Is that so?” he said, and his voice sounded amused.

  “It is so, Your Grace, and I can prove it.”

  “Then prove it, by all means, you have my complete attention.”

  “I knew exactly who you were, Your Grace, from the moment you first spoke,” she said and was strangely gratified by his stunned silence. “And so, you see, I am not a part of the herd.”

  “You most certainly are not,” he said in a deep, low tone. “And now you have me at a disadvantage. Tell me, who are you?”

  “Surely that would take the fun out of things, Your Grace?”

  “But I must know; I must know you.”

  As flattered as she was, Ella was suddenly gripped by the worst panic. She could not possibly announce herself, for all would be lost. The Earl of Dandridge would discover her transgression, and she would be punished beyond her worst nightmares, she was sure of it.

  Worse still, as she turned her attention to her family once again, she wondered how long the Earl had been looking over at them. Surely, he did not know her. With luck, he was simply curious as to the young lady who had taken the Duke’s attention for so long.

  As she stared surreptitiously over, she realized that the Duke’s attorney was once again with her stepfather.

  “Well, I think you might have to wait just a few moments longer,” she said teasingly, her heart pounding with a fear that she hoped he did not sense.

  “And why is that? Why are you intent upon torturing me?” he said with a laugh.

  “Because your attorney is keen for your attention; I can see it in his very stance.”

  “Oh dear, I believe you are right.”

  “Well, as you said yourself, Your Grace, you set your attorney to this task. He did not ask for it, and it would seem terribly remiss of you to leave him out there on his own with so many families fighting for his attention, the poor man finding himself suddenly your proxy, as it were.”

  “My proxy? How very astute you are. Yes, I have left him in rather a dreadful position, have I not?”

  “I am not here to judge you, Your Grace, but yes, you have,” she said in such an open tone that he laughed again.

  “Then you will wait here for me to return, will you not? I must have your identity, My Lady, for I shall not rest until I know it.” His coal like eyes suddenly bored into her own, and she felt a flash of warmth in her cheeks that she was glad he could not see beneath her mask.

  She smiled at him genuinely, wishing that she really could be there when he returned. How wonderful it would be to take off her mask and introduce herself properly. And how wonderful it would be to see him properly and for the first time. He had such an attractive personality that she would have liked to have seen his face. She felt sure that his smile was very fine indeed, and she knew already that his eyes shone like black opal.

  And furthermore, he did not seem to regret at all his former frankness with her, his admission that he was searching for a wife who would value him for the man he was.

  All her animosity had melted away, her former thoughts of judgement evaporated into the ether. He really was just following an instinct of duty, having found that love, for him, could not be gained in the ordinary way. And of course, how could that be anything other than true? She had seen for herself the excitement that the announcement of the Duke’s search had made around their own dinner table at Dandridge Hall.

  Two sisters had fought bitterly over the man without ever having met him, so keen were each of them to gain the future title of Duchess.

  And Patience and Georgiana were just two out of the many. There was little doubt in Ella’s mind that every other young lady there that night, at least everyone who had been granted an introduction, was of the very same mind as her step-sisters.

  The Duke was a prize, an achievement to be made, not a human being with a heart and mind and the desire to be loved. She suddenly felt very sorry for him, a man who had everything and nothing all at once. How she wished she could stay, how she wished she could take off her mask and tell him that not all young ladies were cut from the same cloth.

  “Yes, I will be here when you return,” she said, hoping that the regret in her voice did not give her away.

  “Then I shall leave you for a moment,” he said and bowed deeply before turning to cross the ballroom to where his attorney stood waiting for him.

  Casting a final look at Ronald and her mother, she could see that they were eyeing the Duke keenly as he made his approach. She realized then that the Earl had not noticed her at all, he had simply thought her nothing more than simple competition. Well, it had all been a little too close for comfort, and she realized that she had to get out of Hillington Hall immediately. She could not risk the Duke turning to see her leaving, for that would be a dreadful mistake.

  She would have to leave immediately, even though she could barely tear her eyes from his departing back.

  Finally, she took a deep breath and turned, hurrying for the immense ballroom doors. When she reached them, she turned briefly, keen to know that she had left the room unnoticed. When she saw the Duke once again in conversation with his attorney and the Earl, she knew she had succeeded.

  Hurrying through the entrance hall, she ignored the curious looks of the gathered footmen as she deftly snatched down her cloak and flung it around her shoulders before scampering quickly out through the main door and into the night.

  She did not stop to look back, although she was sure that the young men would undoubtedly be watching her.

  Instead, she held onto her skirts, lifting them a little as she broke into a run.

  She ran hard along the gravel driveway, finally reaching the woodland and the cover it provided. Still, she dared not break her pace, just in case a curious footman had decided to give chase, to see if she was in trouble of some kind, or if there was some other reason that he perhaps ought to stop her.

  As she ran, the mask moved up and down on her face, scratching it in a most uncomfortable way. Letting her hem fall, she reached up and pulled at the mask with both hands. It came off very suddenly, so suddenly that she lost her grip on it, and it flew from her hands.

  She paused for a moment, staring all around for any sign of it. But she could see none and knew that she must keep moving. She left the mask, wherever it may be, and resumed running, maintaining her pace until she finally reached William and the cart.

  Without words, he jumped down and lifted her by the waist, almost flinging her into the cart before jumping in himself and rattling the reins hard until the horse set off at a quick pace, leading her off into the night and away from Hillington Hall.

  And away from the Duke.

  Chapter 8

  “But do you have any particular preference yourself, Your Grace?” Henry Mercer was politely exasperated. “It is all very well for me to keep reading from this list of, if I might say so , extraordinarily suitable young ladies, but I am afraid it will be for you to pick one in the end.�
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  “Tell me, Henry, did you not see the young lady to whom I was speaking for a little while last night?” Rufus said, suddenly keen to get away from the subject of Henry’s list of extraordinarily suitable young ladies.

  “Your Grace, you spoke to a great many young ladies last night.” Henry gave an affable shrug. “Could you possibly narrow it down just a little?”

  “Yes, of course,” Rufus said and laughed. “She had very dark and thick hair which was curly all over, and she was wearing a dark coloured gown, the colour of wine.”

  “Erm …” Henry Mercer squinted into the middle distance, clearly trying to rack his brain for any memory of the young lady.

  “If it helps at all, I was speaking to her when you were speaking to the Earl of Dandridge and his family.”

  “I am afraid it does not help at all, Your Grace, for I spoke to that fine family on more than one occasion last night.”

  “And you do not remember seeing the young lady I am trying to describe to you at all?”

  “Well, can you tell me anything else about her?” Henry had the air of a man who wanted to help but felt certain that he most likely could not.

  “She had very rosy lips,” Rufus said and realized that whilst her mask had not been as complete as his own, it had been full enough that he would probably never recognize her without it. “And her eyes were very blue, very bright.”

  “Oh dear, you seem to have described at least half of the young ladies in attendance last night. They almost always have rosy lips and bright blue eyes, Your Grace.” Henry winced comically.

  “I suppose I am beginning to sound a little ridiculous.” He laughed.

  “No, not ridiculous at all.” Henry seemed suddenly keen to help. “Is there nothing else you can tell me about her?”

  “Her mask was so extraordinary, Henry, that I realize I would never recognize her without it. I think I could describe her better in terms of her personality, her character, than regarding her appearance.”

  “Then I am afraid that unless I actually know the young lady, I cannot see how I can help.” Henry shrugged again. “But perhaps if you tell me a little something about her.”

  “She was very bright and amusing,” Rufus began as his mind wandered, not for the first time, back to the frank and enjoyable conversation the two of them had shared.

  “Right,” Henry said slowly.

  “And you are about to tell me that more than half the young ladies in my ballroom last night were bright and amusing, are you not?” Rufus gave a self-deprecating laugh. “But it was more than that, Henry. There was an openness to her; she had a very frank manner without being at all gregarious. I can only describe her as honest and natural.”

  “I see,” Henry said and seemed a little perturbed. “And these are qualities that you enjoyed?” he said cautiously, seeming a little incredulous.

  “More than anything,” Rufus said with a sudden burst of honesty. “There was something about her character traits which felt familiar for a little while.”

  “So, you might know the lady after all?”

  “No, I am certain that I have never met her in my life.”

  “Then forgive me, Your Grace, but how can her character traits have felt familiar to you?”

  “I realized after giving the matter some thought that she felt familiar simply because she is just the sort of woman I had always wanted to meet. These last years I have searched for such qualities and never found them. I daresay that is why her character seemed familiar to me last night.”

  “I see,” Henry said again. “Tell me, how long did you speak with this young lady?”

  “Just a matter of minutes, Henry.”

  “In just a few minutes can you be quite sure of a young lady’s character? Not only that but everything else about her.”

  “I know it sounds ridiculous, Henry, but there was something about this young woman that I cannot seem to get out of my mind.”

  “And you did not ask for her identity, Your Grace?”

  “I did, and she promised that she would give it.”

  “So, what happened?”

  “I left her alone for just a moment, to speak to you, Henry, as a matter of fact. Then, when I returned, she was gone.”

  “She had left the spot? Or she had left Hillington Hall together?”

  “She had left the hall altogether. She was gone.”

  “Are you sure she had not rejoined her company?”

  “No, she arrived alone.”

  “Alone?” Henry sounded so comically scandalized that Rufus almost laughed.

  “Yes, she must have arrived alone.”

  “And why do you say that, Your Grace?” Henry looked woefully down at his list of suitable young ladies with an air of resignation, almost as if he thought that they might never get to it.

  “Because she left alone.” Rufus ran over the contents of the curious conversation he had had with two of his footmen the previous evening. “I went looking for her, you see, and when I could not find her anywhere in the ballroom, I made my way out, and it was then that I discovered that a young lady matching her description had hurried away sometime before. She had quite startled my staff, taking down her own cloak and dashing out into the night.”

  “Good heavens,” Henry said, his eyes wide with astonishment. “Then I can hardly think that this young lady had been invited at all. For one thing, there was no young lady invited last night who was alone, that much I am sure of. And for her to have run away rather than admit her true identity to you would seem to confirm it, would it not?”

  “Yes, I believe that you are quite right.”

  “Forgive me, Your Grace, but I cannot help thinking it a good thing that we cannot identify this young lady after all.”

  “You think her likely to be most unsuitable?” Rufus laughed.

  “I cannot see how she could be anything else,” Henry said seriously. “Her behaviour was not only unsuitable but rather scandalous.”

  “Perhaps she is just adventurous, rather than scandalous, Henry.”

  “Perhaps she is, Your Grace, but I do not see how you can discover it one way or the other.”

  “Yes, I suppose that is very true.” Rufus heard the disappointment in his own voice.

  He had somehow nurtured the hope that Henry would know who the young lady was. His old attorney was most observant, for one thing, and Rufus had been so sure that he would have seen the two of them talking and made a note of the young lady.

  If only he had not taken his leave of her; if only he had stayed until she had parted with her identity. But, of course, it was clear to him now that she had not wanted to announce herself. When Rufus thought back, he realized that she had very gently and cleverly sent him away so that she might slip out of Hillington Hall unseen and unknown.

  “I am bound to say, Your Grace, that there were a great many young ladies of fine quality last night whom we can, at least, identify .” Henry gave his master a hopeful look.

  “So, you have narrowed it down, I take it?” Rufus knew that it was time to attend to the real business, time to stop daydreaming about an adventurous stranger.

  “I interviewed several families last night, Your Grace, albeit surreptitiously.” Henry began to nod as he looked at his list. “And I must say that it was not an easy thing to thin them out; I was so impressed.”

  “Really?” Rufus was trying to sound interested and hopeful, and yet he was sure that he had not had so fine a conversation with any of the young ladies present last night as had taken place with the masked woman.

  “Yes, it is true to say that you have attracted some of the finest families in the area.”

  “But I suppose that a Duke always does, does he not?” Rufus countered almost by unstoppable instinct.

  “I daresay.” Henry sounded a little resigned, and Rufus realized that he was embarking on the same old argument.

  “Forgive me, Henry. I am not being very helpful, am I?”

  “Would you
like me to run through the list of young ladies?” Henry smiled kindly.

  “Yes, why not.” Rufus nodded with an enthusiasm that he did not feel.

  “I have narrowed it down to four,” Henry began, and Rufus was surprised, not expecting his attorney to have made so much progress so quickly. “Well, four families, but five young ladies.”

  “Ah, we have some sisters in all of this, do we?” Rufus chuckled.

  “Yes, two very agreeable sisters, I must say. The daughters of the Earl of Dandridge, as a matter of fact.”