A Brazen Lady And The Shunned Duke (Faces of Love Series #3) (7 page)

* * *

“
I
t will take
them at least three days to get to Gretna Greens from here.”

“How do you know that is where they are going?” I asked from across Kent’s carriage.

I hadn’t even had time to leave word with my brother. I had rushed upstairs, changed and ran out of the house without a single word to anyone. Luckily, Kent was waiting out front with his carriage. I got in and we were off.

“That is the closest place you can go for elopement. They can’t make it in a day. I have a feeling their first stop will be in Leicester for the night. If we don’t meet them on the road, we will have to stop them before nightfall or…”

“She will be ruined,” I finished for him.

He nodded in agreement.

“Would you mind telling me now,” I suggested.

He gave me a weak smile. “Remember I told you about my first engagement set up by my uncle?”

I nodded.

“Well, Lord Byron and I had always been acquaintances from boyhood. You could say we had a healthy competition. When I was seventeen, I had just taken on my father’s title. It was the appropriate time to marry. We had been engaged since I was fourteen, or at least it had been set up between my uncle and her father for that long. When the time came, we met here in London. It was to be her first coming out and last season all in one. We were supposed to marry at the end of it.”

He gave a long sigh. “I did it for my uncle and for my father in some ways. I felt it was my duty, my obligation as duke. She wasn’t a bad person either. I could see us being good friends throughout life. Well, as the season came to a close, she confided in me that she had fallen in love with another. She was miserable, fearing her father would never allow it.

“I told her I would call off the engagement. I told everyone that it was my doing so that she could be free to marry the man she loved.” He let out an indignant huff. “I know I have already told you all this in parts. What I didn’t say was that man she fell for was Lord Byron.

“When I found out, I was furious at first. It was like he had taken our competitiveness to a whole new level. She loved him, though, and that was worth more than my pride.”

“So,” I said, putting the pieces together. “Lord Byron is the one who got her pregnant and left her destitute.”

“As I said before, I can’t be completely certain of that fact, but it does look that way.”

“So why would he be going after Ettie now? Perhaps he has just changed his ways and fallen in love?”

“I highly doubt that. You see, since the current state of my affairs that I inherited, my uncle was the one to provide Ettie’s dowry. It is a substantial amount. Not even Ettie knows this. All this time I have known something about him that he doesn’t want to get out. If he marries my sister, I will have no choice except to take my secret to the grave.”

“Because telling it would only disgrace Ettie and yourself.”

“I don’t care about myself. I care about Ettie and what it would do to her. And to you.”

“Me?” I said, wide eyed with shock.

“If we were to marry, I mean.”

I gave a small smile at his assumption. He grabbed my hand and pulled me across the carriage to him. I sat down on his lap. “That is, if you will have me. I am just a pauper,” he said with a wicked grin.

I let my lace gloves trail the small red stubble that dusted his square jawline. He lifted his chin and kissed me softly. Twisting my fingers in his hair, I deepened the kiss. I seemed to lose all sense of propriety with this man.

He pulled back first, leaning his forehead against mine as we both caught our breath.

“After that engagement, I promised myself that I would never marry, unless there was love between me and my wife. I had all but given up hope. Then I met you.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, the driver tapped the roof of the carriage. I wiggled off of Kent’s lap and waited as he stuck his head out to talk to the driver.

“We are coming to Leicester now,” he said sticking his head back in without any hint that he’d seen anything untoward.

The carriage began to slow as we came into town. It was still early in the evening. We had made good time. We couldn’t have been more than a half an hour behind Ettie. We drove through town, looking for Lord Byron’s carriage. I was beginning to lose hope. What if they went on and took the risk of traveling day and night? Finally, just as we were reaching the north edge of town, we spotted his carriage. It was next to a small tavern and inn.

It certainly wasn’t the nicest of establishments in town, but I guessed it was the most inconspicuous. The driver pulled up next to the front door and Kent emerged. With his hand reaching out to me, he helped me down from the carriage.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked.

“I just hope she doesn’t hate us for it.”

“I’ve held my tongue long enough in regards to Byron. I see no other choice but to tell her what I know. She will understand when I do.”

* * *

W
e found
Ettie and Lord Byron sitting at a table and waiting for a meal. Her green eyes enlarged to saucers when she saw Kent walk in. Lord Byron stood, blocking us from her.

“Come on, Your Grace, let’s not make a scene here,” he said before any exchange could be made.

Kent stared down at him without speaking a word. It all happened so fast that I don’t think I even saw it coming. Kent, with one swift punch, knocked Byron to the ground.

Ettie stood and screamed in horror. “Edward! What do you think you are doing?”

Byron stood up though, and put up his fists, ready for a fight. The room was already fairly empty of patrons, but the few that were there scattered out of the way. I ran around the men and came to stand next to Ettie.

We watched in horror as the two men circled each other, fists at the ready.

“How could you tell him where we were?” Ettie asked. “I thought you were going to help me?”

“Trust me, Ettie. We are. When Kent told me why he’d denied Byron the union, I knew we had to stop you before it’s too late. You don’t know what kind of a man he really is.”

After a few circles, Byron took a swing at Kent. He easily dodged it and two more. Kent was playing with him, letting him exert all his energy on these useless blows. Finally, Kent came in and landed another blow across Byron’s jaw. This time, when he hit the ground, he didn’t come back up.

“You could never beat me at Gentleman Joe’s, so why do you think you could now?” he spat. “You stay away from my sister. You stay away from my family. I have tolerated you long enough. If I ever see your face again, I will expose you.”

He turned away from Lord Byron and extended a hand to me. With one arm around Ettie’s waist, I followed him out of the tavern.

It was much too late at night to drive back to London. We would have to stay over in Leicester. We drove through town in Kent’s carriage until we found a better suited establishment and went inside. On the ride there, Kent explained to his sister all that had transpired and what he knew about Lord Byron.

When we got to the inn, Kent had a room made up for himself and one for me and Ettie to share. He was smart. If I shared a room with his sister, there would be no questioning my maidenhood.

I sat on the bed next to her as she cried in my arms. “I just don’t understand. It was all just to save his reputation.”

“I suppose in some ways, yes. If he was married to you, then Kent would never be able to expose his previous misconducts.”

“I should have known that no man would be interested in me without ulterior motives.”

“Don’t say that, Ettie. You are a wonderful girl. You are still very young too. You will find the right person.”

She couldn’t respond, but instead cried into my arms. I held her and consoled her until at last she fell asleep from exhaustion. I laid her down on our bed and tucked her in like she was my own sister. The emotions and events of the day had worn her out and she fell into a deep sleep.

I heard a soft knock at the door. I made my way over and opened it just a crack, my finger to my lips, signaling Kent to be quiet. He waited until I tiptoed out of the room and into the hall.

“She just fell asleep,” I whispered, even though I was sure that I was far out of her earshot now.

“How is she?” he asked softly, with brotherly concern in his green eyes.

“Heartbroken,” I replied matter of factly. “She will live though, I am sure of it.”

We made our way down to the tavern below to get ourselves some food. We sat silently, eating by the warmth of the fire as we finished our meals.

“It is very romantic,” I finally said. “I can’t blame her for doing it.”

“What is romantic?” Kent asked, waking from his own thoughts.

“Running away together. The mad dash up north before you’re caught.”

He gave me a rueful smile. “So you like that sort of thing then?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I like the idea of a beautiful public wedding with my friends and family there too, all done the proper way. I was just saying I could see the appeal in this as well.”

“Well, we already have a day behind us of the trip. We even have a witness with us, if you want to?”

“No.” I waved him off. “Plus, it would be so hurtful for Ettie. I couldn't imagine running away only to watch someone else get married instead.”

He nodded solemnly. “What would you like to do when your brother turns me down, which I am sure he will?”

“It doesn't matter. It’s not really his choice. One letter to my parents and they will be overjoyed with the union.”

“Will they now?” he asked with a cocked brow.

“I seem to have snagged myself a duke,” I said playfully. “I can’t imagine that my mother could be any happier than to hear that.”

I reached across the table and took his hand. He squeezed it in return. I felt that heat rush up my body. It was that euphoric feeling I had gotten when we kissed. I wasn’t sure if I could wait until the wedding banns were read and everything was done properly.
Maybe we should just elope
. I shook the thought out of my head.

We finished our meal, discussing the future, and made our way back up to our separate rooms. Kent was kind enough to deposit me at my door before wishing me goodnight.

I lay in bed next to Ettie, trying to do my best not to toss and turn. She had been through so much; I didn’t want to wake her. At the same time, I couldn’t sleep knowing that Kent was only a wall away from me.

All the excitement of our impending future was welling up inside of me. I was impatient to have it finally. I finally decided that I was a brazen girl anyway. I tiptoed out of our room in the dark of the night and over to Kent’s room.

I opened the door to find a candle still lit. He was lying on his bed, his bare torso leaning against the headboard. He sat up abruptly at my intrusion, but quickly relaxed when he saw that it was me.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as I made my way over to his bed.

I didn’t say a word, I just kissed him. I was shaking with anticipation and nerves. I may have been an outspoken chatty girl, but I had never been this bold before.

He pulled away from me. “We can’t. I won’t ruin your reputation.”

“I don’t care about that. I want to be with you, and I don’t want to wait for the banns to be read,” I added with an eye roll.

He smiled at me and ran his hand along my cheek. I leaned into his touch. He let his fingers run along the dark braid that draped over my shoulder.

“You’re sure?” he asked.

I smiled at him in response. He grabbed my hips and pulled me closer to him and onto the bed.