Deceiving the Duke of Kerrington (Ladies of Deception) (4 page)

            Hope couldn’t resist his
infectious laughter. She had no idea who Lord Trimble was but her mind conjured
up a ghastly image thanks to Devon’s descriptions and she momentarily
understood Noelle’s desire to remain unattached if all the gentleman who had
offered for her were similar to the unfortunate Lord Trimble.

            “I suppose I have just been
dragging my feet this entire time, certain that I could find somebody to fall
in love with, to make a match based more on true emotion then advancement in
society. But maybe I’ve been chasing after an elusive dream all this time,
maybe we both have.” He turned his pensive brown eyes on her and she just
shrugged so he continued, “I guess that’s enough philosophizing for one
afternoon. Maybe we’ll both get lucky and happen upon our true loves at the
Weatherston ball this evening.”

            “If only we could be so
lucky,” she smiled at him coyly and he returned her grin before they were
interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Startled, they both looked up to
see Noelle standing in the doorway.

            “It looks as if it’s time
for you to start readying yourself for said ball, run along Noelle.” Hope
quickly rose, her heart beating a riotous cadence in her chest. For a brief
moment she had panicked, thinking that Devon would surely recognize his sister
standing in the library entry way despite her shabby clothing but fortunately
for both of them, he hadn’t seemed to sense anything was amiss. Hope briskly
exited the library, Noelle trailing closely behind as they made their way back
to Noelle’s chambers.

The minute the
door was shut behind them, Hope let out a slow, shaky breath she hadn’t
realized she had been holding. “That was a close call. Why didn’t you just wait
for me in here like we had planned?”

            “Oh nonsense, he didn’t
suspect a thing. I came back here when I first returned and when I found the
room empty I couldn’t resist coming to find you. Wasn’t that the most thrilling
thing you have ever done? Devon was completely fooled. And I passed another
servant on my way to the library and she just nodded politely, not even
flinching. I told you my plan was genius.” Noelle was smiling like the cat that
had gotten the canary.

            Hope agreed that her plan had
been many things, but genius had not been one of them. She was just relieved to
see her mistress had returned safely and told her as much, “Oh milady, I’m so
glad you’re back and that you are unharmed. I hope this little visit sated your
appetite for adventure and we can put this nonsense behind us. Now help me get
out of this gown so we can get you ready for tonight.”

She turned her
back to Noelle so she could undo the hooks on her dress. After a few minutes of
standing there with nothing happening she turned around to see Noelle laying on
her back in the middle of her large bed, “Oh Hope, I think I’m in love.”

“In love?” she
sputtered, “Surely you jest. How could you possibly be in love after only being
in the man’s presence for less than an hour?”

Noelle sat up,
pulling her legs beneath her. “Oh Hope, if you could’ve been there you’d
understand. Not only is Soren the most handsome man I’ve ever seen but he’s
charming, witty, and intelligent.”

Hope thought
about things for a minute before calmly saying, “Well I’m glad for you milady.
Now let’s get you ready for the ball and maybe tonight you’ll be lucky enough
to fall in love with a suitable gentleman, one whom you could actually marry.”

Noelle huffed
and pouted the rest of the entire evening, upset with Hope for deflating her
excitement and bringing her crashing back to reality. Hope was just relieved to
be back to her duties, quietly taking care of her mistress and pondering how
grateful she was to have life return to its normal routine, hoping that all
this talk of the handsome American would be put to rest once and for all.

Chapter 4

Pierce had spent
the better part of a day fretting about the wager he had made and won against
the Earl of Brattondale. He was currently sitting in his study nursing a drink
feeling as if he was in a stupor, not sure if he should feel relieved or upset
by the outcome of the game of piquet. He knew that he needed to go meet the
mysterious Lady Noelle sooner rather than later but he couldn’t quite muster up
enough excitement to go about the task. Instead he was contemplating another
distasteful task he knew he had to take care of immediately—inform his mother,
the Duchess of Kerrington that he was to be wed.

He was ashamed
at the thought of telling his mother about how he had flippantly bet on a
lady’s hand in marriage. He knew she would be disappointed that he hadn’t taken
marriage more seriously and that he had failed to make a love match. She had
always held such high hopes that he’d meet the right girl and fall in love and
then get married. And at one point, in his younger years, he had honestly tried
to go that route until he figured out for himself that it wouldn’t happen. Rare
was the person of the aristocracy who was lucky enough to find real love and by
now he had relegated his fate to that of the majority of the ton—marrying for
convenience and appearance.

His thoughts
were interrupted by a light knocking on the door followed by his butler
entering, Viscount Martineau following closely behind. He straightened in his
chair, “Thank you Simon for showing Lord Martineau in. You are dismissed.”
Simon nodded his head stiffly before quietly disappearing.

Elliot sat down
in a chair opposite the sturdy desk Pierce was sitting behind that dominated
the room and leaned forward on his elbows, “What’s this about you needing to
speak to me? You haven’t gotten yourself in to some sort of trouble have you?”

“I guess that
depends on how you look at it.” Elliot arched an eyebrow but sat quietly,
waiting for Pierce to continue. He exhaled loudly before continuing. “Remember
that night at the Sedgewick ball where I played Lord Brattondale in a hand of
piquet?”

“Of course.”

“Well you left
before you had a chance to see the outcome of the game.”

Elliot relaxed,
leaning his large frame back in the chair he was occupying, “Oh, did you lose
to him as well? He was in top form that night but I don’t see as how losing a
few pounds to the arrogant earl should upset you. If it’s your pride that’s
hurt I might understand, but this shouldn’t be about the money for you.”

“Of course it
isn’t about the money,” he snapped. “And it’s not about my pride either—I won.”

“Then what’s the
trouble?”

“I didn’t play
for money; he bet his daughter’s hand in marriage.”

Lord Martineau
jumped to his feet, “And you won? That’s absurd, what kind of man wagers his
daughters hand in a card game?”

“What kind of
man plays for a lady’s hand? What does that say about me? I still can’t believe
it myself but what’s done is done and I surely can’t go back on my word. It looks
as though I’ll be marrying Lady Noelle as soon as the announcement can be made,
the banns read, and everything arranged.”

Elliot began
pacing back and forth, “The only way you could get out of it is if you’re found
compromising another young lady and are forced to marry her instead. Do you
have someone in mind you’d rather wed?” he asked hopefully.

“No, that’s the
problem. There’s not a single lady who interests me, not one. The way I figure,
I might as well marry the earl’s daughter. One lady is as good as the next one
as far as I’m concerned.”

Lord Martineau
shrugged, “You’ve got me there, I’d say I have to agree. We can’t all have a
fairytale ending now can we?” Bitterness crept into his voice. Elliot knew
better than anyone how true that was, having lost the one person he had ever
loved years ago. One day she had been in his life making him the happiest man
alive and the next she had disappeared, just like that. He still hadn’t been
able to get over the loss or figure out what had happened to her.

“I need you to
go with me to Ridgecrest Manor to speak with my mother.”

“Come on man,
are you really that cowardly? You know that the Duchess’s bark is worse than
her bite, you have nothing to be afraid of.”

Pierce looked at
him and rolled his eyes, “You’re opinion of me is pathetically low if you think
I’m afraid of my own mother. No, I need you to accompany me to ensure I come
back. I have half a mind to flee the country and head to America but that would
only disgrace my family and my poor mother would never live that scandal down.”

Elliot finally
resumed sitting, scoffing dismally. “I can understand that my friend, more than
you could ever know. I can’t tell you how many times I thought about leaving
after Felicity had disappeared.”

            “You’re still not over that
chit?” Pierce asked incredulously. He hadn’t heard his friend utter that name
for years.

            Elliot’s eyes flickered with
sadness for one brief moment before focusing on Pierce, “The past is in the
past for crying out loud, just because I could empathize with you doesn’t mean
I’m some love struck schoolboy still pining away for his first love.  Forget I
mentioned Felicity and we’ll have a deal. I’ll go with you to Ridgecrest Manor.”

            “I knew I could count on
you.”

***

The ride to Ridgecrest
Manor took the better part of a day. By the time the coach had pulled up in
front of the imposing stone dwelling, the sun was already beginning to set and
the air had become noticeably colder. It didn’t take long to find his mother,
she was curled up on her favorite chair in the library, a book lay open on her
lap. She looked up as he entered the room, welcoming him with a warm, motherly
smile.  Though he hadn’t had time to send word ahead informing her of his visit
she seemed not at all surprised by his sudden appearance. He went to where she
was sitting and bent to plant a gentle kiss on her cheek.

She reached up
and cupped his cheek with her palm, “My darling boy, to what do I owe this
great honor? I thought you had all but forgotten about your lonely mother.”

A twinge of
guilt clutched at him as she reminded him of his neglect. He hadn’t spent near
enough time with her since his father had died, preferring to stay at his
townhouse in London where the memories of the late Duke of Kerrington weren’t
as prominent. It pained him immensely to be in the house his parents had shared
together and more especially to see his mother without her other half. The two
of them had always seemed like one entity, completely complementing and
fulfilling the other so when his father had passed away the sight of his mother
all by herself was too sad and lonely for him to bear.

Pierce bided his
time by taking the seat opposite of his mother and making himself comfortable
before speaking, “I came to tell you that I am to be wed; following the
announcement of our engagement and the reading of the banns of course.”

His mother
clapped her hands together excitedly, completely ignoring the book in her lap
that had fallen to the ground, hitting the carpet with a dull thud. “What a
pleasant announcement. You know I’ve been waiting for ages for you to come to
your senses and decide to settle down. Now tell me, who’s the lucky lady.”

Pierce tried to
ignore the uneasy feeling in his stomach at her excitement, “Her name is Noelle
Parrish, she’s the daughter of the Earl of Brattondale.”

“And?” she
gestured with her hand for him to continue.

“And what? What
more would you like to know?”

“Oh I want to
know everything—how’d you meet? What is she like? Is she beautiful? Of course
she is, that should be a given, you have impeccable taste just like your
father.”  She smiled and gave him a wink.

The uneasy
feeling in the pit of his stomach increased, “Actually, I’m not sure.”

“Not sure?” she
asked, confused.

“Well I haven’t
exactly met her.”

The look of confusion
on her lovely face only deepened, “You haven’t met her?”

Feeling his
patience wearing thin he snapped, “Quit repeating everything I say. No I do not
know her; I won her hand in a card game against her father.”

The Duchess sucked
in a shocked breath, one hand going quickly to clasp the gold locket hanging
from her slim neck, “Please tell me I didn’t just hear you right.”

“Oh you heard me
clearly, mother.” He snarled. He knew he was being short with her but he
couldn’t seem to help it. He knew she wouldn’t react well to the news but had desperately
wished that just for this once she would’ve simply sat back and listened and
told him it was his life to do with as he pleased, but he knew it would never
be that easy with his meddling mother.

“Don’t snarl at
me boy, it’s very unbecoming.” She retorted.

“I didn’t
snarl,” he shot back perturbed.

“You most
certainly did snarl and speaking of unbecoming, this news, although greatly
anticipated is preposterous! You can’t marry a lady who you don’t even know. What
about love, surely you haven’t given up the possibility of falling in love have
you? There are so many fine ladies out there with whom you could quite easily
come to love.”

“But there’s not.
If there had been even one I could’ve fallen in love with I’m sure I would’ve
found her by now. Heaven knows it’s not from lack of trying. I’ve grown
wearisome of the marriage mart so I figured at this point any girl would do.”

“You sound so
callous about the whole thing, it’s marriage you’re deciding on not the main
course of your next dinner.”

“Well what’s
done is done. I can’t honorably back out now so I fully plan on going forward
with it. Not everyone can have the relationship you shared with father you
know.”

“Well I expect
you to at least try. There’s nothing you can do about your selection of a wife
now but you can at least try to fall in love with the girl.”

“Don’t get your
hopes up mother.” He knew he certainly wouldn’t.