The Duke's Bride (16 page)

A
month later, Jane found herself strolling about
Hemmingly grounds, wishing with all her heart she had not left Roderick with such
anger between them. A warm breeze flitted across her face while robins chirped
in the nearby trees. Beside her yellow daisies peeped out from the ground. It
was such a beautiful day, but she felt wretched.

She was no longer married to the love of her life. How
stupid she was to have made such a fuss. She wondered if he still loved her.
Had he ever loved her? And what about Cecile? Did he wish for another wife who
could give him an heir? Would he come home alive?

She frowned and put a gentle hand to her stomach. Oh,
what a mess! She was with child and had no husband. But she was not the only
one to blame. Why did Roderick have to be so stubborn about everything?

She could not even write to him. His whereabouts were
secret, and even if Agatha knew something, she was not telling her.

She had to think positively. Her body was much bigger
than a month ago, and when Roderick returned, he would have no doubt about her
condition. But she was certain without Mrs. Hobbs help, this baby too would
have been lost too. She felt the baby kick and smiled. Roderick could not,
would not, forbid her from seeing the lady.

“A penny for your thoughts.”

Jane turned. “Oh, Captain, you surprised me.”

The man put his hands behind his back and walked
beside her. “Forgive me for startling you. I did not want to do that. Not in
your condition.”

Jane laughed. The captain looked quite handsome in his
neat blue jacket and starched shirt. But she caught a flash of pain in those
pale green eyes, making her realize the man was not all he seemed. Her heart
hurt for him.

She patted her belly, smiling back at him. “It is
amazing, is it not?”

The captain pursed his lips in thought as they walked
along the grounds. He gazed up at the sky, his face looking rather soulful. “A
miracle, Jane. Every life is a miracle, I believe.”

She halted, wishing she could help him. “I do have the
appearance as if I am going to have a child now, do I not?”

The captain’s head turned to her, his face red.

Jane giggled. “Oh, forgive me. I know it is not quite
proper for me to speak about this to a gentleman who is not my husband, but you
have been such a wonderful friend.” She touched his arm. “If it were not for
you and Mrs. Hobbs, I do not know what I would have done.”

The captain swallowed uncomfortably and tilted his
head toward Hemmingly’s overgrown maze. “You do not have a legal husband, Jane.
I hate to remind you of that.”

Jane pulled her hand back to her side. “Forgive me. I
forgot myself.”

The captain heaved a sigh. “There is nothing to forgive.
I would never hurt you. But you must think of the child. You have not heard
anything about Roderick then?”

“Just a letter from Whitehall, telling us he will be longer
than expected. I think Agatha knows more, but if Roderick were—”

She could not finish the thought. Her stomach knotted
with dread. Roderick was not dead. He could not be!

“And there you have it,” the captain said. “What if he
does not come home? What will you do then?”

Jane started walking again. She could not think about
that. She stumbled.

“Easy there,” the captain drawled, grabbing her elbow
and setting her right.

His tender regard for her burst the bubble of security
she had created around her heart. She put her hands to her face, trying to hold
back her tears. “I do not know what I will do if something happens to him. I have
no idea why I was so determined, but I thought he would not let me see Mrs.
Hobbs, and he had been so…so like a duke! But I could not face losing this
child. I was torn. He was stubborn and arrogant. And I was stubborn and hurt.
But I cannot lose him! I cannot!”

The captain led her back to Hemmingly Hall, his
soothing words trying to calm her. “I would marry you, Jane. If something
happens to Roderick, I would be honored to have you as my wife. I would take
the child as my own.”

Tears brimmed in Jane’s eyes as she regarded the kind
man. “That is very gallant of you, sir. But my heart belongs and will always
belong to Roderick.”

He patted her hand. “Sometimes things in life take
turns we do not expect. I suspect God has some plan. But it is beyond me how He
takes one life and gives life to another.”

She looked at him in silence. It was almost as if he
were telling her something.

He chuckled. “Well, blast it all. It is a beautiful
day. Let us not dwell on the what-ifs. Knowing that stubborn duke of yours, I
have to believe he is combing the entire countryside…um, doing what he has to
do.”

She narrowed her blue eyes, suspicion gnawing at her
brain. Agatha had told her the captain had done some work for Whitehall too.
But what? Agatha had obviously informed him about the reason for Roderick and
Jared’s quick departure.

“Are you involved in anyway, Captain? I mean, I know
the rest of the family has been in some type of reconnaissance during the war,
and there is just something about you...”

The captain’s emerald green eyes narrowed and he looked
away. “Let us just say, I have put in my time for England and leave it at
that.”

“Hmmmm, I see,” she said, her lips twisting. “A man of
mystery.”

They walked a bit more and were just outside Hemmingly’s
doors when Jane took a seat on a nearby bench. “My belly seems as if it is about
to pop.”

She giggled and watched beneath hooded eyes as he
clasped his hands behind his back again. He did that, she mused, when he felt
uncomfortable. The man needed a good woman.

She tilted her gaze toward the bright blue sky. “I believe
I was one of the lucky ones who hid my condition quite well.”

She smiled when she saw him stiffen. Oh, he was a
dear. He looked handsome and dangerous, but he was not one to talk about
emotions too much, or babies.

She peeked up at him, smiling. “Do you not think so?”

His cheeks turned pink when he turned toward her
“Madam, I believe you are trying to embarrass me, and I believe you are doing a
deuced good job.”

Jane laughed as they entered Hemmingly. “I was testing
you. Besides, I thought I would lighten the mood. I must take my herbs now, then
take a nap. Later, Mrs. Hobbs will come see me. And tomorrow, the doctor.”

The captain gave her a neat bow. “I am at your
service. If there is anything else you need, please, let me know.”

Jane bent over and kissed his cheek. If the man’s
cheeks were pink before, they were even pinker now. “To move you and your
staff, along with Mrs. Hobbs, near Hemmingly, just for me, is beyond words. I
can never thank you enough.”

The captain jerked, embarrassed by the praise. “I am
only renting the Fromwell Place, dear lady. That is all. Bath was becoming such
a bore.”

Jane nodded, wondering if Agatha had asked him to
watch over them too. Maybe Jared had a hand in it as well. But it did not
matter. Captain Argyle had been a perfect gentlemen, and she had developed a
great fondness for the man.

“I see through you, Captain. There is a very big heart
hidden beneath that masculine pride. But I vow, I will find you a woman worthy
of you. It just may take me some time.”

He swallowed, looking a bit panicky. “Please, I beg
you, no matchmaking.”

Jane’s blue eyes twinkled. “I was thinking about the
school in Bath that you helped Milli and I purchase. Perhaps there might be some
young woman there who catches your fancy.”

He stiffened. “Babes in the woods, little lady.”

Jane burst out laughing. “I would never bring you a
child for you wife.”

He paled and immediately took his leave.

She thought she heard him mutter a curse about
good-hearted women marrying off every single man they had met.

A minute later, Jane climbed the stairs, her heart
fluttering with a cause. Yes, indeed. She would find a nice lady for Captain
Argyle. He had allowed Mrs. Hobbs to treat her. She owed the captain her life
and the baby’s. It was a small price to pay for the man whom she loved like a
brother.

But her heart ached for Roderick.

She sat at her desk, dipped her pen in the ink and
wrote Roderick a letter, telling him about their baby. Even if he never read
this—

A sob escaped her, and she put her head in her hands.
“Oh, Roderick, you have to come back. You just have to.”

Jared stood over Roderick and smirked. “You, Your
Grace, are a sight. All I can say is thank goodness you were not shot in the
heart. Jane would have had my head.”

“You have had much more to say than that,” Roderick
said with a snarl. Pain lanced through his back like a thousand knives stabbing
him. He was recuperating in the grand bedchambers of some Parisian hotel and
Jared was laughing at him.

“I cannot walk,” he said, scowling. “You find that
amusing?”

Jared shrugged and pulled up a chair. “But you can
talk. That makes up for much.”

“Confound it! If I could stand, I would box your ears.
I have no idea why I even let you marry my sister!”

Jared’s expression became serious. “Devereaux’s son is
dead. Your shot took him down. You saved me. I failed to see him in the alley.
I owe you my life.”

Roderick knew Jared would have done the same for him.
He did not want this man’s praise or the man’s guilt. Roderick was not certain
he would walk again, and neither of them would discuss it. They circled the
question as if it were a loaded cannon ready to explode. Not talking about it
was fine with Roderick. He wondered if Jane were better off with Argyle, after
all.

“Yes, well, I saved your life,” Roderick snapped. “Now,
get out of here and get me a blasted glass of wine!” He had been a monster the
past week, especially living on lemonade and broth. But Jared had taken it all
in stride.

His friend frowned. “Sorry, no wine for you. Doctors’
orders. You will walk. I will see to it.”

Roderick raised a black brow in surprise. Ah, finally the
subject of him walking again was out in the open. “Do not feel guilty. I would
have done it for anyone. Believe me, you are not that special!” And that was
the blackest lie Roderick had ever told. He loved this man like a brother.
“Besides,” he growled. “It was either you or me. I figured Emily would kill me
if you died, so I was saving two lives with my efforts. Yours and mine.”

Jared couldn’t control his laughter. “I reasoned that.”
Then he looked serious, his jaw tightening. “The doctor said a few more days, then
you can travel back to England.”

“I won’t be going with you. I will not see Jane like
this!”

“I don’t think you have a choice, Your Grace.”

Roderick stared at the sunlight shining through his
window. Jane. What was she doing now? How could he return to her half a man? “Oh,
I have a choice. I am not going back to England until I can walk. Is that
clear?”

Jared shot from his seat. “Ah, I see now. You think
Jane won’t have you if you cannot walk, is that it?”

Roderick said nothing. It was not that Jane would not want
him. She would smother him. But if she were not married to him, she could be
free. She would not have to wait on him hand and foot. She deserved a better
life than watching him wither away.

He lifted a proud chin and boldly met Jared’s hard gaze
with one of his own. “There is a good chance I may never walk again. Do you
understand?”

“Oh, I understand. You, Roderick, my friend, are a
coward.”

Roderick sat up and winced. “You dare say that?” he
growled.

Jared laughed. “There, you see. You can move. Now wipe
that scowl off your face and ready yourself for England. We leave in three
days.”

Roderick clenched his fists. “I will not go to Jane
half a man. You can bring me to England, but you had best let me heal.”

Jared started for the door saying nothing.

Roderick gripped his covers. “Jared.”

The man turned. “What?”

“I am asking you as a friend,” he said, his voice
cracking. “Confound it. Give me a chance to get well. Think about it. If you
were in my shoes…”

Jared’s lips thinned, but Roderick could see the pity
in his friend’s eyes. Well, blast it all! He would take pity right now. He
would take anything, as long as Jared kept him away from Jane.

“What if there are other matters at home that you need
your attention?” Jared’s words were laced with disapproval and something more.

Roderick sank against his pillow, his brows beading with
sweat. “Nothing needs my attention. I have a steward for that.”

“What if Jane needs you?” Jared snapped. “What then?”

Roderick clenched his teeth against the pain. “Jane is
a strong woman. She will wait for me if I wish to return to her.”