Two Notorious Dukes (6 page)

‘Thank you, Argyll.’ The Prince said lifting the
bag. ‘If you want to get in first, the bond goes out
tomorrow, so I would pop and see the Chancellor now.’
He stood, both men bowed courteously and the Prince
walked out of the room.
‘Just what the hell would you do with her
anyway?’ Robert asked softly as they turned for the
door.
Argyll smiled. ‘That’s easy. Turn her over to my
mother!’
They spent the next hour locating and
negotiating with the Chancellor until an agreement was
reached.
‘I’ll send the ducal carriage tomorrow morning.’
Argyll said. ‘And I expect her untouched by Prinny!’

That evening, when Johnny Argyll finally stepped
in the front door of his mansion in Grosvenor Square,
his mother was waiting in a fit of pique.

‘Good evening Mother.’ He said softly as he
went into the drawing room.
‘You blackguard!’ she spat at him. ‘You just had
to go and do it!’
He stopped dead and looked at the rage
radiating from her. She embarked on fifteen minutes of
name calling, shouting about his morals and his life in
general, while Johnny poured himself a brandy and
waited for her to expend her energy, which could
probably take all night.
Eventually she ran out of steam and demanded,
‘Well? Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?’
‘Yes, I do actually. Seeing as Prinny was trying to
blackmail her into being another mistress, I felt she
would be better off here, with you!’ He smiled kindly at
his step mother. ‘You can go with the coach tomorrow
at eleven o’clock to fetch her from Kew. Then you may
do with her as you wish.’
‘The Prince Regent wanted to have her as a
mistress?’ she asked indignantly. ‘I wonder whether
Caroline knows this.’
‘I shouldn’t think so and what does it matter,
they’re separated. She can’t have her cake and eat it!
But Lady Sarah was too affronted to really think straight
and this gives her time without pressure.’
‘What was the Prince offering?’ Lady Verity
asked calmly. She was under no real illusions what the
prince wanted. A quick tumble in the hay and her
reputation be damned.
‘He offered a position of lady in waiting to the
Princess and to return all of her fathers lands for her
virginity and reputation.’
‘When do you have to pay the money?’ she
asked softly.
‘The Chancellor already has my draft in his hand.
All you need to do is pick the young lady up and
ensconce her with Lady Elizabeth. She can have my
room.’ He murmured as he laid his head back against
the chair.
‘Where will you be?’ she asked calmly.
‘I think I’ll go to Goring Hall for a few weeks, just
to check on the estate.’
‘Maybe we should come with you.’ Lady Verity
ventured.
‘No. Craanford will come to check when he finds
that Lady Elizabeth isn’t here.’ He opened his eyes and
looked at his mother. ‘Go to Robbie’s estate. Send word
when you’re settled and I’ll visit.’ He finished his drink
quickly and headed up stairs to tell Carter of his decision
to go now, before the summer recess.

Robert rode ahead of the carriage, so that he
wasn’t choking on the dust thrown up by the vehicle. He
was rather smug that everything had gone according to
plan.

Convinced that Craanford was watching the
household, Robert had organised the carriage to leave
from the back of the Goring Mansion. The luggage
wagon had left the previous day after first collecting his
luggage and then the ladies. Burke had gone on ahead,
even though Robert had written to his housekeeper to
alert her to his arrival with a large party.

He enjoyed riding, so he left a little later and
caught the carriage up on the Great Cambridge Road.
Like himself, Argyll had some beautiful coaches, from
curricles to large barouches and Landau’s. The ducal
coach was an open barouche and Robert advised them
not to take it because of the coat of arms plainly
displayed on the door and offered instead his plain
black five glass landau. At the moment, the five glass
panels were stowed away so that the carriage was open
in the fine weather, but if it should cloud over; the
coachman would stop and erect the roof and panels.

Robert slowed his pace and walked his horse for
a few miles. He was thinking about the previous night,
when he had finally told Lady Beresford that he
wouldn’t be seeing her anymore.

He had gone to the Farrington Ball, he knew he
shouldn’t have gone, but it was the last ball before the
House broke for the summer. Argyll had already left and
so had Cranwell, he was busy wooing a widowed
Duchess, but Robert had gone. The ladies were pretty
and the cleavages on display were superlative. He
managed to dance with all of the debutantes, without
committing himself to a formal visit. Not one of them
appealed, and he was just going to the pot room to
relieve his bladder, when he was accosted by Lady
Beresford. He’d managed to avoid her since that night
in his carriage.

She grabbed his arm and dragged him into the
library, shutting the door. ‘Robbie, I must see you!’ she
blurted without any caution whatsoever.

Robert carefully looked about the room, which
was empty, and replied. ‘We are alone. What do you
want?’

She threw herself at him and clutched at his
chest and body. ‘I want you.’ she murmured. ‘It’s
torture to be at the same ball and you won’t even dance
with me.’

Robert was quite cold. He placed his hands on
her upper arms and disentangled himself from her
embrace. ‘I’m sorry, Lady Beresford. But our dalliance is
at an end. You know there is no room for permanence
in my life and your husband will return from India,
eventually. We started it on those grounds. No ties. You
agreed, so its over.’

She looked at him in horror. ‘But I love you,
Robbie.’ She said as the colour drained from her face.
‘That is your misfortune. I don’t love you. You
were an entertainment at best.’ He sighed deeply and
silently cursed himself again for attending this function.
He watched the expression of hurt turn to hate on her
face.
‘I’ll ruin you, you bastard!’ she whispered
vindictively. ‘I’m with child and it’s your fault!’
‘We’ll see about that when the little bastard
arrives, because I’d put my money on it being
Randolph’s myself. He was there before me and
Cranwell and Farrington have been sharing. As I’m the
only one with dark hair, we’ll see when it arrives!’ He
looked at her harshly. ‘But of course, I’m a Duke and the
richest of all your lovers. But you won’t get any money
out of me!’
‘You Cad!’ she exploded. ‘I’ll scream it from the
roof tops!’
‘Do so. My reputation is already set as the
biggest rakehell in London and yours is already sullied as
the biggest whore!’ She went for his face, her long nails
trying to gouge out his eyes, but he was too quick and
strong for her and he grabbed her wrists. He turned her
easily so that her back was to his chest and he
whispered in her ear. ‘Did you think I would marry you?
That I would watch you divorce Beresford and we would
have a nice little life together?’ He sighed again and
shook his head. ‘Not a chance! I would have to be stupid
to tie myself to an unfaithful wretch like you. You’re
only good for one thing and I’ve had my fill!’ He pushed
her away from him. ‘If you want my advice, I would
retire to your country estate, give birth to your bastard
and wait for your husband to come home and see what
he does.’
‘He’ll call you out!’ she spat
‘He can try, but I suppose you’ll look the same in
widow’s weeds. Randolph will finish him before he even
gets around to me!’
He stood and stared her out. There was
absolutely no way he would leave the room first, if he
did, she could tear all her clothes and accuse him of
rape, so he waited patiently and stared her coldly in the
face. ‘I’ll kill you!’ she said softly and turned on her heel
and left the room. The door banged against the
bookshelf with the force she put into opening it.
He stood with his eyes closed.
Why do I put
myself through this?
He asked himself and then
answered.
Because your cock can’t say no to a pair of
bare thighs!
He opened his eyes and slowly walked out
of the door.
Then it’s time I learned some restraint!
He
left the ball immediately and cursed himself for a
bastard all the way home.
He was disappointed in Abigail Beresford. She
knew there were no strings when he first seduced her in
his carriage, but she had obviously forgotten. He’d
never had that kind of problem before, usually the
ladies accepted his arrival and departure and he usually
sent them a very nice gift as a thank you. But Abigail
had been getting more and more demanding as the
weeks went by and Robert had decided to break it off,
when he saw her climbing into the Earl of Rathbone’s
barouche a few days previously. That made four that he
was aware of, how many others were servicing her. It
was enough to turn his stomach, so he decided to finish
it.
He looked at the countryside around him and
felt clean for the first time in nearly a year. He didn’t
really notice how filthy London was, until he left it for
the country. To smell the clean air, rather than the raw
sewage lying in the gutters and he was looking forward
to drinking clean water, eating fresh food and being
able to go hunting or just for a ride.
There was silence in the carriage, which Lady
Verity found strange at first. She had to remind herself
that these two girls and they were girls, neither of them
was over twenty, had both been subjected to traumatic
change, Elizabeth had been in a traumatic and violent
marriage and Sarah had basically been sold into slavery
by her father to pay his debts to the crown.
Elizabeth looked out over the scenery and hoped
she wouldn’t be sick, as the fear of being in a strange
place, with a strange man was building. She supposed
she shouldn’t worry because she was well chaperoned,
with the Duchess and now Lady Sarah, but that didn’t
stop the fear. She knew her greatest trial was to
overcome it.
Sarah was looking out the other side of the
carriage and wishing that the Duke of Argyll was with
them. She was so affronted and shocked when Prinny
manhandled her onto his knee for her first kiss, but he
made it totally memorable and he said thank you to
boot! She was horrified when the Prince made the offer
of lady in waiting. She knew exactly what he wanted,
but her bond had been purchased by the Duke and she
was surprised to be collected by the Duchess the next
morning and she hadn’t seen the Duke since.
‘I suppose we will have to see what
entertainment will be on offer this summer.’ The
Duchess said carefully. ‘If we’re lucky I could probably
get you both married off before the winter!’ she said
with a smile. Sarah looked at her with huge eyes, but
Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders and said. ‘No thank
you, Your Grace. I’m quite happy on my own. I will
never have another husband.’
‘Never say never, my dear. Nobody knows what
is in the future.’
‘In my future will be lots of walking, shooting
and riding.’ Elizabeth said. ‘And when its raining I shall
sew and read by the fire in my room.’ She sat with a
serene expression on her face. ‘At least for the next few
weeks or until Lord Bosworth gets fed up of me and
sends me back to London.’
‘Robert won’t stay longer than two weeks. He’ll
have to go to Roding Hall at some point to check over
the estate, although he has excellent stewards.’
‘Is Lord Bosworth single?’ Sarah asked
innocently.
‘Have you had a season yet?’ Lady Verity asked
impertinently.
‘No. My father couldn’t afford one for me.’ She
shrugged eloquently.
‘Then you haven’t heard of Robert Bosworth, the
Duke of Roding?’ Elizabeth said with such scorn that
Sarah turned even larger eyes on her and slowly shook
her head.
Lady Verity sighed. ‘He has the reputation of a
rakehell, my dear.’ She smiled benignly. ‘He actually
isn’t quite as bad as the gossip would have you believe.’
‘I can believe that.’ Sarah said firmly. ‘He sprang
to my honour very quickly when the Prince was talking
about returning my fathers estate.’
‘In what sense my dear?’ Verity asked, so Sarah
relayed everything that happened in the receiving room,
even down to the look of horror on Robert’s face as he
realised the Prince was trying to blackmail her.
‘Yes, that sounds like Robert. He wouldn’t
actually have called the Prince out as they know each
other rather well. I suppose the Prince was surprised.’
‘Does Lord Bosworth have any family?’ Elizabeth
asked curiously, ‘He doesn’t seem to mention them.’
Verity sighed again. ‘Robert was the second son.
His father was the Fifth Duke of Roding and they had
two sons and a daughter, Robert purchased a captaincy
and went into the army. First he was sent to Flanders
and then to the Netherlands. While he was fighting
around Copenhagen, his family contracted the morbid
sore throat
(Diphtheria)
. Now some people can survive
it and others don’t. It has been known to kill entire
villages. We don’t know how they got it, because we
didn’t know the Roding’s particularly well at that time.
Robert won’t talk about it, but he was called home
immediately to assume his responsibilities.’ She looked
out over the countryside. ‘Responsibilities he’d had no
training for, and I know what I’m talking about. I had to
train John and it wasn’t easy with his father killing
himself in a brandy vat each day. But to be thrown into
that kind of position was very hard for him. John saw
him the first time he took his seat in the house and said
he looked like a lost child, utterly bereft of direction or
even training, so between us, we have helped him
adjust to the heavy responsibility that a Duke of the
Realm has on his shoulders. Of course, you can’t stop
somebody from trying to bury their pain and Robert has
tried very hard to bury his pain in the arms of any willing
woman, so long as she isn’t an innocent or a widow!’
‘So what happens to his estate if he doesn’t
produce an heir?’ Sarah asked softly.
‘The same as your father’s. Lord Bosworth’s
lands and ancestral home will go to the crown for the
King to do with as he pleases.’ Elizabeth said harshly.
‘The chances are that the crown will sell them on, just
like they will your family home. They want the gold,
rather than the farm land. War is costly and one way or
the other, Britain has been at war for the last thirty
years. The money always comes from the government
treasury to pay for the army and the Navy. They can
only get money from taxes and selling assets.’
‘Hello!’ Robert said as the carriage pulled up
beside him. ‘There’s a rather nice inn a mile up the road,
if you want to stop and stretch your legs?’
‘How much further is it, Your Grace?’ Sarah
asked coquettishly.
‘I just said, a mile.’ Robert said with a frown.
‘I think she was referring to Boscombe Manor,
Robert.’ Lady Verity said firmly.
He laughed then, ‘Oh! I see! About ten miles.’
‘Couldn’t we go straight through then?’ she
asked and looked at her companions. ‘I don’t know
about you, but I’m anxious to get there.’
‘Your Grace?’ Elizabeth attracted Robert’s
attention. ‘What is that village over there called?’ and
she pointed away behind him. He turned his head and
looked.
‘Edmonton, Lady Elizabeth.’ He said calmly and
turned back to the Duchess. He raised his eyebrows and
waited for her to make a decision.
‘I think we’ll stop and at least the horses can
have a drink.’ She said firmly. Robert nodded once and
kicked his horse into a canter as he went on ahead.
When the carriage arrived, Robert already had
food and beverages laid on for them and he helped
each lady out of the coach. He was most surprised when
Lady Elizabeth put her hand on his to steady herself, as
she stepped out of the carriage.
Lunch was a light affair and Robert regaled them
with some humorous stories of the Prince Regent. Then
it was back in the coach for the rest of the journey. Lady
Sarah couldn’t help it, she just nodded off and Lady
Verity’s heart turned over as her head rested on her
shoulder.
‘Such a sweet girl.’ She murmured. ‘I now
understand why Johnny did it. He said I would
understand after she was here.’
‘Does Lord Bosworth realise he’s in pain?’
Elizabeth asked harshly.
‘I shouldn’t think so. He probably doesn’t realise
that he only wants women who can’t give him
permanency because he doesn’t think there is any such
thing. Love them and leave them, and then you can’t be
hurt when they die.’ She looked so sad right then and
Elizabeth wished she’d not spoken. ‘And when you love
them it’s devastating to lose them.’
‘Did you love the old Duke?’ Elizabeth asked
curiously.
‘As a matter of fact, I did. But it was the innocent
love of a child, not the love a woman can have for a
man. But it was still devastating when he died.’ She
sighed deeply. ‘Poor John was thrust into the ducal
duties as well, but I had already been preparing him for
the day when it would happen. He’d not long finished at
Cambridge and his father died very slowly. It was painful
to watch him fade away like that, but John didn’t see, as
he was away. I sent for him in the night, as his father’s
breathing got worse and worse. By the time he reached
Goring Hall his father was already dead and all we could
do was mourn his loss.’ She was quiet for a few minutes
as she fought the tears. ‘You and Robert have a lot in
common, actually. Maybe you could help each other
come to terms with your pain. Lord knows he needs
somebody to help him.’
Elizabeth rummaged in her bag and fetched out
a book to read and Verity rested her head back on the
seat and closed her eyes.