by Cee, DW
Michael: Laney Reid!
“Michael. I know your sweet intentions, and they’ve always been for my benefit. But now, I need to stop being selfish and let you go.” Laney gently spoke.
“No.” This damn nightmare was not happening to me! “I won’t let you go. I can’t...”
My sweet girlfriend started crying. “Michael, you have been a true friend and an ideal boyfriend. You were the only man I wanted to give my heart to and try for a relationship, in all my life, outside of Donovan. I tell you this to try and explain that’s how much I adore you, and that’s how much you mean to me.”
“Don’t do this, Laney. I wasn’t lying when I told you that I only started living the moment we met.” I begged. This woman was supposed to be my wife. We weren’t supposed to ever end.
Now she was crying even harder. She was ripping the heart out of my body. “I need to let you go to find your love, your future. It’s not with me.”
Since we started dating, I never doubted her place in my life; she was to be mine forever. Nothing and no one was to come between us. How did it end over the course of a few days, without my participation or agreement? What was I to do now that Laney would no longer be with me? “You’ll let me know if anything changes with Donovan?”
“No. I won’t, but one day soon, I hope you’ll forgive me and accept me as a friend. I’ll miss your friendship, Michael.” I didn’t want to give up, but I felt this was the best course of action for now. With Laney’s family here supporting her union with Donovan, I didn’t stand a chance. Once they all left and as soon as Laney returned to London, I’d work on re-establishing our relationship.
The flight back to London was hell. As hard as I tried to look at the positives, there was none I could think of—everything looked as bleak as Sheol. I wanted Laney back in my life, married and pregnant with our first child. But the pretty picture of us as the future Bennington family dissolved with each passing fancy. Deep inside, I understood we had no future. Her happily ever after was with the man she was spending this evening with, a man who would be spending every evening with her for the rest of his life.
“You look like hell, Mikey. I take it situation in Florence wasn’t a happy ending?” My sister had been waiting for me at our home. My family most likely sent her to me on a reconnaissance mission.
“It was a happy ending for someone—just not me.”
“You and Laney are finished?” Ruby asked cautiously.
“For now…”
“What does that mean? You two haven’t broken up? Are you on hiatus?”
It was late and I wasn’t up to answering any questions.
“Laney broke it off with me, but I plan to win her back when her family leaves.”
My sister believed me no more than I believed myself. “Mikey…” she consoled me. “Why don’t I give Laney a call? Let me find out what’s really happening and I’ll fill you in on whether you should continue to pursue her.” I nodded in agreement. In truth, I had no other choice. Ruby was my only tie to the woman I considered my future. “In the meanwhile, I think you have a phone call to make, yourself.”
Damn. That was a big fat “I’m sorry” phone call that I’d pushed off for two months now. “Is Chloe pissed?”
“Would you be if your close friend forgot you at the airport and hasn’t called to apologize all summer? Do you know where she is? What she’s doing? How she’s getting along?”
“I am sick of all you women. I’ll give Chloe a call when I get a chance.”
“It’ll only get more difficult if you let it slide any longer. Chloe has always been one of your closest friends. You’re being an arse.”
“Save it, Rubes. I’m not in the mood. Just get a hold of Laney and see if you can bring her back to us. I just need one more chance to prove to her that I’m her future.”
Ruby’s call to Laney proved unnecessary as Laney called me just a few days later. Actually, she’d called me several times since Florence, but I wasn’t in the mood to hear the conciliatory jargon. Today’s call was different.
“Hello?” I, a future duke, was jittery answering her call. This was just wrong.
“Hi Michael. How are you?” Laney sounded cautious, but cheerful. I loved this woman.
“All right, and you?” I tried to sound nonchalant—as if I could care less she called.
“A little worried you may yell at me or hang up on me. I was surprised you picked up my call.”
“Are you back in London?”
“No. I’m back in Florence, but I’ll be back in London tomorrow. Can we meet? Tea at the Berkeley?”
YES! I knew it. I knew she’d come to her senses. “Sure. Wednesday?” Once again, I sounded calm and collected, not like some ninny who’d been pining for a call.
“Wednesday it is. Will you bring Ruby with you? I know she’s mad at me, too, but please tell her I miss her as I’ve missed you.”
HELL YES! Though our call got disconnected again, I knew she would miss me. Laney was the love of my life and she knew it. All would be right in my world, again.
The phone rang again, and I smiled knowing it was Laney reconnecting us.
“Laney, what happened?”
“What the hell are you babbling about?” A not-so-happy voice bellowed from the other end.
“Grandfather. What brings you to call me? Aren’t you up in Derbyshire?”
“Your parents’ disturbing news disrupted me from my pleasant trip. I’m steps away from Belgravia. Come out.”
Shit. This wasn’t good news. Grandfather usually never left his summer home unless it was a matter of the utmost urgency.
I did as was told and waited for Finneas to bring the car around.
“Get in.” I complied without complaint. “What’s this I hear about Laney?”
“Damn. I asked Mum not to tell you.”
“You should have told both your parents. Your dad told me you lost Laney to some commoner from America.”
“Grandfather.” I let out a small protest, hoping he’d let me live my life.
“To the club, Finneas.”
The life lessons didn’t occur until we arrived to a late dinner. There was a sumptuous meal awaiting us in a private room, and grandfather allowed the both of us to eat in peace. Truly, this was not the conversation I wanted to have with a man who had opposed this union from the start.
However, Grandfather shocked the hell out of me with his newfound stance on Laney.
“You need to fight for her, Michael.” The duke’s opinions never wavered. There was a first for everything. “If you want her, don’t sit back and watch her walk away.”
“Why the change of heart, Grandfather? I thought you didn’t like Laney Reid.”
The duke went introspective. It was damn uncomfortable not knowing what the hell was going on in his mind.
“Let me tell you about Estelle Cowper.”
I knew of this woman. My late grandmother used to joke that it was her signature on the marriage license, but Estelle’s signature on Harry Bennington’s heart.
“I’d love to hear about her!” I sat back knowing I’d hear a great love story.
“Our families had been acquaintances all our lives, but I met her for the first time up in Fife. Her sassy smile and the avant-garde way she shook my hand rather than expecting me to kiss her hand had my head spinning from the second we met. I, Harry Bennington, was in love.”
“That must have been some smile and handshake to push you off your equilibrium.”
“It sure as hell was! She had hair as black as night and eyes the color of Thames River. Whereas most girls wore their hair in a chignon, this girl’s hair reached her chin at best with large, enviable curls.”
I couldn’t help the laughter. “Grandfather,” the condescending tone was obvious. “You remember her hair length and the way her hair curled?”
The duke was not up for jesting. “Shut up and listen, my boy.” He cleared his throat and tu
rned into a different man, again. “Every young buck at the party was mad for Estelle. I, of course, had one up on everyone with my title and social standing.”
“Of course.” I left out the condescension, but still couldn’t escape the duke’s haughty eyes.
“Since it was my parents’ house party, I made sure Estelle stayed with me all weekend.”
“In the dead of the night, too?”
My grandfather didn’t find humor in my humor. “If there was a guarantee I could escape a gunshot wound, I would have kept her with me day and night.”
“Why didn’t you marry this Estelle if you were so smitten with her?”
This was where Grandfather became quiet again. The silence was unnerving. After too many sighs to count, he confessed, “She wouldn’t have me.”
“WHAT?” I yelled in this austere club. Though we were in a private room, I knew everyone outside heard. “How can any sane woman refuse Harry Bennington?” I asked with half-sincerity, half-jest.
“That’s what I thought, too. I figured she would regret her decision and come crying back to me, asking for forgiveness.”
“And she didn’t.”
“Not only did she not come back to me, she married another bloke.”
“What the hell, Grandfather? Did she marry a prince?”
Harry Bennington turned red with anger. “She married a damn commoner, an absolute nobody who became an important somebody in Estelle’s heart.”
“So you eventually forgot her and married Grandmum, who produced your two sons and four fantastic grandchildren.”
“Yes, but I never forgot this woman. Even today, I think of her and what could have been.”
“Where is this woman today? Is she still married? There’s a good chance her husband has passed on, which would give you two a second chance.”
For the first time, I saw deep sadness in Harry Bennington’s eyes. It wouldn’t have surprised me if he started tearing.
“Her husband did pass on and she lived around the corner from us in Belgravia. Unfortunately, my pride kept me from seeking her out sooner and now, she’s remarried to a ‘friend’ of mine.”
That was eye-opening news. “She is? Who’s she married to, and is she still in Belgravia? I’d love to meet this infamous woman.”
“Estelle Cowper Reid is now Estelle Cowper Reid Ascot.”
“Whaaaa?” I stopped to process all the names. “What is her name?”
“Estelle Reid.”
“As in Laney Reid? Is this just a coincidence or are the two related?”
The duke slightly chuckled at my slack-jaw. “It was a hell of a coincidence when I heard about you and your Laney Reid.”
“So that’s why you were so against her? She was already on your ‘no-chance-in-hell’ list even before you met her.”
“Imagine my shock, Michael, when I heard the name. I’d kept track of Estelle since she married and I knew she had a granddaughter name Delaney. When you brought her up to the summer house, she looked nothing like her grandmum, but she sure as hell acted like her. I knew you were in trouble the moment she stood up to me.”
“Damn. How can this be? This gives new meaning to the term, ‘your past coming back to bite you in the arse.’”
Grandfather now let out a hearty chuckle. “I tell you about the mistakes of my past because I don’t want you to make the same ones. If you love this Laney Reid and you want her as your future duchess, pursue her. Don’t let some nobody claim the woman you want.”
“You read my mind, Grandfather. Right before you called, I had just finished up a call with Laney. We’re meeting on Wednesday.”
“Good! Do everything you need to secure her hand. If she makes you this happy and this miserable, it’s love. I’ll do all I can to aid you.”
“Thank you, Grandfather. I think Laney and I will be all right. We will make it to the altar and join the Bennington and the Reid families.”
“I trust you will.”
Grandfather’s trip down memory lane added more fuel to my fire. In the end, Laney Reid would become Laney Bennington!
Michael: Laney Reid (Take Two!)
I was in despair when I realized I couldn’t make it to tea on Wednesday, but riding higher than the sun when Laney agreed to meet me now. I practically skipped to her home.
“Duch…” I held myself back when I saw Laney with her family. It was probably to my advantage to ease her back into the duchess role.
With her dazzling smile, she embraced me as if nothing had changed between us.
“Hi Michael. I’m glad we can meet today.”
“Me too.”
“Michael Bennington, I presume?” A stunning older woman greeted me with a knowing smile. There was no doubt in my mind who this woman was.
“Sorry, Gram. Let me introduce Michael to everyone,” Laney spoke. “This is my grandmother, Estelle Reid Ascot, my mom, Barbara Reid, my aunt, Sandy Reid, and you’ve met Emily.”
“Hello.” I paid special attention to Laney’s mom. “It’s nice to finally meet you after having had so many conversations over the phone. You’re as beautiful as your daughter.”
Barbara Reid blushed. “I think my daughter is just a tad bit more beautiful than I am. Isn’t that right, Sandy?”
“No way. Laney and Jane only have youth on us. We were stunning back in the day.” Sandy Reid winked.
“Even now, you’re both gorgeous,” I added.
“I see you haven’t fallen far from the apple tree.”
“You,” I reached for Estelle’s hand to give her a proper English greeting. “You might be the most captivating of all these ladies, or at least that’s what I was told. I believe you know my grandfather, Harry Bennington?” I kissed the hand of the woman my grandfather had loved for six decades.
“We sure do know each other.” I could see why the duke couldn’t let go of this woman. The mischief in her eyes was undeniable.
“He said you were one unforgettable woman.” I matched her playful tone.
She almost giggled. “You tell that Harry to come and say hello when he’s back in Belgravia. I assume His Grace is out at his summer home?”
“He is, and you would be most welcomed to visit...preferably without Sir Ascot.” Laney’s Gram enjoyed my humor.
“It’s good to meet you, Michael. I’m glad to see that you’ve grown into a fine young man. You tell your grandfather to call me personally if he wants to see me.”
The duke would be thrilled to see this stunning woman again. “I will. It was wonderful meeting you, too.” My attention went back to the next most important woman—Barbara Reid. “Your daughter has been a fabulous friend to me and my sister, and I’m heartbroken we are no longer together. I’m hoping to change my status back from friend to boyfriend.” I had to grin at Laney’s fake exasperation.
“Let’s go.” She pulled me away from her family as she said her good-byes. “We are off to tea. I’ll see you all in a few hours.”
“I’ve missed you,” I announced without hesitation. Laney let go of my arm and spoke very little. Uncharacteristically, she became entirely self-conscious so I brought up the topic of our grandparents.
Her sweet smile returned. She asked, “What was that about my grandmother and your grandfather?”
“Grandfather finally confessed that the reason he didn’t like you in the beginning wasn’t so much because you were American, but because you were Estelle’s granddaughter. He said it was history repeating itself.”
“Explain.”
“Future Duke, Harry Bennington, was wildly in love with a young Estelle Cowper and courted her with zeal. My grandfather knew he’d found his duchess. Your great grandfather and my great grandfather had practically set the wedding date when a nobody named Jerry Reid came along and snagged your grandmother’s heart. Grandfather was heartbroken, but worse, his pride was hurt, so he just sat and ignored the situation. Harry Bennington, being the pompous man tha
t he was, refused to chase after your grandmother. He figured once her fanciful dreaming was done, his Estelle would come back to reality and become his duchess. But alas, she never did, and he never forgave or forgot her.”
“My grandmother was quite a popular lady,” Laney answered with a rueful tone. “Look at her and Grandfather Roland.” The topic of her current grandfather turned her cheerful again.
“Ah yes. We can’t forget Sir Roland. After your grandfather passed away, Harry Bennington decided to court Estelle Cowper Reid, but once again, he was too late. He waited too long to come around to forgiving your grandmother for leaving him the first time. By the time he swallowed his pride, your grandmother was already seeing Sir Roland.”