“Oh no, I like what you say,” Rowena said and realized that she was, perhaps, just a little overenthusiastic. “I mean, I had a little something of that feeling myself when I peered in through the windows. It is almost as if somebody simply got up and left one day with every intention of returning, but they never did.”
“Oh, I do feel better.” He laughed again, and Rowena thought he looked even more handsome when he was amused. “If you are the same as I am, then at least you will not think me strange.”
“I do not think you strange at all,” Rowena said and relaxed enough to return his smile. “At least what I know of you so far. You might be strange in other respects, I could not say.”
“That is a very good observation.” He laughed, enjoying her gentle humor.
“But do you know who owns this place? After all, you did say that you have been here many times before.” Rowena was over the shock of seeing him suddenly in that place and her curiosity had taken over once more.
She wanted to know more about the little cabin, more about the person or the people who had lived inside it.
“I have never known, I am afraid. It is so far out of the way and it is a place that nobody ever talks of. But then I have wandered a fair distance from home as you must have also, given that we are in the middle of nowhere. At one time I had an idea that it belonged to a farm further to the north, but only because that is the nearest establishment. I even asked the farmer myself and he simply looked at me blankly and claimed to know nothing of it.”
“I suppose it is very well hidden.” Rowena said and looked all around her at the trees and thick foliage.
“And yet you found it.” He said with a smile.
The man had a nice voice. It had a richness to it, a depth that was not at all loud. In fact, Rowena thought it was rather soothing.
“I did.” She said and nodded. “And it is the first time I have ever walked this way. I do not usually come out so far and certainly not into this wilderness. I tend to walk the edges of the fields to the south.”
“Then you have done very well to find this place on your first visit. I had been walking this area for some years before I realized that there might be something on the other side of all this undergrowth.”
“And you say that you have never seen anybody else in here, Sir?”
“Never.”
“And how long ago did you discover this place?” Rowena knew that she was asking one question after another, but she really did have a longing to know.
“Goodness, it must be more than a decade. As a matter of fact, it must be fifteen years, for I was a very young man of just fifteen years myself when I first squeezed my way in past the branches and thorns.”
“And have you come here regularly?”
“I make the effort to force my way in every time I walk or ride this way.” He smiled. “So yes, regularly. I cannot count the number of times I have been in here.”
“And yet you have never seen anybody.” Rowena said almost to herself.
“This place has captured your imagination, I can tell, just as it captured mine all these years ago. In truth, I think I am as mesmerized now as I was then. There is something magical about it, as if it has possibilities I cannot yet see.”
“Have you been inside?” Rowena turned back to look over her shoulder at the door of the cabin.
“No, but I am bound to admit that I did try the handle of the door. But whomever it was who left on that day when the cabin was abandoned had locked the door behind them. I did not try to force it, it would have been wrong of me. Instead, I have contented myself with peering in through the windows from time to time and simply sitting on the porch and enjoying the solitude.”
“Dear me, and I have disrupted your plan of solitude today Sir, have I not?”
“And I am glad that you did.” He smiled again, and Rowena thought that she was also very glad.
“Have you walked very far?” He asked conversationally, triggering her sudden concern.
“Oh yes, I have.” She said with some panic. “Goodness me, I had lost track of myself in this beautiful place. I should have turned around to head for home long before now. Goodness, I think I shall be late now, and my mother and father are expecting me.”
“That is a great shame.” He said. “I should have liked to talk to you for a little longer.”
“You are very kind, Sir, but I really must leave.”
“May I assist you in any way?” He said and looked doubtfully back at the little gap through which he had made his own entrance.
“I thank you, but I had found another way in.” She said and pointed. “And I really must leave. Forgive me.” Rowena smiled at him and wished that she had more time to spend with him.
“Well, I hope that I shall one day see you here again.” He said and walked with her to the place through which she had entered. “Are you quite sure you will manage?”
“Perfectly, Sir.” She turned to smile at him before darting in through the foliage and disappearing. “Goodbye.” She called back.
“Goodbye.”
It was not until she was almost halfway home, dashing along and red-faced with the exertion, that Rowena realized that she and the handsome man had not introduced themselves. She had no idea who he was as he, undoubtedly, had no idea who she was.
The faster she went, the more she began to smile to herself. She did have somewhere new to go now, a secret place, a beautiful place. And if she was very, very lucky, she might one day see that handsome man again.
Chapter Four
“Rowena, I do not work so hard on these meals just so that you might pick at them. I cannot see that you have eaten more than four mouthfuls, the rest you have simply pushed about the plate.” Lady Lockhart was in her customary mood that evening at dinner; she always spoke as if she had actually made the meals herself, rather than just making demands of the cook as to what they should have.
As far as Rowena was concerned, simply giving voice to what it was you wanted to eat could hardly be described as work of any kind. Still, it was her mother’s custom to build her part in everything.
Rowena had made it home in plenty of time to rest for a few minutes before making herself presentable. It was clear that her mother had no idea of the time she had returned or she would have mentioned it already.
Rowena knew that her lack of appetite was entirely down to the afternoon’s excitement. The long walk to get to the little cabin, not to mention the walk back, was certainly enough exercise to have made her as hungry as a horse.
But her head had been full of thoughts of the handsome, pleasant man from the very moment she had left him, and she was simply too excited now to eat.
She had chastised herself for not making an attempt at an introduction, for it would have secured her his name at least. Not that that would have done her any good, for she was out in society so rarely that she would likely not have recognized his name if he had given it.
But he certainly seemed like a very well-bred man with manners, intelligence, and most certainly a good education. But what she liked most were the little flashes of imagination that seemed to make their way out unguarded as he talked about the cabin.
Rowena was an imaginative woman herself, a trait she thought she could largely attribute to the loneliness of her life, and she liked the idea of seeing that imagination in someone else.
“Forgive me, Mother. I am afraid I feel just a little out of sorts.” Rowena gave this spurious explanation rather than try to force herself to eat.
“I see.” Lady Lockhart responded without warmth of any kind.
If only Rowena had a mother who would be concerned by the idea that her daughter did not feel entirely well. A mother who would not simply shrug it off and look down to her own plate to continue eating.
“Mother, you said that you had something you wished to discuss with me.” Rowena said, remembering the brief conversation she had had with her mother that morning before leaving Frinton Manor.<
br />
“Yes, I do.” The Baroness cast an eye across the table to her husband and, when Rowena looked over at him, he stared down at his own plate a little awkwardly.
It seemed to her that he could not meet her eye for some reason and suddenly she began to feel a little afraid. What on earth was it they had to tell her?
“But what is it?” Rowena said a little urgently.
“Well, we are to have company here in a few days’ time, Rowena.” Lady Lockhart began.
“Company? But who is coming?” Rowena did not know whether to feel excited or afraid; they so rarely had visitors.
“We have a Duke coming to visit us, no less.”
“A Duke?” Rowena said in confusion. “I was not aware that we were acquainted with a Duke, mother?”
Whilst it was true that her parents were no strangers to attending social occasions without her, she was sure that if her mother was acquainted with a Duke, Rowena would certainly have heard about it.
The Baroness had such delusions of grandeur, such a clamoring to be in the upper echelons of aristocracy rather than being stuck where she was on a mediocre estate with a husband of minor title and means to match, that if she knew a Duke, she would have climbed up upon the roof of Frinton Manor and shouted it out for all to hear.
“Yes, he is a most pleasant man.” Lady Lockhart spoke in a cooing voice as if the man himself was sitting at the dining table.
“But when did you become acquainted with him?” Rowena’s curiosity was in full flow.
“Oh, your father and I have been loosely acquainted with him for years.” There was something about the way her mother spoke which made Rowena doubt that very much. “But he has never been here before and it would certainly be a very fine thing for Frinton Manor and the Lockharts.”
Now that sounded very much like the Lady Eleanor Lockhart Rowena knew well. She was always such a sycophant in the company of men of great title, something which had embarrassed Rowena in the past.
“I see,” Rowena said uncertainty. “And when is he to come?”
“The day after tomorrow, my dear.” Lady Lockhart said, and Rowena bristled. Her mother very rarely called her by anything other than her name. Little terms of endearment were seldom used, and Rowena felt suddenly suspicious. “And so, I should like you to think in advance about what it is you are going to wear and how you will have your maid arrange your hair for you. You really must look your best. It is absolutely essential.”
“Is it?” Rowena looked from her mother over to father who had, as yet, uttered not one word at the dinner table.
“Of course, it is.” The Baroness continued as her husband remained silent. “We have never had a Duke in this house before and we must all give a very good account of ourselves. Not only will we be dressed for the occasion, but we shall serve a very fine afternoon tea indeed.” Rowena could not escape the notion that her mother was trying to divert her.
Once again, she looked across the table at her father and, once again, he averted his gaze and looked down at his plate.
“But why is he coming to tea, Mother?” Rowena said, determined for all the details.
“What a ridiculous thing to say!” The Baroness was losing her patience. “He is coming to afternoon tea because he has been invited. Why else would a person come to tea?”
“It just seems rather unusual.” Rowena said but knew that she would get nothing further from her mother.
“Perhaps if you are not hungry, as you say, it might be best if you left the table now. I have things I wish to discuss with your father.” Lady Lockhart scowled at her.
“Very well.” Rowena said and rose to her feet immediately.
She turned to leave the room without a word, giving only a final glance in her father’s direction. Whatever was happening, for good or bad, it was clear that he was going to have no part in it, not to help her, and not to hurt her. He was, as always, simply going to do nothing.
“I wonder, Miss Rowena, if Her Ladyship is trying to find you a suitor.” Violet said the following morning as the two of them discussed the curious conversation at length.
“But a Duke? What Duke would want to marry a Baron’s daughter? A young woman of no particular title and no inheritance? It is not even as if the man would earn himself Frinton Manor for his troubles, for it is to go to somebody else altogether. A second cousin of mine is the closest male heir and I am to get nothing.”
“But perhaps this Duke is not going to marry for money.”
“But why come here? I mean, I have never met a Duke in my life. And my mother did not even say where he is the Duke of. She simply said that he is a Duke.”
“Well, I can only think that he is from outside of Derbyshire, Miss Rowena.”
“Why?”
“Because there is only the Duke of Darrington in these parts.”
“It could not be him?”
“No, not if marriage is the consideration, Miss.” Violet screwed her little face up thoughtfully and shook her head. “No, this Duke must be from somewhere else altogether.”
“Of course, wherever this Duke comes from, there is a very good chance that his visit has nothing to do with marriage whatsoever.” Rowena laughed. “And since I have never met a Duke, I cannot imagine that one would agree to marry me sight-unseen.”
“But you are very beautiful, Miss.” Violet said with such loyalty that Rowena could have embraced her.
“Oh Violet, that is kind of you. But even if what you say is true, a Duke in search of a wife would usually want to have a good look at her first, I am sure of it. After all, I daresay men of such title get whatever they want and there are plenty of beautiful young ladies of accomplishment to choose from. Young ladies who are taken out into society a good deal more than I am.”
“I suppose he could be coming for any reason, I just cannot think what it would be, Miss Rowena.”
“No, neither can I.” Rowena said and frowned. “And I daresay it is just my mother making me feel suspicious. This Duke might be perfectly pleasant.”
“He might even be handsome, like a prince in a fairytale.” Violet said as she worked on her mistress’ long and thick hair.
Between them, they had already decided what Rowena would wear the following day for afternoon tea with the mysterious Duke. Not only that, but Violet was practicing a hairstyle that was full and impressive without being overdone. She had already put Rowena’s hair up twice, only to take it down and begin again.
Little Violet was nothing if not thorough.
“Perhaps.” Rowena said a little distantly.
“Are you thinking of the handsome man you met by the cabin, Miss?” Violet’s voice dropped to a whisper.
When Rowena had told her all about the strange little meeting that she’d had the day before, Violet’s eyes had been wide with romance and wonder. Rowena’s description of the man had been so full, so complete, that her little maid had enjoyed it very much.
“I must admit I was, Violet. He really was such a pleasant man, and very handsome it is true. He had such a nice smile. And, though it is true to say that I have not spent much time in conversation with young men before, I was not at all anxious in his company. I had always imagined that I would be, being left alone with a man and what have you, I thought I would be tongue-tied.”
“But you had the cabin to talk about, that was a good thing.” Violet nodded thoughtfully and added another pin to her mistress’ hair.
Rowena looked at Violet’s reflection in the dressing table mirror and watched as the young woman stepped back a little to admire her handiwork before her nose wrinkled in disappointment and she began to remove the pins once more.
“Yes, I think the cabin had captured my imagination so much that I had forgotten to be nervous. Had I simply been introduced to him at an evening buffet or something similar, I would probably have blushed and not been able to get a word out.” Rowena laughed.
“Goodness me, Miss. Was he really as handsome as all that?”
>
“Yes, he was. But I liked him as well. Even more than his handsome face, I liked the way he conducted himself. He spoke with such interest about the cabin, so much so that we both quite forgot to introduce ourselves. But I do wish I knew his name, for then I might be able to find out something about him.”
“Will you go there again? Will you walk out there to see if you can find him?” Violet was whispering again.
“Well, I suppose I ought to say that I will go there again to have another look at the cabin.” Rowena began to laugh a little girlishly. “And if I happen to see him there then it will simply be fortuitous.”
“Very good.” Violet was smiling broadly. “I think that sounds more exciting than a Duke coming to tea even.”
“Yes, so do I.”
And for Rowena, the idea of the handsome man at the cabin really was much more exciting than the thought of some unknown Duke coming to Frinton Manor out of the blue.
At least the man in the cabin had absolutely nothing to do with either her mother or father and in that knowledge, Rowena thought her fond feelings for him could be trusted.
The idea of the afternoon tea her mother had planned was something that was going to unsettle Rowena until it was all over with. Not that she was nervous at the thought of meeting a man of such title, for she truly was not. Rowena was not at all affected by such things, certainly not in the way that her mother was.
No, her feelings of disquiet stemmed entirely from the conversation she had had with her mother at dinner the evening before. And not only that, but her father’s silence had a curious way of speaking loudly about her mother’s ominous intentions.
Still, there was nothing Rowena could do about any of it. She would just have to wait and see what transpired and, in the meantime, she could fortify her spirits with thoughts of the handsome man with the green eyes and the thick ash brown hair.
The Duke's Heartbreaking Secret: Historical Regency Romance Page 24