Historical Hearts Romance Collection

by Sophia Wilson

  “What did I do to you?” Selina demanded.

  “You? Well, nothing much,” Lucinda said, “In fact, we hardly knew of your existence but be sure that we were thrilled when we did find out.”

  “Then why am I here?” she asked, kicking the floor once roughly but missing.

  “You will find out soon enough,” Lucinda said, “But for now – we must find a way to contact your family.”

  An unrelenting panic set in in Selina’s veins as she heard the word family and her heart rate went up to impossible speeds. “What do you want with my family?” she said in a low and dangerous voice.

  “Well, that is truly what they are willing to give us,” Oswald replied, “How much ransom do you think your dear brother is willing to pay for us to spare your head?”

  Brother! Selina’s mind went wild as she tried to figure which one of her brothers was responsible for this situation. The thought nauseated Selina as she realized that she may have to remain here and possibly die. Her family was already in debt and now were estranged to her as well – they would not pay her ransom.

  “He is the Duke,” Lucinda said, “We will give him a number and he will have to comply.”

  Confusion set in as Selina realized that these people who had kidnapped her believed that she was the Duke’s sister. But how was that even possible? Then she realized that the Duke said that little was known about his family to the world and there must have been a mistake of some sort.

  “I am afraid you are mistaken,” she spoke up, “I am not the Duke’s sister! We only met less than two weeks ago. You must believe me – my name is Selina Nott.”

  Lucinda looked back at her brother in disbelief bordering on anger as she said those words. “What does she mean?” she asked him, fuming.

  “She is only lying of course,” Oswald shot back, “Stop lying, little girl! You were with him in the carriage heading over to your uncle’s estate!”

  Selina was shaking her head so violently that she was worried it might cause her to pass out. “No! I am only a performer – I have no association with the Duke other than business,” she said and then once in her head, and friends.

  “Is she telling the truth?” Lucinda nearly yelled out at her brother, who looked confused but then directed his anger at the two men who had helped to bring her in.

  “WELL? What are you two looking at? Is it true?” he barked at their direction.

  The shorter man stepped forward and looked Oswald in the eye, “No! Well, perhaps, sir, but…”

  “You fools”, Lucinda scoffed, “How could you mess up like this?”

  “I only found out when I heard them talking in the carriage and heard them mention being friends”, the short man said nervously.

  But the damage had been done. Lucinda suddenly got up from her place of seating and from her expression, she was very angry. “What is the meaning of this, Oswald?” she demanded.

  “Calm down, Lucinda!” he said to her, “My source must have been misguided and this is not the Duke’s sister. But she must have some significance to him that he was escorting her all the way to Berkshire.”

  This placated Lucinda a little bit. “Tell us what your relationship with Duke Joshua is,” she said, her words now directed towards Selina.

  Selina gulped, “The Duke and I met at one of the events I was performing at – that is the extent of our relationship.”

  “Lies!” Lucinda burst out, “Oswald! What are we to do with her now?”

  “Calm down, sister,” he tried to relax the aggravated woman, “We shall send him the message that we have her and I am sure he will be willing to pay the ransom.”

  Lucinda gazed at her brother suspiciously and Selina’s mind was doing acrobatics of its own – would the Duke pay her ransom? She was worried about what had happened to him and felt utterly helpless in this situation. But she realized that by acting weak she would only give them the upper hand, which they already had but she could at least try and shatter the illusion a little.

  “What is your issue with the Duke?” she asked them, hoping they would answer.

  Lucinda remained silent for a moment, “We go way back, girl,” she said.

  “If that is so, how did you not know that the Duke does not have a sister?” she fired back.

  “Because the person we trusted turned out to be a fluke, obviously,” Lucinda said, still angry, “Our rivalry with the Windham house goes far back.”

  “It does – years ago their great grandfather wrongfully took the lands from our ancestors and since then have established their stronghold as one of the prominent elite families,” Oswald said further, “Our family was banished from the town but now we are back and we will take back what was ours.”

  Selina gasped – the story was far more complicated than what she could ever have imagined and somehow, she had gotten herself stuck right in the middle of it. She prayed that the Duke would pay whatever was asked of him so that she could be set free. But she almost laughed out loud. The Duke did not like her, why would he put up good money to save her?

  Chapter 7

  Hearing the news of the kidnap, Miss Lavender had cancelled her trip to France and was now kneeled over beside the bedside of her nephew, Joshua.

  “He is waking up!” Mr. Williams said.

  The Duke had been found lying unconscious in the middle of the road by some people who recognized him and had him transported back to his estate. Eighteen hours had passed since and he was only now showing signs of retrieving consciousness.

  “Oh thank heavens!” Miss Lavender said, blowing her nose into a satin handkerchief. Ever since she had heard the news, she had been crying and worried sick.

  “Where am I?” the Duke said as he woke up, “Where is Selina!” he said, suddenly shooting up from his bed.

  “Lay down, dear,” Miss Lavender told him, “Please, you will hurt yourself otherwise.”

  He protested but then finally obliged. The next half hour was spent with Miss Lavender filling him in on all the events that had occurred since and how Selina was potentially kidnapped. The conversation was interrupted when there was a sharp knock on the door and Mr. Williams walked in clutching a paper in his hands.

  “They are demanding a ransom!” he announced, “They say they have her in their custody and if we wish to see her alive, we must pay a heavy ransom of 5 thousand pounds!”

  “My dear,” Miss Lavender said, clutching her heart.

  “Give me the letter!” the Duke demanded and Mr. Williams obliged. His eyes skimmed through the text over and over. His heart beat had sped up – they had Selina and it was all his fault. He was the Duke and being in such a position often meant that he had many enemies but he had never in his wildest dreams thought that she would be affected by them.

  All his life, he had done his best to protect the people that he loved and now this had happened! How could he be so foolish not to think that something was suspicious when the carriage suddenly stopped!

  His train of thoughts suddenly stopped as he realized what he had just admitted to himself – he had admitted that he loved Selina; a girl who he had just met. But the saying rang true; you do not know what you have until it is taken away from you and right now, he realized the exact worth of Selina and the significance she held in his life.

  “We must get her back, I do not care – pay the price!” he shouted.

  “Calm down, Joshua,” Miss Lavender said, “We shall get her back but I do not know if we can trust these people. How are we to know they will return her to us and not ask for more ransom when we deliver it to them?”

  But Joshua was not paying attention to anything other than his own thoughts. His eyes frantically skimmed over the page over and over again until they came to a halt at one distinct corner.

  “Wait,” he said, pointing to the residual pink of the seal, “The seal! Show me the seal!” he demanded Mr. Williams.

  Mr. Williams stumbled to find it discarded on the floor but then he quickly brought i
t to him. It was a pink seal with the symbol E on it.

  “Who does this symbol belong to?” the Duke demanded – a glimmer of hope sparkling within him as he realized they might have a shot at tracking down Selina’s kidnappers.

  “Hand me it,” Miss Lavender said, “Let me have a look.”

  She examined the cursive E, “How would they just leave their seal on a ransom note?” she asked incredulously.

  “They kidnapped Selina for ransom thinking she is from our family, I am guessing,” the Duke said, “I do not think they are very smart people and that makes them all the more dangerous.”

  “I do not know who this seal belongs to,” Miss Lavender lamented, “But I do know the exact person who will! We must take this to your Aunt Martha at once!”

  --

  The Windham family had agreed to pay the large ransom for Selina and the Byrne siblings could not be more excited. At noon, the drop was expected to be made on the nearby town bridge and then Selina was to be returned to them. As a consequence, the men guarding her were all but gone except one and Lucinda and Oswald were with her in their hiding place.

  “I cannot wait to get my hands on that money,” Lucinda laughed, “We are one step closer to regaining back what was ours.”

  Oswald grinned and was about to issue a remark of his own when there was a bang on the warehouse door where they were hiding.

  “What was that?” Lucinda asked panicked.

  “I do not know – perhaps one of the men came back earlier?”

  But the bangs only got louder and then suddenly, the door came flying down.

  “Lucinda and Oswald Byrne, you are under arrest,” a man said as he barged in with an entire fleet of Bow Street runners behind him.

  “What?” Lucinda’s eyes widened, “How? Oswald! How did you find us?” she shouted in despair to the magistrate.

  Miss Lavender walked out from behind the magistrate and his men, “You put your seal on the ransom letter,” she said smirking, “and you visited our Aunt Martha at the ball I threw earlier this month. For two people who wanted revenge on our family as bad as you did, you sure did not do a very good job!”

  Lucinda’s mouth was left agape, “Oswald! How can they do this?” She was still shouting out in disbelief when the runners took hold of her and her brother.

  The Duke was relieved that they had gotten there in time and went straight to Selina.

  “Selina, are you alright?” he asked when he found her and took off her blindfolds and untied her hands.

  Selina was shocked to see him but hugged him as soon as she did, “You found me!”

  “I did,” he nodded, “This was very hard on me and I am glad you are okay.”

  “Thank you!” she was near close to sobbing as she still clung onto his shoulder.

  “Selina!” the Duke said with urgency, “Selina! Listen to me!”

  Selina looked up at him with tears still in her eyes, “What?”

  “Selina! I love you! This has made me realize that I do love you – I cannot ever bear to lose you again - ever,” he said emotionally, pouring out his heart to her.

  She tried to take in his words but then her heart had a revelation and she realized she felt the same way. “You saved me,” she said sobbing, “You came back for me – Joshua…I… I love you.”

  And then the two met in a fierce embrace. Balance had been restored, and the Duke knew that no one would dare ever harm Selina again. She was now his and would forever remain that way.

  Epilogue

  The rescue acted to bring the Duke and Selina much closer than they ever imagined to be, and they decided to remain with each other and were soon betrothed. Miss Lavender was delighted with the union and she started making plans for a wedding at once. Uncle Thomas even came down to visit them again after hearing the news and decided that he would help Selina in whatever way he could to further her career as a professional pianist.

  All was right in the world and even Jemma was excited about the marriage but there was one surprise left for the Duke to give to Selina. On the day of their marriage, he arranged for the Nott family to come and see Selina. The Nott family had heard all about her kidnapping and her father had forgave her that instant – the grudge no longer remained and it was all due to the involvement of the Duke, as he had gone down there personally to convince them to come back with him for the sake of Selina.

  Selina met with her family and tears were shed but it all ended in laughter. She was glad to have her family back in her life and glad that she was getting to live her dreams. But even more so, she was happy because for the first time in her life, she had found love, true love. And that was in the form of Duke Joshua Windham.

  The End

  The Duke’s Indiscretion

  ©2018 by Sophia Wilson

  All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, events or locales is completely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  Early Fall, 1815, London

  “The chartreuse looks better on you,” Margaret Knowles told her eldest daughter, Katherine.

  Regan Knowles, the youngest of the Knowles sisters, took the chartreuse muslin gown from the closet and brought it to her sister.

  Katherine regarded the dress and scowled. She looked at Regan and shook her head. Her younger sister glanced at her mother.

  “You are meeting the Duke of Derbyshire, your future husband,” Margaret reminded Katherine. “It is not about what you want to wear, but what will make you beautiful.”

  Katherine groaned and grabbed the dress from Regan. She stood and ordered, “Assist me.”

  Regan pressed her lips flat against each other. Her elder sister was treating her like a maid again. Their lady’s maid, Madelene, had a baby and could not assist them. As the younger sister, Regan was forced to assist Katherine. She was happy to do so, but she detested how her sister treated her like a servant.

  The Knowles were expecting Warin Tindale, the Duke of Derbyshire, and his mother Lady Tindale. The families were meeting to set the engagement of Katherine to the Duke and to talk about the settlement of Lady Tindale’s estates.

  Regan sighed softly. She watched as Katherine prepared herself for the duke. She and her sister were complete opposites. Katherine had golden tresses, while she had brown locks. Her sister had sparking blue eyes, while hers were plain dark brown. Katherine’s skin was rosy, pale and had no blemishes. Regan, too, was rosy and pale, but her freckles were visible.

  “See, you look absolutely lovely in shades of green,” Margaret said when Katherine had changed into the chartreuse gown.

  Regan looked at her mother. For once, she wanted to hear her mother say that she looked lovely in her gown, too. She could not remember a moment when her mother had praised her. She took a glance of herself in the mirror. How could her mother tell her that she was beautiful? She thought. She looked so plain in her scarlet muslin gown.

  Regan bit her lips. If only..., she stopped her thoughts. She did not want to be jealous of her sister’s beauty, but she had reasons to be jealous of her fate. Katherine was marrying Warin; the man Regan fell in love with when she was only seven and ten years.

  It was about five years ago when she first met Warin. He was five years older than her. They met in a ball hosted by the late duke of Derbyshire. Katherine fell ill that day. Her mother stayed with her. Only Regan and her father attended the ball.

  She remembered the disappointment in Warin’s face when Katherine did not come with them. Katherine was known around Derbyshire as the prettiest girl. Perhaps, when his father said that a Knowles daughter was coming, Warin thought that it would be the eldest of the sisters.

  Warin never said a word to her. He danced with the women his age at the ball, b
ut he never danced with her. She enjoyed watching him in the corner though. She still remembered how his curly raven hair flew as he danced, how his face reddened when he stepped on an older lady’s foot, and how his dark pinkish lips curved happily after the late duke made a joke about his two left feet.

  James, Regan’s father, may have called it an infatuation, but Regan knew that she had fallen in love with the young man. When her father opened the discussion about an arranged betrothal with the duke, she begged to be presented. Her mother was quick to object.

  Margaret said she was too plain for a future duke and encouraged James to present Katherine instead. James said that he did not wish any of his daughters to marry the duke. His wife, however, made it a quest to have Katherine marry Warin. And on that night, she was about to triumph on her quest.

  Regan could see how proud her mother was. Her mother had always wanted to mingle with aristocrats, but the women with ladyships looked down at her, despite her wealthy status. She was only a Madam, a commoner and a wife of a shipper. If Katherine married the duke, Margaret would become the mother of a duchess. The wives of the earls and viscounts could never look down on her again.

  “That trinket will look good with this dress,” Katherine said.

  Regan looked at her sister blankly. She was lost in her thoughts about the duke again. Katherine pointed to her carnation coral necklace, one of the decent few she had.

  “What are you doing, Regan? Give that necklace to your sister,” Margaret demanded.

  “But, mother, it is the only peace that matches my dress,” Regan reasoned.

  Katherine huffed. She walked closer to Regan. “Why do you have to wear a trinket? The duke would not take a look at you. His eyes will only be on me. Give it to me.”

  Regan felt her tears forming. She would have happily given the trinket, but she wanted to look attractive in front of the duke, too. Though the engagement would be official between the families, she still wished that the duke would take notice of her. She still hoped that he would change his mind and pursue her instead.