The Way to Capture a Marquess's Heart: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Bridget Barton

  “I believe that Eros is guiding us behind him, Vi. Let us see what is there.”

  “Let us sit a while here, Ally, it truly is marvellous. This would be a lovely painting for my room. Do you think that you could commit enough to memory to recreate it?”

  Alice wanted to venture further into the garden, but her sister was right, they should enjoy what was before them. “It certainly is inspiring, Vi. I am sure that I could recall enough to paint it for you.”

  “The duchess must have many servants to ensure this garden remains in this condition. I imagine it must look rather sad during autumn and winter.”

  Alice shook her head. “Not sad, but restful. Even nature needs to rest.”

  “I suppose so. I imagine that lovers would come here to get away from the guests.”

  “Do not let Mama hear you say that.”

  Violet laughed. “Mama is far too innocent, or she may be pretending. You cannot have lived as long as she has and not know anything of the world.”

  "However true that may be, she is still our mother, and we must treat her so."

  Violet opened her mouth to speak, but a giggle stopped her. It sounded as though it came from somewhere nearby.

  “Did you hear that, Vi?”

  “I did, and it was distinctly female. Do you think that there are lovers here about?”

  That giggle had sounded familiar to Alice, achingly so. She needed to find out just who it was because if her feeling was right, she was about to be hurt. “I am going to take a look, Vi. I think it came from behind Eros.”

  “Alice, leave them be. They are there for a reason.”

  She shook her head. “You do not understand. I must go there.”

  “Why?”

  “Do not ask me, just let me see who it is.”

  “Fine, then I shall come with you.”

  It may be a good thing for her sister to accompany her because Alice was experiencing great dread. Each footstep grew heavier as she neared the statue, and as she looked behind the statue, she froze.

  “What is it?” Violet whispered.

  But Alice could not answer. There, sitting upon a seat made for lovers, was Henry and Bridgette. He sat facing her, but he was so engrossed in his wife's eyes that he could not look anywhere else. Every memory, both good and bad, surfaced. She and Henry together, dancing, taking long walks through Hyde Park, sharing their love of painting. Hot on the heels of the good came the painful, when she found out that Henry had proposed to Bridgette. Alice had to close her eyes as the world spun around her, gripping Eros's bow.

  “Ally, say something!” Violet insisted. “Who is there?”

  “H-Henry,” she managed to get out. “Henry and Bridgette.”

  “What? Let me see.”

  Alice moved aside, letting her sister see what she had seen. She could tell the moment her sister saw the couple by her sharp intake of breath.

  "The lying, cheating, disgusting man. How could they have invited them? Oh, my goodness! Uh, Ally, perhaps we should go."

  Alice could tell by her sister's voice that there was something wrong. “What is it?”

  “N-nothing! Come, let us return to the party.”

  “Violet, what did you see?”

  “Please, Alice, please, let us leave. It is bad enough that you have seen them together. There is no reason to remain here.”

  She shook her head. “Let me see.”

  "Oh goodness, Alice. Why?"

  Alice moved to the opening, seeing that Bridgette was no longer sitting. Instead, she had her hands lying protectively on her stomach. A very pregnant one. She was pregnant! Bridgette was pregnant! She stumbled, almost falling if not for her sister steadying her.

  “Do you see why I insisted we leave? What good came of you seeing them?”

  Alice lifted a trembling hand to her eyes, wiping away her involuntary tears. “I need to go, Vi. I cannot be here.”

  “Yes, let us return to the party.”

  Alice shook her head. “No, no, not the party. I need to leave, Vi. They cannot see me here.”

  It hurt, it hurt so much to see them together. They were happy and expecting. That should have been her! She could no longer stand being so close to them, seeing them like this, so she took off running. She vaguely heard her sister shout her name, but she could not stop. Not until she was far away from her pain and hurt.

  Chapter 4

  His stepmother was annoying him immensely. Not only had she called him away from speaking with Alice to find his father, but she also had him talking with a woman in whom he had no interest.

  “Lord Shore, your home is simply beautiful.”

  He wanted to roll his eyes, but he did not wish to be rude. It was not her fault that he was simply not as interested in her as she seemed in him. “I shall pass your compliment to my stepmother, Miss Charpentier.”

  “Oh, yes, do, Lord Shore. Do you live with your family?”

  This woman was asking too many questions. How could he walk away from her without making it evident that he was running away? “When I can. But I have my own home in London.”

  “I gather that you are devoted to your siblings?”

  “Yes. Do you have any, Miss Charpentier?”

  “Unfortunately not, but I have always wanted a bigger family.”

  Was that a hint? He hoped not. The woman was beautiful, any man could see that, but she did not grab his attention. Fair hair, corn blue eyes, white skin with a hint of rose. She was the personification of an English rose. Or was she French? Her surname seemed to suggest so.

  “Miss Charpentier, am I right in saying that you are French?”

  “You are partly right, Lord Shore. My paternal grandfather was French. He married an English woman, making my father half and half. My father married my mother, an English woman, so I would say that I am more English than French.”

  Luke had not been expecting the little history trip into her genealogy. The woman was clearly intent upon keeping him chatting to her. She could have said that she was part French as opposed to giving him all of those details. Alice would never do so, and even if she had, he would likely find hers more interesting than Miss Charpentier's.

  “Oh, I see, how interesting.”

  She smiled. “I like to think so, Lord Shore.”

  A flash ran past him, but he paid it no heed until Miss Charpentier commented.

  “Where on earth is she off to in such a hurry? She seems rather crazed, do you not think so?”

  Luke felt obliged to look, his brow deepening into a frown as he recognised the woman running away. “Alice?”

  “Do you know her?”

  “Excuse me, Miss Charpentier.”

  “Lord Shore, where are you going?”

  In all truth, he did not feel that he owed her an explanation. Luke took off running after Alice, thankful for his long legs. “Miss Campbell!” he called out.

  But Alice did not slow down. If anything, she sped up. If she would not listen, then he would physically stop her. He easily closed the distance between them, putting his hand out to get a hold of her arm. Alice jerked towards him, losing her balance before falling against him.

  “Leave me alone!” she yelled.

  “What is wrong, Miss Campbell? Why are you running away?”

  “Lord Shore, let go of my arm.”

  He took in her heaving chest, the red eyes and nose, the tremor in her voice. What had happened?

  “Not until you tell me why you are running as though the devil's hounds are biting at your feet!”

  “You would not understand, Lord Shore, and I do not wish to explain it.”

  “You do not know me well enough to make that assumption, Miss Campbell.”

  “And you do not know me well enough to ask me personal questions, Lord Shore.”

  She wrenched her arm away from him and, to his dismay, started to cry. Her crying invoked a feeling of protectiveness within him, similar to what he felt for his siblings whenever they were distresse
d or hurt. Alice turned away from him, covering her eyes with her hands.

  “Please, Alice, tell me what is wrong.”

  All formality had fallen away with the use of her first name.

  “Go away, Lord Shore, leave me be.”

  Luke was glad that they were no longer in view of the party as he took her shoulders and turned her around. He felt some resistance, but he was stronger than she.

  "Please, Alice, let me help you. Talking about something is far better than keeping it to yourself, especially given the state you are in."

  Finally, she looked up at him. “Why are you so intent upon helping me? We have met but once, and for a few minutes at that. We hardly know each other, Lord Shore.”

  “Should there always be a reason to help someone?”

  “In our case, yes. You have left your own party to run after me, what would people say?”

  Luke had to admit that he had not thought about that. Getting to Alice had been the only thing on his mind. Miss Charpentier would be wondering why he ran off quite suddenly and may tell Suzannah. But he had nothing to hide.

  “People will say nothing because there is nothing to say. I am merely tending to a guest. That is all. Come, let us sit here.” He indicated a slightly raised patch of grass, pulling her down as he took a seat. She came unwillingly, but he would rather her sitting down than give her opportunity to bolt again. Luke wanted to know what had upset her so much, especially at a party that he had been roped into to co-host. He watched as she smoothed her dress over her legs, tucking her feet in under her. It was something that a young girl would do, giving her an air of innocence. Alice Campbell was an intriguing mixture of intelligence and naivety, as though she could not decide if she wanted to take on the world or remain in her own little version of it.

  “You are staring, Lord Shore.”

  “And so I am.”

  “Why?”

  “I wish to see if I can read your mind, seeing as how you do not wish to tell me what has upset you so.”

  She snorted. “I do not know if you have noticed, but I am hardly a child. Reading minds is only found in fairy tales.”

  “Sometimes a fairy tale can be more real than reality itself. It depends on the person.”

  She turned her body towards him, giving him a puzzled look. “That is a strange thing to say, My Lord. Do you like fairy tales?”

  “No, but neither do I hate them. My sisters, Hannah and Sarah, used to love them, always convincing me to read one whenever they got the chance to.”

  “Used to? How old are they now?”

  “Fifteen and Seventeen.”

  “Goodness, I only stopped reading them last year, before I...”

  Her words trailed off as she looked away. What had happened last year? Luke felt that there was a connection between what happened last year and what had taken place now.

  “Did someone make you stop believing in fairy tales, Alice?”

  She did not answer him directly, but she said something that made him curious. “Love and romance are considered to be a fairy tale, Lord Shore. I find myself agreeing with that notion more and more every day.”

  “I believe love and romance to be real, but only to those who are fortunate to find it.”

  She laughed, a bitter sound that made his heart ache for her. “Fortunate? Perhaps if they are both of the same mind. I would not call myself fortunate, My Lord.”

  Luke was beginning to put two and two together. Someone had obviously hurt her, and judging by her tears, that person was here. A strong urge rose within him to find that man and teach him a lesson.

  “Who is he, Alice?”

  Her body tensed up. “What do you mean?”

  “Someone hurt you last year, and I wish to know who it is. I know he is here at the party.”

  “There is no need to know him. Let it be.”

  “Alice, I will search this party to find that man if you do not tell me what happened to upset you.”

  Alice looked at him, narrowing her eyes. “That is blackmail, Lord Shore. I would have thought such a thing far beneath you.”

  “No, not blackmail, a promise. You were upset enough to run away from the party, and I wish to know why. If it suits you, you need only tell me the situation and not give me any identities.”

  She seemed to think on it for a moment, searching his eyes. Finally, she nodded. “Very well, I believe you will keep your word.”

  “My word is my honour.”

  Alice took in a deep breath. "You are right. I did see someone who hurt me deeply. I attended the season last year and fell in love with a man whom I thought felt the same way. He certainly acted as though he did, as he regularly requested walks in the park, many dances at balls, even going so far as to gain the approval of my parents. I believed that he would marry me, that it was only a matter of time before he asked for my hand."

  Luke wished that the man stood before him right now that he may tip him a settler. How dare he hurt this woman? Was he touched in his head?

  “What did he do to break your heart?”

  “A beautiful Parisian woman appeared quite suddenly with her merchant father. He was rich, making her a sought after woman, although neither she nor her father held a title. I have often wondered how they were so readily accepted into the Ton, but money opens many doors, does it not?”

  “More than you know.”

  Luke said this more to himself than to Alice. He was well aware of the power of the man who possessed enough wealth to have influential people in his pocket. A title brought prestige, but wealth brought power. Luke had a feeling that he knew how this story would end.

  “French women are beautiful creatures, Lord Shore, and they are aware of their charms. Perhaps I generalise too much, but that is my opinion. A flutter of her eyelashes, a coy smile, a flick of her tresses, and he went to her. Her father having money merely sweetened the deal.”

  “He did not tell you that he had found another woman, did he?”

  “No. I found out from a friend that he had left the country to follow her back to France.”

  Coward! To have raised the hopes of this woman only to have run away without explaining anything to her? “And he is here today?”

  “You said that you would not look for him, Lord Shore. You said that your word is your honour.”

  And so he did. But who was the man? He thought long and hard trying to recall any bit of information he knew about his guests. There were three French women present, two were single, and the other was married. Hadn't his father spoken of a Frenchman he had invited to forge a connection with him? He had mentioned that the man was powerful in the importing and exporting business. And, if he was not mistaken, Luke had greeted his daughter and son-in-law. Henry Tottenham? That is who Alice had fallen in love with?