The Mysteries of A Lady's Heart: A Clean & Sweet Regency Historical Romance Collection

by Abby Ayles

  Chapter 9

  Much to the surprise of the girls, Lady Joanna had joined the men on the porch and was sipping tea.

  She was sitting in the porch swing on the other side of the deck. The torches that were lit all around the porch made her thick white robe stand out. She looked like an angel. Her feet were encased in large furry slippers.

  She smiled when she saw her sisters, the Duke of Cardinal, and Lord Gilbert coming up the porch steps. It was a weak smile and hidden behind her glass but it was there. Lady Julia and Lady Annabelle smiled back at her. They went to where she was sitting on the porch swing and sat beside her on either side.

  “Duke Colbourn, I would be interested in hearing about your background,” the reverend was saying. “The Duke of Cardinal was a very distinguished man, I believe. And you have quite a remarkable reputation yourself.”

  The Duke of Cardinal smiled. “It sounds like you have done your research, Reverend Stovington.”

  “Charles, please, my lord. I heard something about you from His Grace before you came.” The reverend indicated Duke Cartwright. “You donated money to the welfare of the immigrants in New York, did you not?”

  The Duke of Cardinal’s chest tightened. It sounded like this was going back to the political realm. He desperately wanted to avoid debating with anyone. It was not one of his strong suits because of his passionate beliefs. “I did, yes.”

  “That was very noble of you. I know for a fact that the money you donated went to help quite a few children who had been left impoverished when their parents died and left them too young to fend for themselves. You saved a lot of children, my lord, and I admire that in a person.”

  The Duke of Cardinal was relieved. As long as no one else brought up anything political, he was in the clear. “Thank you, Reverend… Charles. That is nice to hear.”

  “I suppose you have heard the opposite on many occasions.”

  The Duke of Cardinal nodded, a painful look on his face. “Yes, it is not a subject I care to speak about.”

  “We shall not speak of it then. Tell me, the Duke of Cardinal was a kind man at home?”

  Duke Colbourn leaned back against the huge pillar behind him, crossing his ankles and his arms. “He was. He had a fatherly way that made me look forward to being a father myself.”

  He inadvertently lifted his eyes to look at the women when he said it, his eyes falling on Lady Annabelle. The young woman was turned to face Lady Joanna and the three were talking to each other in whispered animation. She looked happy. His heart soared.

  When he turned his eyes back to the men, they were staring at him with amusement. The older men looked amused, anyway. Lord Leonard and Lord Gilbert looked a bit disgusted. He grinned. “I apologize. I believe I strayed off into my own thoughts for a moment.”

  “That was quite obvious, my lord,” the Duke of Norrend laughed. “Please, take a seat. You have been on your feet a lot today. You must be ready to give the dogs a rest.”

  “I am but I will stand for a while longer. The more I do, the better I will sleep.” He looked at Reverend Stovington.

  “My father was very distinguished. He had many friends. He traveled extensively to give advice to others. He was wise and very… he was very intuitive. He was good at solving problems.”

  “It is sad that he did not live longer. He had many friends and was a very good-hearted man.”

  “He managed to change the world he lived in,” the Duke of Cardinal replied. “And that was really all he wanted, I believe.”

  The reverend nodded. “Understandable, my son.”

  “The hour is growing late,” the Duke of Norrend said, shuffling in his seat as if he was about to stand up.

  “Your Grace, I do not want to go inside yet,” Lady Julia called from the swing. “Please stay for a while longer.”

  “I am sure the reverend and these fine gentlemen have something to do tomorrow that will require them to sleep tonight,” the Duke of Norrend reasoned, looking at the reverend.

  “I do not want to leave yet, either, my lord,” Lord Gilbert said. “I am not tired.” He looked at Lord Leonard for support. His brother shrugged.

  “I am fine with your decision, Reverend,” Lord Leonard said.

  The Duke of Norrend looked from one man to another before finally settling back in his seat with a laugh. “All right, we will give in to the women this time. But just this once.”

  The other men knew that would most likely not be the only time the loving father gave in to the young women he considered his daughters.

  From the moment they sat down next to her on the porch swing, Lady Annabelle and Lady Julia held a conversation in front of Lady Joanna, including her whenever they could because they had her trapped and she did not have a choice.

  They made her laugh and told funny stories they’d heard from the children that morning. Lady Annabelle reenacted the reaction of one of the little girls to the picture they were to paint, jabbering on about swimming in the ocean and how much fun it would be to get away from a place with so much rain.

  “She must have been about six. I have never seen a child so precocious in my life!” Lady Joanna laughed at the looks Lady Annabelle was making to show the little girl’s reactions. Lady Joanna was giggling, her cup of tea bouncing lightly in her hands.

  Lady Julia engaged her sister in conversation and Lady Annabelle began listening to the men. She heard the tension in Duke Colbourn’s voice when the reverend mentioned the donation he had made to the immigrant children in New York.

  America was filled with orphaned children, apparently. She was always hearing about the orphanages and other facilities used to keep the children from dying in the streets. It sounded horrible to her but at least the Americans were doing something about it.

  She herself was interested in visiting someday. She wondered if the donation the Duke of Cardinal made included making a trip there himself. If he had seen the state of New York himself, she wanted to hear about it. She wanted to know what it was like.

  He sounded testy when the reverend spoke of the donation, as if he was expecting to be soundly judged for it. When the reverend complimented him, he sounded relieved. She agreed with Reverend Stovington. It was a noble gesture.

  When her father prepared to go inside and Lady Julia stopped him, she was relieved. She wanted to spend a little more time in Duke Colbourn’s presence before going upstairs to dream about him. She was not in control of her dreams and she was glad about it. There was never anything inappropriate in them. He was just there with her.

  Lady Julia took her attention away just before the duke mentioned being a father. When he’d looked at her, she was not looking at him. If she had heard his statement, he was sure she would have reacted to it.

  He would have loved to have seen the look on her face. It was not Lady Julia he wanted to have children with. It was her.

  If he had the choice to make.

  He was growing weary and losing track of the conversation. He’d done a lot of walking that day. The only thing keeping him on the porch was the fact that Lady Annabelle was nearby. All he had to do was glance over and he would see her pretty face. He hoped someday he would see her every day.

  He grinned. Like he was now. But different.

  His time at Norrend was going to be cut short any time now. As soon as Mr. Covington arrived, he did not expect to be there for much longer than a few days. How was he going to handle leaving, now that he would be going without his heart?

  He would think up some kind of excuse. He would make up a reason. He would write home and tell them he was going to stay for a while longer. Maybe he would never go back.

  He chuckled to himself, shaking his head.

  “You are lost in thought often, my lord,” Lord Gilbert said, smiling up at the young duke. The Duke of Cardinal looked at him through tired eyes.

  “I get this way when I am tired, Mr. Balfour. I cannot help it. I believe I must go inside and shut my eyes.”

 
“It is perfectly fine for you to go when you want, Your Grace,” Lord Gilbert said. “The young ladies will be there tomorrow, as well.”

  The Duke of Cardinal could not help grinning. He nodded. “You are right. I will see you on the morrow?”

  “Yes, my lord,” Lord Gilbert said, returning the grin.

  The Duke of Cardinal excused himself to go inside. He boldly walked to the swing and bowed to the three young ladies. He held out his hand to Lady Julia first and kissed the top of her hand.

  “It was lovely seeing you today, Lady Julia. You have a wonderful countenance about you.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace,” Lady Julia replied, lowering her head with a smile. He nodded and moved to Lady Joanna.

  Kissing her hand, he said, “Lady Joanna, I did not spend a lot of time talking with you today but I would like you to know that I will make more of an effort in the future. I have fallen short of my duties and I apologize to you for that.”

  “No, you have done nothing wrong,” Lady Joanna protested softly. “I isolate myself often. Please do not think another thing about it, my lord.”

  The Duke of Cardinal turned to Lady Annabelle with purpose. He had chosen to say goodnight to her last because he was going to take his time about it. He did not want to separate himself from her and go to sleep alone in his bed. But he was certainly going to do just that.

  He took her hand and pressed the top to his lips, hoping his passion for her was coming through his lips into her hand. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her light perfume. It was a soft musky scent that made his chest tighten. Something inside him stirred. He took his time letting go of her hand and standing up straight.

  Aware that he was acting awkwardly, the Duke of Cardinal smiled at the pretty woman. She smiled back. “I do hope we will have time to speak again very soon, Lady Annabelle. It… is always a pleasure for me.”

  “I feel the same, my lord,” Lady Annabelle replied. He cleared his throat, encouraging himself to go on.

  “We will be examining the art pieces tomorrow if you are free to join us. I am sure the Duke of Norrend would not mind.”

  “I will check my schedule. I have kept my days full since the end of my schooling.”

  The Duke of Cardinal raised his eyebrows. “Did you complete your academic education?”

  “I did, yes. Of course.”

  “I would like to discuss this with you at length sometime. I believe now I see why you are so easy to talk to.”

  Lady Julia cleared her throat and stared at the two of them through wide eyes.

  Lady Joanna giggled into her cup, refusing to look up at the duke.

  The Duke of Cardinal moved his eyes over the two twins. “I apologize. I did not mean to get into a conversation. I am retiring to my chambers. Of course, you and your sister are amazingly smart women.”

  Lady Julia smiled. “We do thank you for that, my lord.”

  Her embarrassed voice made the rest of them laugh.

  “I am happy to have spent much of my day with you ladies. I will see you on the morrow.”

  Chapter 10

  To his disappointment, the Duke of Cardinal did not see Lady Annabelle till mid-day at the meal they shared in the dining hall of Norrend.

  He went down the curved steps to the bottom that led out into the main foyer. The open double doors of the dining hall gave him ample view inside. He saw everyone he knew and a few he didn’t. It was apparently an open, social event, these mid-day meals at Norrend.

  He was going in through the doors when he nearly bumped into Lady Annabelle. She was holding a glass of clear liquid and it nearly splashed back on her. She reacted by holding the glass higher and stepping back with her body.

  “Oh! Oh!” she exclaimed before getting herself under control. She fanned herself with her free hand, shaking her head. “That was a close one, Your Grace.”

  “Yes, it was. I do apologize.”

  “It is all right. I was not looking where I was going. You were just trying to come inside.”

  “Please allow me to escort you to your chair.”

  Lady Annabelle smiled at him. “I would be happy to but I am taking my lunch to eat with Lady Julia in the garden. She does love the sunny days. It rains here more often than it is sunny. We take advantage of it when we can.”

  The thought of a sunny picnic in the garden with the two women appealed to the duke but he said nothing. He was not invited and was not the type of man to invite himself anywhere.

  “You are only having water?” The duke eyed the cup in her hand.

  Lady Annabelle looked confused for a moment before she looked down at the cup in her hand. She smiled. “No, my lord. Lady Julia has the picnic basket. I am bringing this cup with me because Lady Julia always forgets to put cups in the basket. She will bring the drink, she just does not bring anything to drink it in.”

  The Duke of Cardinal laughed, delighted by the little anecdote. “I do hope you have a good time.”

  “Thank you. I am sure we will. We always do.”

  She passed him and walked to the front doors without looking back. She could feel his eyes on her back anyway. It made her smile. She opened the door and passed through, proud of herself for not looking back at him.

  The Duke of Cardinal watched her as she went, admiring her form and the way the skirt swished about her legs. She was wearing slippers again, the same dark shade as the pair that had hurt her feet so terribly the night of the ball. He hoped they weren’t the same ones.

  He chuckled as he turned away.

  The spread on the long table in front of him was amazing. He scanned the many trays, the fruits, puddings, pies, meat selections, and loaves of bread that were placed about on the surface of the table. At one end there were plates.

  He picked one up and began to choose from the selection. Everything looked fresh and delicious to his grumbling stomach.

  He stood to the side and ate three strawberries before looking up and around him. The drapes hanging on the walls were open to let in the sunlight. They were a dark red color. Each one was trimmed with gold and the tassels on the end were long and gold.

  Other than the long table, the other furnishings in the room were covered in fabrics that matched the drapes. Tables, chairs, settees, trunks, all were spread about the room.

  Decorations and busts were scattered around the room celebrating the artistic stylings of Lady Annabelle’s great-grandmother, who had doted on the finer things, the porcelains, chinas, crystal and blown glass.

  He took in the beauty while chomping down on a few more strawberries, following them up with grapes.

  “This is a fine room, is it not?” He looked over to see the reverend standing next to him. He could not keep the look of surprise from covering his face.

  The reverend saw it and grinned. “You did not expect to see me here again today, did you?”

  “No, Reverend, I must admit I did not. How are you today?” The Duke of Cardinal was anxious to avoid an explanation for the clergyman’s presence. It was not his business to know.

  “Yes, after your departure last night, His Grace spoke to the boys about coming to help with some of the landscaping.”

  Unable to avoid the conversation, the Duke of Cardinal asked, “I thought Lord Leonard was here to be an apprentice?”

  “His Grace mentioned that he had some ideas about changes he wanted to be made and he would have to hire a few extra hands to do it. The boys volunteered. I know Lord Gilbert would rather be doing something than sitting at the chapel, studying the Bible. It is not in his destiny to be a minister, I believe.”

  “He does not seem like the minister type to me, I must admit,” Duke Colbourn replied with a grin. “I do not know what I would picture him doing for a living but speaking from a pulpit is not it.”

  The reverend shook his head. “I agree with your assessment.” He had picked up a plate and was filling it with different foods. The Duke of Cardinal had a sudden thought and looked around th
e room.

  “Where are they now? Surely they are hungry. Young men like us…” he lifted his half-full plate he’d piled high with various foods. “We need our nourishment.”

  The reverend laughed, his portly jaw jiggling. “For some of us, that does not end.” He patted his large belly with another laugh. The Duke of Cardinal chuckled, nodding.

  “They are around here somewhere. I believe the last thing I heard, they were going outside to scan some of the property the duke wants to be changed. They have a good eye for such things. Why, you should see some of the changes they have made to my chapel. The cemetery in the back is a thing of beauty now. Have you seen it?”