by Abby Ayles
Chapter 22
The tension in the mansion was much less palpable than Lady Annabelle thought it would be. Lady Joanna rarely spoke to the duke when they were in the same area.
Lady Annabelle, however, was spending as much time in his presence as she could. Though they were never alone, sometimes she felt as if they were, that it was just the two of them eating their dinner or chatting in front of the fire.
Two days after the huge storm they had experienced, the arrival of the Duke of Cardinal’s colleague was finally upon them.
Unexpectedly, a carriage came rolling up the hill toward the front of the mansion. Lady Julia and Lady Annabelle were sitting in the rocking chairs, barely moving, enjoying the late summer day.
Lady Annabelle sat forward when she saw the carriage approaching. She stood up at the same time as Lady Julia. Both women moved to the edge of the porch.
“Do you recognize the carriage?”
“It looks like the one the hotel in the city uses. The one nearest to us,” Lady Annabelle replied, shifting her body so she could get a better look. “Go in and tell Father. He may want to come out here.”
Lady Julia immediately went into the house, calling out for the duke. Lady Annabelle could hear her “Your Grace” even after the door closed.
The carriage was almost to them when the door opened again and a flood of people came out. The duke, duchess, Lady Cecilia, Lady Joanna, Lady Julia, and the Duke of Cardinal all came out, one after another.
The Duke of Cardinal’s face lit up. Mr. Covington had finally arrived.
He hurried to the edge of the porch and down the steps so he could meet his friend. As he passed Lady Annabelle and her father, he said, “It is my colleague. He has finally arrived!”
Lady Annabelle looked up at him as he went by. The smile on his face was bigger than she’d ever seen. He was delighted beyond the shadow of a doubt.
The door of the carriage opened and a slender man came out, stepping down to the ground with an energy unlike any Lady Annabelle had seen before. He seemed to be bouncing on his feet, even when he was standing in one place. He was a flurry of movement from the moment he stepped out of the carriage.
“Your Grace!” Mr. Covington said, gesturing wildly with his hands as if he was swatting several flies away from him. “I am so delighted to finally see you. You would not believe, my lord, the trauma I have been through. I am lucky to be alive! Blessed, you could say! Yes, blessed! My lord, it has been quite a trip getting here, I must say. You will not believe the stories I have to tell. The heroism! The miracles! Ah, I have much to tell you!”
Lady Annabelle listened to the man talking, an instinctive smile on her face. He was almost as tall as the Duke of Cardinal, with long brown hair that reached his shoulders. His eyes were a bright blue, such a blue that it looked like his eyes were pools of clear water. He removed his hat before bowing to Lady Annabelle, the first person he met on his way up the porch steps.
“This is Lady Annabelle Cartwright. Her father, the Duke of Norrend. Her Grace, Duchess Louise Cartwright. Lady Julia Rickman. Lady Joanna Rickman. And the youngest lady here, Miss Cecelia Cartwright. This is my lord, my brother, my confidant, Mr. Matthew Covington. A gentleman beyond all measure.”
As the duke spoke, Mr. Covington straightened himself and looked very proud. “Well! I do thank you for that, Your Grace!”
“It is good to finally meet you, my lord,” Lady Annabelle tipped into a curtsy. He shook his head.
“My lady, the pleasure is mine. And I have no title.”
“I apologize, Mr. Covington.”
He shook his head again. “No need, no need. I enjoy being mistaken for a lord. It makes me feel as though I have been bestowed with an honor beyond my worth.”
“No honor is beyond your worth, Mr. Covington.” Duke Colbourn looked at the family. “I have informed the duke but I neglected to tell all of you that I have known Mr. Covington since we were in the academy together. We are good friends, as well as colleagues. We have studied the history of art together for many years. He is the first person I would ask for advice on any artwork in the world.”
“Now, now,” Mr. Covington laughed. “I am sure you would find many more who are just as knowledgeable as I am. But for now, I am the best you have.”
“Shall we go inside?” The Duke of Norrend held out his hand.
“That would be fabulous, yes.” Mr. Covington passed by him, smiling at the rest of them as he went. He stopped inside the foyer, looking around with wide eyes. “What a lovely home! This interior decorating. You chose well, Your Grace. You chose well.”
Duke Cartwright smiled at him. “Thank you, Mr. Covington.”
Mr. Covington placed his hands behind his back and began to walk slowly around the foyer, taking in the furnishings, the decorations, the art hanging on the walls. He looked satisfied. Lady Annabelle watched him make the round, looking up at the Duke of Cardinal to see what his reaction was. He was watching Mr. Covington as well, the smile on his face nearly undetectable.
Mr. Covington came back to them after surveying one side of the room. His eyes were alight with energy. “If this is a representation of the artwork you have, my lord, I am excited to see the rest.”
“We have collected a good deal of valuable works of art, Mr. Covington. I am sure you have heard of some of them.”
Mr. Covington nodded. “I will be surprised if I have not heard of them all, my lord. Duke Colbourn tells me that you have the Tiziano Vecelli he has been looking for. That is good news indeed. He has been searching for some time.”
“I did not know it was in your possession until recently, my lord,” the Duke of Cardinal told the Duke of Norrend. “It has been a well-known secret.”
“A well-known secret?” Lady Joanna said. They all turned to look at her. She blushed and dropped her eyes. Mr. Covington walked to her, placing his hand under her chin and lifting it up so she had to look at him.
“What a lovely creature you are,” he said, his voice soft and breathless. “Such artistry, such beauty I could make with a face like this on a canvas. Oh yes, I could. You would be breath-taking, absolutely breath-taking!”
Lady Joanna looked terrified. Her face turned red. He laughed and tapped her chin lightly. “I do not mean to scare you, my lady. You must already know that you are a beautiful woman. Like your sisters and the duchess here. You are surrounded by beautiful women, Your Grace. What a lucky man you are.”
“Thank you, Mr. Covington. I quite agree. The parlor is this way. Shall we have some tea?”
“A lovely idea indeed!” Mr. Covington followed the duke to the door of the parlor. They all moved into the room one by one. Lady Annabelle made sure to walk in behind the Duke of Cardinal, so she could stand near him wherever he went.
He glanced back several times, making eye contact with her. He was keeping tabs on her. It made her heart melt every time their eyes met.
Standing near him, she watched as Mr. Covington circled the room, again admiring the furnishings, the grand clock standing in the corner, the artwork on the walls. She stayed where she was when the Duke of Cardinal went to him.
“The Tiziano Vecelli is in the storage room where the rest of them are, Mr. Covington,” the Duke of Cardinal said. “After we have some refreshments, we should go immediately and see them. I would like your opinion.”
“That is why I came,” Mr. Covington laughed. Lady Annabelle could tell they would have to get used to hearing that laughter. She believed he could be told that someone had died and he would find a way to turn it into something positive. He eyed his friend.
“Are you in a hurry to leave, Your Grace? I was under the impression from your last letter that you intended to stay longer than originally planned.”
“I am planning to stay, Mr. Covington, and you are welcome too, I am assuming.”
Mr. Covington shook his head. “Never assume, my lord. Always know.”
The Duke of Cardinal smiled. “I do know. I as
ked the duke for his permission and he has had a room made ready for you. If you wish to stay.”
“I have not seen you in some time, my lord. I am wanting to stay. But I must ask, before we see the paintings, I would like to have a private discussion with you, if that is possible.”
The Duke of Cardinal looked out the window. “It does not appear there is rain on the way. Would you like to see the garden? It is a work of beauty on its own.”
“This mountainside is a thing of beauty,” Mr. Covington said as he walked toward the duke, who had seated himself in a chair near the fireplace. Mary would be in soon with refreshments. The rest of them took seats around the duke, all eyes on the newcomer. “I should love to see the garden.”
“We will return shortly.”
The Duke of Norrend nodded, waving one hand. “Do as you please. Consider my home yours for the time being.”
“Thank you, Your Grace. That is very kind of you.”
The two men walked toward the door. The Duke of Cardinal looked at Lady Annabelle over his shoulder, giving her a warm smile. She blinked, smiling back. She felt like a silly girl, thinking she would miss him while he was gone. Even for a half hour.
The Duke of Cardinal and Mr. Covington did not speak until they were at the garden gate. Mr. Covington stopped and stood there for a moment, taking in what he could of the small hillside representation in the middle of the vast garden.
“Oh my,” he said breathlessly. “Oh, this is something to behold, is it not?” He pulled open the gate and went through, looking back at the Duke of Cardinal. “This is simply amazing. What a work of art!” He went directly down the path to the closest area he could get to the hill fountain. “What is this?”
“The servants call it hill fountain. I do not know if it has a proper name. It has small carvings that look like the hillside as you come up to the mansion.”
Mr. Covington nodded. “I can see that. It is amazing work! I could never carve such small figures that look so very lifelike. Such exact representations of the real thing. Oh my, I am impressed.”
The Duke of Cardinal grinned. “Shall we talk about the paintings?”
Mr. Covington looked sober for a moment, losing his smile, though it was still hidden in his eyes. “You are under the impression the duke has been taken? The paintings are not genuine?”
“I do not know for certain. Yes, it is my impression. That is why I need you to be here. I cannot buy them if they are forgeries and the duke will need to be told as much.”
“What has made you think they are not the genuine paintings?”
“Small defects I think no one else has seen. They may not be defects. They may be parts of the paintings I did not know were there. I have never seen them before in person.”
Mr. Covington shook his head, standing stiff with his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes were focused on the hill fountain as he took in every small detail.
“If you think the paintings are forgeries, I will certainly check for any signs of defect. How many do you suspect?”
“Three.”
“Is one of them the Vecelli?”
The Duke of Cardinal shook his head. “Thankfully, no. I do believe that one is genuine. However, with my untrained eye, I truly cannot say.”
“I will check for you, my lord. If there is any chance they are not genuine, I will know.”
“I know. That is why I asked you to come.”
Mr. Covington’s smile was back. “Yes, we established that, did we not?”
The Duke of Cardinal laughed. “We did.”
“You are wanting to stay longer because of the young lady in there? The Lady Annabelle?”
The Duke of Cardinal raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Yes. How did you know?”
Mr. Covington laughed loudly. “It does not take a trained eye to see how the two of you look at each other. There is obviously something between you. Are you courting her?”
“I am.”
“Oh? And when did this begin? Why have you not written to me about it?”
“I just received permission yesterday. I am afraid my letter would have been delayed until after you got here.”
They both laughed.
“I am happy for you, my lord. If there is anything I can do to help the process along, please do let me know.”
The Duke of Cardinal gave Mr. Covington a slap on the shoulder. “You are a good friend, Mr. Covington. I am glad you are here.”
Chapter 23
Lady Annabelle stood by the window and watched the two men in the garden. Feeling like she was spying on them, she turned to the side and looked at her father.
She wanted to talk to him again. He was melancholy the last time, saying that she would be marrying soon and he would lose his little girl. Now, after what had happened the day before with Lady Joanna, she wondered if his opinion of the Duke of Cardinal had changed.
He seemed a little guarded, which disappointed Lady Annabelle. She did not want her father to object to a relationship between them. Lady Joanna had planted a seed of doubt that had not been there before.
The duke sat in his chair without speaking, lifting the teacup to his lips every now and then, staring at the non-existent fire in the fireplace. Lady Annabelle walked to him.
“Do you want me to light a fire, Father?” she asked softly. The duke looked up at her in surprise, as if he had not expected her to come over and speak to him. His face relaxed after a moment and he smiled, shaking his head.
“No, I am not cold. Are you cold?”
“Oh, no, Father, it is quite warm today.”
“Bring a chair, my dear, and sit with me. We can talk.”
Lady Annabelle sat in the chair nearest to him, vacated by the duchess, who had taken her leave for an afternoon nap. She leaned toward her father. “I am worried, Father.”
He gave her a sober look. “As am I. Tell me, daughter, what it is you are worried about?”
“I worry for many reasons. I worry that Lady Joanna is troubled and that we will not be able to help her mature. I worry that you have… thoughts of doubt about Duke Colbourn. I worry that you will object if our relationship continues to grow.”
The Duke of Norrend turned his eyes back to the blackness of the fireplace. “I worry for those reasons, as well. And for others. I worry about your mother, your sister, Lady Julia. I worry about the state of the house, whether the servants are satisfied and taken care of, whether the businesses will fail. There are many worries in this world. We must pick which ones are the most important.”
Lady Annabelle tilted her hand, trying to understand what was most important to her father. He had mentioned several things she considered much more important than the rumors and lies of a jealous young woman. She hoped he felt the same way about it.
“What is important, Father? Tell me what to be worried about.”
He smiled at her without humor. “I cannot tell you what to worry about, my dear. You will worry about the things that are closest to your heart. What is it you are most worried about?”
She tilted her head and leaned even closer. “I fear you will object to Duke Colbourn and I. I worry that Mother’s opinion will sway you.”
The Duke of Norrend looked down at the floor before moving his eyes back to the fireplace. “The duchess is a hard woman to read. She is softer inside than she appears.”
Lady Annabelle gave her father a doubtful look. “I cannot imagine it, Father. Mother? Soft?” She tried to picture her mother in a situation that would cause her to react in a soft way. She could not imagine even one. She always assumed her mother was cold about everything she did. She showed little affection to her daughters. It was not something Lady Annabelle was used to seeing.
“I know you do not see it, Lady Annabelle. But you must realize that your mother has been through many traumatic events in her life. They have shaped and formed her opinion of the world. She was not always the woman she is now. She has grown distant to society and the ton. She does not s
eek their approval when she sends you and the girls to the parties. She seeks her own approval, something I am afraid the poor woman may never receive.”
Lady Annabelle felt sorry for her mother. “But why not, Father? Is she not capable of loving herself?”
The Duke of Norrend’s eyes snapped to his daughter’s face. “That is very intuitive of you, my dear. No. It seems she is always seeking a perfection none of us can attain. That is why she is hard on you and your sisters. It is because she is hard on herself.”