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

by Abby Ayles

  “Your Grace?” The Duke of Norrend looked at him as he turned to the church. “Will you be joining us to look for the reverend?”

  “I will, my lord,” the Duke of Cardinal replied. “I wish to check on the ladies first. They may know something by now.”

  “I do not see how they could.” Despite his words, the Duke of Norrend moved to follow the Duke of Cardinal into the church.

  There were more people there than there had been when they left the ladies. The Duchess of Norrend and the girls were not sitting in the back pew anymore but were standing in the middle aisle, talking to some of the other ladies.

  When Lady Annabelle looked up and caught his eye, her face lit up. A warm feeling spread through him and he could not help but smile. She smiled back. He thought it was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

  Mr. Covington leaned over and tapped the Duke of Cardinal on his arm. “You look like a love-sick puppy dog, Your Grace,” he murmured in an amused voice.

  “Do I?” The duke did not take his eyes from Lady Annabelle.

  “You do. You should go speak to her. I think it will do both of you some good. I can see you are upset about the current events. Upset as in angry. You should go talk to her. It will calm your heart.”

  “I like your advice, Mr. Covington,” the Duke of Cardinal responded. “I believe I will take it.”

  He moved away from the group of men toward the women, pulling in a deep, calming breath. He did not take his eyes from her face. She saw him coming and turned toward him.

  The duke was stopped several times by other parishioners asking if he knew anything, to which he always responded that he didn’t. He wondered why the people would ask such a ridiculous question. He was practically a stranger and if the reverend had been spotted, they would already have known about it.

  He managed to get to the ladies within a few minutes, avoiding as many people as he could.

  He stepped up beside them just as the women moved their eyes over his shoulder and spotted the Balfour brothers. Lady Joanna looked distraught immediately and she turned away, covering her face. Lady Annabelle and Lady Julia looked from the Lords Balfour up to the Duke of Cardinal with questioning looks.

  He did not want to tell them what they already knew. The Balfour brothers were contesting the accusations and claiming innocence. They tossed Lady Joanna to the lions as soon as it was convenient for them.

  Chapter 33

  He looked sorrowfully at Lady Joanna before turning his eyes to the Duchess of Norrend.

  “Your Grace, the Lords Balfour are claiming innocence and have said that Lady Joanna cannot be trusted. The reverend has not been seen or found. The Lords Balfour claim they have not seen or heard from him since last evening. Can you think of anywhere he might have gone?”

  The Duchess of Norrend glanced around the room at the rest of the people. “I am sure that if anyone knows where he is, it would not be me, my lord. Nor my daughters. We do not associate with the reverend the way the duke does. He would be more likely to have answers than I would. I am sure he will think of something.”

  “My lady, would you care to walk with me?” The Duke of Cardinal turned to Lady Annabelle. “We will go around the church grounds and join the others who are looking for the reverend.”

  “I do hope he is all right,” Lady Julia said. “I always enjoy his sermons.”

  “I would like to go on a walk with you, my lord,” Lady Annabelle said, scanning the duke’s handsome face. “Mother, do I have your permission?” She did not even turn her eyes from him when she asked the question. Her mother looked at her with amusement.

  “You may,” she said, turning to Lady Julia. “You will accompany them, Lady Julia.”

  Lady Julia stood up. “Yes, Your Grace. I would be happy to.” She followed behind the Duke of Cardinal and Lady Annabelle as they went to the door, her hands clasped behind her back.

  Lady Annabelle could not help but smile up at the Duke of Cardinal. He returned her smile.

  As they passed through the door, the Duke of Cardinal holding it open for her, he leaned down slightly and said in a low voice, “I do hope that we will be walking down the aisle in the other direction within a year or so. I suppose it is up to you.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “It is up to me? How is it up to me?”

  “You will have to say yes after our courtship, will you not? What if you tire of me and do not want to see me again?”

  Lady Annabelle threw back her head and let out a light laugh. She tilted her head to the side and gave him a warm look. “I do not think that is possible, my lord.”

  “Are you sure? I would hate to give you my heart only to have it trampled on.”

  Lady Annabelle wondered if she should be offended by his words. “I am not the type to trample on someone’s heart, my lord. And I certainly would not trample on yours. I have a great deal of love to give and if there is anyone I would like to give it to, it is you.”

  “I do like the sound of those words, my lady,” he responded. “I have been thinking about you all day, wondering when I would have the time to speak with you alone. I feel your input in this matter would be vital.”

  “Do you?”

  “I do.”

  Lady Annabelle’s heart raced at the thought that he valued her opinion. She did not know what she would have to offer but she would certainly try.

  “We must find a way to prove the paintings were stolen by the Lords Balfour. Only then will we find the paintings and justice will be done. But I can think of nothing that would prove they took them.”

  “The last time we saw the paintings,” Lady Annabelle said, looking out over the land as she walked, “the Lords Balfour and Lady Joanna were in the parlor. Do you remember?”

  “I do.” The Duke of Cardinal nodded.

  “And Lady Joanna… I was behind her. I could see how nervous she was. She was kneading her hands like she does when she is nervous.”

  “Kneading?”

  Lady Annabelle lifted her hands and rubbed her fingers over her palms aggressively to show him. “This is what she does. Either behind her back or in front. This time, it was at her back and only I could see it. I do not believe you noticed though their backs were to you, as well.”

  “I did not notice. Even if I had, I would not have associated it with nervous energy, as I do not know the Lady Joanna very well.”

  Lady Annabelle nodded. “I have known her for nearly all my life. I know her mannerisms.”

  “I am quite sure you do.”

  “They were there when we all left for the dining hall, do you recall?”

  “I do.”

  “They were playing cards.”

  Suddenly, the Duke of Cardinal remembered putting away the card game. “I put the cards away this morning before I went in to see the paintings.”

  She looked at him. “You did? Why would you do that? The servants would have gotten them.”

  He shrugged. “I wanted to be helpful. I want to be on your father’s good side.”

  “If they left the cards there, it shows they were distracted from finishing up. They did not even have time to clean up after themselves.”

  “Would they have cleaned it up or left it for the servants?” the Duke of Cardinal asked.

  “Lady Joanna knows that the rule of the house is if you get out the board or the deck of cards, you must put it away. Our servants do a lot of work around the house and Father does not want our mess to be in the way. He says it is a sign of respect.”

  The Duke of Cardinal’s eyebrows shot up. “A sign of respect to the servants?”

  She shook her head. “The sign of respect to oneself.”

  Catching on, the Duke of Cardinal nodded. “I see.” He thought about it for a moment. “If I had not put away the game, it would have at least shown that they were distracted. That they had to do something quickly before they went to the dining hall.”

  “How did they manage to get to your chambers without anyon
e seeing them? With three paintings?”

  The Duke of Cardinal shook his head. “I have no idea. I would like to extract the information from them but I do not believe I can do anything to make them more friendly to me. I believe they came here with the intention of taking the paintings and I simply got in the way.”

  “You are probably correct, my lord,” Lady Annabelle’s voice was soft. “I do wish there was a way.”

  The Duke of Cardinal put one hand on hers where it rested on his arm. “I apologize, my lady. I am very frustrated with them. I am beside myself and I do not know what to do.”

  She looked amused. “A duel?”

  He looked at her as if he could not believe she could even suggest such a thing, even in jest. “I do not wish to kill them for their wrongdoing. Should we participate in a duel, one or both would surely die. However, this is not something I want to happen. I do not want to duel them. Neither of them.”

  “You cannot duel two people at once, my lord,” Lady Annabelle responded, stepping over a particularly large stone on the ground and then looking back up at him. He was smiling, though it was barely detectable.

  “I would not wish to duel them at the same time, though I think their odds would be slightly better.”

  “My goodness,” Lady Annabelle chuckled. “I did not know you were such a good shot.”

  “I am,” the Duke of Cardinal replied with a nod. “My father gave me some tips on how to survive. Shooting a pistol was one of them.

  “In case you should ever be challenged?”

  “Yes, that is right.”

  “Did he have cause to think you would be challenged with something so severe?”

  The Duke of Cardinal looked down at her, squinting his dark eyes. “My lady, is that something you wish to discuss or shall we speak about the paintings?”

  Lady Annabelle shook her head and said firmly, “I do want to discuss the paintings. But let us finish this first. Please tell me, my lord, if he had any cause to think that way. Were you a restless young man?”

  “I am still a young man and I am quite restless,” the Duke of Cardinal responded with a nod and a wide smile. She giggled again. “But I was not a troublemaker. I was a good boy for my father and mother.”

  “And your mother still lives?”

  “Yes, the duchess is in Cardinal Castle.”

  “You live in a castle?”

  He shook his head, at first confusing her and then clarifying with his words. “My mother lives there. The duchess will never leave Cardinal Castle. It is her home. I have several pets there, including two dogs and three horses. I miss my pets.”

  “And you are planning to stay here. Will you be bringing them with you?”

  “If they wish to come.”

  Again, Lady Annabelle had to laugh. “If they wish to come? How will you know?”

  “Have you any pets, my lady?”

  She looked up at him. “My lord, you’ve been living with us for several weeks. You know I do not have a pet.”

  “You should get a cat.”

  Lady Annabelle shook her head, laughing again. “You are making me laugh, my lord. I do not need a pet. I am perfectly fine on my own. However, it does appear that when you and I marry, I will inherit your five pets. I am sure I will love them as my own.”

  “You do not know how much that means to me,” the Duke of Cardinal said, squeezing her hand with his overtop hers.

  “I think we have not gotten very far on the progress of finding the paintings or the reverend.” Lady Annabelle’s voice was soft.

  He laughed. “No, I suppose we got on different topics. We will have a lot of time to discuss our lives and our pets.”

  “Your pets,” Lady Annabelle stressed with a smile.

  His laughter came abruptly once again. “Yes. My pets.”

  “As for the Balfour brothers, I believe they took the paintings and I believe Lady Joanna has told the truth. This time. She was lying before but now… I could see it on her face. She has told us the truth and is now deep in regret and shame for her actions.”

  “It is sad to see the poor girl in such a state. She is pretty and smart, yet she does not feel that way.”

  Lady Annabelle shook her head. “I am at a loss to know what is running through her head sometimes. She has turned down perfectly suitable interested men, at least they seemed to be so to me. It does not make sense to me. It is as though she wants to be alone in the world.”

  “I do not think anyone wants to be alone in this world,” the Duke of Cardinal said, turning her so they could walk to the West, where the sun was burning bright in the sky. “But some people do bring their loneliness on themselves by lying, cheating, and stealing. Let us rejoin your family. I know your mother must be worried about you.”

  Lady Annabelle laughed. “She is not worried about me, my lord. She knows I am with you.”

  Her words comforted the Duke of Cardinal. He wanted the duchess to approve of him.

  Chapter 34

  It was late that night before Lady Annabelle and Lady Julia went to bed. They spent an hour in Lady Joanna’s room, comforting her and talking to her about things that had nothing to do with paintings or suitors.

  It was not easy for Lady Annabelle not to mention her intended, as he never left her mind. But she knew it was important for Lady Joanna to recover from her betrayal.

  Lady Joanna and Lady Julia had gone back to their home for a few hours after church but found themselves bored and lonely without the Cartwright family surrounding them.

  Their father was out searching for the reverend and their mother was holed up in her chambers with a book and a cup of tea. She did not want to be disturbed.

  She never wanted to be disturbed.

  Since they were left to their own devices, the girls changed into riding clothes and took an hour-long ride, going to the city shopping district for a short time and enjoying the afternoon sun. Lady Annabelle chose to stay at Norrend with her mother. She took a nap and ate tea and biscuits, sitting in front of the fireplace with her mother in another chair nearby.

  They said nothing. Just being in the presence of another person calmed Lady Annabelle’s beating heart.

  She’d had a good talk with her mother, who assured her that she was thinking deeply about her courtship with the Duke of Cardinal. She was still unsure how to react to the duke.

  “He is not a difficult man to understand, Mother,” Lady Annabelle said at one point, lowering her book to her lap.

  “I have not spoken with him except to reprimand him for something that has been told to me. The duke is the one giving you permission to court him.”

  “But he is a good man, Mother, surely you see that.”

  As she spoke, Cecilia came in the room and went directly to the cart to pour herself some tea. She picked up a pastry, turning back and eyeing her mother and sister. “What have I walked into?” she asked innocently. “I do hope there is no argument.”

  Lady Annabelle shook her head. “I am merely trying to convince our mother that the Duke of Cardinal is not a bad man, despite what Lady Joanna might have said.”

  Cecilia looked at her mother. “Lady Joanna was not telling the truth, Mother. I know she is not telling the truth.”

  Lady Annabelle and the Duchess of Norrend looked at the young girl with wonder. “You do?” Lady Annabelle asked. “How do you know?”

  “Because I overheard a conversation they were having at the church today.” She came over to the couch where Lady Annabelle was sitting and sat down.

  “Why have you not mentioned it yet?”

  “I thought it was already proven that Lady Joanna was telling falsehoods. I saw no need to add wood to the fire.”

  “Please tell me what you overheard, Cecilia,” Lady Annabelle said. “I want Mother to understand that the duke has done nothing wrong.”

  Cecilia looked from her sister to her mother. “The Lords Balfour were talking about her. They said they were surprised she told the duke what s
he told him.

  They never thought she would. They called her weak and child-like. Lord Gilbert… he is not a very nice man. He used some very harsh language to describe Lady Joanna. I am just glad she is no longer considering him as a suitor. He would have been very cruel to her and she could have nothing done about it.”

  Lady Annabelle looked at her mother’s face to see her reaction. The Duchess of Norrend was moving her lips around as if she wanted to say something but the words would not form. Her face was thoughtful and finally, she looked at her eldest daughter. “If she lied for them to protect them, I can see why she has been so distraught.”