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

by Abby Ayles

  But then she thought of Kitty… Dear Kitty… She remembered how she had written to her and asked for information about how she was and where she had gone to.

  Perhaps this ball was Kitty’s response to her. It did make sense that Catherine would be eager to show off her new husband and her new life as the Marchioness of Fairfax.

  As much as it was not the sort of thing Noelle took pleasure in, she actually wished to go to this ball and confront Lord Drake. She could give him a piece of her mind and maybe get some answers from her foolish sister. To be sure, it seemed like the right thing to do in this situation.

  “I think that we really ought to go, Papa,” Noelle said. “We shall be expected there, not just by Kitty and the marquess but by everyone else in the ton. We would look far better if we were to go to her and stand by her side than if we were to ignore her.”

  Her sisters and mother all looked at her, not believing that she of all of them had spoken up in favor of going.

  “People will talk,” the duke said, clearly weakening his guard. “I thought that you of all people would want to be finished with that man.”

  Noelle shook her head vaguely. “People will talk no matter what we do. I am finished with that man, Papa, but she is my sister.”

  He regarded her a moment, scratching the beard on his chin with his thumb. “Perhaps you’re right,” he said thoughtfully. “I only wish that we could visit with the one without having to see the other. But at least they’re married.”

  She smiled at him and immediately went to him, giving her father a big hug. “Thank you, Papa. I’m sure it will be all right now that Lord Edwards has found himself a new lady.”

  This made her mother frown, but Noelle was tired of caring about how her mother felt. She was never going to agree with her, so what was the point in worrying about such matters? At least her father and sisters supported her.

  They were all a bunch of romantics, really. Apart from the duchess.

  The family made arrangements to go to their home in Thornwood in order to attend the ball in Haverhill in a few days’ time. Noelle wasn’t exactly looking forward to returning to that cold cave of a home, but she was willing to visit in order to see Kitty again.

  The coach ride to Thornwood was long and uneventful, not helped at all by the steady rain that picked up practically as soon as the family had boarded. Noelle gazed out of the window, wishing that she could draw the sights that she saw – the weathered trees drooping low with the weight of the weather, the rolling fields perfect for a run through muddy puddles – but her pen would not be able to draw a straight line for the rocking and bouncing that their coach continued to put its passengers through.

  On the evening of the Fairfax ball, the rain hadn’t let up. So, for three more hours in the coach, Noelle and her family endured – this time dressed in all of their finery – another dreary ride. I do hope that this ball is more fun than I’ve been anticipating, to make up for this completely soaked journey out here.

  They were led into the drawing room of Lord Drake’s mansion where they were able to remove their wet coats. A butler and a maid took their wet things and hung them up to dry near the fireplace where there were several other articles hanging. Noelle hugged herself as she stood there in her lilac-colored gown, gazing around the semi-familiar space.

  I wonder if this is where it all really began, she thought. Did they know while we were here that they were going to do this?

  She didn’t think that Catherine would’ve been able to keep such a thing from her sister, even if she had wanted to.

  They all marched out of the sitting room and into the massive ballroom, which Noelle thought appeared just as cavernous and eerie as the other rooms. I wonder where the Earl of Cumberland is…

  As Noelle gazed around the room, she realized that there was no sign of Catherine or Lord Drake yet. She so hoped that this entire thing had not been a ploy to get everyone together without their actually being present in the house themselves. What would be the point of that?

  She tried not to give in to fears of the ominous things that this castle-mansion seemed to always give off. Right as she was about to seek out the refreshments table in order to get herself a glass of champagne, a butler flounced into the doorway of the great room. “Presenting the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland!” he announced.

  Noelle was grateful that she didn’t find a glass of champagne for she surely would have dropped it at the sound of this pronouncement. She looked and saw Catherine and Lord Drake come into the room… Had something befallen his father without anyone else knowing?

  Happily, Catherine and her new husband came over to Noelle and the rest of the family. Are they really indeed married? Noelle had to wonder, until she saw the glittering gold ring on her finger.

  Murmurs filled the room but they had no time for that. “Good evening, Salisbury,” Alphonse said to her father. “I regret that you had to find out this way, but my beloved father just passed away. Your daughter, my Catherine, has been such a comfort to me in this dark time.”

  Noelle blinked at him and then looked at her sister, who had a small and slightly sad smile on her face as she nodded along with her husband. Noelle felt something in the pit of her stomach. Lord Drake was now a duke and her sister had completely eclipsed her.

  At once, she wondered why she had thought this meeting would be such a good idea. Catherine didn’t need their support, she only wished to gloat and parade in front of them. Noelle could feel her mother’s pride in Catherine as she stood there beside her.

  “I can’t believe this,” Noelle said to her sister, giving her a hug in spite of herself. Even though she wanted the same attention that Catherine was now receiving, Noelle could still be happy for her. “My little sister is a duchess.”

  Something about that didn’t sit entirely right with her, but she pushed such thoughts away for the time being. The man was old and ill. It’s not difficult to believe that he has died.

  “I know!” Kitty beamed excitedly at her. “I assure you that I certainly didn’t set out for this, though I knew that it was an eventuality.”

  “It was more than an eventuality,” the new Duke of Cumberland said with a mysterious smile. He remained unchanged since the last time Noelle had seen him, alas. “I knew that he was fading from us.”

  Did you indeed? Noelle thought, narrowing her eyes at him. And just how much of that did you have a hand in?

  She was not going to try and convict the man for murder. She did not have any proof and she’d had more than enough of thinking about him as it was, so she let this idea drop. “My condolences,” she said instead, lowering her gaze so that she might at least appear sad.

  “Thank you,” he replied, taking her hand and giving it a kiss. “You are a dear sister to Catherine and now you shall be a dear sister to me. I just know it.”

  The very thought made Noelle feel sick. Still, she graciously smiled at him and gave a little curtsy. “I would like that very much, your Grace.”

  The words felt repugnant on her tongue. She wished that Mr. Edwards was at this ball, but she saw neither him nor his cousin. I can’t really blame Lord Edwards for not wishing to attend this…spectacle.

  There was not a great deal of dancing at this ball. Catherine and the duke danced several times whilst everyone else watched. Noelle watched her mother’s face as she watched them and felt that there was no chance this woman would ever care much about what she did with her life now.

  In a way, it felt freeing. But Noelle had spent her whole life trying to do what was right and what was expected of her. She’d lived her whole life expecting to marry a nobleman who would continue her family’s legacy and give her little future lords and ladies.

  Now all of that had gone up in smoke. And her mother never once even glanced at her.

  She was glad that Kitty had secured a man as wealthy and high-ranking as the duke was, but she couldn’t help feeling as though all of this could have happened in a proper way. It was
also irrational and absurd, but she felt liberated.

  As soon as she could get away, Noelle went to the refreshments table just outside of the ballroom. She got herself a glass of champagne and sipped it while observing some of the other people at the duke and duchess’s ball. She didn’t really recognize anyone else who was there, which made her believe that they’d invited a lot of people in the duke’s inner circle.

  Surely, she didn’t know everyone in London, Noelle thought, remembering her modesty. She was glad to know that Catherine was going to be introduced to new people. She just wished that they would remember the people in the Salisbury circle as well.

  If I shall be forced to come to balls that she holds and my friends are never there, then I don’t know what I shall do. Noelle thought that the duke would not neglect to invite Mr. Edwards to his parties. And that’s when she wondered if perhaps Mr. Edwards had been invited, he just decided not to come.

  Noelle was sad when she thought about what he and Lord Edwards must still be going through. It was terrible to know that the town was continually talking about them. She knew that the same thing was going on about her and would continue to do so for some time considering that she was still unmarried and therefore a prominent member of the ton.

  She just hoped that Mr. Edwards wasn’t avoiding her.

  Chapter 36

  Rodrick chose not to go to Alphonse and Catherine’s ball on principle. He wanted to support James by not spending further time with that abominable man. Of course, he likely wouldn’t be able to avoid him forever, but he would certainly do his best to avoid Alphonse as long as possible.

  His mother was sad that she was forced to miss out on a good time at Stone Hill Manor, but as soon as they heard that the old duke had passed away, she figured that she might not have had anyone there to talk to. “Surely the Duke and Duchess of Salisbury wouldn’t have gone, and dear Alexander wouldn’t have been there, so I would have been the lone old woman sitting in a chair in the corner.”

  “Oh Mother, it pains me to hear you talk that way. You wouldn’t have been sitting in a corner by yourself. I should have sat there beside you and kept you company.”

  Rodrick wasn’t sad that they hadn’t gone, but he did feel sorry for his mother. She was fond of parties, even if she did act as though she was too old to attend them. James, of course, had no interest in attending as he was too busy with Miss Tate these days.

  And if he doesn’t go, I don’t exactly feel the need to attend, Rodrick thought.

  He had to admit that it did feel strange to sit out a ball, especially one that was hosted by his friend. But Alphonse hadn’t really thought about his feelings when he spoke so harshly to Rodrick and ran off with his cousin’s intended…

  He should know that there were consequences for his actions.

  On the evening while the ball was taking place, Rodrick chose to spend some time with his Uncle Alexander. They went for a long walk through the trees beyond Westwood. The old man was more interested in trying to find wildlife than in actual conversation, but Rodrick thought that this was perfectly all right because he had a lot on his mind.

  I hope that Jamie won’t neglect his father and spend all of his time with Miss Tate now. He shouldn’t start acting like Alphonse acted towards his father. It was not such a surprise to Rodrick that the old Duke of Cumberland had died.

  He, of course, couldn’t be sure if it was because of Alphonse not being around to take care of him; it could’ve just been an ailment of being old. But Rodrick did have to wonder if Alfie’s absence contributed.

  He wasn’t going to try to blame his friend for the death of the old man, though. It was a fleeting thought that he quickly cast aside. Alphonse may have had a lot of faults, but he was no murderer.

  Rodrick was quite taken aback when word reached him a few days after the event that the Duke of Salisbury and his entire family had indeed attended the ball. He couldn’t believe it at first that Lady Noelle would go to a ball that was hosted by the man. Rather than simply accepting this rumor as fact, he decided that he really ought to send her a letter.

  Sitting at his desk in his study, much like he had when he received the letter from Alfie, he held a pen to his paper and thought of what to say for some minutes before he actually wrote anything down.

  Dear Lady Noelle Fletcher,

  It grieved me to hear that you attended the ball that was hosted at Stone Hill Manor. I thought that you might sit it out because of all of the trouble that the now-called duke caused you. I know that your sister was there as well and you may have missed her, but I wonder if somehow by doing this you have encouraged them.

  I did not attend this ball because I knew that my cousin James would not wish me to. After everything he did to Jamie and all of the calamity he put him through, I cannot blame Jamie for feeling that way. He has moved on and has thoughts of Miss Tate to entertain him now.

  Please tell me that you shall reconsider attending such parties. I believe you to be one of the smartest, most honorable ladies in the whole of England so I hope that you shall not let me down in this regard.

  Sincerely,

  Mr. Rodrick Edwards

  He hoped that it wasn’t too formal of him to sign his whole name including the mister but he wanted to make sure to remain proper. If he showed her the proper respect that she deserved, she may take his request more seriously, he believed.

  It turned out that this concern was rather presumptuous, though. A few days went by and then he, in turn, received a letter from the lady herself, written in her beautiful handwriting. He could scarcely believe that the lady had deigned to actually write him back, and in such a short amount of time.

  He had Smyth come with him to the study with the letter in hand, and then Rodrick sent the butler away to find some fresh paper for the response he would surely need to send. He sat at his desk and gently opened the paper to read what Lady Noelle had written.

  Dear Mr. Edwards,

  Please let me assure you that my attending the ball was not something that I did for my own enjoyment. Indeed, it did not turn out to be a very good time for me. I did it for my sister Catherine.

  I wished to support her because my family was firmly prepared to not go. For all of her follies, she is my beloved younger sister and it felt wrong of me to avoid seeing her again when she has been very missed here of late. As you know, I am the eldest child in my parents’ home and now I feel as though I have been forever overshadowed by this little sister.

  When I attended this ball, I was quickly made to feel as though there was something wrong with me. My sister, though glad to see me, was not very grateful to me for forgiving her – or at least trying to. My mother was once more swept up into the duke’s web and I fear that she shall always be enamored with him as her most favorite son-in-law.

  It grieves me indeed to read of your sorrow at my attending. I swear to you that I did not mean any harm to you or your cousin by going. I thought only of my sister’s newfound happiness and I didn’t wish to distance my family from her. Despite her poor judgment, she is still a beloved and dear sister.

  Fondly,

  Noelle Fletcher

  Rodrick appreciated first of all that she had signed her name without ‘Lady’ attached to it. He felt that she’d signed her letter as she would to an intimate friend. Can it be that she thinks of me in that manner even now?

  He didn’t quite know how to respond to her sweet and thoughtful letter. He felt ashamed of himself for assuming that she had gone to the party in order to spite him or James in some way. He should have known that it had all been for her sister.

  And now that he read her account, he saw that she had not had a happy time of things. The poor girl… Rodrick knew that he should never think of a lady like her as ‘poor,’ but he couldn’t help himself in this instance.

  To be somehow demoted by her family and cast aside once her sister married Alphonse… Rodrick never could have predicted something so cruel from the duchess. He k
new that she could be quite cold and calculating about certain things, but he’d never known her to completely give up on one of her children.

  He made a note to speak with his mother about this at some point soon, seeking her motherly advice. He knew that his own dear mother would never cast anyone in her family aside like that, especially not because of a title.

  But then, Mrs. Edwards had never worried her head about such things. He was forever appreciative of that.

  Smyth came into his room, tearing him from his rather sad thoughts, and the butler gladly handed Rodrick a fresh stack of papers. Rodrick thanked him and then placed the papers onto his desk, producing one so that he could begin his letter back to Lady Noelle.