“Her son is all that she has,” a soft voice whispered from beside her.
Diana turned to see who it was that was speaking. A diminutive maid was kneeling at her elbow, refreshing the bowl of water. She handed Diana a fresh cloth and took the dirty one from the Marquess’ forehead. Diana dipped the new cloth in the water.
“I am concerned for her,” she admitted.
“Be careful, mistress. It is not wise to become overly trustful.”
“What do you mean?” Diana frowned in question.
“Do not trust her.”
“What do you mean? Why not?”
“I have said too much. I should not have said anything at all.” The maid stood and scurried away like a frightened little mouse, leaving Diana to stare after her in confusion.
“Wait, what did you mean?” Diana attempted to stop her but was too late. The maid was already gone.
What did she mean? Why can I not trust the Dowager?
An uneasy shiver passed down her spine as she looked up to find the Dowager looking at her with anger in her eyes.
Chapter 18
Diana stayed at the Marquess’ side tending to his needs throughout the remainder of the day. The Dowager had retired to her room to dress for dinner as if nothing had happened. Diana had declined to do so, and the butler had promised to bring her food when the time came. Diana had not realized just how much she had come to think of the Marquess as her protector until he was no longer able to do so. The maid’s admonishment not to trust the Dowager Marchioness had placed her in a rather unsettled state of mind.
“Diana.”
Diana’s head whipped around to find the Marquess’ eyes open and looking up at her.
“Ernest,” she breathed a sigh of relief.
“What happened?”
Diana informed him of everything that had transpired since the hunting accident, to Gabriel saving his life, to the Dowager’s dismissal of the village surgeon.
“Your mother is upstairs preparing for the evening meal, but I will have Roberts send for her.”
“No, wait,” the Marquess shook his head, reaching out to stop her from moving away. “Gabriel truly did all that you said?”
“Indeed, he did.”
“I knew that he was skilled in caring for the horses when they are injured, but I had no notion that he was capable of performing such miracles. I owe him my life.” Something unreadable passed behind his eyes at the realization. Diana was not certain what it was, but given the situation it honestly could have been any number of thoughts and emotions. He had been through a great deal and would need time to recover. Fever was still a very large risk.
“He will be relieved to know that you have awakened. He was quite concerned for you. We all were.”
“I must say that I am glad to be among the living.”
“Indeed,” Diana smiled in relief. She viewed his ability to carry on a coherent conversation as a good sign.
“Are you well? Tobias told me of your own incident in the forest during the hunt.”
“I am well. Gabriel saved me.”
“Then it appears that we both owe him our gratitude this day.”
“We do,” Diana smiled in agreement.
“I owe him a great deal.” The Marquess’ eyes took on a faraway look as if he was no longer in the same room with her but somewhere, sometime, else.
Diana opened her mouth to inquire further but was stopped by the sound of the Dowager Marchioness’ approaching footsteps. Diana rushed to the door to deliver the good news that the Marquess had awakened. Upon hearing this, the Dowager entered the library and walked over to sit down beside her son. Diana decided to give them a moment alone and went in search of the Earl to tell him of the Marquess’ regaining consciousness.
She found him descending the stairs, dressed for the evening meal. It was clear that the Dowager Marchioness was not the only one who believed in decorum regardless of the circumstances.
“He is awake,” Diana greeted him without preamble.
The Earl’s eyes widened, and he moved more quickly down the stairs toward the library. Diana followed and they entered the room to hear the Dowager Marchioness attempting to talk the Marquess out of holding the servants’ dance.
“I wish for the dance to continue on as it would have, had I not fallen prey to such a mishap,” the Marquess answered, shaking his head in refusal of his mother’s argument to cancel the event. “It will take place tomorrow evening as planned.”
“I do not think it wise,” his mother attempted to argue once more.
“Wise or not, it has been decided upon. Tobias, would you be so kind as to act in my stead.”
“Of course, Ernest. Leave the matter with me.”
“Thank you.” The Marquess laid his head back against the back of the lounge and closed his eyes once more.
“Ernest?” the Dowager leaned forward in concern.
“It is but a need for rest, Mother. Sup with Tobias and leave me to my sleep.”
“As you wish, but Diana will be here beside you if you need anything at all.” The Dowager Marchioness gave Diana a warning look that said she had better not leave the Marquess’ alone for even a moment.
The only answer from the Marquess was the gentle sounds of snoring. Smiling, Diana sat down at the desk and began to write a list of the things that would need to be done and procured for the next day’s dance. Word had already been sent out to the surrounding estates and the village. Now all that remained was to finish the preparations.
And to resign myself to the fact that Gabriel will be selecting a future bride from those in attendance.
Diana spent all of the next day preparing for the evening’s festivities. As the event was to be held with such short notice, they did not anticipate a great many guests, but enough to make it worthwhile for those involved. The cook had put the venison on to roast slowly over the fire the night before, and supplies had been delivered from the grocer’s first thing in the morning.
By evening time, the ballroom was alive with colorful flowers from the garden and candlelight. Diana was very proud of the day’s work and the smiles on the household servants’ faces said that they were, too. The entry hall, dining room, and ballroom were filled with roses of every hue, along with ivy, iris, wisteria, and a wide range of other flowering and green plants. The fireplaces roared cheerfully on either end of the room to add ambience in spite of the warm day and candle flames danced along the walls in every corner.
The smells of flowers and roasted meat filled the air, enlivening her senses and making her mouth water. Diana could almost taste the venison and root vegetables upon her tongue. The tenants and staff who played instruments had begun to set up in one corner of the ballroom and the sound of their tuning efforts spilled forth in a mixture of good cheer and genuine delight. The sounds of servants finishing with their preparations and returning to their rooms to dress flowed happily up and down the stairs.
Christmastide dances at Kilgrave had been similar to this one, but with holly, pine, mistletoe, and holiday treats for the household servants and tenants. The sight of the Westwallow ballroom bedecked in such summer splendor made Diana miss home all the more.
Soon, I will return home soon, and leave all of Westwallow behind.
Turning away from the beautiful splendor of the room, she climbed the stairs to change her clothes for the dance. Frances met her in her room with a waiting bath and her clothing laid out in preparation. Frances had on her best Sunday frock. While the gown was clean and tidy, it was entirely too somber for a summer dance. Diana moved to the armoire and surveyed the gowns that she had brought with her, hanging in nice neat rows.
Frances was a good deal shorter than Diana, but she thought that they might be able to make one of the gowns work with a slight alteration to the hem length. Diana selected a light pink, vertical striped gown that she thought would accentuate Frances’ coloring. It had silk cherry blossoms sewn into the sleeves, waist, and skirt, just perfec
t for the warmer season. Pulling it out of the armoire, Diana handed the gown to Frances. “If you hurry, you just might be able to hem this in time to wear it this evening.”
Frances’ eyes widened in surprise. “I could not wear one of your gowns, My Lady.”
“Yes, you can, and you will if you hurry. I will dress myself.”
“Are you certain, My Lady?”
“I am. Now go.”
“Thank you, My Lady!” Smiling sweetly, Frances hurried from the room in a flurry of pink striped fabric.
Diana bathed herself, then dried thoroughly, before donning the elegant golden gown that Frances had selected for her. By the time she was dressed, Frances had returned to style her hair. Frances wove a golden ribbon through Diana’s hair and slid in a sparkling golden rose hairpin. “You look lovely, My Lady,”
“As do you, Frances, truly.”
Diana handed Frances a pink ribbon for her hair that matched her gown.
“Thank you, My Lady.”
The two of them finished readying themselves and walked down to the ballroom together. Guests had already begun to arrive, filling the house with their cheerful conversation and robust laughter. The Marquess had been cleaned and dressed and was conversing with some of the men over drinks in the library. The Dowager Marchioness, in spite of her protestations, was serving her duty as hostess, the Earl at her side as an honored houseguest.
Stephen, the footman, stepped forward and took Frances’ hand to lead her away. Diana watched them walk away smiling. Searching the gathering crowd, Diana did not see Gabriel anywhere. She had not seen him since their shared kiss behind the stables. She had thought that he would come and look in on the Marquess once he discovered that he had awakened, but to Diana’s knowledge he had not. Equally curious to her was the fact that the Marquess had not summoned him to thank him for saving his life.
Coming to stand beside the Earl, Diana asked him about the matter while the Dowager was busy greeting one of the tenant farmers’ wives.
“The Dowager Marchioness has forbid him the house,” the Earl explained, shaking his head in disapproval of the action.
“Why would she do such a thing?”
“I do not know, but the Marquess has done nothing to lift the banishment, which is most unlike him.”
Diana shook her head in confusion. “Has anyone spoken with Gabriel since the incident?”
The Earl shook his head. “No, I was unable to find him after I spoke with the surgeon. Perhaps one of the other servants has spoken to him.”
Nodding, Diana decided to go out to the stables and take Gabriel a plate of food. Filling a plate from the kitchens with venison, root vegetables, and a large portion of cake, she left the house and made her way through the darkness between the back servants’ entrance and the stables. The dogs and horses greeted her with barks and nickers as she walked through the stables to the tack room in the back.
She smiled as she watched the young foals frolic about between their mother’s legs attempting to suckle. She laughed at their adorable antics as she moved through the stalls, searching each one for Gabriel. Finding no one in the stables, Diana considered whether to leave the plate in the room, take it to the Rowan’s cottage, or leave it for the hounds to lick clean. Seeing the dogs’ expectant faces, she decided on the latter and tossed the food to the hunting hounds, then retreated back toward the kitchens.
About three-quarters of the way across the grassy silver and black dew-strewn lawn, the music from inside the ballroom changed from a Scottish reel to a slower-paced waltz. Diana smiled in surprise that the tenant musicians had learned such an enthralling elegant piece of music.
Pausing in her step, she began to sway and turn with the ebb and flow, humming to herself the familiar melody. She could almost hear her sister’s voice rising in song with hers and wished with all her heart that she could be with her now. She suddenly felt guilty for not having thought to invite Georgette to the dance.
Lost in the music, her eyes closed in appreciation as she allowed it to flow over her and wash away the tension of the past days, she did not hear anyone approaching her from behind. “Diana,” Gabriel’s voice pulled her from her dreamy state of mind.
“Gabriel!” Whirling about, Diana found herself being swept up into a pair of strong, masculine arms as she tripped over her own feet.
“My Lady,” Gabriel’s voice was just above her head, deep and husky, laden with meaning well beyond the utterance of a mere greeting.
“I was looking for you,” she admitted, grateful to have been saved from further injury. She hoped that she had not torn her gown in the fall. Unable to resist asking him about the Dowager Marchioness’ forbidding him the house, she turned her face up to his.
“Why did the Dowager Marchioness forbid you the house?” Her voice quivered in spite of her resolve to be strong. The feel of his arms around her was intoxicating, pulling her back to the moment that they had shared the day before.
“I know not,” Gabriel answered, tightening his hold on her waist as she began to noticeably shake with her efforts to resist his lips being so near. “She has disliked me for as long as I can remember.”
Diana was all too familiar with being disliked by the older noblewoman and shared with him what the maid had said in warning her about the Dowager Marchioness. The maid’s words had made Diana’s heart stutter with fear and uncertainty, causing an unease within her chest that had robbed her of proper sleep that night. “I do not know what she is capable of or what I am to do, if anything.”
“I would never allow anything ill to befall you while here at Westwallow, nor would the Marquess.”
Diana looked up at him, her eyes locking with his in the darkening shadows of the night. As they stood there in each other’s arms, time ceased to exist, and the rest of the world faded away as she stood on her toes and claimed Gabriel’s lips with her own.
Chapter 19
Gabriel sat on the banks of the pond behind the stables where he had last kissed Diana when he heard the animals making a great deal of noise in the stables behind him. Having been denied the house, he had needed a moment to himself to breathe through his anger. The entire dance had been put together to aid him in finding a bride, and yet when the time had come, the Dowager Marchioness had prohibited his attendance. It had been his emotions about the entire situation and the thought of Diana that had led him to the pond’s edge.
The surrounding county was full of young women that matched his station in the social order, who would make perfectly acceptable wives, but Gabriel had never been drawn to any of them the way that he felt about Diana. He had also never been a man who chased after women, nor had he paid court to any of them before, but when he had laid eyes upon Diana for the first time, he had never wanted anything more than he wanted her. His mother had taught him to respect women and to expect more from them than coy flirtatious looks and flattering remarks meant to draw him in by their charms, but Diana was nothing like any of the household servant girls in that way.
Rising from the grassy bank, he moved to see who or what was disturbing the animals. Secretly, he hoped that it was Diana, but given the number of people to have arrived at Westwallow, he could not risk that it was not a thief. Creeping around the side of the stables, he stopped when the dogs suddenly went silent. A few moments later, he heard the most beautiful voice that he had ever been blessed to hear, singing along with the music that flowed from the open doors and windows of the house.
Coming around the corner of the stables, he saw the figure of a woman dancing in the grass beside the house. Light from a nearby window fell over a golden gown of the highest quality and illuminated the exquisitely beautiful face of Lady Diana. Her features were relaxed into an expression of pure peace and contentment as she moved along with the flow of the music. Her eyes were closed with the faintest evidence of tears glistening in her lashes. The tears were in contrast with the peaceful look on her face and he wondered where she might be in her mind.
As she turned around, the light from the window caught in the golden ribbon that had been woven through her brown hair.
She is beautiful beyond compare. I do not deserve her and yet I want only her.
He had managed to avoid her since their shared kiss, attempting to heed the Marquess’ warning to stay away from her, but she had haunted his thoughts by day and his dreams by night robbing him of all sense of reason and self-preservation. Now here she was, dancing and singing alone in the darkness with only him and the stars to witness her beauty.
The Enigmatic Lady in the Ivory Tower Page 12