A Solitary Duke

by Fenella J Miller

  Mr Gilbert was at fault. She was the innocent party and hoped he would appear – fully clothed of course – to apologise to her in person. Then she reconsidered. She had had drummed into her by her governess and her mama exactly what was acceptable when a gentleman was in the company of a well-brought-up young lady.

  Good gracious! If the merest brush of a hand or a kiss on the cheek by a gentleman was considered to have compromised the young lady in question, appearing as he had must mean that she was halfway up the aisle with him already.

  She mustn’t allow him to speak of this to anyone and especially not to her parents. They would demand immediately that he married her and she’d absolutely no intention of doing that. He must live nearby and she would enquire from the housekeeper, who was local, who he might be and where he lived.

  Reynolds jumped to her feet as if sitting on a sharp object when Lucy burst into her parlour. ‘Excuse me, for interrupting you at your breakfast. I would like some information. I saw the most magnificent black stallion who would be the perfect mate for my mare. Do you happen to know to whom it might belong?’

  ‘I believe there’s a gentleman living at The Rookery who owns such a horse. I’ve never seen him, have no idea of his name. I do know that he brought with him his own staff and never goes into company.’

  ‘Thank you, do you happen to know the whereabouts of this place? I shall write him a letter with my request.’

  If the housekeeper thought her demand odd, she didn’t say so. Lucy just had to hope Reynolds didn’t feel it necessary to mention her enquiry to anyone else. She raced upstairs and was changed into her riding habit and on her way down within a quarter of an hour. If she was going to prevent an absolute catastrophe, she must do it quickly.

  It was paramount that she spoke to Mr Gilbert before he set out. With luck he would wish to bathe and make himself respectable before riding over to apologise. The fact that he had laughed at her must mean he wasn’t aware that he’d put himself in an invidious position – that he was honour-bound to make her an offer.

  Papa, being a very wealthy gentleman indeed, kept a well-stocked stable and had brought with him all his favourite horses as well as the two teams that had been used to pull the carriages from Hampshire. This meant that the stable yard was already abuzz with activity and a willing groom was there to saddle Didi, her mare, and the animal was led out within five minutes of her arrival.

  ‘I don’t need anyone to accompany me. I shall just be riding on the estate.’

  ‘Very well, miss,’ the groom replied. She was an expert horsewoman and everyone employed here was well aware of that fact. He gave her a leg up and Lucy was away. If she travelled across country then she could be at The Rookery in ten minutes. Doing this might mean she missed her quarry, who could be riding along the lanes, but she doubted he would be ready to depart so soon.

  Jumping large ditches and wide hedges when using a side-saddle might be considered foolhardy but both she and her mount were old hands at this. Didi, a dappled grey standing at sixteen hands, had on one occasion cleared a six-foot fence with inches to spare. Sydney didn’t have to keep up, he would follow her scent and arrive at his own pace.

  The place she was seeking, so she’d been told, was built even closer to the sea than her summer home. It stood in a modest fifty acres and was half the size of Margate Manor. Some instinct made her take the tradesmen’s route rather than approach the building from the front where she would be seen. The Rookery had been aptly named as there were hundreds of the birds spiralling into the air as they arrived.

  The place might be small but it was well maintained and looked as though no expense had been spared. Fresh paint, new tiles, and the stables and outbuildings immaculate. She dismounted and looped the reins around a convenient tree branch. She loosened the girth and patted the mare. ‘Wait here, sweetheart, like a good girl. I won’t be long.’

  She approached the stables stealthily having decided on the ride how she was to manage this clandestine visit. Her intention was to be invisible, lurk in the shrubbery if necessary, until she heard Mr Gilbert arriving. Then she would confront him and speak her piece.

  That he would return to the stables when appropriately garbed she didn’t doubt for a moment. A gentleman would wish to rectify matters immediately and whatever he wasn’t, from his abode, it was clear he was a gentleman.

  She had been waiting for far longer than she’d anticipated and was becoming concerned that her absence would be missed when she didn’t appear as always to break her fast with her parents. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or furious that Mr Gilbert had obviously decided she was of no consequence and therefore an apology wasn’t necessary.

  She couldn’t dally any longer but must return home at once. She could only surmise that her fears that Mr Gilbert intended to make her an offer were unfounded which was a relief.

  On returning to her horse she was greeted affectionately and she pulled the silky ears as she unwrapped the reins. ‘Good girl, we must depart now…’

  ‘What the devil are you doing here? I saw you from the house as did my mother.’

  The sudden appearance of Mr Gilbert so startled her she stumbled and released her hold on the reins. With a despairing wail she tumbled into the bushes. Didi, equally surprised, flung up her head and galloped away down the path.

  Sydney, whose arrival had been tardy, chose that exact moment to appear. He misconstrued the situation and flung himself, snarling, at what he took to be her attacker.

  *

  Edwin raised his arm to fend off the dog. ‘Get down, Sydney, I’m not hurting her.’

  The dog was unable to stop his charge but his snarl turned to a slobbery lick so he still knocked Edwin from his feet. He fell in the opposite direction to the girl which was the only thing he was happy about.

  He sprung up and leaned into the nettles and brambles to haul her out. His annoyance evaporated when he saw the lacerations on her cheeks and hands, not to mention the already darkening skin where the nettles had stung her.

  ‘Idiot girl. I’ll send someone after your horse. You’d better come inside with me.’ He gave her no choice but tossed her over his shoulder and marched off as if carrying a sack of potatoes. All was well for the first two steps but then she kicked him violently in the stomach and flung herself backwards. For the second time she ended up on her back on the ground.

  She glared up at him and he returned the favour. The dog thought this a great game and jumped on top of her adding to her fury. ‘Get off, stupid animal. No, Mr Gilbert, I am quite capable of standing up without your assistance. Neither do I wish to be kidnapped and taken into your house like an unwanted parcel.’

  He smiled; she was really quite amusing when she wasn’t making him angry. ‘You cannot lie there, Miss Armitage, you’re making a spectacle of yourself.’

  She surged to her feet without his assistance and for the first time he realised how tall she was. He was two yards in his stockinged feet and she was only a few inches short of that. Blood was trickling down her face. He couldn’t allow her to be out here in such a state.

  ‘Please, you’re injured. Allow me to escort you inside and I’ll have my housekeeper attend to your injuries.’

  ‘A few scratches and nettle stings are nothing to me. I’ve no intention of going into your house. I came to tell you something most important and I shall do that and then go home and hope never to see you again.’

  He couldn’t imagine what she had to say that could be of any interest to him. He delved into his jacket and handed her his handkerchief. She took it without a thank you and wiped the worst of the gore from her cheeks before speaking again.

  ‘I don’t know who you are – that is to say I don’t know your provenance – but if you were thinking you have trapped me into matrimony by parading yourself in front of me with no clothes on at all you have sadly mistaken the matter. I expect you were about to visit my father and make me an offer but I’m telling you not to do so. There�
��s no need for them to know what happened. Do I make myself clear?’

  He was rarely dumbfounded but this girl had managed to make him lose the power of speech. Then the enormity of her words, the truth of what she said, settled like a stone in his chest. She was an innocent girl from a wealthy, aristocratic family and she had seen him naked. Small wonder she had thought he might have appeared so deliberately to force her father’s hand.

  Obviously, she didn’t know his true identity and now wasn’t the time to disabuse her. He’d caused more than enough damage through his heedless behaviour. If a man had done what he had to a relative of his he would have horsewhipped them.

  He was ashamed and deeply regretted his actions. ‘I apologise most sincerely for what happened this morning. I had quite forgotten the circumstances until it was too late. I should not have laughed at your reaction.’

  Instead of being modified by his words she raised an eyebrow and her lip curled. ‘That’s all very well, sir, and I accept your belated apology. Nevertheless, I’ve no wish to stay here and bandy words with you. For the second time you have been trespassing on my father’s land. I hope there will not be a third.’

  He bowed. ‘I hate to contradict a lady, but I believe that the sea belongs to his Majesty not to your father and I am at liberty to swim wherever I like.’

  ‘I was referring to you being on the sand which does belong to my family. You may swim but you may not land.’

  She turned her back on him which was another first as no one until now had had the temerity to do so. He was about to call her back, tell her that she had no horse to go home on, when the beautiful grey mare trotted up to her followed closely by the wolfhound.

  Surely the girl couldn’t mount without assistance? Again, she astonished him. She grabbed the raised pommel and sprung easily into the saddle. What an extraordinary young woman she was – like no one he’d ever come across before.

  Without bidding him farewell she rammed her boot into the single stirrup iron and cantered down the path. To his horror instead of slowing to open the gate she urged the horse faster heading at an extended canter towards the massive barrier. His fingers clenched. His heart pounded. Then the mare soared over the gate with feet to spare and vanished across the field.

  Thoughtfully he returned inside, for the first time in his life unsure how best to proceed. Everything she had said was correct. He was obliged to make her an offer, put right the disrespect he’d shown her. She thought him a despicable rogue who had set out to compromise her into matrimony in order to better himself.

  The absurdity of the situation made him laugh and he was still smiling as he entered the house much to the surprise of his retainers. She was a remarkable girl, not conventionally pretty, but she had lovely eyes of a most unusual colour and an attractive form.

  He stopped dead in the centre of the hall staggered by his thoughts. He’d not been aware that he’d noticed the colour of her eyes or the fact that she was rounded in all the right places. She was everything he disliked in a woman. He preferred pretty, diminutive women with golden curls and bright blue eyes who treated him with the respect to which he was due.

  For the first time since she’d arrived last week he went in search of his mother. He wished to discover how soon there was to be a ball held at the Assembly Room in Margate. To his shame he didn’t even know the whereabouts of this building or if Margate held any other attractions for visitors. He was about to discover from his parent, who had already made several trips into the centre of the small seaside town, exactly what was on offer. She was in the small drawing room he had allocated for her exclusive use during her stay.

  ‘Your grace, forgive me for disturbing you, but I wish to know more about the place that I now live. Tell me, are there people of rank spending their time here? I heard there is now a sailing-packet bringing people from London in eight hours whereas it took almost double that by carriage.’

  ‘I am delighted that you have finally decided to take an interest in your surroundings. As you know I do not take breakfast but have coffee and pastries served later. I shall send for them right away.’

  This was the first he’d heard about her not eating breakfast. How little he knew about his mother and that too must change. He had been selfish and engrossed in self-pity for far too long.

  ‘Excellent, I am sharp-set myself.’ He flicked aside his coat-tails and took a seat opposite to her. ‘Where exactly is this Assembly Room? Is there also a circulating library, a theatre or any other such place of entertainment available to those who wish to spend their summers here?’

  ‘There are all those things, but visitors are more interested in sea bathing than entertainment. The main reason that they come is to enjoy the efficacy of saltwater for their various ailments. I am toying with the idea of taking a dip in the sea myself.’

  ‘I can highly recommend it, ma’am, I like to swim in the sea every morning.’

  He had left the door open and could hear the welcome rattle of crockery on a tray. Two footmen came in and placed both trays on the substantial walnut sideboard. They didn’t wait to serve but sloped off immediately. He thought this strange as his parent was not in the habit of doing anything for herself if she could find a servant to do it for her.

  ‘Shall I fetch you what you want, ma’am?’

  ‘As the servants have vanished without doing their job then you have no option. I find it quite extraordinary that your staff hold you in such fear that they do not wish to continue in the same room as you.’

  This too was new information to him. Like most people of his rank he scarcely noticed those that took care of him. He vowed to do better in future.

  He spent a convivial hour with her and discovered that there was to be a subscription ball the following night. He was almost looking forward to attending even though this would mean he had to wear the hated black. His loathing of his evening clothes stemmed from the fact that he had been dining out when word had come that Sarah was in travail.

  There had been no time to change his raiment. He had still been in his evening rig when he held his dying wife in his arms a few hours later. He now bitterly regretted his impulsive decision to leave his solitary life and mingle with his peers. He had given his word and would adhere to it

  Chapter Four

  As promised, Lucy set out with the children and a nursemaid to visit Margate the following morning. She was eager to see for herself what delights there were on offer here. Sydney was locked in a stable as she had no wish to alarm pedestrians by bringing her huge dog.

  Their carriage was the best that money could buy, the team pulling it equally impressive, and she could not help but notice the heads turning as they trundled into town. She tapped on the roof and the coachman reined in the horses. This time she waited for the under-coachman to climb from the box, open the door and put down the steps.

  The nettle rash had faded but there were still several livid scratches on her face. She had borrowed a deep-brimmed bonnet from her mother and was confident no one could see her injuries properly whilst hidden within it. Today she had made an effort with her appearance. Her promenade gown was blue Indian cotton, her spencer in the same material but a darker colour. Even her boots and reticule matched her ensemble.

  ‘Now, girls, listen carefully. Juliet you must hold my hand and Lydia and Bella you must hold hands and walk together. Annie can carry the basket and walk behind.’

  She had told the coachman to meet them in the same place with the carriage in two hours’ time. That should be ample to explore this small town. The children wished to see the pier so they headed towards that first.

  ‘Look, children, there’s a sailing-packet about to dock bringing more visitors here from London.’

  ‘I want to go on one of those. I shall tell Papa he must let me travel home on one,’ Lydia said.

  ‘I too would like to return that way – we shall see if we can persuade Papa to allow us to do so.’

  Juliet tugged at her skirt
. ‘See, there’s a funny carriage being pulled into the sea over there, Lucy.’

  ‘So there is, sweetheart, there will be a lady inside changing into her bathing costume ready to be immersed in the water when it’s deep enough.’

  ‘Can we go swimming this afternoon, Lucy?’ Lydia asked.

  ‘We can paddle and build a sandcastle, but I don’t think the water’s warm enough for swimming at the moment.’ An image of Mr Gilbert emerging from the water filled her head.

  ‘Why have your cheeks gone red, Lucy? Have you a fever?’

  ‘I’m perfectly well, thank you, Lydia. Where do you want to go to next? There’s a circulating library and an emporium in Cecil Square. Let’s make our way to that. Keep a sharp eye out for a shop that sells candy canes.’

  The Imperial, a smart hotel, also housed another circulating library and Lucy ushered her brood inside. After tramping around for almost an hour Juliet was fatigued and beginning to whine. She sent the nursemaid in search of the promised sweet treats whilst they sat at a table facing the sea. The lemonade she’d ordered was excellent as were the almond biscuits served with it.

  After consuming their refreshments and visiting the retiring room she made her way into the library. Her eye was caught by a poster announcing that the first ball of the Season was to be held the following evening. On making further enquiry she discovered it was possible to obtain vouchers at the Royal Hotel which was where the Assembly Rooms were situated.

  Mama had asked her to enquire about this very matter. Lucy had no intention of attending but her parents enjoyed socialising and Papa, surprisingly for a gentleman, loved to dance. Armed with this information she gathered the girls together and they were happy to depart as they now had their barley sugar canes to suck noisily.

  The hideous bonnet must be returned at once to her mama. The girls scampered off to the nursery for their luncheon and Lucy promised to escort them to the beach later on. She wasn’t altogether sure whether the tide would be coming in or out but, according to the information she had gleaned from a helpful pamphlet about the attractions of Margate, it would be low tide or high tide twice in twenty-four hours. Once she had established when these things happened, she would then be able to calculate when it would be safe to take the girls to play on the sand.