Looking at him, heat rushed to Vivien’s face. She’d seen His Grace on a few occasions, but she’d never seen him this closely before. He had a strong jaw and high cheekbones, which she’d never noticed. And Vivien had never realized that a thin spattering of peach-gold freckles spread over his nose and across his cheeks. The Duke’s blue eyes snapped sharply to her, and Vivien unwillingly drew in a sharp breath.
“Oh, this is Vivien Crawford,” Lady Isadora said. “My companion and dearest friend.”
“How charming,” the Duchess said.
Vivien curtsied, conscious that the Duke’s eyes were still on her, and his attention sent a warm shiver of delight coursing through her body. Perhaps it was because she’d never had any suitors herself, much less ones so powerful and handsome, but she felt a sort of forbidden delight in his gaze on her, even if the gaze was most likely one of assessment. A cursory one.
“I’m glad that you’ve both arrived safely,” His Grace said.
“Thank you, Your Grace,” Lady Isadora said. “I can scarcely express how my heart soared when I received the Duchess’s letter. I had not even realized that I had caught your attention.”
“As if anyone would not be caught by your incomparable beauty,” the Duke of Heartwick replied.
Vivien frowned, not because she disagreed with the assessment. Lady Isadora was unquestionably a stunning creature, and she certainly had no shortage of enchanted suitors. But there was something in how the Duke paid the compliment that gave Vivien pause.
It sounds as though he’s an actor on the stage rather than a besotted lord, but that can’t possibly be. He would not have invited Lady Isadora here if he did not truly hold some measure of affection for her.
That was unless the Duke wished only to wed Lady Isadora to increase his financial holdings.
If that is the case, Lady Isadora will surely discover his motives soon, and she’ll be utterly appalled.
“But I’m sure that you ladies would like some time to rest,” the Duchess said. “Even if the journey was uneventful, it is still quite a long one. I’ll have Emma escort you to our best guestrooms.”
The Duchess waved to a waiting maid, a thin woman with fair curls peeking from beneath her blue cap. The woman curtsied. “This way, my Lady,” she said.
“We’ll join you again at dinner,” the Duchess said. “I’ll ensure that we have something grand prepared for the occasion.”
“Thank you. That’s most gracious of you,” Lady Isadora said.
The Duke’s eyes finally snapped to Lady Isadora. “I look forward to seeing you then,” he said.
“Likewise, Your Grace.”
They exchanged smiles, but His Grace’s seemed too careful and too practiced. For a man who had invited a lady all the way from London, he seemed quite unexcited to see her.
I’m reading too much into this situation. Of course the Duke of Heartwick desires her, or he would not have invited us here. Perhaps he merely has a cold nature and a difficulty in expressing his finer emotions.
As Vivien followed Lady Isadora up the winding, gilded staircase, she couldn’t keep from shivering at the memory of the Duke’s eyes on her.
The room arranged for their stay was large and luxurious. The roaring fireplace cast the green bedding and gilded furniture in a flickering, golden light, radiating a warmth and comfort that was absent in the outward appearance of the manor.
After being shown the rooms, Lady Isadora had promptly thrown herself across the bed, leaving Vivien to remove the lady’s shoes. And once the Lady was asleep, Vivien busied herself, assuring that all the luggage was brought into the room. It had scarcely all arrived when Lady Isadora bolted from the bed.
“I cannot sleep,” she announced. “Not with my heart racing like it is. I can still scarcely believe we’re here, Vivien. Do you imagine we’ll both wake soon?”
“I doubt it, My Lady,” Vivien replied, with a laugh. “Surely, if we were asleep, we wouldn’t both have the same dream and be aware of it.”
“No, I suppose not. You’re right.”
Lady Isadora cast an appraising eye over the rooms, roaming through the bedroom, sitting room, and bathing area. Vivien busied herself in placing the lady’s clothes in the wardrobe and in unwrapping the lady’s delicate perfumes and cosmetics, placing them on the vanity.
“I must look beautiful at dinner,” Lady Isadora announced, as if she had ever looked anything save gorgeous.
“You will,” Vivien replied. “Without a doubt. You always do.”
Lady Isadora sighed and sank into the green, velvet-covered chair before her vanity. “I know, but this is not just any suitor. This is the Duke of Heartwick, and I’m sure that there are so many ladies vying for his attention and affection! What if he decides that we are ill-suited for one another?”
Vivien bit the inside of her cheek and tried to decide whether she ought to reveal that there was something wrong with the Duke’s mannerisms, but if Lady Isadora had not noticed it, perhaps Vivien was just being a little…
Wary. Yes. A little too wary because she loved Lady Isadora more than anyone in the world, and if any misfortune came to the lady, Vivien would have been inconsolable.
“If he decides you are ill-suited, it is because he is of exceptionally poor taste,” Vivien said at last. “Only a fool would not be entirely besotted with you.”
Lady Isadora sighed and tossed her head back. “Oh, you are too kind to me, Vivien, but you would say that. You’re my lady’s maid.”
“And is your lady’s maid not allowed to say something nice and true?” Vivien asked. “You are the kindest Lady I know and the most charming. The most social, as well. I’m quite sure that the Duchess and Duke of Heartwick spoke at length about you before inviting you here.”
Lady Isadora clasped her hands together. “Yes, I suppose they did.”
The lady sounded pleased with the realization, as Vivien had known she would. Above all else, Lady Isadora liked to be adored, which Vivien suspected was the true reason the lady insisted that she wanted to marry for love. Lady Isadora liked to be fawned over, and the Duchess’s sudden and unexpected invitation proved that someone was looking at her.
“And I would never let you leave this room looking anything less than your most beautiful,” Vivien said.
To prove her point, Vivien opened a pot of rouge and grinned.
Lady Isadora sighed and straightened her back. She turned to face the mirror and fluffed her curls between her slender hands. “That is true, and besides, you’ll join me for dinner. And the Duchess will be there, too. I won’t be quite so nervous if I’m not alone with His Grace.”
“That’s right. But even if I wasn’t there, I’m sure you’d make him adore you. I don’t think I’ve ever met so charming a lady in my life.”
Lady Isadora’s smile broadened. “Nor I such a complimentary lady’s maid. You do your craft well. Perhaps we ought to have all lady’s maids raised by the cook.”
Vivien stifled a laugh. Sometimes, she forgot how absurd her entire life was. And other times, it would creep up on her. The mystery of her missing parents, who’d seemingly abandoned her on the doorstep of the Dewdale estate, would become so large that she felt she could scarcely bear it.
She knew, of course, that she was fortunate. Another abandoned child might have been left in an orphanage or caught its death of cold, but the Dewdale family had been kind. They’d let the cook raise her, and once Lady Isadora was old enough to long for playmates, they’d let her become the lady’s companion. It was a better life than most poor orphans could expect.
“I’m quite sure I learned manners from your governess,” Vivien said, not wanting Lady Isadora to know where her thoughts had turned. “The cook—bless her soul—is scarcely one for fine manners or proper speech.”
Lady Isadora laughed. “That is, without doubt, true.”
Despite having a large, compassionate heart, it was well known throughout the Dewdale household that the cook had a sharp
tongue and a fiery temper. She was good at what she did, though, and managed the kitchens well.
Vivien smiled fondly and began applying Lady Isadora’s rouge with a careful, practiced hand. Although the lady was unquestionably beautiful, she was also quite pale and needed a bit of care to obtain the fashionable blush cheeks.
Once Vivien finished one cheek, Lady Isadora turned her head and considered her reflection a moment before nodding. Vivien began carefully applying the rouge to the lady’s opposite cheek, taking the utmost care to ensure that the color looked natural and blended well with Lady Isadora’s creamy skin.
“See?” Vivien asked softly. “You look wonderful.”
Lady Isadora pursed her lips and turned her head this way and that, looking at the effect from different angles. Finally, she offered Vivien a small smile. “I look as lovely as I always do.”
“I knew you would,” Vivien said. “Do you want some color for your lips?”
She already anticipated that Lady Isadora would, and predictably, the lady nodded her assent. Vivien opened the tiny pot of color and dipped her brush in it. Half-leaning against the vanity, she made careful strokes. Slowly, Vivien’s lips turned a soft, inviting coral, like the petals of a spring rose opening to the sunlight.
With Lady Isadora’s face finished, Vivien began managing the Lady’s curls. Unlike some unfortunate ladies, Lady Isadora’s hair was naturally curly, and with a little bit of rose oil and careful attention, that hair would be the envy of the room.
“Do you think I could persuade him to move to London if we marry?” Lady Isadora asked. “I do not know if I would want to live in a place like this, especially during the winter. It is so dreary and lifeless. Or perhaps, it is merely the fault of his gardeners and groundskeeper.”
Vivien paused. She hadn’t noticed that the estate grounds looked especially neglected. It seemed more to her that the Duke lived in an area which wasn’t very inclined to grow much beyond moor grasses and odd trees.
“I don’t know. Perhaps he feels the need to remain here because his father loved the grounds so much.”
Lady Isadora frowned. “I suppose that must be difficult for him. I can’t imagine what that loss must have felt like, but maybe that is why he invited me. Maybe he is hoping to find someone to help him heal from his grief.”
Vivien carefully rubbed a few drops of rose oil into her hands and methodically spread it through the Lady’s curls.
“Do you think love works that way?” Vivien asked. “You can assuage grief with it?”
“I don’t know,” Lady Isadora admitted. “But I do think companionship can help assuage loneliness. And maybe the Duke needs a distraction. I might be content to be a distraction if that leads a Duke to loving me.”
Vivien thought of His Grace’s eyes on her and his too polished, passionless way of speaking, and she shivered. A small, irrational part of her wanted the Duke’s eyes on her again, even if there was no admiration there and never could be. And yet another part of her feared that Lady Isadora would be disappointed or unhappy, even if the match was good.
“We’ll see,” Vivien said.
“And perhaps, after I’m married, we’ll work on finding you a suitable match.”
Vivien laughed. “And who do you have in mind for me, My Lady?”
Lady Isadora shrugged. “I have not the faintest idea, but I’m quite confident that we could easily find you a proper match.”
“With your determination, I’ve no doubt that you can,” Vivien said.
With her hair and face finished, Lady Isadora stood. She took a deep breath and smiled brilliantly at Vivien. “What shall I wear?”
Vivien’s face split into a wide grin. “The blue gown,” she said. “With the white French lace. It seems especially appropriate since you think His Grace’s estate resembles the setting of a French novel.”
They grinned at one another, both young and eager for romance, and yet Vivien couldn’t deny the tiny wavering of her heart. She dearly hoped that she was just too suspicious and too eager to protect Lady Isadora from disappointment and heartbreak. But what if she wasn’t?
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Thank you very much!
Also by Emma Linfield
Thank you for reading The Trouble with Saving a Duke!
I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, may I ask you to please write a review HERE? It would mean very much to me. Reviews are very important and allow me to keep writing books that you love to read!
Some other stories of mine:
An Unexpected Bride for the Betrayed Duke
Journals of a Daring Damsel
An Unusual Bride for the Beastly Duke
A Court of Thorns for Lady Ambergrave
A Fearless Governess for the Forsaken Duke
The Breaking Dawn of a Fallen Duke
Also, if you liked this book, you can also check out my full Amazon Book Catalogue HERE.
Thank you for allowing me to keep doing what I love!
Emma Linfield
About the Author
Emma Linfield has always been passionate about historical romances. Ever fascinated with the world of Regency England and being utmost inspired by Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer’s work, she decided she wanted to write her own stories. Stories of love and tradition being mixed in the most appealing way for every hopeless romantic, much like herself.
Born and raised in Southern California, Emma Linfield has a degree in Creative Writing and English Literature, and she has been working as a freelance writer for the past 10 years. When she isn’t writing, Emma loves spending her time with her own prince charming and two beautiful children, all the while enjoying the famous Californian sun and ocean.
So, hop on to this exciting journey of Dukes, Earls and true love with Emma and find pleasure in the old fashioned world of Regency - an Era of pure romance, elegance and high fashion!
The Trouble with Saving a Duke: A Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 30