The Smithfield Market Romances: A Sweet Regency Romance Boxset

by Rose Pearson

  Elouise’s eyes dimmed for a moment. “I know,” she said, quietly. “I am not forgetting, Miss Smith.”

  “Although,” Laura continued, as Elouise drank the last of her tea. “I do not think that you will need to worry about what you will do with the rest of your life, my dear. Did Miss Sanders tell you what Lady Alice will do for you?”

  Elouise shook her head mutely, her eyes a little wide.

  “Well,” Laura said, feeling a warmth clutch at her heart. “She is to give you a small sum of money on which you will be able to live on for the rest of your life, if you are careful.” She smiled as Elouise gasped, her eyes widening all the more. “You will not need to consider your future in the same way as the other girls do.”

  There came, then a few minutes of nothing but silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire in the grate. Laura let Elouise consider what she had been told in silence, her lips still curved in a gentle smile.

  “Lady Alice is very kind,” Elouise said, after a while. “Very kind indeed, don’t you think?

  “Yes, she is very generous,” Laura agreed, having nothing but respect for the lady.

  “But the Duke himself does not care for us,” Elouise continued, in a practical voice. “I don’t think that he likes us being here very much at all.”

  Laura wanted to shake her head and tell Elouise that she was wrong, that the Duke was simply a quiet man who kept himself to himself, but the words wouldn’t come. She couldn’t tell Elouise an untruth.

  “The Duke is quiet and can appear very irritable, yes, but I cannot tell what he really thinks of us being here,” she said slowly, admitting to her charge that the Duke did appear to be rather frustrated with their presence. “Lady Alice thinks that it will be for his good for us to remain here and so here we must remain. After all, it has only been a few days that we have been here thus far, and we have a few more months ahead of us at least! Just think what changes might come over the Duke in that time. I am sure that he will accept us both very soon.”

  Elouise did not look convinced but neither did she look particularly upset. Instead, she simply shrugged and took another bite of toast.

  “Shall I leave you to eat and then dress?” Laura asked, with a slightly wry smile. “You are nowhere near finished and I’m sitting here doing nothing but talking to you!”

  Elouise grinned. “Should you like to play hide and go seek today, Miss Smith?”

  That had Laura pausing for a moment. “Hide and go seek?”

  “Yes,” Elouise said, fervently. “This is such a wonderfully big house that I have been longing to play it ever since we arrived.”

  It was on the tip of Laura’s tongue to say no, to tell Elouise that such a game would not be wise in the Duke’s estate, only for the words Lady Alice had said on arrival to come back to her mind.

  She is to have the run of the house. Her presence should be felt. She should not be hidden away.

  “Well, I suppose we might,” she said slowly, aware of just how delighted Elouise appeared. “We are not to go near the Duke’s bedchamber or his study – in fact, not even his library, Elouise. If you choose to hide anywhere near there, then the game must be at an end.”

  Elouise nodded solemnly. “Of course, Miss Smith. I understand.”

  “Good.” Getting to her feet, Laura chuckled as Elouise began to eat her toast a little more quickly. “Then I shall go and hide somewhere near to the drawing room, Elouise, and once you are dressed and ready, you can come in search of me. I shall make the sound of a mouse if you are struggling to find me so ensure that you are listening carefully!”

  “Oh, I shall!” Elouise exclaimed, her eyes shining. “I shall not be long, Miss Smith!”

  Still laughing softly to herself, Laura left the room, her face wreathed in smiles. The Duke’s despondent mood and the clear disdain he had for both herself and Elouise did not appear to be affecting her charge in any way at all. Therefore, she would not allow it to affect her mood either.

  Hurrying down towards the drawing room, Laura could not help but reflect on the Duke of Royston. He had not always come to join herself, Lady Alice and occasionally Elouise to dine these last few days, which Lady Alice had said was not particularly unusual. She had often had to dine alone, she had said, which had made Laura feel even more sorry for her. The Duke, however, she felt less compassion for, given that he demanded silence from both herself and Elouise whenever he came to sit, which both she and Elouise steadfastly ignored. They continued their conversations despite his barked demands for silence, as did Lady Alice which was something of a relief. She was struggling to see how he was truly such a poor, unfortunate soul when all she could see from him was nothing more than anger and selfishness.

  Sometimes, she caught herself wondering what he might look like if he smiled. Thus far, he had not smiled at her on a single occasion, nor had he even smiled at his sister. Laura was quietly convinced that it would change his entire demeanor, having never seen him do anything other than frown or glower at her. There was something curious about him, even though she was rather frustrated with his continual dismissal of Elouise in particular. She found that she could understand Lady Alice’s urge to help him, not that she herself felt in any way capable of offering any kind of suggestion.

  Soon, however, she was tugged from her thoughts by the sound of Elouise’s hurried feet coming down the staircase, her giggles already echoing around the manor house. Having not yet found a single place to hide, Laura looked about frantically, before stepping behind a rather large clock, hoping Elouise would not immediately spot her.

  What soon followed was a jolly good game of ‘hide and go-seek’. Elouise was true to her word and did not go near the Duke’s library, nor his study nor did she climb the staircase, for fear it would take her much too close to the Duke’s quarters. Laura found herself vastly enjoying the game, taking almost as much delight in it as Elouise herself. At one point, Lady Alice stopped by, her eyes bright as Elouise bid her to hush so that Laura would not find her. But find her she did, and soon the three ladies were laughing together.

  “I am so very glad that you are doing just what I suggested,” Lady Alice murmured, as she carefully pulled on her riding gloves. “No hiding this young lady away. John – the Duke – needs to be forcibly pulled from his mire, I fear.”

  Laura gave her a small smile, knowing what she meant, only for Lady Alice to excuse herself and step away, saying that she intended to enjoy the good weather by taking a ride. Laura bid her farewell, as did Elouise, before she went to hide yet again, even though it was Laura’s turn.

  “You are cheating, Elouise!” Laura laughed, her hands planted firmly on her hips as she looked all around her. “You know very well it is my turn to hide.”

  “Will you please stop that infernal racket!”

  Twisting her head about and feeling her stomach drop to her toes, Laura saw that none other than the Duke was approaching them, his stance practically rigid as he drew closer to them.

  “I have had more than enough of this noise, Miss Smith!” he exclaimed, his eyes almost wild with fury. “I have been trying my best to dine in peace but all I hear is yourself and that child making as much noise as you possibly can!”

  “Really, your grace, you are exaggerating,” Laura replied firmly, stopping him dead in his tracks. “And I will not have it, I confess.” She kept her gaze steady, looking up at him and steadfastly refusing to be intimidated. Lady Alice had said that Elouise was to be treated as a guest of hers and that was precisely what she was doing.

  He snorted. “Exaggerating? The whole house was shaking with the shock of your heavy footfalls. This is not a nursery, Miss Smith, and I would ask you not to treat it as such.”

  She did not turn from him. “Your sister has made it abundantly clear that Elouise is not to be hidden away, your Grace. I am simply doing what she asked.”

  His eyes narrowed. “My sister is not lord of this estate!”

  Laura did not say anything,
simply looking up at him as calmly as she could, glad that Elouise was, most likely somewhere where she could not hear the Duke speak. “And yet she has a more generous heart than you, it appears.”

  For a long moment, he did not speak. Instead, he stared at her as though he was not quite sure what to do with her, as though astonished that anyone should have the audacity to speak to him as such.

  “The noise is quite disturbing,” he said curtly, after a moment. “That is all I have to say on the matter.”

  “It is merely laughter,” she replied quickly, not allowing him to turn away. “A child ought to be allowed to laugh, your grace. It seems to me that there is not enough of that within these four walls.”

  That appeared to make him even angrier than he had been before. Spots of color appeared on his cheeks, his eyes flashed, and he held himself ramrod straight.

  “You ought to learn some manners, Miss Smith, although mayhap that is too much to ask of a young lady from your lowly background!”

  His words stung, and she shrank back, as though he had slapped her. Almost at once, his demeanor changed, as though he had realized what he had said. His eyes lost their fire, his gaze dropped to the floor and the tension left his shoulders.

  Laura tried her best to keep her breath steady, growing angrier with him by the minute despite the shame that sent a flush to her cheeks. This Duke was attempting to mortify her simply because she came from a different sort than he.

  “I would have thought that generosity and understanding might have pervaded the hearts of the nobility towards those less fortunate than themselves,” she whispered, her lips shaking as she spoke, “but it appears not to be so. I cannot help that both my parents were taken from me, in the same way that Elouise cannot help that she was left here on this earth alone. We are grateful for small mercies, your grace, and even more grateful to your sister for her kindness. This is something that Elouise has never before experienced and, most likely, will never experience again. It does not appear to me that it is either myself or Elouise that needs to learn manners or the like, your grace, but rather that there is more for you to learn about how one ought to treat others, particularly those who have no sisters or brothers or any kind of family to speak of.” She hated that tears had crept into her eyes, choosing not to blink them away but to let them fall to her cheeks if they chose to. “If you will excuse me, your grace, I need to continue my game with Elouise. She is waiting for me.”

  She turned and walked away from him, not caring whether or not he had anything else to say to her. She could feel his glare boring into her spine but kept herself from turning back to glance at him, walking into the drawing room to find Elouise standing in the middle of the room.

  Her eyes were round saucers, her cheeks deathly pale and, for a moment, Laura was worried that the child was about to faint. She made to rush over to her, only for Elouise to blink rapidly, some color coming back into her cheeks.

  “Are you quite all right, my dear?” Laura asked, a little breathlessly. “I do apologize, I was just coming to find you when –”

  “You were speaking to the Duke.”

  A slow frown crept over Laura’s expression. “I was.”

  “And he was angry with us.”

  “He was,” Laura agreed. “But he had no need to be and I was not afraid to tell him so, my dear. Lady Alice has said that we can play wherever we wish in the house so you don’t need to worry.”

  Elouise’s lips trembled. “Are you sure?”

  Laura smiled, pushing her anger and irritation at the Duke’s callousness aside. “I am quite sure,” she said, firmly. “Now, shall we continue to play or would you like to go for a walk in the garden for a while? We might be able to play ‘hide and go-seek’ there too, if you wanted.”

  Thankfully, Elouise brightened, her smile chasing away her anxiety. “Yes, I would like that,” she exclaimed, heading back towards the door. “I will need my hat and my gloves though, I think, since it is a little cold.”

  Laura made to say that the maid would be able to fetch those things for her, but then chose not to say anything at all. It was good for Elouise to go and fetch those things herself, so that she wouldn’t get too used to having someone else fetching everything she needed. Slowly, she followed after her, a small smile on her face as a sense of satisfaction filled her. She had no regrets about speaking to the Duke in the way she had done, for he was being rather cruel and intolerant towards Elouise which flew in the face of Lady Alice’s kindness. She did not see the Duke standing in the shadows, his eyes lingering on her as she walked away, a look of confusion etched across his face.

  6

  John was angry.

  He did not like what his sister had done in bringing this girl and her companion with her to the house. He did not like that Alice, even in her good will, had done such a thing without so much as asking him what he thought of it all. Instead, she had simply done it without so much as a thought as to what he would say and thus he had found his life completely altered by the presence of two unwanted guests.

  And yet, there was something about Miss Smith that brought him nothing but confusion. The way she spoke to him, the calm, unhindered way she looked up at him and said everything that was going on in her heart, gave him pause. She was not like any other lady of his acquaintance, bar his sister, for they all fawned all over him. They had done ever since he had first gone to town for the Season, for he knew that the aim of most mothers of the ton was to marry their daughters to as good a title as they could. That had done nothing for him, of course, given that his marriage had already been arranged, and he found that he had grown rather weary of their constant attentions and flattery.

  But this was not the case with Miss Smith. She was more direct than anyone he had met before, speaking to him in a clear, firm voice and not so much as flinching when he railed at her. The way she’d spoken to him had shown him her frustration and upset, which had brought a small stab of guilt to his heart. It meant very little to him, of course, for he was quite sure that he was in the right when it came to demanding peace in his own home, but he could not forget the way her eyes had filled with unshed tears as she’d gazed up at him, even though it had been two days since the event. He had remained in his own quarters since then, choosing not to dine with his sister and Miss Smith, telling himself that it was simply because he preferred his own company and not because he did not want to face Miss Smith again.

  Closing his eyes, John leaned his head back against the overstuffed chair and tried to put Miss Smith from his mind but found that he could not. Even now, her words resounded with him and he could not rid them from himself. They lingered on, sending barbs of guilt and shame into his heart – feelings he had not experienced in some time.

  “What am I to do about her?” he muttered to himself, passing one hand over his eyes. “She is infuriating.”

  Infuriating and intriguing.

  In his heart, John knew that Miss Smith had been correct to rail at him, even if he did not want to admit it. He had been overly harsh with Elouise, for the sound of her laughter had not irritated him as he’d suggested but had brought a spark of happiness back into his soul.

  He did not want to feel any such emotion. He was much too used to the safety and security of sadness and loneliness that surrounded him with every passing day, for he knew he made no effort to battle them at all. Whilst he had much appreciated Alice’s company of late, he had found that there had been no increase in his joy. This was, most likely, because whilst he found her company pleasing, he also knew that she was worried about him. There was always something underlying whenever they were together, something nervous, something anxious, something that unsettled him even more than he already was. He was still trapped with the pain of losing his unborn child, still struggling with the loss of the happiness he had expected to have. And yet, in the midst of it all, he had refused to allow himself to feel the joy at having the laughter of a child echoing through the house. It was as if it was
too much for him to bear and so he had turned towards anger, growing frustrated with Miss Smith and Elouise when he had very little need to do so.

  “I shall have to apologize to her,” he muttered to himself, even though everything in him rebelled at the idea. “Even it is that I just say that I ought not to have been so gruff.”

  Perhaps that would be enough to remove the lady from his thoughts. Muttering darkly to himself, John pushed the chair back and stood up, straightening his cravat carefully before quitting the room.

  As he walked into the library, he was astonished to find his sister Alice reading aloud to Elouise. In fact, he was so taken with the scene that he was forced to stand completely still, feeling as though all of the air had been dragged from his lungs. Alice was reading aloud from a children’s book and Elouise was snuggled in next to her, her head resting on Alice’s shoulder. It was a picture of happiness and contentment and, as he watched, John felt something in his heart wrench. This was what he had hoped for in his own life and it had been taken from him. Of course, Alice had tried to convince him that he could have such a thing again – and well he could, of course, if he tried to find himself another wife, but there was something in him that held him back from doing so. He did not want to have to go to London, to parade himself through all the many social occasions that the ton would throw during the Season only to have a good many milk-water misses bat their eyes at him with nothing but an insipid character and beautiful face to show for themselves. But yet, even still, he longed for a wife and family of his own. That desire had never left him.

  I do not want a wife who will be just the same as my first wife, he thought to himself, dragging his eyes away from his sister and Elouise in search of Miss Smith. I want someone who genuinely cares for me instead of seeing me as just my title and fortune.