Regency Hearts Boxed Set

by Jennifer Monroe

  Marianne shook her head. “No. We have not spoken since the night of his party. You see, he told me to never talk to him again, and I have abided his wishes.” The hurt from that night continued to tear at her, but her worry for William’s safety troubled her more.

  Mr. Ludlow sighed heavily. “He may be close, but I do not know where to look. A troubled Duke could hide in many places.”

  A thought crossed Marianne’s mind. Yes, William was a Duke, but he came from humbler beginnings than what a typical Duke would. “I understand that he dismissed you,” Marianne said carefully. Now was not the time for watching one’s words, so she continued. “Why are you the one searching for him?”

  Rather than angering him, however, the man smiled. “For forty years I have served the Hawkins family. It was my personal pledge to his father the night he left that, if his son were ever to return, that I would look after him. I will honor that promise in any way I am able, even if he dismisses me.

  The man’s words brought up the promise she had made to William, to stand by his side and be with him forever. She straightened her back and jutted out her chin. She also had a promise to keep.

  “I will consider where he has gone,” she said. Then she placed a hand on the man’s sleeve. “Do not worry, Mr. Ludlow, we will find him…one way or another.”

  He smiled at her again. “I thank you, Miss Blithe. You have been a true friend to His Grace.”

  Once the old adviser and Marianne’s mother were gone, Marianne began pacing. “I believe I know where he is,” she said in a low voice. “But I will need your help tonight.”

  “You are going to find him?” Julia asked, her eyes wide. “You will risk more than scorn from your father if you go out in search of him on your own.”

  Marianne stopped and smiled at her friend. “I will risk everything for the man I love.”

  ***

  The sun had set some time ago as Marianne slipped on the last riding boot and stood to stomp her foot into it. Then she walked back to the cabinet, removed the small cap William had given her, and had Julia help pull her hair up inside it so it would not show. With a smile, she looked herself over in the mirror and then turned to Julia.

  “What do you think?” Marianne asked with a laugh.

  Julia lowered herself to the bed and sat gaping at Marianne. “I know not how you have such clothes at the ready,” she said, “and I am nearly afraid to ask, but…how did you come by them?”

  Marianne laughed again. “The night I left the estate with William, I hid them away. They are his, and I wanted something of his to take with me.”

  “My friend grows more scandalous by the day,” Julia said with a shake of her head. Then she smiled. “However, that is why she is my friend and why I love her.” She pulled Marianne in for a hug and then took Marianne’s hands in hers. “Please, be careful. I will remain here with the extra cushions.”

  This made Marianne laugh all the more as she glanced to the bed. The two women had devised a plan to have Julia lie on the side closest to the door, and on the small chance Marianne’s mother came to check on them, she would see Julia sleeping and a form beside her that was not Marianne, but a set of cushions taken from the chairs by the window in Julia’s bedroom.

  “Thank you,” Marianne said, the laughter gone now that the time for her to make her escape had come. “I will be careful, I promise.”

  Letting go of her friend’s hands, she went to the window. Her father had gone away on business two days prior, and the girls had told her mother that they were having an early night so they could go into town the following day. Everything was in place, and Marianne had no doubt her plan would go off without a problem.

  The window slid open and Marianne listened for any noise that would tell her it was unsafe to leave. Hearing none, she stepped out onto the roof. A large trellis gave her a perfect ladder, and she made her way down it, the nearly full moon giving her enough light by which to see.

  “Do not get into any pub fights!” Julia whispered from the window, the wide grin on her face just visible. “Explaining away a bruised nose will be impossible!”

  This brought on a bout of giggles from both girls, and it took several moments for Marianne to gain her serious countenance once again. She waved at Julia and slipped around to the stables, where she saddled her horse. It was not an easy task, as a groomsman typically took care of that for her, but she had learned early on how to do it herself for those rare occasions when a groomsman was not available-such as when she wished to sneak off and save the man she loved.

  Soon, she was mounted and heading down the drive, heading toward the pub she suspected currently housed the Duke of Stromhedge, or so she hoped.

  ***

  The pub was loud and the lighting poor, but the ale had never tasted finer. William ordered another, as well as one for the old drunk who sat beside him at the long counter. He had come to the pub a week earlier and had spent the days and nights drinking as he tried to figure out what to do next with his life. His new life was now spent drinking at the pub and sleeping at the inn that sat beside it. However, he knew he could not live this way forever. That did not stop him from enjoying it at the moment, though.

  Hearing laughter, William turned to see a woman approach him, her hair disheveled and silk dress stained. Then he remembered seeing her before—as her husband chased off him and Marianne.

  “That woman is trouble,” the drunk said as she came to stand beside William.

  He gave a nod of agreement. How well he knew.

  “Hello, Love,” the woman slurred. “Looking for some company, are ya?” She winked at him and attempted to sit on his lap. “Perhaps you’d like to spend some time with me?”

  William snorted as he pushed her away. “My heart lies with someone else.”

  The woman raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that right?” she demanded. “Who’s the lucky woman?”

  The old drunk leaned against the counter and shook his head. “She’s better’n you. Comes from a wealthy family.” The man hiccupped. “And this man here is a gardener.”

  “And a Duke, as well,” William said as he turned his back to the woman and took a drink of his ale.

  “A gardener who’s a Duke?” the woman said with a hearty laugh. “I thought I came up with some stories.” With a shake of her head, she walked away, still laughing.

  The drunk tapped William on the shoulder. “How comes you’re both?” he asked.

  “I was a gardener first, and then I found out that I was a Duke,” William explained for the third time already that evening. And to the same man. “But I walked away from my title last week.”

  He turned just as more laughter broke out behind him. The woman had kissed a man and then slapped his face. Another pair of men began exchanging fierce words before fists flew and a table crashed beneath them, several around them cheering them on. The landlord dashed across the room as fast as his heavy frame would carry him, a metal bar over his head ready to smash in the heads of the troublemakers.

  William let out a sigh, finding the fighting uninteresting at the moment. “I thought I would miss all these people, but to be honest, I miss my Marianne.”

  The old man finished off his pint and set the mug down on the counter with a thunk. “Miss my Duchess, I do.”

  “Your Duchess?” William asked the man.

  “Yeah. Used to fix her shoes when I wasn’t a Duke.” The drunkard let out a laugh and clapped William on the back. “Me brother’s a Baron, too, but he works in a prison when he’s not baroning everyone, if you know what I mean!” He gave another boisterous laugh as he walked away, shaking his head as he did so. “A Duke hangin’ round the likes of me,” he added with a chuckle before he was too far away for William to hear more.

  “At least you have a brother,” William said as he reached for his drink. “I have no one.”

  “That is where you are wrong,” a gruff voice said as a hand shot out and covered the top of his mug.

  Cha
pter Twenty-Two

  A stable boy took the reins from Marianne, and she looked over to see a white horse in a nearby stall. Her heart picked up a beat, for she had seen that horse before and knew to whom it belonged.

  “Will ya be stablin’ her for overnight?” the boy asked. “There’s plenty of room for her if ya need to.”

  “No, I will return shortly,” Marianne said and then chastised herself inwardly when the boy gaped at her. She had used her normal voice and there was no refuting the fact she was a woman. Reaching into a pocket, she produced a silver coin and placed it in the boy’s hand. “Say nothing.”

  He grinned up at her as his dirt-stained hand closed around the coin. “Not a problem, Sir,” he said with a wink and then led the horse away.

  Marianne followed the narrow alley toward the front of the pub. Two figures walked toward her, their voices in whispers. Fearing they were robbers, she braced herself for an attack, but then she recognized the woman who had caused problems for her and William the last time they were there. She slid into a crag in the wall of the pub and waited for them to pass. The man who had his arm wrapped over the woman’s shoulders was most certainly not her husband.

  When the pair had passed, Marianne resumed her trek down the alleyway, coming up to the main road and the front doors of the pub. The sounds of laughter and cheering came to her ears, and she peeked in the doorway to see who she assumed was the landlord breaking up a fight. She slid through the door and allowed it to close behind her, her heart threatening to jump out of her throat. However, no one gave her a second glance, and she relaxed remembering how she was dressed. There was no reason for anyone to believe she was anyone but a young man there to have a drink.

  An old man stumbled toward her, laughing and talking under his breath. He stopped in front of Marianne and said, “Ya know what? We’ve a Duke in our midst!”

  “Is that right?” she asked, attempting to keep her voice rough.

  “Yep,” the man replied as he threw a thumb over his shoulder. “By the way, I’m the Earl of brandy.” He laughed so loudly, she wondered if her ears would burst. He moved past her and was soon gone.

  Marianne looked toward where the man had indicated, and indeed, there sat William. She smiled, glad to see her guess had been right.

  “At least you have a brother,” William said as he reached for his mug. “I have no one.”

  Marianne reached out and placed her hand over the mouth of the mug. “That is where you are wrong,” she said in a gruff voice.

  “How would you know?” William asked as he turned to look at her. At least a week’s worth of growth grew on his cheeks and chin in an unruly fashion and his eyes were filled with pain.

  “Because I am here for you,” she whispered.

  His eyes widened. “Marianne?” he asked with a shake of his head. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to find you,” she explained as she glanced around them. “Come with me, William. You do not need to drink any more ale.” She thought he might refuse, but he gave a single nod and then exited the pub with her.

  They stood at the end of the alley, which was a quiet relief compared to the noise of the pub. No one else was around, and she reached out and took his hands in hers. “William, what has become of you?” she asked, searching his face. “Where is the man I first met, the gardener who spoke of breaking rules? The man who showed me that life is more than what society dictates and holds great happiness?”

  “I wanted nothing more than to be as strong as my grandfather,” he said with a sigh. “But then I became something I did not want to be.”

  “You can only be yourself,” Marianne said with a squeeze of his hand. “You are not your grandfather and never will be. Nor can you be your father. You are William Hawkins, the man who can climb a tree, reach into the heavens, and give a woman the stars as a gift that is far more valuable than any dress or jewelry that can be bought. That is the man for whom I care, the man who showed me how to break the rules society has deemed appropriate. Do you not see? It was you who showed me what was important in life.”

  He gave her a nod, although she could still feel the pain flowing off him. “You are right, as always,” he said. “But I have failed everyone, especially you. I cannot be a Duke, for it takes a strong man to hold that title. That man is not me.”

  Marianne clicked her tongue. “That is not true,” she admonished. “You are strong, even more so than the first time I met you. You have allowed your ego to push away your kindness, all in an attempt to be someone you are not! You allowed the Dowager Duchess to corrupt you. Look what she has done to you!”

  William winced. “By the time I realized what she was up to, it was too late. I lost Mr. Ludlow, pushed away Thomas, and then you…” His voice broke. “I am sorry, Marianne. I never meant to hurt you. If you believe anything I tell you, please believe that.” He gazed down at the ground. “I have lost you.”

  She smiled through the tears that misted her eyes. “No,” she replied. “You have not lost me, for I am here for you. I will always be here for you. We made a promise to one another, and I know we will both keep it no matter what happens.”

  “I do not understand. The way I treated you, my words, my actions, they are unforgivable. How could you ever look past what I have done?”

  Hot tears now flowed down her cheeks. “It is because I love you,” she replied. “I realize now that I should have said those words before. In my own fear and worry, I did not, but it is because I love you and see the good in you that I am here.”

  His face broke into a weak smile. “And I love you. I was alone and fearful of what I had become, but your guidance is what I need, your heart and your love. I took it all for granted and turned my back on you. But I swear I will never do that again.” He reached up and wiped the tears from her face. “Never again will I doubt you, nor will I raise my voice to you. Do you forgive me?”

  “I do,” she whispered, then stood on her toes and kissed him. It was the most beautiful of kisses, for it was done in love. And although the setting was not one a person would consider romantic, it mattered not, for like title or land, love could be found anywhere.

  “So, what do I do now?” he asked. “How do I fix the damage I have caused?”

  “Tomorrow we will meet in the village and we will begin there. However, there is a promise I must ask you to make.”

  “Of course,” he replied readily. “Anything.”

  “No more talk of being your grandfather, or anyone else for that matter. You must always remain who you are. Believe me, if you do that, you will be the Duke you were meant to be.”

  “You are right once again,” he said with a smile. “I will make things right and be the man you love and who loves you.” He pressed his lips to hers, and Marianne could feel the tension he had worn like a cloak leave him.

  “We should be going,” she said as the sound of footsteps came toward them. “I must return to my home and you must return to yours.”

  He nodded and they turned to find the disheveled woman walking toward them. “So, it’s true, is it?” she asked as she wiped her hand across her eyes. “You’re a Duke and a gardener? I’ve been listening for a bit, and it’s beautiful. You dressing up to come save him, and you,” she pointed at William, “you take care of her. A good woman is hard to find, just ask my husband.”

  William smiled down at Marianne. “You have my promise that I will look after her,” he said.

  The woman smiled and then surprised Marianne by giving her a hug. “Get back to your estate and never come ‘round here again. You’ve better things to be doin’ than hangin’ around here.”

  Marianne smiled in thanks at the woman just as the front door of the pub opened. All three turned and Marianne shirked at the large figure standing in the doorway.

  “You, again!” the massive man shouted. “After my wife again, are ye?”

  “Run!” the woman whispered, and Marianne did not wait to be told again.

 
Perhaps it was the excitement or maybe even the fear, but Marianne laughed as she and William ran down the alleyway to the stables hoping the large man would not follow behind them.

  ***

  The following day, as planned, Marianne walked beside William, her ever-faithful friend and confidante Julia following behind them. The village was as busy as usual, and a number of stares and hurried whispers came their way. Marianne could not help but smile as she glanced at the man beside her, a man who appeared confident, although a bit nervous.

  “The Duke has returned!” and “He has not left?” as well as other statements could be heard around them.

  “I believe in you,” Marianne whispered as they came to stand in front of the butcher’s shop.

  Lawrence and his wife stepped outside, each wearing a wide grin. From across the street, the cobbler also stood outside his shop, as did the jeweler and the tailor. With each shopkeeper exiting their prospective shop, William stared down at Marianne, until she pulled away from him.

  “Go on, speak to them.”

  William cleared his throat, but the voice that echoed down the street was strong and clear. “My friends and business associates,” he said before waiting for the murmurs to stop. “There have been many rumors concerning me and my whereabouts, but I imagine the rumors concerning your livelihoods is much more interesting to you at the moment.”

  Several people nodded their heads in agreement, but none appeared angry in any way.

  “To own so much is a responsibility that I do not take lightly,” he continued. “For it not only provides a way for me to earn money, but even more importantly, it provides for your families. The rents will return to what they were before they were raised.” Several cheers resounded around them to this. “No more will you need to worry, for if there is a problem with the rents, or a delay in livestock or thread, you may simply come to me. All matters can be worked out and payments can be delayed if necessary. Please know that my ear is willing to listen to anyone who needs it.”