A Bride for the Betrayed Earl

by Bridget Barton

  “If you are going to have any sort of conversation with Felicity, I would suggest that you do it now, and do it quickly,” Algernon said, his tone unusually serious and forceful. “For I can see that Miss Fitzgerald has been waylaid by none other than Clara Lovett, or Clara Lennox I should say, and her attention will undoubtedly be drawn for several minutes yet. Go and speak to her now, but please waste no time on that woman.”

  “Yes, I shall speak to her quickly and then make my announcement. Do not look so concerned, Algernon; I will be making my announcement. I will become engaged to Emmeline Fitzgerald this evening, have no doubt of it.”

  “Good, you put my mind at rest, my dear fellow,” Algernon said, but Hunter could see that his cousin was not entirely convinced.

  With a brief look at Emmeline, who was thoroughly engaged in some deep conversation with her one-time friend, Hunter hurried to the back of the ballroom.

  “Felicity? What are you doing here?” he said sternly.

  “I see you chose not to extend me an invitation to what I have discovered is not merely a ball, but a celebration of your forthcoming engagement.” Felicity looked at him furiously as her bright blue eyes flashed.

  “It would not have been proper to invite you to such an event whilst you are still in your period of mourning for your husband,” Hunter said sarcastically. “Although I see your mode of dress almost denies that your husband ever existed at all.”

  Hunter thought the behaviour somewhat spoiled even for Felicity. It was clear that she did not like the idea of spending the next twelve months confined to her home and wearing the deepest black of mourning. And so spoiled was she that she would risk scandal and comment on account of it. Of course, a young woman who would marry another man whilst her fiancé was away tending to his dying father was not a woman who took such things as much into account as she perhaps ought to.

  However, she was still the Duchess of Galcross, and there would be none in the county who would dare to broach the subject with her.

  “Am I to take it that the current Duke of Galcross, your husband’s nephew, knows nothing of your excursion this evening? After all, he would surely be the one person who would dare make comment on your behaviour,” Hunter went on, hardly giving her a chance to speak.

  “The one person apart from you, apparently,” she said and held his gaze.

  “Do you care nothing for the scandal that might surround you once people here become aware of your attendance?” Hunter said and, seeing a brief smile pass across her lips, knew that she was amused by his concern. “Or perhaps that was the very sentiment you wished to create this evening. Perhaps you wish to sour this celebration for Miss Fitzgerald and me?”

  “Is it not sour already? Really, that you are choosing to go ahead with such a thing.” She shook her head, and her blonde curls bounced prettily across her shoulders.

  “All that I am choosing to go ahead with is a marriage of my own. I do not need to gain your approval, Felicity. You of all people.”

  “After we spoke at the funeral, I was convinced that you would come to see me. In my heart, I was certain that you would forgive me for my mistake and would come to me in the end. But you did not, Hunter. What has changed you so? What has made you so very cold that you could not come and tell me yourself that you had decided to marry another?”

  “That such a question can come from your lips, my dear lady astounds me. What astounds me further still is your appearance of hurt. Can you not hear the irony in your own words? Can you not see that you are accusing me of something that you first practiced upon me all those months ago?”

  “I know that I did not behave well, Hunter, and I have apologized for it,” Felicity said and lengthened her neck a little as she raised her chin high. “But I am surprised that you have chosen to punish me by following my example.”

  “I have not chosen to punish you at all, Felicity,” Hunter said with a sigh, his temper finally dissipating. “I did not invite you for the reasons I have already given. That I did not come and tell you myself that I would not finally decide to marry you was remiss of me. I had not chosen it as a punishment, and I apologize now, for I ought to have spoken to you in person. But beyond that, I would wish you now to leave. I would not like Miss Fitzgerald to see you here and have her evening upset by any sort of humiliation.”

  “Oh yes, of course, because you are quite well scripted on how to save that young lady from humiliation, are you not?”

  “You have done your research, I see,” Hunter said bitterly.

  “Having seen you so often in her company, I thought it prudent.”

  “Prudent? But it is nothing to you, Felicity. I am nothing to you anymore, or at least I should not be.” He shook his head in an exasperated fashion. “There is no prudence in you discovering every fact about my fiancée. It will change nothing so you would be better served by letting the matter go.”

  “Hunter, I know that you are simply letting your pride get in the way of things. I know that you would wish above all things to marry me instead of her, but you cannot be seen to do it. You cannot admit that you still love me, even though I know that you still do.”

  “You have me quite mistaken, Felicity,” Hunter said and began to feel somewhat disgusted with her.

  Felicity was not quite making a display of her own feelings, but her complete confidence that he would still love her, no matter what, was making him angry. She really was every bit as vain and spoiled as Algernon had claimed her to be.

  “I am sure that I do not, although I do not think we ought to argue about it. Time is running out, and I have come here this evening to beg you to reconsider this foolish decision.”

  “Foolish decision?” Hunter’s countenance darkened.

  “Please, do not give me that look, Hunter,” Felicity said in a manner which suggested she was perhaps becoming bored. “There is still time to back out of it all. And it need not be such a great humiliation to the poor young woman, simply do not make your announcement. Yes, there will be a little gossip, but she will not suffer as greatly as she did the first time.”

  “Felicity, even if I cared nothing for Emmeline Fitzgerald, I would do no such thing. That you can be so flippant in regard to the feelings of another astounds me. But it should not, should it? After all, are you not the same woman who thought that my father’s passing was not fast enough for your liking? Are you not the same woman who remained dry-eyed at her husband’s graveside while she entreated another to wait twelve months and marry her? You have no idea what love entails, do you,Felicity?”

  “Of course I do, Hunter. What a truly hurtful thing to say. I love you as I have told you before. I love you now as I loved you before I made my mistake. I shall always love you, Hunter. You know that.”

  “What I know is that it makes no difference. Whether you love me or not, whether you know what love is or you do not, nothing changes.”

  “But why would you go ahead and marry a woman you do not love simply to satisfy your foolish pride?” she said, and her face fell as she regarded him. “Oh, but I can see that I am perhaps mistaken after all.” Her voice trailed off into silence.

  “Felicity, I think it best you just leave,” Hunter said, suddenly feeling a little sorry for her.

  As callous as she had been these last months, as vain and as vacuous as she truly was, Hunter knew himself to be a better man than one who would take delight in hurting her.

  “You really do love her, do you not?” Suddenly, Felicity’s eyes were shining with tears.

  “Yes, I do love her,” Hunter said, his voice low and his throat dry.

  Even then as he looked at Felicity, her bright blue eyes blinking hard at the tears which threatened to fall, he knew that her tears were those of dismay at not getting exactly what it was that she wanted. Felicity did not love him as she claimed to, even if she thought that she did. She was a young woman whom he now knew incapable of such feeling, a young woman he was glad never to have married in the first place. />
  And she was also a young woman he no longer loved, and never would again.

  Chapter 23

  “Why not? I think weddings ought to be more fun than they seem to be,” Algernon said with comical surliness.

  The three women present all laughed, rewarding Algernon for his wonderful lightheartedness.

  “Algernon, people do not offer little boat rides as part of the wedding celebration. Really, when have you ever known of such a thing?” Hunter laughed.

  “People only do not offer such a thing because they do not have their own lake, my dear fellow. Really, having a lake of your own presents one with so much possibility when planning such a celebration.” Algernon persisted much to the delight of Emmeline’s mother and sister.

  Emmeline, her mother, and sister had been invited once again to spend the day at Addison Hall. When she had first realized that Algernon Rochester was present, Emmeline found herself inordinately pleased. He always seemed to provide a light and cheery atmosphere which put all present in a good mood. Furthermore, he seemed to fortuitously provide entertainment for her mother and sister, affording opportunities for Emmeline and Hunter to be alone here and there throughout the day.

  Now that they were engaged, Emmeline found that she was not any less doubtful about the choice that she and Hunter had made. She still wondered if he harboured feelings for his old love. It was a notion which had been even more deeply entrenched from the moment she had spied the Duchess of Galcross at the back of the ballroom on the night of their engagement.

  Felicity had looked truly breathtaking and, when Emmeline first saw her, she thought she might actually faint. She had been in that deep and final discussion with Clara Lennox and had thought that there could be nothing that would take her attention away from so curious a conversation. But the Duchess of Galcross had caught her attention immediately and held it completely the entire time, so much so that she had dismissed Clara Lennox much sooner than she would ever have imagined.

  When Felicity had disappeared as suddenly as she had arrived, Emmeline began to wonder whether she had seen her at all. For one thing, the woman had not been dressed in the traditional black of a widow in mourning, something she could hardly imagine a Duchess to do. But her heart told her most distinctly that she had seen Felicity clearly, and she had seen Hunter talking to her most determinedly.

  The moment the Duchess disappeared, Hunter strode towards the other end of the ballroom, his face set in a determined frown. She knew, of course, that he was about to make his announcement; their announcement. But quite what that announcement was to be, Emmeline could not say. For an awful moment, she thought she was about to hear the worst. She thought she was soon to hear yet another man she assumed she would one day marry announce his intention to marry another. By the time he had gained the attention of the entire room, Emmeline was fighting an overwhelming urge to run.

  When he had cheerfully announced that he was soon to be marrying Miss Emmeline Fitzgerald, the woman in question almost fainted away with relief. In fact, she had been so relieved that she had almost immediately dispelled thoughts of Felicity from her mind. The moment she realized she was not to be publicly humiliated once again, nothing else seemed to matter.

  However, by the time the next day had dawned, her old fears returned, and she began, once again, to wonder if she could manage a life married to a man she loved but who could not love her in return.

  “But what about doves?” Algernon Rochester’s cheerful and booming tones snapped Emmeline back into the present.

  “What about doves, my dear fellow?” Hunter said with mock trepidation that made all present laugh.

  “If you will not have little boats, will you not have little doves?” Algernon said and held his arms out to the side as he grinned broadly. “You could have them set about in woven baskets here and there, and when you come to toast your union, have your footmen open the baskets and the doves will flap their way out and fly away at once. It would be quite magnificent.”

  “Oh, I say, how lovely.” Constance Fitzgerald had been immediately transported, almost as if she were seeing the thing in life instead of just in her mind’s eye.

  Emmeline immediately looked across to Hunter and, seeing his amused look at her mother’s sudden excitement, she smiled at him mischievously. He looked back at her with equal amusement, reminding her of the wonderful day they had spent talking of books and finding common amusement at her mother’s extreme reaction to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Something about it made her feel suddenly close to him as if everything would be alright in the end.

  “Mrs Fitzgerald, I trust you are taking my cousin’s interference with a pinch of salt. You will not find many of his suggestions anywhere approaching sensible.” Hunter smiled at Emmeline’s mother so warmly that she felt her love for him grow even more.

  “And I suppose it will be almost winter at the time.” Constance seemed suddenly a little deflated. “I do not even know if we could get doves at that time of year.” She smiled sadly, and Emmeline thought she would burst with amusement.

  She looked over at Hunter once again and could see that he was suffering, his eyes wide and his lips grimly set as he tried to clearly hold on to what was likely to be a truly sensational bout of laughter.

  “Mama, they are not seasonal like vegetables,” Rose said quite innocently, and finally, Emmeline gave in and laughed. “Whatever is so funny about that?” Rose went on but smiled.

  “I think it would probably be too cold for us all to be outside celebrating in winter.” Emmeline finally gathered herself and tried to speak sensibly.

  “Oh dear, what a dreadful shame,” Constance said, none the wiser of the amusement she had inadvertently caused.

  “What say we take a look down by the lake, my dear woman,” Algernon said and proffered his arm to Emmeline’s mother. “After all, there is no harm in making little plans, just in case we have a mild winter, is there?”

  “No indeed, MrRochester,” Constance said and took his arm.

  Constance, Rose, and Algernon Rochester all made their way down towards the lake, and Emmeline could hear them chattering happily all the way. Whatever became of her and Hunter, at least she knew that her mother and sister were most comfortable with the arrangement with Hunter and his family. It was one worry off her mind, and for that she was grateful.

  “I take it you do not wish to follow them and join in the planning?” Hunter said with a laugh as he settled back down onto the chair on the little terrace.

  Emmeline had come to adore the terrace, even on a fresh autumn day. Despite having to wear a shawl, she was happier to sit there than anywhere else, being so reminded of the wonderful day they had spent together all those weeks before. The day when they had talked about books, and she had, in truth, begun to fall in love with him. It seemed to her now like a special place, a place which would always hold such fond memories for her, whatever happened next.

  “Goodness me, no,” Emmeline said and sat down at the small table opposite him. “I must admit to being only too glad to escape it for a while. My mother has been planning and plotting and scheming from the moment our engagement was announced. I hear now only of fabric and lace and flowers and how best to have the little church set out. Really, you have no idea how exhausting it is to have so excited a mother.” She smiled at him and was pleased when he threw his head back and laughed. “Forgive me, I hope you are not at all insulted. I do not mean to imply that I am not pleased about our upcoming wedding,” she added hurriedly.

  “I am not insulted at all.” He continued to laugh. “As I can quite well imagine what you have suffered at home these last days.”

  “And my sister is almost as excited as my mother.” Emmeline shrugged, and he laughed again.

  “But perhaps the most surprising excitement of them all is that which belongs to my cousin Algernon.”

  “Indeed!” Emmeline laughed loudly herself. “I do not think I have ever seen a man so involved in a wedding conve
rsation. It always seems largely the province of the ladies, does it not?”

  “Dear Algernon treads his own path in this life, Emmeline. And it is true to say that it matters not the opinions of others.”

  “In truth, that is probably just as well.” Emmeline smiled broadly. “But I am bound to say that I am very grateful for his attention to my mother and sister. And to me also, if I am honest. I always find your cousin so friendly and welcoming and almost always so amusing. He has a keen wit and a turn of phrase which always makes me smile.”

  “Then you think as I do about my cousin, and I can only say that I am pleased for it. He is a regular visitor here, as I am at Braithwaite House, so it is a relief to me to find that you like him so well, for the two of you will often find yourself in company.”

  “And I shall look forward to it.”

  “Are you sure you are quite warm enough to sit out here?” Hunter raised his eyebrows in concerned question.

  “I am perfectly warm enough in my shawl, Hunter. And I do so like it here on the terrace.”

  “It is one of my favourite places. It is a place where I often read; in fact, much of what I read is read here when the weather will allow me.”

  “I have a place of my own at Tarlton Manor, a little corner of the garden which is fenced off by box hedging. I have spent much time there since I was a little girl, to read and be alone with my thoughts, and nobody has ever really bothered me there,” she said but had a sudden awful memory of Kent Fitzgerald.

  “Then I am sorry for you that you are to lose that little corner, but perhaps you will find a little corner here at Addison that you can call your own. Or even share this place with me here on the terrace if you have a mind to.”