“Do you trust her?” Christopher asked, as if reading her mind.
Joanna shook her head. “I don’t trust her. But I don’t believe Mr. Albertson, either.”
“I feel the same way. We’ve seen how he looks at Hannah. We know he loves her. But at the same time, the letter Miss Flynn showed us proves what she is saying.”
“It proves that he loved her. It doesn’t prove that he still does.”
“Either way, it doesn’t disprove that they were to be married.”
“Neither does it expressly state that they will be.”
Christopher sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. He clearly didn’t know what to do.
Joanna, on the other hand, wanted to go with her instinct. She should be smart about this, and be objective, but she also wanted to rely on the feeling that something wrong was at play here. There was simply something about Miss Flynn that didn’t sit well with her.
The only problem was Joanna didn’t know what made her feel that way. She couldn’t use anything about the lady to prove that she had ill-intentions. She looked every bit the part of a denied lady who had been waiting for her betrothed. No matter how hard Joanna looked, she couldn’t see the crack in the mask.
Perhaps the mere feeling that she was wearing a mask in the first place was setting off warning bells in her head.
“There is nothing we can do but to watch them both,” she said.
“And what about the wedding?” Christopher asked. “They are to be married very soon. We can’t put it off now, not after making it so public.”
“No, we can’t,” Joanna said. “The wedding will simply have to continue until we can get to the bottom of this.”
“Poor Hannah.” Christopher’s angry tone gave way to a sad one. “She must be devastated after hearing all of this.”
Joanna agreed. The mere fact that her daughter had retired to her room despite just recently waking up was a clear indication that this situation had hit her hard. But she was strong. Joanna knew she would be fine.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Joanna said as she got to her feet and made her way over to her husband. He wrapped his arms around her on instinct. “We will get to the bottom of this.”
“I sincerely hope that we do.”
She kissed him tenderly on the lips, a silent promise that everything would be fine. Then she pulled away and left. She knew exactly where to go and she found who she was looking for walking through the hallways. The head housekeeper stood at attention when Joanna approached her.
“Good day, Natalie,” Joanna greeted kindly. “I have a job for you to do.”
“Yes, Your Grace?” Natalie asked.
“We have a new guest staying with us. Her name is Miss Peggy Flynn. I would like for you to keep your eye on her during her stay and report anything you think might be suspicious to me. All right?”
Natalie’s eyes registered surprise, but she nodded quickly and said, “Yes, Your Grace.”
“Thank you.”
Joann walked away feeling confident within herself. When she was focused on something, nothing could stop her from getting to the bottom of it, and Miss Flynn was now the source of that curiosity. For the sake of her daughter and her family, she would soon find out whether she should believe the words of Mr. Albertson or Miss Flynn.
Hannah didn’t leave her bedchamber for the rest of the day. She didn’t like the fact that she was wallowing, but it wasn’t simply out of sadness. There was anger and shame mixed in as well. Not to mention a whole host of crazy thoughts she couldn’t help focusing on.
She knew she should trust Rowland, and she did. After everything that had happened, Hannah refused to believe that it had all been a lie. She refused to accept that she had been tricked in such a ruthless way.
He loves me, does he not? He wouldn’t ask me to marry him if he knew there was someone else waiting for him back home, would he?
That question bothered her the most and it bothered her even more that she was beginning to doubt the answer to it.
Lily stayed by her side, often bringing her tea and small treats from Karla as a way of cheering her up. But she didn’t know what to say to her. Lily didn’t truly understand what was wrong with Hannah, since she hadn’t been in the room with her, and Hannah didn’t think she had the strength to repeat everything out loud.
So she sat on her bed, gazing out the window and watching as the day passed her by. The Duke stopped by to see how she was, and Hannah didn’t have the strength to pretend she was fine. And when the Duchess came by her room, Hannah didn’t even bother attempting to hide her feelings. She cried to her mother, unable to express in words exactly what she was feeling, but knowing that she understood. If there was anyone in the world who would, it would be her mother.
“M'Lady?” Lily squeaked. “Would you like some more tea?”
Hannah lifted her burning eyes to her friend. After crying nearly all day, she knew her eyes were as swollen as they were painful. Slowly, she shook her head, trying to bring about a smile to soothe the other girl’s worry. It felt more like a grimace, so she gave up. “That’s fine, Lily, thank you.”
Defeated, Lily shrank back and returned to her worried silence.
Hannah stared out the window a little while longer before something occurred to her. “On second thought, there is something you can do for me, Lily,” she spoke up.
“Yes, M’Lady?” Lily asked, rushing forward.
“Could you deliver a message to Mr. Albertson for me?”
“Yes, M’Lady, of course.”
“Tell him that…tell him that I’d like to speak with him when the time is right.”
Confusion mapped Lily’s face. Hannah could tell she wanted to ask for more clarification and was relieved to see her swallow the words and nod. “Yes, M’Lady,” she said before hurrying off, leaving Hannah alone to her thoughts once again.
Rowland would know exactly what that meant. The only time they could talk, at the only place they would be alone, was late at night. It gave her time to think about what she wanted to say to him.
At first, accusations came to her and that was easy to latch onto. Anger was a welcomed emotion, one that drained her and bolstered her at the same time. Hannah wanted to cling to it, but she knew that the moment she saw Rowland, she wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer.
Only thinking about the lady, now somewhere in the manor, brought about that anger again. It was hard not to believe her. She looked heartbroken at Rowland’s denial of her, yet determined all the same to prove to him and everyone else that she was his betrothed. Hannah knew she should hate her, but she couldn’t help the nagging thought that wondered if she was simply just a victim of Rowland’s lies, like she was.
He'll clear it all up for me. He won’t break my heart. I’m sure of it.
But a piece of her heart had already been broken after she left the drawing room and Hannah wondered if she would ever get it back.
Rowland paced his room, Lily’s words playing in his mind. She had come to see him by herself, murmuring to him the words Hannah had sent along with her. It inspired hope in his chest.
Of course, that hope was bordered by something he couldn’t name. He didn’t want to focus on it; he only wanted to remember that Hannah loved him and that she would be on his side no matter what. Yet, the look on her face when she had left the drawing room earlier today was something he didn’t think he would be able to forget any time soon.
To make matters worse, she didn’t leave her room. Rowland prowled the manor like a ghost, hoping to catch a glimpse of her in the gardens or perhaps in the library, but she never left the comfort of her bedchamber. And he didn’t feel confident enough to go looking for her himself, consequences be damned.
Is she crying right now? Is she heartbroken over what happened?
He could hardly believe that she wasn’t. Seeing Lily had given him an idea of how Hannah fared, since the girl was nearly trembling with worry. And the fact
that Hannah didn’t come to deliver her message herself was also a clear sign that bothered him to no end.
But he could do nothing right now, only wait until it was time to see her.
He sat in the armchair near the fire, gazing into the growing embers that had been sparked now that the sun was beginning to set. Within a few hours, he would sneak out to meet with the love of his life and do whatever was in his power to convince her that Miss Peggy Flynn was a liar.
How can she show up here like that?
He still couldn’t understand it, how she had twisted everything in her favor. Yes, it was true that he had asked for her hand in marriage, and had expressed his lamentation of having to leave for England, but that was all before he met Hannah. And everything that had transpired between them had gone on with the knowledge that he had been rejected.
Miss Peggy Flynn didn’t want me then. Why does she want me now?
Rowland could hardly think straight. Every time he imagined the moment he walked into the drawing room to see her sitting on the couch, a mixture of confusion and anger sprouted in him. At first, he had feared the worst, that something bad had happened that would warrant her coming all the way here. He had been concerned for her, and he feared that moment of tenderness before he found the true nature of her visit might have set things against him.
It doesn’t matter. They’ll know the truth soon enough. Hannah will know the truth.
Time passed slowly while he sat there waiting. He decided not to attend dinner, knowing deep down that Hannah wouldn’t be there, either. He didn’t want to see Miss Flynn at all. Only God knew what he might say or do if he were to find himself in her presence once again.
At long last, the manor fell asleep. He got dressed as quickly as he could and left his room, heading to the woods where, hopefully, he could save his relationship with Hannah.
Chapter 31
Hannah made it to their spot before he did, so she sat in her usual seat on the log and waited. She could admit to herself that she had been exceptionally eager to see him, considering the circumstances, which was why she had gone out so early. She also had a little difficulty getting Lily to leave to go to her own room, since the girl was so worried for her that she had suggested staying with Hannah for the night. Hannah half-wondered if Lily thought she would fall ill in the middle of the night.
She wouldn’t be surprised if she did, in truth. She’d never felt like this in her life and she half-expected her body to respond in kind. Her emotions were frayed, drawn so tight that she didn’t know how she was even going to get through the conversation she was about to have.
But she had no choice. She needed to understand, without her parents around, without Miss Flynn nearby. Just the two of them, talking things out. She wanted to hear his reassuring words aloud, to soothe her troubled heart before she gave in to the overbearing thoughts that threatened to consume her.
She heard him coming but she didn’t rise to greet him. She remained seated, watching as his worried face came into view and he hurried over to her side. Rowland grasped her hands, searching her eyes as if he would see her true emotions hidden there.
She wouldn’t let him. Hannah had come here with the mindset that she would try not to let her love for him shadow her common sense. She wanted to remain objective so that whatever he said didn’t overshadow what she already knew to be fact.
And because of that, she slipped her hands out of his. The hurt that flashed in his eyes stabbed her straight in the heart, but she didn’t let him see that, either. She kept it inside, where the rest of her crazy thoughts laid.
“Hannah, you don’t know how worried I’ve been after you left so suddenly. When I had heard that you refused to come out of your bedchamber, I almost went in search of you myself.”
You should have. Then perhaps I would feel a little better than I do now.
She kept her silence, watching his growing agitation. “I truly hope that you believe me,” he continued. “I know how this might sound to you, but what Miss Peggy Flynn is saying is a lie.”
“Why would she lie?” she asked, happy to hear how strong her voice was. After crying for nearly the entire day, she had feared that she might have lost it. She knew he could see those obvious signs of tears from her puffy, red eyes and she was glad for it. She wanted him to see, if anything, just how badly this was affecting her.
“I don’t know,” he sighed heavily. “I can’t comprehend it. I can’t—I can’t think! All I can think about right now is that you must hate me after what you just went through.”
“I don’t hate you, Rowland.”
He tried taking her hands again and this time, Hannah didn’t have the strength to resist. “You know that I love you, right? That I’ve always loved you and you only. I would never play with your heart, Hannah.”
“Did you play with Miss Flynn’s?”
The question hit him so hard that he visibly drew back. Hannah held her stance, staring in his face for any signs of a lie. She knew he hadn’t been expecting that. “Of course not, Hannah.”
“It looks that way,” she said. “It looks like you told her you loved her and that you wanted to marry her and then you went off to England. Perhaps you thought that since you two were seas apart, she wouldn’t know what you were doing here, with another lady. Perhaps you thought you would get away with it.”
Hannah didn’t believe anything she was saying. She couldn’t allow herself to. But she knew she had to open up the possibility that this had been his plan all along and she was satisfied to see the horror on his face.
“Hannah, how could you even think that? Do you see me to be that kind of person?”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “I don’t, in truth. But I’m terribly in love with you and love may have blinded my vision.”
“No.” He drew nearer, gazing into her eyes. She saw nothing but sincerity there. “You aren’t blinded by it, Hannah. Your love for me is allowing you to see the real me. Who I truly am. And I would never do the things that Miss Peggy Flynn is saying.”
She stared into his eyes. She searched them, not entirely knowing what she was searching for but seeing only his honesty.
And she believed him. She believed him before she even came to this spot. She only wanted to make sure that she wasn’t being fooled, that she wasn’t allowing her trust in him to turn into heartbreak. It was easy to believe the man she loved. It wasn’t as easy to admit that he might have done what he was being accused of.
She sighed, looking down at their entwined fingers. “Then what should we do about her? She’s clearly here for a reason and she won’t leave until she has you.”
“Which she won’t have.” Rowland titled her chin up and pecked her on the lips. Hannah didn’t realize just how much she had needed that until he did it. “You’re the only lady who has my heart.”
She leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her, just holding her. For now, Hannah only wanted the comfort of his presence. If he was here with her then that meant everything would be all right. The wedding was still on, even though Miss Flynn was here, and so all she had to do was remain positive until then.
“I love you, Hannah,” Rowland murmured into her hair.
“I love you, too.” She closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax. She tried to banish the worrisome thoughts fighting for control in the back of her mind.
Everything will be all right. Everything will be fine.
She hoped with all her heart that was truly so.
Hannah thought she might have fallen asleep in Rowland’s arms last night because when she woke up the next day, she was in her bed. The last thing she remembered was how she had started crying once again while he held her. She had tried to hold in her sobs as best as she could, but it was to no avail, and so Rowland just kept her in his arms while she cried until she finally fell into blissful sleep.
He must have carried me here.
The thought warmed her heart. Perhaps it was because it was a
new day, but she felt much more positive than she had last night. She might have cried away all of her concerns but now, she felt more confident in their love and in the fact that everything was going to work out.
Lily was by the fire when she woke up, putting it out. Hannah sat up and looked at her, watching as she hurried about to do her duties. She was tiptoeing, clearly trying her best not to wake Hannah, and the thought warmed her.
“Good morning, Lily,” Hannah called out.
Lily whirled at the sound of her voice, her long braid whipping around. She hurried over to Hannah’s side like a mother hen. “M’Lady? Are you all right?”
Courteously Seduced by an Enigmatic Duke: A Steamy Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 21