Does The Earl Love Me

by Jasmine Ashford

  “Well?” he asked, when there was no reply from any of the five men.

  “I...” Barnett coughed.

  “I will tell you my interpretation,” the duke said silkily. “I interpret this to tell me that you are all blathering incompetents!”

  Barnett flinched. “Yes, milord,” he said quietly. He did not look up.

  “Yes?” The duke blinked. Of all the answers he had expected, that was clearly not one of them. He sighed.

  “You know what this means, don't you?” he asked, contemplating his fingertips.

  “No, milord,” Barnett said. Now he was nervous. The duke had a terrible reputation. His temper was legendary, his skill with a sword well-known. People muttered dark things about him: he had once accidentally run a man through in a duel, and the body had never been found; his enemies tended to disappear and reappear, hideously maimed. This last Barnett knew to be true.

  “It means,” the duke sighed, letting his hand fall to his side, “that I must come with you and capture him myself.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  FRIENDSHIP AND FLIGHT

  FRIENDSHIP AND FLIGHT

  Alicia's bedchamber was lit with candles, the light warming the silky wallpaper and softening the white cotton coverlet. It was night, and the rest of the family were at dinner. Alicia had claimed illness, which was not really a lie. She felt sick with worry.

  “Alicia?” Henriette’s gentle voice filtered through the door, left open a crack, letting in the light of the candle she carried.

  Alicia, curled up on the bed, sat up. Her face was damp with tears, eyes red from crying.

  “Henriette,” she said softly.

  The two girls embraced, wordlessly, sitting together on the bed.

  “Oh. What is it, my friend? Why are you crying?” Henriette asked, distressed. Her French accent made the words sibilant, an elegy of care.

  “Oh, Nettie,” Alicia cried, calling her by her childhood pet-name. “I am so confused! I am delighted, and sad, and worried, and... I know not what!” She collapsed, crying, onto the bed.

  “It is love, my dear... only love is so confusing!” her friend soothed, stroking her hair. “And the heart has its own reasoning, you know. Descartes said so.” Henriette smiled, quoting the famous French philosopher.

  “Oh, my dear friend! What would I do without you?” Alicia sobbed, and sat to embrace Henriette, still crying.

  “Be confused?” Henriette asked, and grinned.

  Alicia laughed. “That is true.” She sniffed and reached for a kerchief.

  “Well,” Henriette said, sounding businesslike. “Whatever it is, we can solve it together. Remember?”

  “Two against the world.” Alicia grinned, quoting their childhood refrain. Then, they had stolen ribands from the seamstress, or marzipan from the kitchens. Now, the troubles she faced were so much larger! But the comfort of having her old friend and comrade in arms still helped. She drew in a shuddering breath and began to explain.

  “Leo has asked to marry me!”

  “But, my friend!” Henriette exclaimed, a little frown creasing her fine, high brow. “That is wonderful! No?” She shrugged elegantly, and Alicia smiled through her tears.

  “Yes,” she sniffed, “it is wonderful. But he is a fugitive. We shall have to escape to Germany together, to avoid the man who is trying to kill him. And I am already betrothed, remember?”

  “Oh!” Henriette's hand flew to her mouth. “Roderick. Yes?”

  “Yes.” Alicia nodded grimly.

  “Oh! Well. That part is as nothing!” Henriette declared easily. “Leave it to me.”

  “Leave it to you?” Alicia asked, confused. “What will you do?”

  “I will elope with him!” Henriette said, striking a seductive and dramatic pose. “If he took himself off your hands, perhaps your parents would agree more readily to break this arrangement?”

  Alicia laughed, amusement mixed with horror.

  “You would?”

  “Of course!” Henriette shrugged, lightly. “Why should I not?”

  “How? I mean, Roderick! He's horrible.” Alicia shuddered at the thought. It was not that he was horrible, not really, she knew that. He was just so... ordinary! “I am leaving tomorrow! You do not know him well, and he is... awful.” She could not let her friend sacrifice herself like this

  “My dear,” Henriette smiled, as if her friend were much younger, “we must be practical. No?”

  “But...”

  “Roderick Drosty is not handsome. No. He is not exciting. No. He is not... a beautiful man.” Henriette smiled, ticking the different attributes off on her fingers, as if she discussed the merit of a racing-horse and jockey at Newmarket Races. “But he is sound. He is solidly reliable. And he is going to be an earl. I shall be Lady Drosty, raised beyond all danger.” Henriette sighed.

  “Oh, Henriette,” Alicia breathed. “I cannot let you do this, for me.”

  “My dear friend,” Henriette sighed. “I would do much more to help you. This is not hard for me, you know. And his parents, and yours, are more likely to change things for him than for you. Our society is made to satisfy the appetites of men,” she added sadly.

  “I know.” Alicia admitted. “But it is still a great sacrifice. I mean...” She shuddered.

  “Nonsense!” Henriette exclaimed firmly. “I am sure I will find much happiness. And if I don't? Well, all I need to do is outlive him. Then I shall be Lady Drosty all on my own.” She chuckled. “We shall both be landed ladies. And live next door to each other. Would that not be grand?”

  Alicia kissed her friend on the cheek, hugging her fiercely to her. “If you say it like that, then...”

  “That is the way to say it, for that is as it is!” Henriette said firmly. “Now, I shall not have any more tears. We shall have to visit the Drostys tomorrow, so I can put the first part of my plan into operation. And you must get a good night's sleep. You cannot run off and get married without a good night's sleep. And tomorrow you shall have to pack. There is a long journey ahead.”

  Alicia let her friend fuss about the room, drawing the curtains and making up the bed, and could not help feeling sick with worry. She loved Henriette like a sister. How could she let her make this sacrifice for her? She knew Henriette – who was more worldly than she would ever be – did not see it that way, but she still did.

  “Maybe Roderick isn't so bad,” she said under her breath. He wasn't – if she had not met Leo, she would have thought him ideal – so perhaps Henriette would not be harmed if she tried her wild plan. She could not really stop her. She closed her eyes, trying to fight the growing sense of worry. She had to try and sleep, to be strong tomorrow. Tomorrow was a very important day.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  DIFFERENT KINDS OF FREEDOM

  DIFFERENT KINDS OF FREEDOM

  Newgrange Park, home of Lord Roderick Drosty, son of the present Earl of Darbyshire, was a newer building than Wilding, built in the ornate, soaring style of twenty years before.

  Henriette and Alicia, invited there for luncheon, admired the airy, bright corridors with their tall glass windows as they strolled down them after the lunch.

  “Oh, my goodness! That is so charming.”

  Henriette's voice, warm as Malmsey wine, flowed across the gallery, where Roderick was showing her the family portraits. Her tall body was encased in a flowing green gown, her dark curls were styled, and she looked lovely.

  Alicia, walking a little way behind the pair with Roderick's sister, Ada, and his mother, Lady Drosty, smiled tightly. She was tense with anxiety, knowing she would leave that afternoon. But she still could not help but admire her friend Henriette.

  “I am pleased the lady thinks so,” Roderick said in reply.

  Alicia turned away, stifling a grin. It was actually working!

  Beside her, Ada leaned in, gently touching her arm to draw her attention to a portrait. Tall, slim and earnest, with pale auburn hair and wide brown eyes, Ada was not too unlike Roderick
in coloring, but entirely different to him – a slender, elfin creature.

  “And this is your grandmother's sister, the Lady Angelique,” Ada explained.

  “Oh...” Alicia stopped before the portrait. The lady who smiled out of it at her looked very like her own mother, except for the cloud of reddish hair. “She's lovely,” she managed at last.

  “Yes. I wish I could have known her,” Ada said fondly. “People say I look like her.”

  “You do!” Alicia smiled. Ada looked very like the woman in the portrait, though where the girl was retiring, the painted woman radiated love for life.

  “Thank you,” Ada replied.

  “Not at all,” Alicia murmured, and quietly stepped away from the group. She felt a growing sense of impatience. She had arranged to meet Leo at the stables at four of the clock, just as it was beginning to get dark. She had to leave soon, as the ride back to Wilding took almost an hour. It was half-past one now, she reflected, chewing her lip.

  “Come on, Henriette,” she whispered under her breath.

  “And this is my great-grandfather,” Roderick was saying, up ahead, as he indicated a portrait to the woman beside her.

  “I wish that you visited us here at Newgrange Park more often, dear lady,” Roderick was murmuring to Henriette.

  “Oh, sir!” Henriette breathed. “I would love to, but...” She touched her throat, a gesture of puzzlement that nevertheless made Roderick's breath catch. Henriette had a neck like carved ivory, and she did not hesitate to wear low collars. “But I cannot, I...”

  “I will accept no buts,” he said, bold, though his voice was hoarse. “I shall invite you here for luncheon forthwith. Wednesday? Both of you,” he added hastily, seeing Alicia nearby.

  “Oh...” Henriette twisted a hand in her muslin skirt, a gesture that showed the contour of a shapely leg quite accidentally. “I will be gone in a week.”

  “Tuesday, then!” Roderick insisted.

  “Tomorrow?”

  “Of course!” Roderick said loudly, and then turned, realizing the rest of the gallery echoed somewhat. “Of course,” he repeated, lowering his voice. “Now, come, my lady, for there is something ahead I wish to show you.”

  The five of them strolled down the long gallery at Newgrange Park, with Henriette and Roderick outstripping the pace to walk ahead without eavesdroppers.

  Beside her, Alicia noticed a disapproving look cross Roderick's mother's face.

  “Oh, isn't it a lovely day?” Alicia asked brightly, trying to convince the woman that she did not mind to see her friend openly flirting with her affianced partner.

  “Very lovely,” Lady Drosty said woodenly.

  “Should we not take a turn in the grounds? The air is so enchanting!”

  “In November?” Lady Drosty raised an eyebrow, as if Alicia had been in the sun too long.

  “It would be different,” Ada said supportively.

  “You young people go, then,” Lady Drosty said, with a touch of asperity. “I shall stay here by the fire. But don't stay long. And do keep an eye on Roderick,” Lady Drosty said intently to Ada.

  “Yes, Mother,” Ada said meekly, and then, as Lady Drosty walked off, turned and winked at Alicia.

  “She doesn't mean any harm,” Ada explained quietly. “She just doesn't like how Roderick is behaving.”

  “Thanks,” Alicia whispered sincerely. “But Roderick may do as he wishes. I surely do not own him.”

  Beside her, Ada gave her a strange look, but said nothing.

  Together, the four young people walked out into the late November afternoon.

  “It is so cold!” Henriette said, not having to feign that her teeth chattered.

  “Here,” Roderick said. With a gallantry that surprised them all – probably Roderick also – he removed his own cloak and placed it around her slender, shivering shoulders.

  “Thank you,” Henriette breathed.

  “It is nothing,” Roderick said, gently. He looked deep into her eyes.

  “Oh!” Henriette screeched, and fell over, apparently slipping on the mud beneath her left foot.

  Roderick, face twisted with arrested desire, reached to steady her, and clasped her waist. Even from her vantage point, feet away, Alicia could see how his face reddened and his brow dampened.

  Beside her, Ada ran lightly up, then stopped, catching sight of the scene ahead.

  “Oh,” she said.

  “Oh, what?” Alicia asked lightly.

  “Oh, nothing,” Ada said, clearly confused.

  “Well, then!” Alicia said briskly. “Should we not go and look for nuts in your orchards? I am sure there are plenty, this time of year.”

  “If you think that is a good idea,” Ada said dubiously.

  “Of course!” Alicia said brightly.

  Hurry up, Henriette, she thought as they walked toward the orchards. I have made you some time. Now you must make me some also.

  Thirty minutes later, a flushed Henriette and a stressed Alicia were bundling into the carriage, back to Wilding.

  A few minutes after that, Alicia was running to her room.

  “I need to leave something.” She looked round the room in panic. She could not just leave, without letting anyone know where she was going! Her mother would die of worry.

  Grabbing her pen off her writing desk, she pulled a parchment from the drawer and quickly wrote a note to her mother.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  IN DANGER

  IN DANGER

  Glancing briskly left and right, Alicia slid from the side entrance and out into the windy night beyond. Her feet light on the dew-soaked, icy lawn, she darted across to the stables, careful to keep to the shadows cast by the walls and overhanging trees.

  “Alicia!” Leo called, hoarsely, as she reached the shelter of the stable walls.

  “Leo!”

  He was before the stables, pale hair glowing in the last light of evening. He hailed her with a wave, eyes wild.

  “Alicia! Thank Heaven you arrived. They are here!”

  Leo was clearly agitated, his body stiff with tension.

  “They?” Alicia asked, frightened.

  “The duke's men! Here, in the woods. I saw them on my way back. They were asking questions. It is only a matter of time before they reach us.”

  As he spoke, he was reaching for bridle and saddle, helping her to tack her horse. He had already saddled his horse, Russell.

  “Ready?” he breathed. Bluebelle was mercifully well-behaved, and the girth slid tight with no difficulty.

  “Yes.” Alicia nodded briskly.

  “Good,” Leo said. “Then ride!”

  He helped her to mount, and then slid into the saddle himself. Two dark streaks on horseback, they bolted from the stables and out into the wind-torn, rain-soaked fields.

  “Are we safe?” Alicia shouted against the wind.

  “I hope so,” he called back, uncertain. “They were here, earlier.”

  Just then, a shot rang through the air, rattling the leaves as they entered the woods.

  “Go!”

  Alicia almost screamed as the first rider emerged behind her, dressed in the black livery of the Duke of Lennox. He was armed, though they rode too fast for him to take aim.

  “Alicia!” Leo screamed, suddenly. “The tree!”

  At the last second, Alicia saw the low branch and veered out of its path. If Leo had not shouted, it would have hit her, and likely broken her neck.

  “Leo!” she gasped.

  Leo, riding close beside her, grinned weakly. “Just ride!”

  They rode over the wet, slick leaf-mold, through the misted forest as the sun set.

  They could hear four sets of hooves behind them, and, once, a gunshot rattled the leaves above Leo's head. Then, at some point just after the sun set, they missed a turning and stumbled off the road.

  They were in utter silence. Three sets of hooves rode past.

  “Are we—”

  “Sh!” Leo held an emphatic finge
r to his lips.

  Alicia, round-eyed, clapped a hand to her lips.

  “There is someone still there,” Leo whispered.

  “Oh.” Alicia nodded, and together they slid from the saddle. Their horses were both dark, and they wore dark cloaks. Standing in the thick trees, Leo and Alicia were invisible, as long as they did not make a sound.

  Alicia trembled. She wanted to sneeze. She could not keep quiet. She could not keep still. She...

  The fourth set of hooves went slowly past on the road, and then sped up, riding off into the night.

  “Gone!”

  Leo whispered, triumphant.

  “Oh...”

  Alicia moaned, feeling her knees about to give way. She had never ridden so far, so fast, in such cold. And now, they were all alone, in the depths of the forest, with no food, no warmth. She wanted to cry.

  “It is well,” Leo whispered, and caught Alicia just as her legs gave way from under her. “Come with me. I will make sure it is well.”

  “But, Leo...” Alicia began, then looked up at him. In the half-light of the evening, his eyes were golden discs, warm, with the pupils wide and dilated. Alicia felt her whole body melt.

  “Come,” he said, his voice hoarse. “We should settle down somewhere.”

  “The horses?” Alicia asked faintly, as he led her along.

  “The horses will come. We have blankets to cover them. We can rein them somewhere sheltered, and then we can sleep beside them. Warmer that way,” he explained. “Army trick.”

  “Army?” Alicia asked. She had not known Leo was part of any army.

  “I never joined,” Leo explained. “Who would I fight for? Germany or England?” He laughed. Like Alicia, he was a child of two nationalities: the son of Lady Claudia von Bergmann, a German freedom fighter his father had met on the Bavarian border.

  “I never had to think about it,” Alicia said slowly.

  “Not much reason to think about it, really,” he said. “Things seem fairly peaceful for the moment, with Boney in exile. Now, let's see if we can find somewhere to sleep.”