by Abby Ayles
“I want my paintings returned,” Duke Cartwright said.
“And if anything has happened to Reverend Stovington, I can assure you, there will be consequences.”
“We have done nothing to the reverend, my Lord,” Lord Gilbert responded in a calm voice.
“We are going up to the church to continue the search for the reverend. If I hear anything about your paintings, I will certainly notify you directly and as quickly as possible. But I cannot tell you where they are or where the reverend is.”
“Cannot or will not?” Duke Colbourn inquired. Lord Gilbert looked at him for a moment before smiling.
“I cannot tell you something I do not know.”
Duke Colbourn balled up his fists but kept them behind his back. These men had callously attempted to destroy his reputation and cost him the woman he loved. He would not resort to fisticuffs, though he was very tempted.
The Lords Balfour turned to go back up the stairs. The dukes looked at each other with regret and reluctantly went up the stairs behind the two Balfours. Leonard still had not spoken.
Duke Colbourn thought he looked like he wanted to say something. It might benefit them to split up the two brothers and try to get the information from Leonard. But he had never seen the two brothers apart.
He wanted desperately to speak to Annabelle about it. She was highly intelligent and intuitive. She had the kind of woman’s intuition that would be perfect for sorting out this kind of tragedy.
Once he began thinking about her, Duke Colbourn could not stop. He was anxious to be in her presence again, missing her like he never thought he would. And it had been less than an hour. He wondered if she was missing him as much as he was missing her.
He stared at the back of Lord Gilbert’s head as they went up to the church. He was not an attractive man by any means and had little money. He was not dressed in the clothes of the season, indicating he was unable to purchase new ones. He was unclean, dirty on the inside and the outside.
Duke Colbourn could not imagine what Joanna saw in him or how he had been able to manipulate her the way he did.
He certainly did not seem charming in any way.
The men came out just outside the church, where the door to the cellar stood open. People were walking around the grounds with looks of wonder and curiosity on their faces.
The reverend would be missed if he was not able to return.
Duke Colbourn turned to go in the church. He wanted to see Annabelle. He wanted to tell her he had been thinking about her.
Just to see her pretty face and be in her presence would be enough to calm his angst.
“Your Grace?” Duke Cartwright looked at him as he turned to the church.
“Will you be joining us to look for the reverend?”
“I will, my Lord,” Duke Colbourn replied. “I wish to check on the ladies first. They may know something by now.”
“I do not see how they could.” Despite his words, Duke Cartwright moved to follow Duke Colbourn into the church.
There were more people in there than there had been when they left the ladies. The Duchess of Norrend and the girls were not sitting in the back pew anymore but were standing in the middle aisle, talking to some of the other ladies.
When Annabelle looked up and caught his eye, her face lit up. A warm feeling spread through him and he could not help but smile. She smiled back. He thought it was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
Mr. Covington leaned over and tapped Duke Colbourn on his arm.
“You look like a love-sick puppy dog, your grace,” he murmured in an amused voice.
“Do I?” The Duke did not take his eyes from Annabelle.
“You do. You should go speak to her. I think it will do both of you some good. I can see you are upset about the current events. Upset as in angry. You should go talk to her. It will calm your heart.”
“I like your advice, Mr. Covington ,” Duke Colbourn responded. “I believe I will take it.”
He moved away from the group of men toward the women, pulling in a deep, calming breath. He did not take his eyes from her face. She saw him coming and turned toward him.
The Duke was stopped several times by other parishioners asking if he knew anything, to which he always responded that he didn’t.
He wondered why the people would ask such a ridiculous question. He was practically a stranger and if the reverend had been spotted, they would already have known about it.
He managed to get to the ladies within a few minutes, avoiding as many people as he could.
He stepped up beside them just as the women moved their eyes over his shoulder and spotted the Balfour brothers.
Joanna looked distraught immediately and she turned away, covering her face. Annabelle and Julia looked from the Lords Balfour up to Duke Colbourn with questioning looks.
He did not want to tell them what they already knew.
The Balfour brothers were contesting the accusations and claiming innocence. They tossed Joanna to the lions as soon as it was convenient for them.
Chapter 33
He looked sorrowfully at Joanna before turning his eyes to the Duchess.
“Your Grace, the Balfours are claiming innocence and have said that Miss Joanna cannot be trusted. The reverend has not been seen or found. They claim they have not seen or heard from him since last evening. Can you think of anywhere he might have gone?”
The Duchess glanced around the room at the rest of the people.
“I am sure that if anyone knows where he is, it would not be me, my Lord. Nor my daughters. We do not associate with the reverend the way the Duke does. He would be more likely to have answers than I would. I am sure he will think of something.”
“My Lady, would you care to walk with me?” Duke Colbourn turned to Annabelle.
“We will go around the church grounds and join the others who are looking for the reverend.”
“I do hope he is all right,” Julia said. “I always enjoy his sermons.”
“I would like to go on a walk with you, your Grace,” Annabelle said, scanning the duke’s handsome face.
“Mother, do I have your permission?” She did not even turn her eyes from him when she asked the question. Her mother looked at her with amusement.
“You may,” she said, turning to Julia. “You will accompany them, Julia.”
Julia stood up.
“Yes, your Grace. I would be happy to.”
She followed behind Duke Colbourn and Annabelle as they went to the door, her hands clasped behind her back.
Annabelle could not help but smile up at Duke Colbourn. He returned her smile.
As they passed through the door, Duke Colbourn holding it open for her, he leaned down slightly and said in a low voice,
“I do hope that we will be walking down the aisle in the other direction within a year or so. I suppose it is up to you.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“It is up to me? How is it up to me?”
“You will have to say yes after our courtship, will you not? What if you tire of me and do not want to see me again?”
Annabelle threw back her head and let out a light laugh. She tilted her head to the side and gave him a warm look.
“I do not think that is possible, your Grace.”
“Are you sure? I would hate to give you my heart only to have it trampled on.”
Annabelle wondered if she should be offended by his words.
“I am not the type to trample on someone’s heart, your Grace. And I certainly would not trample on yours. I have a great deal of love to give and if there is anyone I would like to give it to, it is you.”
“I do like the sound of those words, my Lady,” he responded.
“I have been thinking about you all day, wondering when I would have the time to speak with you alone. I feel your input in this matter would be vital.”
“Do you?”
“I do.”
Annabelle’s heart raced at the th
ought that he valued her opinion. She did not know what she would have to offer but she would certainly try.”
“We must find a way to prove the paintings were stolen by the Lords Balfour. Only then will we find the paintings and justice will be done. But I can think of nothing that would prove they took them.”
“The last time we saw the paintings,” Annabelle said, looking out over the land as she walked.
“The Lords Balfour and Joanna were in the parlor. Do you remember?”
“I do.” Duke Colbourn nodded.
“And Joanna… I was behind her. I could see how nervous she was. She was kneading her hands like she does when she is nervous.”
“Kneading?”
Annabelle lifted her hands and rubbed her fingers over her palms aggressively to show him.
“This is what she does. Either behind her back or in front. This time, it was in back and only I could see it. I do not believe you noticed though their backs were to you, as well.”
“I did not notice. Even if I had, I would not have associated it with nervous energy, as I do not know Joanna very well.”
Annabelle nodded.
“I have known her nearly all my life. I know her mannerisms.”
“I am quite sure you do.”
“They were there when we all left for the dining hall, do you recall?”
“I do.”
“They were playing cards.”
Suddenly, Duke Colbourn remembered putting away the card game.
“I put the cards away this morning before I went in to see the paintings.”
She looked at him.
“You did? Why would you do that? The servants would have gotten them.”
He shrugged.
“I wanted to be helpful. I want to be on your father’s good side.”
“If they left the cards there, it shows they were distracted from finishing up. They did not even have time to clean up after themselves.”
“Would they have cleaned it up or left it for the servants?” Duke Colbourn asked.
“Joanna knows that the rule of the house is if you get out the board or the deck of cards, you must put it away. Our servants do a lot of work around the house and he does not want our petty garbage to be in the way. He says it is a sign of respect.”
Duke Colbourn’s eyebrows shot up.
“A sign of respect to the servants?”
She shook her head.
“The sign of respect to oneself.”
Catching on, the Duke nodded. “I see.” He thought about it for a moment.
“If I had not put away the game, it would have at least shown that they were distracted. That they had to do something quickly before they went to the dining hall.”
“How did they manage to get to your chambers without anyone seeing them? With three paintings?”
Duke Colbourn shook his head. “I have no idea. I would like to extract the information from them but I do not believe I can do anything to make them more friendly to me. I believe they came here with the intention of taking the paintings and I simply got in the way.”
“You are probably correct, your Grace,” Annabelle’s voice was soft. “I do wish there was a way.”
The Duke put one hand on hers where they rested on his arm.
“I apologize, my Lady. I am very frustrated with them. I am beside myself and I do not know what to do.”
She looked amused.
“A duel?”
He looked at her as if he could not believe she could even suggest such a thing, even in jest.
“I do not wish to kill them for their wrongdoing. Should we participate in a duel, one or both would surely die. However, this is not something I want to happen. I do not want to duel them. Neither of them.”
“You cannot duel two people at once, your Grace,” Annabelle responded, stepping over a particularly large stone on the ground and then looked back up at him. He was smiling, though it was barely detectable.
“I would not wish to duel them at the same time, though I think their odds would be slightly better.”
“My goodness,” Annabelle chuckled. “I did not know you were such a good shot.”
“I am.” the Duke replied with a nod. “My father gave me some tips on how to survive. Shooting a pistol was one of them.
“In case you should ever be challenged?”
“Yes, that is right.”
“Did he have cause to think you would be challenged with something so severe?”
Duke Colbourn looked down at her, squinting his dark eyes.
“My Lady, is that something you wish to discuss or shall we speak about the paintings.”
Annabelle shook her head and said firmly, “I do want to discuss the paintings. But let us finish this first. Please tell me, your Grace, if he had any cause to think that way. Were you a restless young man?”
“I am still a young man and I am quite restless,” the Duke responded with a nod and a side-smile. She giggled again.
“But I was not a troublemaker. I was a good boy for my father and mother.”
“And your mother still lives?”
“Yes, the Duchess is at the Cardinal Castle.”
“You live in a castle?”
He shook his head, at first confusing her and then clarifying with his words.
“My mother lives there. The Duchess will never leave Cardinal Castle. It is her home. I have several pets there, including two dogs and three horses. I miss my pets.”
“And you are planning to stay here. Will you be bringing them with you?”
“If they wish to come.”
Again, Annabelle had to laugh.
“If they wish to come? How will you know?”
“Have you any pets, my Lady?”
She looked up at him. “Your Grace, you’ve been living with us for several weeks. You know I do not have a pet.”
“You should get a cat.”
Annabelle shook her head, laughing again.
“You are making me laugh, my Lord. I do not need a pet. I am perfectly fine on my own. However, it does appear that when you and I marry, I will inherit your five pets. I am sure I will love them as my own.”
“You do not know how much that means to me,” Duke Colbourn said, squeezing her hand with his overtop hers.
“I think we have not gotten very far on the progress of finding the paintings or the reverend.” Annabelle’s voice was soft.
He laughed.
“No, I suppose we got on different topics. We will have a lot of time to discuss our lives and our pets.”
“Your pets,” Annabelle stressed with a smile.
His laughter came abruptly once again.
“Yes. My pets.”
“As for the Balfour brothers, I believe they took the paintings and I believe Joanna has told the truth. This time. She was lying before but now… I could see it on her face. She has told us the truth and is now deep in regret and shame for her actions.”
“It is sad to see the poor girl in such a state. She is pretty and smart, yet she does not feel that way.”
Annabelle shook her head.
“I am at a loss to know what is running through her head sometimes. She has turned down perfectly suitable interested men, at least they seemed to be so to me. It does not make sense to me. It is as though she wants to be alone in the world.”
“I do not think anyone wants to be alone in this world,” the Duke said, turning her so they could walk to the West, where the sun was burning bright in the sky.
“But some people do bring their loneliness on themselves by lying, cheating, and stealing. Let us rejoin your family. I know your mother must be worried about you.”
Annabelle laughed.
“She is not worried about me, my Lord. She knows I am with you.”
Annabelle said the Duchess did not worry because she was with the Duke and not because Julia was following them at a distance, out of courtesy.
Duke Colbourn thought this was encouraging.
/> Annabelle’s words comforted him.
He wanted the Duchess to approve of him.
Chapter 34
It was late that night before Annabelle and Julia went to bed. They spent an hour in Joanna’s room, comforting her and talking to her about things that had nothing to do with paintings or suitors.
It was not easy for Annabelle not to mention her intended, as he never left her mind. But she knew it was important for Joanna to recover from her betrayal.
Joanna and Julia had gone back to their home for a few hours after church but found themselves bored and lonely without the Cartwright family surrounding them.
Their father was out searching for the reverend and their mother was holed up in her chambers with a book and a cup of tea. She did not want to be disturbed.
She never wanted to be disturbed.
Since they were left to their own devices, the girls changed into riding clothes and took an hour-long ride, going to the city shopping district for a short time and enjoying the afternoon sun.
Annabelle chose to stay at Norrend with her mother. She took a nap and ate tea and biscuits, sitting in front of the fireplace with her mother in another chair nearby. They said nothing. Just being in the presence of another person calmed Annabelle’s beating heart.
She’d had a good talk with her mother, who assured her that she was thinking deeply about her courtship with Duke Colbourn. She was still unsure how to react to the Duke.
“He is not a difficult man to understand, mother,” Annabelle said at one point, lowering her book to her lap.
“I have not spoken with him except to reprimand him for something that has been told to me. The Duke is the one giving you permission to court him.”
“But he is a good man, mother, surely you see that.”
As she spoke, Cecilia came in the room and went directly to the cart to pour herself some tea. She picked up a pastry turning back and eyeing her mother and sister.
“What have I walked into?” she asked innocently. “I do hope there is no argument.”
Annabelle shook her head.
“I am merely trying to convince our mother that the Duke of Cardinal is not a bad man, despite what Joanna might have said.”