by Joyce Alec
“Betty, I don't know what I'd do without you. Last night, I realized I was alone with nowhere to go, except to you. You were the only one I could turn to. How lucky you are to have Jim. God bless you both for looking after me.”
“You are a nice young woman and you need someone on your side. It wasn't right what was done to you, and I have no doubt that Connie was involved, but unless we can prove it, then you are to blame. Alice, did I ever show you the photograph from the newspaper that Mrs. Dempsey sent showing us the toff that Connie said she was involved with? It was too funny to throw away. We always thought she was a liar. It was from last Season.” Betty knew Alice needed to find humor in something to break her state of mind.
“Look at this,” Betty showed her the image of four young people in the society pages.
“Goodness gracious me!” Alice couldn't believe what she was seeing. Bosley was the man that Connie claimed to be seeing. Now it was coming back to her. At the Guildford estate, she had seen Connie with Bosley.
“That's the man who disgraced Edmund last night. He brought Lady Jane to Almack's just to unmask me.”
“Then he's a cad and typical of the sort of company Connie keeps. The only way to shift jewelry like that would be to have connections. He would give Connie that connection and could easily sell the jewels off. No one would question one of them. But knowing and proving are two different things, Alice. But at least you know the truth.”
Betty watched Alice as she sat down.
“Betty, Edmund needs to be protected from him. He needs to know the truth. I'm sure if I told the duke then…”
“No, Alice. They will not believe you. It will come across as revenge for him outing you in public. You are the one that will suffer. Forget about how kind they were. They were kind because they thought you were one of them. They will always stick together. It's different now. You're a commodity. Leave it be.”
“But Betty, you don't know them like I do.”
“No, Alice. You don't know them as Alice. You know them as Miss Faith, the damsel in distress. You are nothing to them. If you had been dressed as you are, they would have sent you on your merry way when the carriage ran into you. If you wish to clear your name, then we can see what we can do, but nothing more. You cannot go to them. I can see you are disappointed in my words, and I have no wish to be harsh with your, Alice, but you need looking after. Why don't you make dinner tonight? It will help to get your mind off this whole sorry business.”
Alice didn't wish to be dismissive of Betty. She had nowhere else to go and Betty was only trying to be kind. It didn't help that her heart was back with the duke and Edmund. She sighed as she began to prepare dinner. This was usually the time she began to dress for dinner. Just a mere twenty-four hours ago, her main concern was that her family wouldn't be as warm as the duke and Edmund. She had gone from being a lady to a maid, and she would have to start her new job sooner rather than later.
Their evening was quiet. Alice didn't wish to be intrusive and excused herself after clearing away the dishes.
“Alice, my boss said for you to call upon his wife tomorrow. Here is the address.” Jim gave her the piece of paper, “It's a live-in position, which is good.”
She knew he meant it as a positive for the job, but she couldn't help feeling a little sad that again she would be uprooted.
“That was very kind of you to go to so much trouble,” she said as she settled into her little corner bed.
Her world was about to change again.
Chapter Nine
Alice pretended to be asleep while Betty woke to fix breakfast. She left with Jim, and Alice was alone. She knew she was lucky to have such good people in her life, and today, she prayed she would be successful in gaining employment. She liked children. As her whole life was spent in an orphanage, she had taken care of children. Alice was feeling good about the prospect of working and being back in cleanliness again.
Her night's sleep had settled her mind. Betty was right. It was best to stay away from the duke and Edmund. In time, she would write, but for now, it was best for things to settle down, so each of them could move forward with their lives. Today she wanted to give back to Betty and wanted to clean her little homestead. Not that it needed much cleaning, Betty was a good housewife, but Alice saw that the stove could do with being spruced up.
As she scrubbed away, Alice began to daydream. She couldn't help but think about the duke. He would be in his study by now. Her lady's maid had told her how the duke had changed his morning routine so he could breakfast with her. She wondered if he had returned to his old ways.
“Poor, Edmund. I hope you are coping,” she said out loud as she sat back on her haunches and wiped her brow.
The sound of something wrapping the door made her shriek with fright. She went to the door and as she opened it; her mouth fell open. It was the duke!
“Your Grace,” she bowed her head and curtsied.
“Alice, may I come in?” he asked.
She nodded and stepped out of the way as his presence filled the room. Jarvis walked in behind the duke, as the duke surveyed the place.
“Alice, I have come to return your necklace.” He handed it to her and she didn't know what to do or say. Betty was right. She didn't feel the same in his presence.
“Do you know how you came to be in possession of the necklace?” he asked.
“When I was due to leave the orphanage, they gave me an envelope which contained the necklace. There was just a note to say it belonged to my mother. Apparently, she had died giving birth to me. I know nothing of my heritage. Your Grace, you do know that I did not remember anything of my past. I want you to know that I would never try to deceive you or his Lordship…”
“I know that, Alice. Your demeanor is a gentle one, and I must trust my instincts about people. You are as sincere as they come. The Earl of Bosley on the other hand…let's leave him out of this. Do you know anything else about your father?”
“No, Your Grace.”
“I do. Do you want to know who you are?”
“What?” she loudly exclaimed, with Jarvis clearing his throat to remind her of her manners.
“Your Grace, pardon me but how could you know?”
“Your necklace. Jarvis found it in your reticule. He gave it to me, and I thought there was something vaguely familiar about it. I hadn't seen it on your initial arrival, Cholmosley and Jarvis had looked at your belongings. After that unfortunate incident at Almack's, I was looking at my wife's portrait. I was looking to her for guidance, for you had given me a new lease on life. And as always, the duchess supplied the answer. The symbol on your necklace was part of her family crest. Then I remembered the necklace. She had twin nieces, and she had necklaces made for them when they were born, together they created the family crest. She was very fond of them, Eliza and Cecily, were their names. Lovely young girls, but you see, there was a family fall-out. The girls' mother, and my dearly departed wife, had words and we never saw the young ladies again.
When I found your necklace, I had some investigations done and it appears that Eliza, your mother, had run off to Gretna Green with an officer and they married. He was sent to France some months later and I'm afraid, killed in battle. What happened next seems vague. Either your mother was rejected by the family for her disgrace of eloping, or she was too proud to ask for help and you know the rest.”
“I have a family.”
“You have a grandfather, who is still alive. Your aunt died from scarlet fever and your grandmother has long since passed. But you are a titled young woman as your grandfather is a duke. You have your mother's title of lady.”
Alice couldn't believe what she was hearing, and as she was about to exclaim, Betty walked in. She looked at the gentleman and Alice.
“Betty, I'm a lady after all! The duke's wife was my grand-aunt. I have a family. I belong to someone.”
Alice ran to Betty and hugged her and then ran back to the duke to hug him too. She couldn't resist hu
gging Jarvis who was very uncomfortable with her display of affection. The duke smiled.
“This means you can stay with me for a while until we arrange your carriage to the Duke of Lanzaby. Edmund is home and he has missed you.”
Chapter Ten
Life had changed dramatically for Alice in a few weeks, especially since the revelation that she was the Duke of Lanzaby's long lost granddaughter. Her grandfather was a dear, sweet man who had cried on meeting her. As the two dukes watched Alice and Edmund take a walk around the grounds, they couldn't help notice the similarity between Alice, her mother and her great-aunt.
“I should have seen it all along. There was an iridescence about her that was somehow familiar and different all along. Her effect on Edmund was no different than the effect my dearest wife had on me when we first met. I should have made her make up with her sister. Alice could have been in all of our lives all this time.”
The Duke of Lanzaby agreed.
“I have a feeling this visit is more than to just to reacquaint me with my granddaughter,” he smiled, knowing that the young marquess was going to request Alice's hand in marriage.
“I will, of course, agree,” he continued, “but it seems like I am losing her after just meeting her. I must look on the bright side. If she has a son, he can be my heir, and I won't have to choose my nincompoop heir who just happens to share a small amount of my bloodline. The young people today, why can't they be like our generations.”
As the old men continued their talk on the follies of youth, Edmund and Alice were enjoying some alone time. Edmund was a little more nervous than usual, and he would start sentences and never finish them. Alice wondered what was going on.
“My lord, are you quite well?”
“Alice, it is my intention to ask your grandfather's permission to seek your hand in marriage. From our time together, I have grown to love you immensely. I cannot imagine my life without you.”
He spoke so fast; he felt like his life depended on getting these words out as quickly as possible. He looked at her to see her reaction.
“That would make me very happy, as I have grown to love you, too, Edmund. However, I would like to stay with Grandfather for a little while to get to know him. You understand that, don't you? After our wedding, where will we live? Will it be in London?”
“At our estate in Cholmosley. His Grace was correct in that I have not been a very good landowner, or very responsible, but that will change. I will need a good estate manager, but as you will be my wife, I had hoped for your input in this.”
“I would like for Betty and Jim to live on our estate. I would be uncomfortable in asking her to be in the household, but Jim could be the farm manager. He's a good man. And I'd like Mrs. Dempsey to come as our cook. I want to give her security, and if not for her, I would never have met Betty. You know Betty searched for me every day I was missing.”
Alice felt good. She was going to be able to repay the kindnesses that had been bestowed upon her.
“You see, within moments, you have already solved my dilemma. I am blessed in having you in my life, my dearest, and I will do everything in my power to make you the happiest woman. You came into my life when I didn't think I deserved redemption.”
Edmund's mind was on Bosley whose plan had backfired. Edmund had allowed himself a moment of glee when Bosley had heard of Alice's heritage. With the information Alice and Betty had supplied, and the fact that Connie gave Bosley up, the duke had discretely made it known about the Earl of Bosley and his propositioning of young maids. Connie had been in a long line of maids to steal on his behalf. While he wasn't formally charged, he was now persona non grata in London.
“Shall we go inside and make the old dukes happy?” Alice smiled at her soon to be husband.
“Yes, my dearest, let's go home and make this official.”
Alice was happy. Never in her wildest dreams had she envisioned this moment. The closest had been when she could remember nothing of her past and Edmund and the duke were her world. The sense of security she felt with them had only deepened. They loved her, and now she would get to know her grandfather. She belonged to someone now. And her family was only going to get bigger. She knew the Lord worked in mysterious ways, and through her sadness of being passed over for adoption, she had never let it change her pleasant demeanor. And now she found her way home.
“Home,” she said to herself as she looked over at her grandfather. This was home, for now at least. It was a new concept for her that home would actually mean her home, not just a place where she lived at the pleasure of another.
“Alice, why are you crying?” Edmund asked with concern as he realized that Alice was no longer by his side but standing looking up at the great house.
“These are happy tears. I've just realized what home is. It isn't a house; it's the people. You and the duke made me feel at home from the moment we met. And this feeling has just intensified. I've never felt like that before. Thank you for being in my life and for wanting to spend your life with me. It feels wonderful to be loved.”
Edmund couldn't help but rush to his beloved and gather her in his arms, etiquette or not, he had to kiss her tears away because otherwise she would see his tears of joy. She was right. Home was a connection between people and his home was with her.
*****
THE END
An Earl and a Wedding
Text Copyright © 2016 by Caroline Johnson
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
First printing, 2016
Publisher
Love Light Faith, LLC
400 NW 7th Avenue, Unit 825
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33302
www.LoveLightFaith.com
An Earl and a Wedding
By: Caroline Johnson
An Earl and a Wedding
Chapter One
England, 1818
Lady Virginia Croft was having breakfast with her mother, Sophia, The Dowager Countess of Deyonne, who was worried about her daughter's countenance.
“Ginny, darling, why don't you go for a ride this morning?” she suggested. “It would do you a world of good to return to normal. It's been six months now, and I think it's time that you began to live your life again.”
Virginia, or Ginny, as she was known to her family, squirmed in her seat. She had been expecting this day to come, and no matter how she prepared herself, she was still surprised. Ginny lowered her head. It wasn't the done thing to become visibly upset, but she couldn't help herself as her throat tightened. Her voice was quiet as she spoke.
“Yes, Mama, I will try. But I do not feel ready to ride today. Perhaps some other time.”
Ginny placed her knife and fork on her plate. The dowager countess shook her head as she had watched Ginny move her breakfast from side to side on the plate without eating a single bite. Worryingly, she hadn't been near the stables since that fateful day either. Not even to see her horse, Bathsheba, whom she had for years.
“Ginny, your brother returns home today with his new wife, so we must welcome your new sister into the family.”
Ginny was in no humor to be welcoming. She was stuck in a time warp while the rest of the world moved on. Her brother, Charles, was Earl of Deyonne, and his new bride was an American heiress he had met in London. Life was supposed to have been different. Ginny was supposed to be Countess Lanzaby, but life didn’t turn out how she had planned.
No one ever knows what's around the corner, she thought. One minute someone is there, life is going to plan, and the next thing, they're not.
Excusing herself, she wen
t to her bedroom. It was her sanctuary. As soon as she closed the door, she began to cry. How could she possibly be happy for others when her love was taken from her? She remembered that day when Henry, her fiancé, had arrived. There was a gathering at the house for a hunt and she rode out on Bathsheba with Henry by her side. All she thought that day was how in another few weeks, they would be married. Life was perfect that morning.
As they dashed across the fields, Ginny was laughing as she was ahead of Henry. She jumped over a difficult hedgerow that was decidedly deceptive in its width. She turned around to smile at her beloved only to see him flung from his horse who hadn't taken kindly to the jump. She jumped off Bathsheba and ran towards Henry, but she knew by the way his neck was twisted and his eyes wide open that he was severely injured. It all happened in slow motion. Others gathered around him, and Ginny made her way through. She remembered calling his name as though willing him to jump up and come back to her. But he was dead.
Ginny hadn't ridden since, nor even visited the stables. As a child, she would always disappear to them, telling the horses her secrets and fears. It used to be her haven, but now it was too painful a place to visit.
Bathsheba had been the first one to know of her love for Henry, whom she had met at Almack's the previous year. It was her debut to society, and she had enjoyed every moment of the balls, the gowns, and visiting Paris beforehand. Bathsheba had been the first one to know when Henry told her he wanted to marry her, and she had described to her horse their new home.
“It will be wonderful,” she remembered saying. “So much happiness after so much sadness.”
Her father had died two years previously, and her mother was anxious for her to marry as soon as she came of age so she would not be a burden on her brother.