Regency Romances for the Ages

by Grace Fletcher

  “Please inform my mother.”

  When Larkin had left the room, Rockford stared out of the window, across the garden. Bruce and James were both out there with Miss Williams. Now that they had started walking, they were eager to keep going, to get into everything and learn quickly. It was yet another thing to be proud of them for—and to be proud of Miss Williams for. Under her care they were flourishing. Though there were other reasons driving his decision to end this now, he couldn’t help but be aware of the primary reason, the reason he was so eager to have taken her away, to protect her, to keep her safe.

  Trying not to think about it hadn’t helped, so he was doing his best to distract himself from admitting it—either to himself or to Miss Williams.

  “Andrew,” Duchess Claire said, coming into the room slowly. “Am I to understand we are finally bringing Josephine into this?”

  “Indeed,” Rock said, giving his mother a strong smile. “Miss Williams came to me last night. She remembered what happened the night of Louise’s death.”

  It had been told hurriedly and with some amount of fear, words stumbling over themselves, but Rock had made out the important parts, was certain Andrea was responsible for everything that had happened to Laura thus far. The only person he wished to confront at the moment was Josephine, either to confirm his belief, or to give him an alternative.

  “You wished to speak to me, Your Grace?” Josephine was standing in the doorway to the study, hands clasped behind her back.

  “Josephine,” Duchess Claire said, before Rock could speak. “Please come in.”

  Josephine did so, apprehensive and startled at seeing both Rock and Duchess Claire together. “Have I done something wrong?”

  “Not at all,” Rock assured her, though it remained to be seen. “We wished to discuss something with you, that is all.”

  Duchess Claire waited until Josephine was standing in front of the desk, before clasping her hands together, settling into the armchair next to Rock’s desk. “As you are no doubt aware, there have been a series of concerning events surrounding Miss Williams.”

  “I know,” Josephine said carefully. Her expression was neutral but there was a note of sadness in her tone. “have you discovered who was responsible?”

  “Unfortunately, not,” Rock said immediately, giving his mother a careful warning. “Though we do have reason to believe that your daughter is involved.”

  Watching Josephine’s face, Rock could see the moment she paled, eyes wide with shock. She did not say anything, so Rock leaned against the back of his chair, catching and holding her attention. It was Duchess Claire who spoke, however, leaning forward in her chair, putting most of her weight on the cane.

  “Do you have any idea why we might suspect Miss Croft?”

  “Andrea,” Josephine started, voice barely above a whisper. She seemed to regain some control of herself and clutched her hands in front of her, a nervous gesture that said more about her state of mind than her words. “She grew up in this household, has known you all of her life. She has been in love with you almost as long and was always jealous of you and Lady Louise.”

  Rock paused, stared down at the papers on his desk. Louise used to tell him that one of the maid’s was under-performing and had her reassigned. He considered whether that had been the whole truth if Louise had noticed in Andrea something nobody else had.

  “Miss Williams seems to think it has something to do with the night Lady Louise died,” Duchess Claire said abruptly. “There is some speculation that things were not as they seemed on that night.”

  “If you know anything of that night, Josephine, you must speak up.” Rock tightened his grip on the chair, spared his mother a glance. Josephine’s admission about Andrea’s love—or infatuation—for him only cemented his belief that she was responsible. “Ms. Croft—your daughter—and Miss Williams were alone in that room.”

  “No,” Josephine said quickly, then seemed to remember herself. “You Grace, forgive my disrespect. They were not the only people in the room. I was present when Lady Louise died.”

  Rock exchanged a grim look with his mother. It was not out of the realm of possibility. As housekeeper at the estate, Josephine had cared for Louise as much as the doctor at times.

  “You need to tell me what happened that night,” Rock said. “I do not wish to suspect your daughter, Josephine, but I have little choice.”

  “Lady Louise died naturally in childbirth,” Josephine said. Though she was still pale, and her hands were shaking, he could see the honesty on her face, the strength in the lines of her body. She believed what she was saying. It was not the same thing as it being truth, but Josephine had worked for them a long time and Rock did not want to believe her capable of lying. “The doctor confirmed this, Your Grace.”

  Dr. Forrest was a competent man. The events of the past few months had thrown Rock off kilter and he found himself questioning people he should not disbelieve.

  “Thank you, Josephine. I trust you will keep what happened here today to yourself.”

  Josephine nodded, though a shadow crossed her face. Rock did not doubt that Andrea would know by the end of the day. He waved her out of the office, and as soon as she was gone, called for Larkin. Duchess Claire pressed a hand to Rock’s arm.

  “They will flee now they think we have discovered them.”

  “It’s what I’m counting on,” Rock said, feeling his chest constrict painfully at his next words. “I will have Larkin find out where Andrea is, and we shall confront her with the truth.”

  “Unacceptable,” Duchess Claire said immediately, as Rock knew she would. “You have put Laura in danger.”

  “I know,” Rock said quietly, furious with himself for doing so, but it was the only way he could see to make everything right in the household. He had spoken to Miss Williams, had her consent in the matter, but it didn’t make it any easier. “If anything happens to her, do you not think it will destroy me?”

  Lady Claire’s face shifted into understanding and she stood slowly, shuffling towards him. “My son.”

  It was not often that Rock allowed himself to take his mother’s comfort. He had done so after Louise, but rarely since. When she pressed a hand to his face, expression soft and comforting, he pressed into the touch for a beat, two, before pulling away. “I am sorry, mother.”

  “Don’t be silly, child.” Duchess Claire turned away from him, towards the door. “I will let you and Larkin deal with whatever is to come. Then,” she added with a pointed look, “we will discuss this thing between you and Laura.”

  Rock opened his mouth to say something, to refute the statement, but his mother was already gone from the room. He hadn’t yet allowed himself to think about it with any great detail. It was one thing to know what his heart was trying to tell him and quite another to listen and agree with it. For now, he had to ignore the feelings and deal with this situation. If he did not, Miss Williams would end up getting hurt yet again, and Rock was not sure he could deal with that sufficiently.

  Chapter 9

  Secrets and Safety

  Laura kept the children close to her.

  When Rockford had told her what he intended to do, she had been terrified and had almost refused. Being used as bait to catch someone who had almost killed her once already was frightening until she thought of James and Bruce. Andrea had shown a disregard for how they felt if she were willing to put someone that cared for them in danger.

  The day passed slowly, with Laura always looking over her shoulder, convinced that now would be the moment Andrea would choose to confront her. The boys seemed oblivious to the tension, which was the only thing that kept Laura from finding Rockford and telling him that she had changed her mind. They were happy enough to play and follow her down to lunch.

  Josephine was in the dining room, and though Laura tried to avoid her gaze, she could not. There didn’t seem to be anything amiss with the estate housekeeper, and though Andrea was not at the dinner service, Laura had no dou
bt that she was still in the house somewhere.

  Duchess Claire and Rockford were both keeping up the pretense that nothing was amiss, and if it were not for the fact that Larkin squeezed her shoulder as he passed by, she would have thought she had dreamed the whole thing up. She ate lunch quietly, admonishing the boys quietly when they started to squabble, and trying not to draw more attention to herself than was necessary.

  After lunch, with a quick nod from Rockford and avoiding Josephine’s eyes, Laura helped both James and Bruce up the stairs, holding each of their hands as they took their time. They were both a little unsteady, but she was proud of them for continuing on, their little legs taking the weight easily as they clung to her.

  “Well done, boys,” she said softly, squeezing them both into a hug before taking them to their room. She was going to try them without a nap, didn’t want them to be sleeping should Andrea come upon them. It wasn’t often she went a day without letting them sleep and they would no doubt pay for it the next day. Though part of her wanted them to sleep through whatever argument, she would inevitably have with Andrea and save them the stress, keeping them awake was the lesser of two evils.

  “Let’s see what we can play with now, shall we?”

  James and Bruce clapped their hands together, eager to avoid their nap, and immediately tottered around the room, grabbing toys as they went before setting up in the middle of the room. Laura took her usual seat, eyes on the door.

  It was only an hour or so after lunch that there was a soft knock on the door and Andrea poked her head inside.

  “Hi,” she said brightly, a wide smile on her face.

  Laura wasn’t fooled. It took everything she had not to sweep the boys into her arms and flee the room. She perched on the edge of the chair and gave Andrea a bright smile. It was forced, but she was counting on Andrea being too preoccupied with her choices to notice.

  “I thought you might like a break from the children.” Andrea came into the room, clapping her hands together. “What do you say, boys?”

  James looked up from his blocks. He clutched one, the letter A to his chest and then dropped it to the floor, tottering over to Laura. When he glanced back at Andrea, he fisted his hands in Laura’s skirts. Bruce, seemingly oblivious, was fine until Andrea crouched down in front of him, picking up the block James had discarded.

  “Do you want to come play with me?” Andrea asked.

  Laura’s throat was thick with emotion as Bruce let out a word that was almost her name and then pushed to his feet. Andrea’s hands reached for him, but he stumbled away from her, towards Laura.

  Andrea’s face was hard as stone as she pushed herself up onto her feet, brow furrowed. Laura didn’t think she had ever seen such an expression of hatred directed at her and she paled, resting her hands on the back of the boys’ heads.

  “Andrea,” she said slowly. “I am sorry they will not–”

  “Quiet!” Andrea yelled.

  James and Bruce let out a little cry and buried their faces in Laura’s skirts. She clutched them close, tilting her chin up defiantly. “Andrea, you’re scaring them.”

  “Do you think I care?” Andrea spat. She looked terrifying, her eyes wild and face red with anger. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides and Laura tried to control her breathing. If she let the children know she was frightened, things would fall apart quicker than Laura would like. “Why do you get to do this?”

  “Do what?” Laura asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

  “Why do you get to be a mother to them?” Andrea took a few steps forward and Laura instinctively picked the boys up, trying to keep them away from her. Andrea’s lip curled into a sneer.

  James said something in Laura’s ear and she hushed him, pressing a kiss to his head. It was a mistake; Andrea’s eyes narrowed, and she jabbed a finger at Laura.

  “This, this is what I am talking about. Why do you get to care for them when mother promised that I would get to do so!”

  Andrea’s voice had raised with every word, practically screaming the last, and Laura had slipped from the chair, backing up against the wall. Both boys hard started to cry, James burying his face in Laura’s neck and Bruce shivering against her shoulder. Laura wanted to push past Andrea, to get them away from her, but she doubted she could make it past without garnering some sort of reaction. The last thing she wanted to do was put the boys in danger.

  Why had she let Rockford persuade her into this?

  “Please, Andrea,” Laura said quietly. “Let me get the boys out of here and you and I can talk.”

  “I don’t want to talk.” Andrea waved a hand in the air, though she proceeded to do the very thing she was protesting. “Mother promised that once the period of mourning was done, I would be able to step up and be everything that the Duke needed to get better. He would love me and I would become the next Duchess.”

  Laura’s eyes widened, hating that both James and Bruce were hearing this, the casual disregard of their mother. “And the boys?”

  “They would love me too,” Andrea said matter-of-factly, as if she totally believed that.

  “They are afraid of you,” Laura pointed out.

  “Well of course they are,” Andrea screamed, advancing another step. Laura’s back was to the wall, she had nowhere else to go, and she could feel her heart pounding in her breast. “You’ve driven them against me!”

  “You’re shouting at them,” Laura said, and though she wanted to answer Andrea’s screams with her own, she was still holding onto the boys and she didn’t want to scare them anymore than they already were. “You are the reason they’re scared.”

  Something like regret flickered across Andrea’s face. “Mother said the Duke had fallen in love with you.”

  Laura’s pulse quickened, and she sucked in a breath. “Josephine has always been good to me.”

  “Of course she has,” Andrea said dismissively.

  Laura did not know how she could be so oblivious to everything happening around her. Was she really so naïve that she thought someone would love her simply because she was there? “You wanted to kill me so that the Duke would fall for you?”

  “No,” Andrea said quickly, looking panicked. “I never would have! I like you, Laura, when you aren’t trying to take the Duke from me.”

  “Andrea,” Laura tried, playing for time. “I would never do such a thing. The Duke has been good to me because I take care of his children.”

  “You are ridiculous,” Andrea said with a laugh that was mostly mocking. She threw her arms up, eyes narrowed as she stalked closer. Laura resisted the urge to close her eyes and look away. “He is so clearly in love with you and I want to know how it happened!”

  “I don’t know,” Laura said honestly. “Andrea, please, the children.”

  “Stop talking about the children,” Andrea screamed.

  “I can’t!” Laura said, finally raising her voice. Bruce whimpered and buried his head into her shoulder. James’ fists were clenched white-knuckled around her dress and Laura regretted her shout instantly.

  “Give them to me!” Andrea screamed and lunged, which was about the same time the door was thrown open and Rockford, Larkin and a maid tumbled in, grabbing for Andrea.

  Chapter 10

  Love Ever After

  Larkin sent a maid down to Rock the moment Andrea started to head for the boys’ bedroom.

  Rock assured his mother that everything would be fine and left her in the sitting room as he headed up the stairs with Larkin and the maid. Andrea’s shouting was loud enough that it was spilling into the hall. Rock could not hear Laura and for a moment that startled him. Thankfully, as they approached the door, he could see Laura and his sons against the wall. His heart clenched painfully at the fear on Laura’s face, his boy's whimpering and crying at the raised voices.

  Rage blinded Rock for a moment and he rushed forward, hands grabbing a hold of Andrea before she could get a hold of either boy. Larkin was just as strong in manhandling Andre
a to the ground. He had been with the estate a long time and Rock could never have imagined the elderly man having such strength.

  “Sir,” Larkin said with a nod, pinning a screaming Andrea to the ground.

  Laura still stood wide-eyed and frightened against the wall, though the maid was trying to coax her and the boys away from it.

  “Laura,” Rock said before he could remember himself.

  It helped, however, and Laura’s eyes immediately snapped to him, looking relieved and horrified in equal measure. “Your Grace–”

  “You are safe now,” Rock said, reaching out a hand to her.

  Laura allowed the touch, finally came forward, both boys still weeping, but she was looking at Andrea with sympathy and pity. “It was not her.”

  Rock frowned. “But she was in here and–”

  “Her mother,” Laura said immediately, and Rock felt a rush of pride at her strength, at the defiance in her face and stance. She was a formidable woman, and he had no doubt that she would make a fine wife and mother. “Ms. Josephine Croft is the one that poisoned me.”

  Larkin immediately snapped at the maid to take Andrea to the kitchens that he would find Josephine. They departed, leaving Rock, Laura, and the children alone.

  “I am so sorry,” Rock said, drawing Laura into a hug. It was not proper, perhaps, but under the circumstances he could be forgiven—and he did not care.

  Laura explained, as she allowed herself to comforted, what Andrea had told her, and Rock grew increasingly more angry. How could he not have seen what was happening in his own household? Andrea had been attentive, certainly, and Josephine had been a rock during those first few weeks after Louise’s death, but he could not imagine they had been planning this.

  “It is not your fault,” Laura said at last, and Rock wondered how she could continue to be so selfless and wonderful when she had been terrified.

  “Perhaps not,” Rock allowed, kissing the top of James’ head and then Bruce’s. They had stopped crying, but they were clutching at Laura and Rock equally, eyes half-lidded. “Boys.”