by Wendy Vella
“I was brought up by three brothers and a father who spoke in whatever manner they chose, regardless of whether I was present or not. Therefore, I will not take offense if you and Daniel, in the course of your bickering, throw in a few insults or cusses.”
“Bickering!” Daniel protested. “Men do not bicker, wife - we debate.”
“I’m far too mature to bicker, Eva,” Simon assured her. “Although I can’t vouch for your husband.”
Eva laughed but said nothing further as they headed toward the church. Daniel enjoyed the feel of her small hand on his arm and the occasional brush of her body as they walked. They passed small cottages with neat gardens, the crack of sheets flapping in the gentle breeze telling him that for many families it was wash day. Several children squealed as they ran past in their Sunday best.
People were gathered outside chatting as they arrived at the tall, cream-stone church. A large, round stained glass window gleamed in the morning light, casting shadows on the steps below.
Everyone stopped talking and cleared a path for them to walk through as they drew closer. Daniel noted that like he, Simon took it in his stride - smiling left and right, nodding and then entering the church. Eva was not quite so comfortable. Her fingers now gripped his sleeve.
“What?” Daniel questioned her as he helped her into the narrow front pew.
“Those people outside…”
“You’re a duchess, Eva. That will happen if you are here or in London,” he said, watching her fiddle with her gloves. “It comes with your title and in time you will get used to it. Is that not right, Kelkirk?” Daniel added, turning to his left to try and accommodate his long legs in the small space.
“I don’t make a habit of agreeing with your husband, Eva, but in this case he is correct.” Simon’s jaw dropped as he glanced back down the aisle. “Dear Lord, don’t look now but Mrs. Potter has something live draped around her head.”
Of course, Eva and Daniel immediately turned to look behind them. Mrs. Potter was striding down the aisle dressed in a mustard wool dress which, while a little snug, was not overly outrageous. However on her head she wore a turban at least two feet high. At the top, Daniel thought he could see a small pair of beady eyes, though it was hard to tell in the church’s dim interior. Eva, he noted, was biting her lip to stop laughing, however she still made a little snuffling sound.
“Did you just snort, Duchess?” Daniel whispered into her ear.
Keeping her mouth pursed, Eva shook her head; he knew she dared not risk talking, as she would surely burst into hysterical laughter.
“Is that a tail I see poking out of the bottom?” Daniel queried. He didn’t think Eva had often had cause to laugh out loud and he wanted to provoke her into doing so. Inhaling, he breathed in her scent and was reminded of the taste of her skin last night. Not a wise move, thinking lustful thoughts when he was sitting in God’s house
“And a foot by her right ear. I’m sure I see a claw.” Simon craned his neck to get a better look
“P-please s-stop.” Eva was now gripping her gloved fingers together.
“I wonder how it is secured? Could cause no end of damage were it to dislodge and land on someone,” Simon whispered.
“Your Grace, Lord Kelkirk, your Grace!” Mrs. Potter stopped beside their pew.
“Mrs. Potter, how wonderful to see you again and in such splendid health. May I compliment you on you headgear - it is really quite something.” Daniel felt Eva shake beside him.
“Quite something, indeed,” Simon agreed. “In fact, it is beyond quite something, your Grace - it is magnificent!”
They were incorrigible, Eva thought, dropping her eyes. Surely Mrs. Potter was not falling for their compliments? Sneaking a look, she noted the flush of pleasure on the woman’s face. It appeared she was.
“You are both very bad men and today I will make sure to pray for your black souls,” Eva said as Mrs. Potter went to her special pew, just a few feet below her beloved Reverend Potter’s pulpit and elevated above the piano so she could oversee whomever was unfortunate enough to be playing.
Simon just laughed at her and Daniel winked, which made Eva’s pulse flutter. Where was her serious-minded duke?
The service was thankfully not overly long and Eva was glad because her husband sat so close to her, she could feel him pressed to her right side. Surely it was wrong to feel this way in church…
Daniel had removed his gloves and laid his hand on the seat beside hers. His fingers brushed hers every few seconds, making it very hard for Eva to concentrate. Was he aware of what he was doing? Out the corner of her eye, she noted he was calmly looking forward. Perhaps it was a twitch?
“What?” He gave her an innocent look when she peeked at him.
“Tis nothing.” Eva faced forward again. He confused her. She felt completely off balance around him today. Yesterday he was her husband the duke, the man who made her feel nervous, the man who was to give her a child. Today he was the man who had made sweet, passionate love to her last night and slept with her in his arms.
“Oh dear.” Eva’s eyes followed the squeal that suddenly rent the air at the completion of the service.
“I fear our pianist is about to be attacked by a rogue turban,” Simon drawled, watching Mrs. Potter’s headgear tilt sideways, then sail through the air and land on the pianist below.
“I believe now is the time to make a strategic retreat.” Daniel nudged Simon out of the pew and tugged Eva behind him. “While our dear Mrs. Potter is preoccupied with retrieving her furban.”
“Furban?” Simon questioned as they hastened out the doors and back to the carriage.
“Ferret-turban.”
“I bet it took you the entire service to come up with that, Stratton.”
“I like terret better - it sounds like it could be a hat,” Eva volunteered, then felt foolish. They didn’t want to know what she thought.
“Yes I can see you looking very elegant in a terret, Duchess, but Mrs. Potter is more likely to be a furban wearer, don’t you think?”
Eva nodded and then took her husband’s arm as they made there way back to the carriage.
“I wonder what delights Mrs. Stimpel has created for our luncheon,” Lord Kelkirk sighed.
“I heard her discussing chocolate cream yesterday, my lord.” Eva realized she was hungry as her stomach rumbled at the prospect of such a treat.
“You’ll have to have your coats extended soon, Kelkirk.” Daniel gave his friend a steady look.
Eva enjoyed the rest of the journey to Stratton as Daniel and Simon bantered back and forth. She volunteered the occasional comment when called upon but for the most part, she was just happy to be in their company, or more specifically, her husband’s company. Last night had changed much about the way she viewed him. No man could be that gentle and want to harm or dictate to her, surely? Did this mean he was happy to give her time to adjust to going to London also? Eva hoped that was the case.
When they arrived at Stratton, Eva hurried upstairs to wash up before lunch. Humming, she pushed open her bedroom door and nearly tripped over the trunk placed just inside. Looking around the room, she noted her clothes lying across the bed and several more trunks already filled with her things.
“Molly, what are you doing?”
Removing her bonnet, Eva searched for the maid and found her behind the screen.
“Packing for our trip tomorrow, your Grace.”
Some of the warmth inside her began to chill as she struggled to understand what was happening.
“Trip?”
“London, your Grace. The duke has given orders that we are to leave at dawn to make the journey in two days.”
“We are to leave tomorrow, Molly?” Eva tried to stay calm as she waited for her maid’s reply.
“Yes your Grace, and I can’t tell you how excited I am. I’ve never been to London.”
Eva replied but she had no idea what she said.
“You go on and have your lunch n
ow, your Grace, and I shall see to the rest of the packing.”
Stripping off her gloves, she placed them on the bed, followed by her pelisse and then she was walking back out the door.
“Do you know where my husband is, Luton?”
The butler was in the hallway when she arrived downstairs. “In his study, your Grace.”
“Thank you.”
Why had he not told her they would leave tomorrow? Of course she had known they would go, she just hadn’t expected it to be so soon and after what they had shared last night Eva had hoped for another week, maybe two. Knocking on his door, she then opened it and walked inside.
He was seated behind his desk, but rose as she entered. Ignoring the flutter in her chest as he smiled, Eva stopped several feet away and said, “Why did you not tell me we were going to London, tomorrow, Daniel?”
She took a step backwards as he advanced. She couldn’t think when he was near.
“I thought it best not to prolong it further, Eva. Your fears about London are not easing and in fact, I believe they are escalating.”
It was all so simple to him. He had decided they were to go and he was the duke; therefore, they must.
“I had only wanted some time, Daniel - time to understand how to act and become comfortable in my new role as your duchess.”
“I have business to attend to in London that cannot wait, Eva. You are my duchess and I am bound for London. Therefore, so are you.”
He was being rational. His words were calm and concise and she hated him for his composure when inside she was terrified.
“You were born to live this life. Nothing you see can upset you, but I was raised in a small house with two servants, one of those being me. Can you not understand how daunting the prospect of London society is to me?” She could hear the tension in her voice; the uncertainty was making her hysterical. There had been many times in Eva’s life when she had been scared, yet she couldn’t remember one that filled her with the panic that consumed her now. “I will make mistakes and be laughed at.” Lord, she sounded pathetic.
“Eva, there really is no need for this. Everything will go well, I promise you.”
She heard the sympathy in his words, yet they did nothing to soothe her. “Do you think people will not laugh when I spill wine down my dress or step on my partner’s toes because I am a duchess? That they will not laugh when I wear pearls at the wrong time of day or snub the king because I have no idea what he looks like?”
“I’m sure the king will be announced before he is upon you, Eva, and if not, I shall make sure to alert you to his presence myself and as for the pearls, I’m sure Claire will know what is proper.”
He was smiling now - a sweet gentle smile that urged her to respond – however, Eva was past the point of responding. “I’m glad you find my insecurities so amusing, your Grace. Perhaps in light of them, I should follow you to London at a later date.” Please, Eva added silently.
He was closer now, his big, disturbing presence inches from where she stood.
“Firstly, your fears do not amuse me. They are real and justified but they will not ease until you go to London to see for yourself the place is not a city filled with heathens and evildoers intent on nefarious deeds. Secondly, you are coming with me because otherwise I will receive a letter once I get there stating that you need more time and then another after that.”
“I could humiliate us both.” Eva bit her lip after blurting out the words.
His big hands wrapped around her shoulders, sending little waves of heat through her body.
“I have vowed to protect you, Eva, and I don’t believe eating with the wrong fork or missing a step in a dance will result in your being ostracized. You have more elegance in your fingers than half of society and I have no doubt you will captivate everyone you see. Now we shall speak no more on the matter, as the decision has been made and will not be reversed.”
“If we are laughed from London, your Grace, you shall have only yourself to b-blame,” Eva whispered.
His fingers cupped her chin. Lifting it, he then kissed her slowly and thoroughly and Eva remembered last night and all the delicious emotions he had created inside her. When he lifted his head, she was breathless and aching for more.
“Have a little faith in both of us, Duchess.”
She didn’t speak again. Instead she moved out of his arms and with a quick curtsy, left the room.
CHAPTER SEVEN
They rolled out of Stratton early the next morning. Simon had decided to visit with family and would catch up with them in London so he bid farewell at the gate.
“I will call upon you the instant I arrive, Eva, and I know you will be settled, with your worries eased by then.”
“I hope so,” Eva said, and Daniel knew her smile was forced.
Daniel left his wife alone with her thoughts for the first few miles, hoping that with time, the rigid set of her shoulders would ease. She had not looked his way once, instead keeping her eyes fixed on the window, but he had read each change of emotion as it flashed across her face. She sat so straight, her back had to be aching, yet she seemed unaware of any pain - and unaware of him, too.
Eva had clearly struggled to walk away from Stratton and what she now viewed as her home, saying goodbye several times to the servants until he had simply taken her hand and urged her into the carriage. She had watched Stratton until it disappeared and he understood then that this was probably the first place she had really felt safe and now he was making her leave that safety behind.
“Unclench your fists, Eva.”
“Pardon?”
“Your hands.”
Surprised at his words she looked down at her fingers, almost as if they belonged to someone else.
Today she wore cream and lavender and her black hair was bundled into a matching bonnet and Lord, just looking at her made him want her.
“Do you trust me yet, Duchess?”
“Of course.” Her response was instant and honest and he felt something ease inside him.
“I have already promised to protect you in London, Eva. So I would ask you to remember those words when you feel afraid.”
“It is no longer you I fear, Daniel, just the unknown.”
Daniel moved to the seat beside her. “By unknown, you mean society?”
Eva nodded.
Daniel took her hand in his and pulled off the glove placing a kiss in the middle of her palm.
“Daniel!”
“Eva!” Daniel mimicked, then captured her other hand and proceeded to peel off the glove and kiss each of her fingers slowly and thoroughly. He smiled into the soft skin of her palm as her breath hitched and her nervous giggle filled the carriage. It was a beautiful sound and one that made his body hum. Moving to her wrists, he placed kisses around each, then looked at her. Her eyelids were lowered as she watched his every move and her mouth was open slightly.
“W-we are in a carriage.”
“And we have a long journey ahead of us, Duchess. Surely we must find something with which to occupy our time?”
Eva was yawning by the time they pulled into the small inn where they would stop for the night and Daniel was more than ready to stretch his legs. He had chosen to ride in the carriage with Eva to keep her company rather than ride his horse and even though the carriage was well sprung, he was a large man and sitting in the same position for many hours usually made him stiff.
“Come. It will be good to stretch our legs,” he said, taking his wife’s hand in his and leading her into the inn. He had sent a man on ahead to organize their lodgings so the proprietor was ready for them.
“If you will follow me, your Grace, I shall show you your room.”
“Room?”
Daniel could have booked Eva in with her maid but he didn’t like the prospect of her sleeping without his protection.
“Follow the proprietor, Duchess, or we shall not know where he goes.”
Placing a hand on her stiff spine, he urged her forwa
rd and reluctantly, she moved her feet. They climbed a set of narrow stairs and then were ushered into a small room.
“Thank you, and if you could send a tray up for my wife, please,” Daniel told the man as he prepared to leave.
The bed was not as big as the ones at Stratton but still big enough for the two of them. He watched as Eva walked to the window, which looked down on the courtyard below. She still wore her bonnet and her pale face was framed by a wide satin ribbon tied in a big floppy bow beneath her chin.
“We are to sleep here together?” She looked from him to the bed, then back again.
“We have already slept in a bed together, Duchess, however there is a chair if you’d prefer.” Color flooded her face as he teased her. “Rest now, Eva, you are tired from the journey. Your meal will arrive soon and I would ask you not to leave the room at any time unless I am with you.”
“You are leaving?”
“I need to organize a few things and then I shall return. But if you need me, send someone and I shall come. Lock the door behind me now. You are in no danger with me and my men close by, but I would still have you show caution, Duchess.”
“Of course.”
Daniel waited outside the door until he had heard the key turn in the lock and then he made for the stables.
Eva let the maid in with her meal a little while later and ate in solitude, wondering when she had grown to dislike her own company, seeing as she had endured so much of it in her lifetime. She had enjoyed spending time with Daniel in the carriage and was coming to realize she could easily become enamored with her husband. He was gentle and coaxing with her, happy to answer questions, but he was comfortable with silence, too. Eva had never been the chatty type and it seemed neither was her husband. She blushed remembering how he had kissed her fingers. Was it wrong to enjoy such things? Surely not if he enjoyed them too.
As the evening progressed, the mumble of male voices grew louder through the floorboards and she realized her room was directly above the taproom. Her brothers and father had always been loud when they drank - loud and violent.