Entangled with the Duke: A Clean & Sweet Regency Historical Romance Book
Page 7
* * *
“He thought I was someone else,” Lady Alexandra said blatantly doing her best to sip her punch and calm the shaking of her body.
* * *
It was not for fear of the duke’s repercussions. Instead, she could feel the adrenaline of fury still pulsing through her to have been embarrassed so.
* * *
“What? How could that even be possible?”
* * *
“He thought I was Lady Charlotte,” Lady Alexandra said quickly. “Not to mention the fact that he had some rather pointed opinions on my father’s life work.”
* * *
“I can’t image he would say anything offensive? The earl has had nothing but high regards for him, young Charles as well. Perhaps it was a misunderstanding.”
* * *
“The only misunderstanding was with whom he thought he was dancing.”
* * *
Lady Alexandra decided to leave out the fact that the duke’s rude comments had not been with foreknowledge of who she was in relation to the words he spoke.
* * *
Even still, she was sure that a refined duke should know better than to speak down on any establishment that might have a connection to any person in any party. She was sure that was a bit extreme and ridiculous of a thought, but she didn’t care in the least.
* * *
Lady Eagleton began to scan the room for her husband, determined to remedy the situation. Perhaps the Duke had mistaken Alexandra’s identity for another, but they had seemed to genuinely enjoy the dance together, well at least the beginning part she had seen of it.
* * *
“Do not worry yourself over it,” Lady Alexandra said putting a hand on her friend's arm. She knew Regina’s desires without the words even being spoken.
* * *
“I am sure the earl will clear everything up, though,” Lady Eagleton pressed on.
* * *
“I think I will instead find a hackney to take me home early.”
* * *
“Oh, please don’t go. There is still much fun to have.”
* * *
“I would not want to risk tainting my sisters with the bad interaction,” Lady Alexandra said, tears welling in her eyes.
* * *
She refused to cry, let alone cry in a public place. Never in her life had she felt so unimportant and belittled as she had the moment the duke revealed his true desired dance partner.
* * *
“I really think this is just a silly mistake. Perhaps we could all laugh about it later?” Lady Eagleton gave one last effort.
* * *
“I don’t think I could bear to ever look on the Duke of Raven again, let alone have a humorous conversation with him.”
* * *
Lady Alexandra only sniffed once. She tugged up her glove for the last time before squaring up her chin. Life was full of much harder trials than silly balls could produce. She would not let this moment define her.
* * *
“Please see that my sisters find a carriage home at an appropriate time.”
* * *
“Of course,” Lady Eagleton said embracing her friend. “We have plenty of room in our own. I will see to it that they return home safely.”
* * *
“Thank you,” Lady Alexandra said just above a whisper before setting her half-drunk cup down on a servants tray and exiting Sir Hamilton’s home.
Chapter Eight
“What on earth possessed you to dance with Lady Alexandra Woodley?” Aunt Rebecca said as we rode in the carriage back to our house.
* * *
“It was a mistake I assure you, Aunt Rebecca,” he said, just barely able to keep his eyes open in the soft light of dawn.
* * *
After his error with the mystery lady, whom he now had a name to, he had found an introduction to Lady Charlotte. They had danced the third and sixth set together.
* * *
She seemed a nice enough lady and said all the right things. There was also the constant commentary from his aunt at his side between dances speaking of her good fortunes. Apparently, his first mistaken dance had seemed to her an accusation against her own choice.
* * *
“I should hope it was a mistake. You do know who her family is?”
* * *
“I am afraid I am not entirely sure,” Raven said, at least happy that this conversation keeping him awake long past his desire of it, would have the purpose of exposing the mystery girl to him.
* * *
“It isn’t her fault, of course,” Aunt Rebecca started, which told him there was some great misfortune to her tale. “Her father is Earl Grebs.”
* * *
“I know that name,” Raven said jogging his memory.
* * *
“I am sure you do. Lord Grebs’s father had several great misfortunes in his lifetime. I am not entirely sure of all the details just that it may not have been in very moral means. They lost the family fortune. Then Lord Grebs and his wife had four girls before she too passed away. I am sure you can imagine a destitute Earl with four girls had little chance of finding a replacement.”
* * *
Lady Rebecca gave a long sigh watching the light grow out the carriage window.
* * *
“So their misfortune is to have little funds to their title?” Raven asked, actually considering this not a very horrible circumstance and indeed not the first time that a lord found himself in such a state.
* * *
“Well, then there is her father. He is most reclusive. One could say he always was, but much more since his wife’s passing. The last I heard was he holes himself up in their house — it’s not in a desirable neighborhood at all and very near Seven Dials —and looks at dead creatures.”
* * *
Lady Rebecca gave a shiver at the thought.
* * *
“I don’t think they are dead creatures as much as specimens.”
* * *
“Oh call them what you like, it is still strange to me,” Lady Rebecca said with a wave of her hand. “Let us talk about happier things. Do tell me what you thought of Lady Charlotte.”
* * *
“Perhaps we could discuss the matter tomorrow. I am quite done in for the night,” Raven said with a long yawn though he was never one to not give into his aunt’s wishes if she pressed.
* * *
To his good fortune, she didn’t not press this night. Instead, she held in her tongue and excitement over the matter until the following day.
“Oh, I can’t stand the anticipation any longer,” Aunt Rebecca said the following afternoon as the two sat to a very late breakfast. “Do tell me what you thought of her?”
* * *
Raven had to give it to his aunt for her self-restraint. They had made it almost halfway through the meal talking of almost any other aspect of London except for last night’s ball.
* * *
“She seemed to be a very kind lady,” Raven began slowly.
* * *
“Oh and isn’t she so lovely to look at. You must act quickly, however,” Aunt Rebecca continued, taking a currant roll off the plate as she spoke. “You are not the only gentleman to set his eye on her.”
* * *
Raven sat back and continued to eat his food as his aunt went on. It seemed all she needed was a start to the subject and then she would happily carry on the conversation all on her own.
* * *
“You did dance with her twice which is more than anyone else I dare say last night,” Aunt Rebecca finally finished. “Do tell me you will be seeing her again soon? You must call on her quickly before another can steal her attention away.”
* * *
“I have already spoken to Lady Charlotte about taking a turn in the park together on the morrow,” Raven said. “I plan to call on her after our meal to secure the time,” he added much to the delight of his aunt.
; * * *
Though she was a woman of age, she bounced up and down on her velvet seat as if she was a twelve-year-old school girl.
* * *
He couldn’t help but delight in the happiness he had brought to his aunt as he watched her grey curls bobble to and fro under her flapping lace cap during her moment of glee.
* * *
He wasn't entirely honest with his aunt, however. Of course, he did have plans to call at Lady Charlotte's residence. It also was true that they had made plans to take a stroll through Kensington Gardens.
* * *
She had pressed for Hyde Park, but Raven was not yet ready to make such a public statement. Instead, he had suggested he take her along the various fountains and beautiful flowers of Kensington’s Gardens.
* * *
He had a passion not just for adventuring but also learning the lay of the land and things that inhabited it as he had expressed the night before to the now known mystery lady.
* * *
He had suggested he take Lady Charlotte and give her a sort of walking tour of the flora of the area. She had seemed intrigued to the idea though he wasn’t entirely sure if it was just out of politeness.
* * *
There was another reason that he had picked Kensington Gardens. He would take her on the far side of the park that had a street running adjacent to the Museum spoken of the night before.
* * *
In truth, he hadn’t gone there since boyhood and considered the long night if he had been hasty in his judgment of the place. Had Raven been given the opportunity he would have sought out Lady Alexandra again and try to make amends.
* * *
Her lasting words had also seemed to haunt him: “A candle loses nothing from lighting another”. Perhaps some good could come to his time in London. He would tour the Museum and see if he could put his vast travels to good use.
* * *
In fact, from the moment that he finished the first dance at Sir Hamilton’s opening ball he could get little in his mind beyond the lady he had danced with.
* * *
Even before he had learned her name, Raven found himself distracted with the impression she had played on him. It took several mental reminders that he was only here at the request of his aunt, and not genuinely looking for a match.
* * *
If he happened upon a suitable pairing that was amiable to his aunt, he would, of course, see to it. It was clear after last night’s carriage ride that Lady Alexandra didn’t fit on that list of optional pairings.
* * *
There would be no point to peruse that avenue further with such knowledge. Still, the duke couldn’t seem to get her out of his memory.
* * *
Despite the pressing memory on his mind, he filled his day with the necessities of life. He went and called of Lady Charlotte who was not at home. He left his card behind and had a relatively enjoyable conversation with her mother. Lady Derber assured the Duke that not only did her daughter remember their engagement on the morrow but was looking forward to it greatly.
* * *
After that, he spent the remainder of the evening at Brook’s gentleman’s club to take his dinner and complete some various business before turning to some of the gambling tables.
* * *
Raven didn’t consider himself a gambling man though he knew enough to play the favorite card games of the time. In truth, he found little enjoyment from it. Perhaps if he had, London itself would have seemed more enjoyable to him as it was a widespread practice and almost the sole leisure activity for gentlemen.
* * *
He left the club rather early considering most, though it was dark and the lanterns had all been lit. He walked the streets of London back to his home, still unable to get Lady Alexandra from his mind.
* * *
He did his best to look at the lanes and walks of London as she must. Lady Alexandra had confessed to never going anywhere outside the city.
* * *
It had been a curious revelation at the time when he thought she was someone else. Now knowing her parentage, it was entirely reasonable. Many impoverished lords only held on to a London house for all year residency. It was no surprise to him that she had never set foot in even the English countryside.
* * *
As he walked the streets, he considered this type of life. It was undoubtedly a polar opposite to his own. Raven had spent his childhood from country estate to retreats near the ocean. His adulthood considered the vast world his home.
* * *
As Raven considered a life never outside these streets and walks of London, he found himself feeling very claustrophobic. It didn’t cause Raven to look down on her family as his aunt did, but instead pity her. Pity her to the point that he wanted to change that fact in her life.
* * *
She clearly must have also had a curious mind for things outside her city. Why else would she have claimed to visit her father’s museum so often?
* * *
Raven remembered himself as that young boy walking the museum halls with his father. He had convinced the late duke to take him after much begging.
* * *
He had been so fascinated on that first trip into the museum. It wasn’t until later when he began his own education of the world he had learned how erroneous much of it was.
* * *
Had Raven been like Lady Alexandra, seeing nothing outside of London, he too would have found the Museum to be a haven from this smoke-filled city.
* * *
Though Raven couldn’t quite put his finger to it, he was sure there was something about Lady Alexandra that was most intriguing.
* * *
It was for this reason that he found himself standing before Lord Eagleton’s house instead of his own so late at night. He was desperate to get some information about the lady.
* * *
“Unfortunately my husband is out for the night,” Lady Eagleton informed him as they sat in her front drawing room.
* * *
Raven took a quick moment to study the young wife. She was not so young as when the earl had first married her. At the time, Raven and young Charles had gone on incessantly over the fact that the earl had chosen a wife almost the same age as his oldest son.
* * *
Lady Eagleton did look quite mature for her young age. She still had the youth and beauty of her generation of course, but she did have something distinguishing about the way she carried herself.
* * *
“And you have decided to stay in for the night?” Raven said searching for conversation between the two of them. He would have liked to ask about the connection to a certain lady who didn’t seem to want to leave his mind, but knew he couldn’t just blurt such things out
* * *
“The earl went to the opera. I wasn’t ready for such a tiresome adventure after Sir Hamilton’s ball,” Lady Eagleton said delicately.
* * *
“I never cared much for operas myself,” Raven said sensing her real meaning.
* * *
Lady Eagleton relaxed into a smile at his words. He watched as the fire played off the gold locks of her hair and lemon colored cotton dress as she poured out the tea.
* * *
“It is just the fact that it is all in another language,” Lady Eagleton confessed after handing the Duke his tea. “It would be one thing if it was just French. It takes an effort to understand that language at all in my opinion. But then to make it overly dramatic with long drawn out words makes it near impossible. I have no taste for it.”
* * *
“I couldn’t agree more,” Raven said, never really caring for the opera though he wasn’t sure if they truly did share the same reason.
* * *
Raven just found it a complete bore to sit and watch someone sing on a stage for hours on end.
* * *