“I know what I am doing, Philip. I am her father; I would never put her in any kind of peril. A title will secure her a happy life and so will money. That is all I want for her,” her father said. “She has met Lord Ainsworth and he was very charmed with her. I believe they will have a good marriage and she’ll be a duchess someday, if it all goes according to plan.”
It felt as if someone had drenched Selina with cold water. Her whole body froze with his words. Had her own father arranged her marriage without even talking to her?
Before her mind realized what her body was doing, she entered the room, blue eyes wide in disbelief. Both men turned and her father paled for a second.
“Papa?” she asked in a whisper. “Please, tell me what I heard isn’t right.”
“Selina.” He cleared his throat while her uncle stepped closer to the fireplace, a glass in hand. “What have I told you about…”
“No, Papa.” She stopped him. “What did you mean by ‘I will be a duchess if it goes according to plan’? I have not chosen a husband yet.”
Mr. Clifford took a deep breath. “As you know, the Duke of Bellford has no living children and his title will be passed to his nephew, Reginald Ainsworth. You have met him before.” Yes, Selina had met him and she couldn’t stand the man; something about him didn’t sit right with her. “He came by the house while you were out with Mama and he asked me if he could court you when we return to London, as this trip was already set.”
“What?” Selina whispered to herself in disbelief that her father would have done something like that to her. “You… You never even asked me if I wanted him to court me. Papa… Lord Ainsworth is not a good man.”
“Nonsense, Selina,” her father said. “You have only spent a few minutes with him at a ball.”
“And so did you, I suppose, when he came to visit.” Her eyes started to burn with unshed tears. “How could you have not seen it, Papa? He is a mean man. He smiles, but his eyes are cold and unloving.”
“I need more proof than his eyes, Selina,” Mr. Clifford said harshly.
“How about my wishes?” She started to cry, then. “How about how you had always told me I could choose whom I wished to marry?”
Mr. Clifford scoffed. “Selina, you were sixteen and knew nothing of the world, what else was I supposed to say? You need someone with a title, my dear. Who else would be worthy of you?”
It was as if she had been slapped. Her father had lied to her all these years.
She thought she was free, but she was just another caged woman waiting for her father to find someone he thought was good enough for his daughter.
“Anyone else but him, Papa.” Selina dried her face. “I will not marry him.”
“You will do as I say, Selina Clifford.” Her father’s face was red with anger. “You are my daughter.”
“Something you appear to have forgotten,” she said. “What would Mama say if she could see you right now?”
Her father took a step back in shock when Selina turned around and left the room.
Matilda was coming down the stairs when she saw her distressed cousin and even though Selina knew she could confide on her, all she wanted was fresh air and to be as far away from her father as possible.
Failing to answer Matilda’s calls, Selina ran towards the door and into the night.
Chapter 2
Mr. Edward McAlister
The trip from Wales had been as tiresome as usual, in Edward’s opinion. Crossing the River Severn by boat always made him feel sick, but thankfully it was a relatively quick journey and his servants knew to have a horse ready for him at the port.
Since he could remember, Edward had been fascinated by horses and Lady Tennyson told him he was supposed to be born a Centaur instead of a man.
The thought of his long-lost Aunt made him smile into the night. Some people always said how blood was thicker than water, but sometimes, it was not. His family was very unusual and most of it, he didn’t share a drop of blood with.
“Sir? Sir!”
Edward looked over his shoulder and slowed down his dark stallion so the carriage with his servants could catch up with him.
Mr. Gropps had been his valet ever since he was a young man and was very skilled at is job, even as age slowed him down. It didn’t matter to Edward, though. Mr. Gropps would always have a roof over his head for as long as he wanted, even if he couldn’t be a valet anymore. He owed him that much.
“Yes, Mr. Gropps?” Edward questioned the older man who had his head out of the carriage’s window.
“Mrs. Putman and I were wondering how long we will be staying at the Estate this time, Sir.” Mrs. Putman was the cook, a corpulent woman in her forties who had been friends with his mother and was always happy to follow whenever Edward traveled. According to her, she promised his mother to take care of him just like she would have. “She wants to know if she should take her good pans off the luggage.”
Edward laughed, then. Of course, her pans were of the highest importance to Mrs. Putman. He knew because a year ago, she came to him, demanding to get a new set. And what else could he do but say yes? She did make his food and could easily make his day quite unbearable.
“We are staying for a month or so, Mrs. Putman. I have business to attend,” he told the dark-haired woman inside the carriage who was peeking from behind Mr. Gropps. “You can use the good pans; I know how much you love them.” He winked and she smiled, her brown eyes filled with mirth.
“Thank you, sir. I prefer to use them. The ones we have here are good enough, but it doesn’t compare.”
“I will take your word for it.” He bowed his head slightly and motioned his horse to have it run ahead of the carriage.
It felt too good to be this free and not inside a boat. God forbade if he ever had to travel far because of his work. He wasn’t sure he could survive the trip.
The full moon lit the way Edward already knew by heart. Even though he was raised in Wales, his home in Bristol had always been his favorite because it was the first thing he bought when he finally became a successful businessman who could splurge his money a little.
He re-named it Taunton Estate in order to honor his mother and his heart ached whenever he remembered her. She was the kindest woman he ever met. Her heart so open it broke in the hands of the wrong person.
She never fell in love again after his father.
Edward always felt he could have saved her if only he hadn’t been so insistent about her talking about his deceased father. If only he knew.
He knew better, now of course and oh, the things he would have done differently.
Distracted and honestly never expecting it to happen with the road getting darker by the second, Edward was surprised, to say the least, when he saw a woman come out of the trees; running and in distress, her red hair a mess and loose. It was a miracle he saw her coming.
She stopped in the middle of the road with her blue eyes filled with shock. Edward managed to halt his horse in the nick of time and avoided running her over. His horse reared back at the sudden halt and Edward had to pull the reins tightly in order to avoid tumbling.
The woman gasped and took a few steps back, only to trip over a rock and fall.
With his heart pounding in his chest, Edward called to the carriage to stop and got off the horse the second he could.
He ran to the woman who had yet to get up and kneeled next to her. He noticed how pretty she was, even dirty and unconscious. She was pale too, and it worried him when he pulled her gently off the dirt road, so her head was supported by his arms.
“My Lady?” he asked, noticing her expensive dress. She could be nothing but a Lady. “My Lady, can you hear me?”
When no answer came, he became even more worried and needed to act fast; they couldn’t stay there. He yelled at Mr. Gropps who had just got off the carriage to see what was going on while one of the boys took care of his horse. “Mr. Gropps, tell Mrs. Putman and the maids to make room.”
H
e picked the woman from the ground gently, and rushed to go in the carriage’s direction.
“What happened, Sir?” Mr. Gropps asked.
“She just ran into the road and got spooked by the horse. She tripped and hurt her head, I think,” Edward said. “I will take her to Taunton.” He informed the older man and with the help of the two young maids and Mrs. Putman, they managed to put the unknown woman inside the carriage. “Mr. Gropps,” Edward turned to his trusted valet. “I will ride ahead and have the staff call for a doctor and prepare a room, please, take care of her in the meantime.”
“Of course, Sir.” Mr. Gropps nodded, trustworthy as always.
Before getting to his horse, Edward stopped to talk to the driver, giving him instructions to go as fast as they could. When the man nodded in understanding, Edward got on his horse and looked down at his hand where a little blood from her wound had stayed, and it only made him want to get to Taunton faster.
* * *
Arriving at the manor, Edward barely slowed his horse down before jumping down and meeting his very surprised butler halfway. As the older man rushed to attend to his master, Edward started to bark orders.
“Marks! I need you to send someone to town to get a doctor at this moment.”
“Is someone hurt, sir?” Mr. Marks, the butler, asked, already rushing inside to find someone to get the order done.
“A woman we found on our way here,” Edward informed him as they walked the stairs to the manor. He looked over his shoulder and was glad to see his horse was being taken care of by a stable boy already.
Mrs. Jones, his governess waited by the door, also surprised to see him home already. She curtsied and listened carefully to Edward while Mr. Marks ran down the stairs where the rest of the staff stayed. “Mrs. Jones, I need you to prepare a room and have some maids have towels and any item the doctor might need to treat the woman.”
“Of course, sir,” the older woman agreed, her dark clothes a beautiful contrast with her silver hair tightly put. Always calm and put together, Mrs. Jones asked in a practical tone. “Mr. McAlister, please take a seat. What happened? What are her wounds?”
Her attention went to a passing maid for a moment. “Gracie, please bring Mr. McAlister a glass of ale.” The young girl nodded and curtsied before rushing off.
Edward didn’t realize he was panting in distress until Mrs. Jones pointed out he should sit. He had been so worried on the way to his house, his mind so focused; he didn’t realize he was shaking badly.
He was terrified he had killed someone without meaning to. Again.
Following the governess’ advice, he sat down on one of the chairs at the entrance and realized he was shaking. His mother didn’t suffer a quick death, but he was feeling just as helpless.
“This woman ran from the woods to the middle of the road and stopped, as if afraid. It startled my horse, even if I did stop in time, its sudden movements scared her, and she tripped,” he told her and Mrs. Jones nodded. “She hit her head. It was bleeding slightly from what I could see. I carried her to the carriage and rushed here so we would be prepared.”
“I see,” Mrs. Jones gave one nod. “It seems she just had a fright and a small wound on her head.” A maid, who was a few feet away, waiting for instructions, was called. “Sarah, if you could prepare the green room and bring a few extra towels? We don’t know how long she will stay, so if one of you girls could lend a sleeping gown and a coat, it would be magnificent. And don’t forget the fire.”
Before Sarah could leave, Edward called her name, making the young woman stop. “Also find out who lives on the property next to us, on our right. She came from the left on our way here, so we just need to reverse her steps. She couldn’t have come too far, not dressed as if she was ready for dinner. She comes from money that is for certain.”
“Of course, Sir.” She curtsied and left while the first maid, Grace, returned with a glass of ale. Mrs. Jones took it and gave it to him.
“Now, Sir, drink this and let us wait for the carriage to arrive. I am sure this mysterious woman will be fine.”
Chapter 3
Mr. Edward McAlister
The moment the carriage arrived, Edward hurriedly opened the door and gently took the unconscious woman from inside it and was grateful to see she had a little more color than before.
“She hasn’t woken up yet, sir,” Mr. Gropps informed him. The maids and Mrs. Putman had put a cloth around her head, but she seemed much better.
“Thank you, Gropps,” Edward said and carefully started to walk his way inside the manor, the woman in his arms.
Mrs. Jones was waiting at the top of the stairs and rushed them inside. “The room is ready for her, sir,” she said and led the way up, opening the door for him.
The room was warm enough with the recently lit fire, the sheets had been changed and there were towels and a nightgown on top of the bed. The maid he recognized as Grace pulled the blankets so Edward could put the woman down, and he did so gently.
“Sir, the doctor is on his way,” Mrs. Jones told him.
“Thank you,” he said with a nod. “Can you make sure she is not alone at any time? She is not someone I know, but I do not want any rumors about her stay here, especially when we find out who her family is. I want to tell them with confidence she was safe.” And so was her honor, Edward thought, but didn’t say out loud.
“Of course, sir. Grace will stay with her and if my duties do not take me from here, so will I,” Mrs. Jones guaranteed.
“Thanks to you both.” He was about to say something else when they heard a moan come from the bed and he rushed towards it.
Edward kneeled next to the bed and saw the woman open her eyes and blink a few times. “Miss? Miss, can you hear me?”
“Yes?” Her voice was weak and it seemed she had a case of dry throat. Before he could even say anything, Mrs. Jones already had a glass of ale in her hand.
He helped the woman up just so she could drink the ale Mrs. Jones offered to her. After a few sips, she seemed to feel slightly better and refused any more ale.
“Where am I?” she asked, confused.
“Taunton Estate.” Edward stated. “Do not worry, we will have you home in no time.” She made a sound of agreement and almost closed her eyes when Edward prevented her from doing so. “Miss, may I ask your name?” he wondered, gently putting her back down onto the mattress. “You gave us all a scare.”
“Sorry.” It appeared that she was still a little sluggish, her eyes closing once again.
“It is fine, Miss, but we really must know your name.” His voice was firmer, and he held her hand, to let her know she was safe. Her grip was weak – she was about to pass out once more, Edward was sure. “Miss? Your name, please.”
“Selina.” She muttered tiredly.
Edward sighed in relieve and smiled. “Selina. You have a beautiful name, Miss. What about your last name?”
It took her a second to say it. “Clifford.”
“Selina Clifford.” Edward nodded. “I am Edward McAlister.”
His words fell on deaf ears, as Selina had already fallen asleep once more. He sighed and got up from his place on the floor.
“I will ask for someone to find where she comes from.”
“Grace and I are going to change her clothes while we wait for the doctor. The dress is filthy. The poor thing must’ve gotten lost.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Jones.”
Edward left the room and went downstairs to the kitchen. When he arrived, all the servants got up from their chairs and he waved his hand to let them know it was fine.
“As you have heard, today I brought a woman with me who was hurt. We met her in the middle of the road on our way here. She is about this high,” he said, putting his hand at the same level as his chin, “has red hair, blue eyes and was wearing a blue expensive dress. She said her name is Selina Clifford. Do any of you know anyone by that name?”
The servants looked at each other in confusion, shaking th
eir heads; neither the name nor the description sounded familiar.
Edward sighed and put a hand on the back of his neck, feeling it ache. “Thank you.”
He was about to leave, when he heard someone. “Sir? You said her name was Clifford?”
It was Sarah, the maid from upstairs. “Yes, that is what she told me.”
“My sister works for the Crawleys. Their property is close from here that you can easily walk there. I know because I have done it to see my sister,” Sarah said.
A Mysterious Quest of a Seductive Lady: A Regency Historical Romance Novel Page 31