None of it had come together as planned. He was free with the assistance of his odious man and her dowry was not needed. It was being returned with gratitude. Returned.
“There has to be some mistake. Does His Grace not understand that without our assistance he would be as good as dead?” Her father spoke up now, his voice trembling with anger.
“I assure you, Lord Bellsover, His Grace is aware. He is grateful for the offer of assistance, but he did not require it. As such, he does not feel it right to keep it.” The steward swallowed, his eyes on Adelaide. “And he does not believe the agreement his mother made is binding.”
“The Dowager’s word is as good as gold.” Her father argued back with vigor. “And I will not accept this. An arrangement was made and His Grace will be expected to uphold his end of it.”
The steward’s lips twitched.
“Is something funny?” Adelaide asked, irritation rife in her voice.
“No, Lady Adelaide. It is just that I do not believe His Grace will reconsider. In fact, I am sure he will not, as he is already planning a wedding. To another.”
“Another!” Adelaide’s mother called out. “That cannot be!”
“I assure you, it is,” Ridlington replied.
“Is it that barmaid I heard about? The one who got him kidnapped in the first place?” Adelaide allowed her voice to sound shrill, something she usually did not do. A shrill voice was not ladylike. A true lady of the ton spoke with a soft, melodic voice. Tender, as though speaking to a child. However, there was no lord here to impress, only one to fight for.
“I cannot confirm who the lady of His Grace’s heart is. I must excuse myself now. I’ve only come to deliver the message.” He bowed then and turned to leave without allowing them another moment to protest.
After the door closed behind him, her father rose. “Well, I suppose that is that. Adelaide, you will have to find yourself another lord to set your hopes upon. At least we have your dowry back; that will help.”
Adelaide could not believe the ease with which her father was ready to give up.
“No, Papa. I will not have it. Surely, this is not the proper way. He must be confused and unwell. Imagine, being held captive for a whole week. His mind must be ever so addled.”
“I agree, Horatio. Adelaide is right. An agreement was made and by virtue of the code of honor, it must be kept. His Grace will surely know this.”
Her father sighed then. “What would you have me do? Enforce the agreement that was not made by him?”
“It was made on his behalf by his representative.”
Adelaide smiled at her mother, pleased to see her come to her aid in this manner.
It is only because she wishes to style herself as mother to a duchess, nothing else.
“Very well,” her father said. “We will travel to Kent tomorrow and speak to His Grace. Perhaps after a good night’s rest he will see this foolish notion of yearning for a barmaid, when he can have a proper lady, is born out of nothing but confusion.”
Adelaide nodded and looked out of the window. Yes, the Duke would have to see it her way. There was no way a barmaid would win the man of her dreams over her. After all, her father was right. Who would pick a commoner over her? Nobody in their right mind. That’s who.
“My dear Miss Balfour,
It is with great pleasure that I announce that His Grace, The Duke of Sandorne, has been freed from his confines. He has returned to his estate to recover and question one of his captors who now finds himself a captive himself. We hope to extract information as to the identity of their employer.”
Betsy lowered the letter then and raised her eyebrows. “Caney, of course. They ought to let me at this captive they have. A short conversation with my rolling pin is all it’ll take to have him tell his true tale, I declare.”
“I doubt your dear steward will let you anywhere near the captive. He would not want any harm to come to you,” Melody replied. This prompted an eye-roll from her friend who then continued reading.
“Such dark thoughts aside, it is with great pleasure that I will send a carriage to collect you at noon tomorrow to bring you to Sandorne Estate. That is if it pleases you, of course. On a personal note – I would very much like to see Miss Lovell accompany you, but I understand that it cannot be expected to call away both the proprietor and the head cook of an establishment at a moment’s notice. Thus, let me assure you if Miss Lovell cannot join you, I will ensure to call on her at the earliest convenience.
Sincerely
Mr. Caleb Ridlington”
Betsy lowered the letter, grinning from ear to ear as though she’d found a treasure chest full of gold. “My, if that is not all wonderful news.”
She frowned then. “What is it? You do not look pleased. Don’t fret, I know we cannot both go. I will remain here while you reunite with His Grace.”
Melody nodded slowly as she looked out over the village. It was quiet this afternoon. The workers were still in the field, and the few visitors from out of town checked out. Betsy was well ahead with her dinner preparations for tonight.
“Are you not pleased?” Betsy asked her, at last drawing Melody’s attention.
“I am. Of course, I am. I am more than pleased. To know he is free is… wonderful.” She fell silent again, causing her friend to frown.
“Then why do you look as though the weight of the world is upon your shoulders?”
Melody sighed and pondered if she ought to tell her friend her worries or not. She bit her lip. “I was so worried. I know the depth of my despair of the Duke’s… Zachariah’s disappearance and fate. It has made me face the deepest part of my feelings as well. I love him.”
Betsy smiled broadly. “I know you do. As he loves you, I am sure. He would not call for you otherwise.”
Melody nodded.
It must be true. All of his actions have told me thus far, I just did not want to see. And now that he’s free, the first thing on his mind is to call for me.
She turned to Betsy and lowered her voice.
“I am afraid of what will happen when I see him again. I wear my heart on my sleeve at times and…” She stopped, finding it difficult to arrange her thoughts into words that made any sense. Fortunately, her friend knew her well enough to understand just what was on her mind.
“You worry about what will happen when you see him and what the future holds. I have thought of this myself. I cannot deny my attraction to Caleb. And his to me. I know that sooner or later we may well be more than friends and it scares me. I am below him in standing, although the difference between a widowed cook and a merchant’s son is easier to overcome than that of a widowed business woman and a Duke. Are those your thoughts?”
Melody rubbed her lips together and nodded. She knew she loved Zachariah and he her. But did it matter?
“He and I can never be more than what we are. We can never be more than friends. Mr. Ridlington is now expected to marry one of his station as much as Zachariah is. Where will this lead?”
Betsy shrugged then and handed the letter back to Melody. “It will lead to a happy ever after for you. You have broken down barriers for womankind for so long, what is another? So what if a Duke never marries a commoner? He does not seem to care. If anything, it will only give him more understanding in the needs of us women folk.”
Melody leaned back against the inn’s wall. “I am supposed to be an innkeeper, that is my life. It is what I love. How can I be …” She didn’t even want to think of the possibility of her being a Duchess. How ludicrous for her to be dreaming of a future together.
“You can be and do anything you want. You always have. What is more important? What does your heart desire? I think I know the answer already. As do you.”
“I love him. I want to be with him more than anything else. It is just so daunting. I have built this life and I cannot imagine myself living in his world.”
Betsy shrugged. “Perhaps you do not have to. There might be no cause for it. He does n
ot seem to like living in his world.”
Melody grew quiet. It was true, she wanted him by her side. It was a daunting and scary idea, but had not everything in her life been an uphill battle until now? A struggle? At the end of the day, all that mattered right now was that she longed to see him again. She decided that was what she would focus on now. Yes, she would carry on with her day as always and then—tomorrow—she would board the carriage toward Kent and reunite with him once more.
She turned to Betsy. “Are you sure that you will not mind watching over the inn for a day or two? Even though Obadiah is still out and about?”
Betsy shook her head. “Obadiah Caney is welcome to return here anytime. I have my rolling pin at the ready. Let him come. Let him try to cause more trouble. Although I doubt that he will. He won’t dare show his face here after trying to kidnap a Duke. Wait until Caleb and His Grace get his henchmen talking and reveal his complicity.”
Melody nodded slowly. This was true. Perhaps once the truth behind Zachariah’s kidnapping was revealed, they would at last be free of the constant looming threat of Obadiah. It was all she could hope for, at least.
“Who hired you?” Zachariah asked once more. The man before him glared. With the mask removed, the Londoner was revealed to have an utterly unpleasant visage. A scar ran from diagonally across his face. It was an unpleasant view as it was evident the cut had been stitched poorly. The man, who appeared to be no more than five-and-forty, had several missing teeth and stubble covering his face. Thus far he’d said nothing as to who hired him. He’d refused to speak any words beyond insults. Zachariah had hoped one night tied to a chair might loosen his lips, but thus far it was not the case.
“Come on. You were caught red-handed. Unless you tell us who you work for and where your companion is, there is nothing at all we can do to spare you the gallows.” Caleb leaned over the man who was tied to a chair in the servant’s hall. The man said nothing and continued to stare at the wall.
“Why would you not try to save your life? You’re a stupid, stupid man.” Zachariah said as he shook his head.
The man grated his teeth but decided to at last speak up. “Sometimes all a man has is his honor and I will not betray anyone. In any case, what is left of my life? Rot away in the gaol? Or be shipped off to the colonies for hard labor for the rest of my life? No, that’s no life for me. I’d rather walk to the gallows and leave this life entirely.”
Zachariah stared at him quietly. It was true, there really was not much left for this man in this life. Once one attempted to harm the nobility, the punishment was always swift and often brutal. This was done to set an example and deter further attempts.
On the other hand, when the nobility committed the crime, any crime except murder, they usually got away with it with little or no punishment.
There truly is no justice in our society. Not for the common man, not for the single, widowed woman, not for the paupers.
Beside him, Caleb carried on with the interrogation.
“I do not understand. Why put yourself in such a terrible position? Why put yourself in harm’s way to kidnap a lord, a duke? Were you really promised such a large portion of the outrageous ransom? Is that what Caney promised you?”
For a moment there was a flicker in the man’s eyes. However, Zachariah was surprised to see that it was not recognition but confusion. He stepped forward.
“It was Obadiah Caney, was it not? The man who put you up to this? The very least you can do to show some good will is to confirm that much. So that we might not look for the wrong person.”
There was a pause before the man grinned. “Caney. Yes. Sure. Let’s say it was. And what of it? Tell you what. You aristocrats, you think you have the answer to everything because you have Prinny’s ear, your lands, and your wealth. You look down on us little folk. You know what? I’ve never had as much joy as those days when I saw you withering away in your little chamber, talking to yourself as you were slowly growing mad. You had it coming.”
“You do not know me.”
The man shrugged. “Are you not all the same? I trust you are.”
Zachariah shook his head, understanding now that there was nothing else he could say or do. He turned and as he went, addressed Caleb.
“Come, Caleb. There is nothing more we can do here. We are wasting our time. Let the constables have him.”
For a moment, Caleb stood and said nothing, confusion evident on his face. Then he followed Zachariah out of the room and along the hallway. The scent of the tallow candles wavered through the air.
“You give up so easily?” Caleb’s tone carried a challenge in it.
“I do not believe he knows Obadiah Caney.”
“But he just said he did.”
Zachariah stopped in his tracks and shook his head as he faced his loyal steward. “He was making a mockery out of the investigation. It was in his eyes when first I mentioned the name. He does not know who he is at all. We were on the wrong path entirely.”
Caleb considered this. “So, if not Caney, then who could have been behind it all?”
Zachariah thought about the question for a moment. “I wish I knew. However, it seems they have an understanding of our ways. They knew to leave the ransom note at the House of Lords to remain undetected. They knew when I would be speaking to parliament and when the session would end.”
“Old chum, that could be anybody affiliated with the nobility. A servant, a steward, a relative…”
“Yes, but they also must have known how much we are worth. They must have known that we are embarking on a venture with India and will soon be greatly increasing our wealth.”
“I do not know.” Caleb scratched his chin. “It seems so far-fetched. All of it. Such a strange set up. To be kidnapping you right out of the carriage in so bold a fashion. To ask for such an outrageous amount of money. You did not have it anyhow. Without Lady Adelaide’s dowry we would not have been able to raise it in time, even if we sold your lands.”
Zachariah groaned and rubbed his temples. His head was hurting from thinking it all over and over again.
They arrived upstairs and made their way into Zachariah’s study, passing his mother on the way, who refused to look at him or Caleb.
“The Duchess has her bristles up, I see.”
Zachariah groaned at this. “She does, indeed. She cannot believe I truly intend to wed Melody when I could marry Lady Adelaide.” He shook his head.
If only mother knew Melody as I do. She would understand that she is all I ever wanted.
“You are determined.”
He nodded as he slipped into his chair behind the large oak desk. “I am. If she will have me.”
Caleb smiled broadly at him. ‘You will know soon enough. I dispatched the carriage to fetch her this morning. It should be there by now. In fact, she should be on her way already.”
Zachariah could hardly wait. He’s not slept most of the night. First because the feeling of his soft mattress under his body felt peculiar, but more importantly because thoughts of Melody kept him awake. Her face, her sweet scent, her wit, and her intelligent conversation, filled his mind. He craved it all and badly.
And now the hour of their reunion was at last almost upon them.
Chapter 39
The seat was softer than she’d ever expected to find in any vehicle. It was like sitting upon a cloud. Of course, thus far, Melody only ever traveled by way of hackney or the occasional Royal Mail coach. The Duke’s carriage was nothing at all like it. It was stately. Something she’d expect the Prince Regent to travel in.
The exterior was of a stark white color with gold trimming, something she attributed to Zachariah’s mother, the Dowager Duchess, rather than the man himself. The Coat of Arms of the House of Sandorne was emblazoned on the side. It consisted of a white horse on a yellow background, a rose in one corner and a star in the other. The only symbol she recognized was the horse, which stood for Kent.
I cannot believe I am traveling in Zachari
ah’s carriage and that I am being taken to his home. His estate that I’ve heard so much about. What will become of me when I am there? What am I to expect?
She glanced out of the window. She’d been on the road now for about half an hour and from what she could tell, it would take another hour or so to arrive at Sandorne. Melody wasn’t quite sure how to pass the time and so pulled out her account ledger from the bag she’d used to carry her few belongings with her.
Working through her ledger could be a source of great anxiety and stress when the numbers were bad—as they had been for the first year or two after she took over the inn. Lately, they had been good. Not good enough to consider taking a loan, but good enough to make her optimistic for the future.
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