Everyone laughed, even their parents who were just making their way down the stairs to join them all. Their mother was stunning in a new gown of her own and the diamond tiara and matching diamond chandelier earrings that Father had given her to celebrate the twins’ first birthday.
“You look like a princess, Mother,” Starr sighed.
“She looks like a goddess,” Ashe amended proudly.
“I look like an overly decorated pink flower.” Caroline blushed at all the attention. “Your father has excellent taste so once again, I have relied on his expertise.”
“My Quaker is so clever to do so,” he said, lifting her hand to kiss it tenderly before he surveyed them all. “What a lovely lot we make!”
“Paul is the prettiest tonight, don’t you agree, Father?” Scarlett said to provoke her brother’s playful ire.
“Blackwell men have always struggled not to outshine the women we adore,” Ashe sighed. “It is a burden, Paul, but one you must bear with all the grace you can muster. See that you don’t break too many hearts at Fitzwalter’s. I shall be diverted by my wife and may not be able to help you fight them off.”
“We’ll keep a close eye on Parson,” Starr offered. “And I brought my fan.”
“Perfect!” Ashe clapped his hands together. “We are armed and ready for the fray. Onward, Blackwells! Tonight will be a night to remember!”
The glittering company made their way from the house and out to the two carriages required to take them all—and all the voluminous bustles and trains of the women’s evening gowns—out into the London night.
Elgin arrived with his nephew later than they’d planned but he spotted the Blackwells almost instantly. “There! Look, her mother is with her. It’s a good sign, Ryder.”
“Is it?” Ryder straightened his coat. “Why is it a good sign?”
Chesterton smiled. “I have no idea. I was trying to come up with something encouraging to say.”
“And that is what you managed? Some vague reliance on the imaginary advantage of her mother being in the room?”
“Go. I am going to ask Scarlett to dance with me so either you are going to take this opportunity to seize your future happiness or you can stand about and gawk while I seek mine.” Chesterton smiled as he forced Ryder to keep up with him as they crossed the room.
“Why am I suddenly terrified that it’s all a farce? I’ll ask…again…and when she says no, again, I’ll be a laughingstock.”
“Screw your courage to the sticking place and remember what Mr. Blackwell said. Not all men are meant for greatness but it’s clear he is hoping that you are one of them, Nephew.”
Ryder took a deep breath and screwed his courage to the sticking place just as they reached the Blackwell party.
“Mr. Blackwell and Mrs. Blackwell,” Chesterton said. “We meet again.”
“A pleasure to see you, Your Grace,” Caroline replied. “How fortunate to see you here tonight!”
“You remember my nephew, Lord Hayle?”
“Of course,” Ashe Blackwell replied. “And I trust he remembers my daughters, Scarlett and Starr?”
Scarlett was quiet with her eyes on his uncle but Starr was looking at him as if he were an apparition.
“And our brother, Paul Martin, and his mother, Mrs. Sabrina Martin,” Scarlett added softly. “We are come in force tonight, Your Grace.”
“A show of strength is always wise, Miss Blackwell.” Chesterton held out his hand. “May I trouble you for a dance? It is the last ball of the Season and I would not wish to miss this.”
“No, nor would I—that is, yes, I would like to dance, Your Grace.” She looked to her parents who both nodded their blessings and his uncle escorted her off toward the ballroom.
Ryder took another deep breath, his gaze locked onto Starr. “May I have the honor of a dance, Starr?”
“Truly?”
He nodded. “I have never been more certain of anything in my entire life. Truly.” He held out his hand and waited.
She took it without another word, without looking at her parents and Ryder didn’t hesitate to lead her in the same direction his uncle had charted.
He pulled her into his arms as the music started and sent up a silent prayer of gratitude for whoever invented the waltz.
“I miss you,” he said. It was a shameless thing to confess but he didn’t care. “I have neglected to do anything except miss you, Starr.”
“I was so…terrible, wasn’t I? I’ve been trying to think of a way around it all but I’m trapped. I’m so useless and it’s not a familiar sensation, Lord Hayle.”
“You aren’t useless.”
“I am! I can’t do anything since—I can’t eat, I can’t sleep and I can’t read! You’ve ruined me.”
He winced then tried not to smile. “You shouldn’t say that last bit too loudly or people will misunderstand.”
She smiled up at him. “You’re right.”
“I love you, Starr. Nothing has changed for me.”
“We are at an impasse then,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
“I want to kiss you.”
“If you kiss me again, I won’t be able to say no and I shall never forgive you, Ryder Maitland.”
“Then I mustn’t kiss you, but I’m not going away and I’m not giving up.”
“But I…refused you…and nothing has changed. You said it yourself. Mother thinks there is a compromise and that I can manage to do more for the cause of education with… it all sounded very perfect and dreamy but…”
“Tell me, Starr. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I am thinking that there is no possibility that you would allow me to be an unconventional wife in any way. Why would you? You are to be a duke and if a duchess is anything, she must be a firm example of what is right and proper. I am rarely proper, your lordship. I prefer books to people, roaring debates over inane small talk and I love the classroom and teaching—and hard work! There. I couldn’t be more unsuitable if I tried and I’m not trying. Which makes it very cruel and unfair of you to have been so charming and to arrange that tour of the rare book room and then to kiss me—If you had stayed horrible as you’d been at Sussex House, I would not be in this mess! So, I am thinking that I love you and you’ve ruined everything!”
I’m winning. But I have to win her the right way, or she’ll hate me forever.
“Starr, I have given the matter some thought and here is what I propose. You can be as unconventional as you wish. I don’t care. We’ll build schools, as many as you wish. We’ll—adopt a hundred orphans only so that we can send them to school to study whatever you wish. We’ll fund research or support political causes that please you or paint ourselves blue… I don’t care. The only thing I care about is you. And if you are passionate about something, then I shall be passionate about it as well.”
“I-I cannot believe you mean it. Or you don’t really know what you are offering to do.”
“I should have said all of this before when I proposed the first time. But when you said no and then tied it to the destruction of all your hopes and dreams if I overturned your decision—I was set back on my heels.”
“You could be telling me what I want to hear. Once we’re married, you could say you changed your mind and…I wouldn’t have the strength to leave you, Ryder.”
“Let’s make a promise to never discuss leaving each other. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“I’ll put it in writing, Starr. I’ll have lawyers draw it up and your father can approve the negotiations. I will indenture myself to you as my wife and be the first duke voluntarily held in permanent formal bondage in English history. What do you say?”
“I say yes.”
“Yes?”
“Why do you look so surprised?” she asked.
“I thought it would be harder.”
“More difficult than pledging to legally become my property? I’m not sure how much more of a challenge I would like to be, your lor
dship.”
“Noted. We’ll set the bar there and try not to jump over it.” He smiled. “Every man in England is going to think me insane.”
“Are you worried?”
“Not in the slightest!” He laughed. “It is liberating to give yourself over to the will of the woman you love! What a revelation!”
I am going to have to thank my father-in-law every single day I take in air!
“Scarlett?”
“I haven’t decided. Please don’t ask me, Your Grace.”
“I understand. I didn’t come here tonight to pressure you in any way. It really is one of the last large balls of the Season and I couldn’t resist. We opened the Season, you and I. It felt right to close it out.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “Don’t. Don’t speak of beginnings and endings! This is torture. You know it is torture.”
He smiled. “I did admit I was selfish. You are right.” He sighed. “Tell me, Scarlett. Tell me one thing I do not know about you yet. Something I wouldn’t guess.”
“Very well,” Scarlett did her best to recover her composure. “I cannot sew.”
“That’s not very interesting. Come on, Blackwell Beauty, surely you can top that!”
“Let’s see,” Scarlett said as she bit her lower lip to think. “I secretly posed for a portrait, entirely clothed mind you, for my friend, Miss Ivy Hastings.”
“How daring!”
“You’re teasing me but I’ll allow it. It was very daring, Your Grace. It is simply not done.”
“But you did it.” He was all smiles as they made their turns. “Why?”
“Because of the Duchess Club.”
“The what?”
“When we were younger, my friends and I, we formed a little club called the Duchess Club. It was very silly and very secret but we swore to support each other’s dreams and to rule the world.”
“Very ambitious,” he said warmly.
“If Ivy wishes to paint, then I must do all I can to support her. If Starr wishes to teach on the moon, then I must find a way to build a ladder tall enough for her to get there. Do you understand?”
“Yes. How will you manage to rule the world?” he asked.
“I haven’t figured that part out yet but I wonder if what we meant was to rule our world. If we can manage our own…place in the world, then perhaps we can change it for the better.”
The music came to a halt and Elgin had to force himself to let her go.
“I believe you will do just that, Miss Blackwell. I believe you are well on your way.”
He bowed over her fingertips, kissed her gloved hand lightly and released her to return to her family.
* * *
Stafford spotted Ashe Blackwell easily enough and made his way purposefully across the room to intercept them. There was no sign of Scarlett or her twin, but for now, that suited him perfectly.
“Mrs. Blackwell.” Talon bowed politely, pleased to see her out at last. She may be the ally I need tonight to win my case. “You are stunningly beautiful this evening.”
“She is always beautiful,” Ashe amended. “Tonight is no exception and my daughters are the same. Well, it was nice seeing you again. I should see if Galen is here to—”
“A word, sir, before you go. If I may…just a few minutes of your time.” Talon wasn’t willing to risk waiting again.
“Ashe,” Caroline said softly. “We mustn’t be so quick to abandon good company.” She looked to Talon. “It’s been so long. The last the girls saw of you was at Kempton Park, was it not?”
Talon shook his head. “I have had the honor to cross paths with them since then at the Royal Museum and…Hyde Park.”
“I apologize then,” Caroline said. “I’ve been unwell and haven’t followed things as closely as a mother should. I know that your friendship means a great deal to my daughters and particularly to Scarlett.”
Ashe cleared his throat. “Scarlett is very sweet and has been known to befriend nearly everyone who pretends kindness. I am working on her ability to discern better.”
“Ashe!” Caroline squeezed his arm in shock.
“Mr. Blackwell,” Talon said as calmly as he could manage. “I intend to marry Scarlett. I have written her a dozen notes to make that intention clear to no avail.”
“Paper makes for excellent kindling and I suspect your notes have gone unread. Lord Winters conveyed to me that you were already engaged. Perhaps that has made your messages more prone to burst into flames? I wouldn’t know, of course.”
“Ashe, did you burn his notes?! Wait, did you say he was e-engaged?” Caroline whispered, the misery in her eyes like a physical blow to Talon’s chest.
“I am not already engaged and have made no effort to secure anyone but Scarlett’s affections.” Talon held his ground. “That is the truth of it.”
“Have you made this clear to the young girl who it is rumored is in Town to buy her wedding trousseau? For apparently the Lady Gastonbury has missed the news about her daughter’s situation.”
Damn it.
“I will amend that immediately. I haven’t said anything to her because it never occurred to me that I needed to formally break an engagement I never formally entered into.” Stafford took a deep breath. “It is a misunderstanding only.”
Ashe’s expression was stone. “Misunderstandings are like mushrooms. They spring up when a man is standing in shit and forgets what it is like to have sunlight on his face.”
“Ashe! Language!” Caroline was growing more and more desperate to avert an argument but at the same time, desperate to understand what was happening and how it affected her Scarlett. “Your Grace?”
“Mrs. Blackwell, I am an honorable man. Rumors do not serve either one of us. I have nothing to do with Lady Gastonbury’s daughter Lavinia—no matter how much the woman wishes otherwise.”
“Yet you entertained them in your home? The subject did not come up at all during, say, a private dinner?”
Talon’s heart stuttered to a halt, instantly caught between horror and anger. “Are you watching my house? Are you spying on me, Blackwell?”
“Why does everyone keep forgetting that I am a man with resources?” Ashe crossed his arms defensively. “And no, I have not tracked your every movement. A friend was driving on the street and mentioned that he’d seen the Gastonbury party stepping through your front door and naturally coupled with the rumors of your engagement, it caught his eye and he deemed it worth repeating.”
“Your friend has thoughtlessly caused you unnecessary concern.”
“Dr. Rowan West is her godfather and seemed very clear in his opinion that you were a man worth watching. He refused to tell me why but he has his reservations about your character. I trust him implicitly.”
Damn it, this is not improving. It was West who saw us in the garden at Amersham’s and must have seen more than he indicated that day.
“Mr. Blackwell, I wish to marry Scarlett because I love her.”
“How does she feel about you?” Ashe asked.
“I…believe she loves me, too. If I can speak to Scarlett with your blessing, I will be certain of her feelings.”
“If you are uncertain of her feelings, I would like to know why.”
“We may have had a falling out recently. If my notes had been delivered and read then she and I would have been long past it by now,” Talon tried not to bite off the words but it was difficult to hide his frustration. “The matter is between us, sir. She can refuse me if she wishes but I will have it from her directly and not from you.”
“No? You ask for my blessing and then tell me you will insist on stepping around me?”
“Ashe,” Caroline spoke again, more quietly but with a new edge of desperation in her voice. “Things are not always what they appear to be. Remember when we were young and you—”
“No! We are not revisiting our history to bolster this man’s proposal! He wishes to marry her? When did he call in person? Not after that first time when he admitte
d he needed to apologize to her! When did he call again? Never! When did he ask to see her with our permission or make any decent attempt at courtship? Not any to my knowledge! Every meeting was an accident of coincidence or him squirreling into Chesterton’s place! I may not be acquainted with many dukes but I don’t think I wish to be acquainted with this man or to—”
Caroline’s grip on Ashe’s arm tightened and she sobbed or coughed or…Stafford couldn’t really tell except that she was suddenly bent over her husband’s arm, her color changing so fast it was like a strange optical illusion.
“Caroline?” Ashe whispered, alarm flooding his features.
She slid to the floor but Ashe caught her before she struck the hard surface, just barely caught her to soften the blow. “Caroline!”
Her eyes grew wide and wild with pain and she convulsed against him, then wretched up blood that was so dark it was nearly black onto her husband’s shirt front. Talon knelt next to him, unsure of what he could do. Someone called for a doctor and the chaos and horror of the moment rippled out as both men knelt in her blood and tried to hold on for dear life.
Talon looked into Ashe Blackwell’s face and knew that his marriage proposal was a lost cause—now and forever.
Chapter 28
At the Blackwell home that night, Gayle attended Caroline, but Rowan was there, too, both of them moving with urgent speed, each battling to keep Ashe calm as they worked in tandem to outpace Caroline’s discomfort and see what could be done for her.
They knew from experience not to ask Ashe to leave the room.
“There’s a new way to make a party unforgettable, dearest,” Ashe teased her gently as he held her hand.
“You must…change your shirt.”
“What?” He looked down, horrified to realize he was still covered in her blood. “Of course. I don’t wish my appearance to distress you, darling. I’ll be right back. I cannot lower my standards, can I?”
He kissed her hand and retreated at a run to find his valet and to change immediately.
“Gayle,” Caroline whispered. “I think I ruined Fitzwalter’s carpets, too. Remind me…to send a note of apology.”
The Wild Duchess/The Willful Duchess (The Duchess Club Book 1) Page 24