A Cinderella for the Duke

by Abby Ayles

  “Concocted? Mother, you saw him just as the rest of us did,” Miss Mary chimed in.

  * * *

  “Yes we all saw the rather unremarkable thing,” Lady Hendrickson replied with a roll of her eyes. Clearly, she was back to the status quo of finding her youngest daughter a nuisance. “He has clearly fantasized her beyond the person, why else would he have chased after her. It was no doubt the mystery of a lady without a name or clear face for that matter. He will not go to great lengths to immortalize her in such a way.”

  * * *

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if she was nothing more than a silly servant in her mistress dress. Why else would the girl run upon the threat of discovery? The truth of the matter will come out in the end, it always doesn’t,” Lady Hendrickson continued. “Until then you must be present and remind the Duke that no fantastical creature of his own making can compare to you. Then when the lady is discovered, he will not only realize she was nothing compared to the one in his head, but also holds not a candles flame to you,” the lady finally finished.

  * * *

  Lady Louisa felt very contradicted by her aunt’s words. Though she felt comfort in her aunt’s opinion that the Duke was surely making more out of the encounter than there really was; she also was a little disappointed to hear those words spoken out loud.

  * * *

  “It shall be our new goal,” Lady Hendrickson said with an air of importance, “that we discover the identity first.

  * * *

  If it is another invited guest, who turned and fled then we must befriend and encourage the discouraging feelings within her. If it is a servant or other unworthy creature, we will expose her as such to the Duke.”

  * * *

  “In the meantime, Lady Louisa can use her connections to Colonel Jasper to tell us of the Duke’s decisions on the matter,” Lady Hendrickson said without so much as a look in Lady Louisa’s direction.

  * * *

  Miss Mary and Lady Louisa did exchange glances from the statement. It was apparent that Miss Mary was still not ready for her mother to know the truth about where Colonel Jasper’s affections actually lied.

  * * *

  “Also, since you go into town all the time and speak with the servants and the like, you can find out what others are saying about this woman,” Miss Elisabeth said with a backhanded wave in Lady Louisa’s direction.

  * * *

  “Are you referring to my time spent with the sick and injured. If you remember correctly, you asked me to stop, and I have already given my apologies to Mrs. Vance and several of those I tended.”

  * * *

  “Well then you will just go and tell Mrs. Vance that you changed your mind,” Lady Hendrickson said exasperated that Lady Louisa didn’t see that point clearly.

  * * *

  “I would be more than happy to take up my patience as I have already learned so much about the practice, but unfortunately I can’t see how that will be possible.”

  * * *

  “Oh, why ever not?” Lady Hendrickson retorted as she flicked her fan irritated.

  * * *

  “I fear that my mother has grown quite lonely in my absence and have begun the process of procuring transpiration home. I wanted to tell you as much this morning. I worry that my presence here is too much of a burden and, though I am grateful for your hospitably, wish to rid you of it.”

  * * *

  “Don’t be ridiculous! The one time you could actually be of use, and of course you wish to leave,” Lady Hendrickson said to the room on the whole.

  * * *

  Lady Louisa bit back her tongue. She had only called herself a burden out of humble politeness. It was rather annoying for her aunt to claim that up until this point she had served no purpose.

  * * *

  “I do beg your pardon, Lady Hendrickson, but I have tried to be as much use as possible these last several weeks,” Lady Louisa said softly. She felt rather miserable at that moment.

  * * *

  “If you truly wish to be a help,” Lady Hendrickson retorted with a shake of her jowls, “then you will stay and do as I ask. Certainly, your mother is capable of sparing you longer. After all, you were planned to stay through summer. Is it really so much to ask for you to keep your word?”

  * * *

  Lady Louisa did hate how her aunt always seemed to have ways of manipulating words to get her desired outcome. She wouldn’t be able to deny her aunt now after speaking in such a way.

  * * *

  “If you find my presence a benefit,” Lady Louisa said rather reluctantly, “then I shall be happy to stay.”

  * * *

  The conversation continued with more speculation and plans to ascertain the identity of the mystery woman. Lady Louisa feared her face might give her away at any moment, so she politely excused herself to attend to the garden before the sunset.

  * * *

  Not long after Lady Louisa began to trim, weed, and collect ready specimens for drying, Miss Mary joined her.

  * * *

  “I know Mother can be unusually difficult to live with,”

  * * *

  Miss Mary said as she came to take her place at Lady Louisa’s side. “But I do hope you will stay. I know this sounds horribly selfish of me, but without you here, I don’t know that I will find a way to see the Colonel much.”

  * * *

  Lady Louisa thought the matter over. She wondered if perhaps she had been the selfish one. After all, hadn’t she hoped to bring the Colonel and Miss Mary together. Now she had chosen to leave for her own pride and had thrown any help that she had promised to Miss Mary aside.

  * * *

  “I don’t think it is selfish of you at all,” Lady Louisa said to her squeezing her hand. “I know the two of you will be very happy together. Any way I can help to make that a possibility I will be happy to do so.”

  * * *

  “But what of your own mother? I feel so awful to ask you to stay away from her if she truly is lonely.”

  * * *

  Lady Louisa laughed at the thought. Even with her in the country and Colton far away in the Colonies, there was no chance of her mother being lonely. She had a vast array of people and projects to keep her quite occupied.

  * * *

  “I promise that Mother is more than entertained. I only said that by way of excuse. I rather didn’t want to give Lady Hendrickson another chance to pour sherry down my dress.”

  * * *

  “Oh, that was so awful,” Miss Mary responded. “I was so shocked; I had no words to say. I couldn’t believe even she would stoop to that level. All that Mother cared about was one less titled lady at the ball that night. I find her scheming so exhausting at times.”

  * * *

  “Yes, she does seem quite duplicitous when it comes to my presence. I am sure that most days she would rather not have my company and then when I suggest leaving she insist on me staying.”

  * * *

  Lady Louisa shook her head wondering if she would ever truly understand her aunt and her motives.

  * * *

  “It’s simply this,” Miss Mary said brushing her skirts with a little more force than necessary. “If one has uses of her, she is willing to allow one's presence. However, if one should ever disagree with her, or heaven forbid, work against her prerogative, she can be quite vindictive.”

  * * *

  Lady Louisa had a feeling that Mary was speaking more of her own relationship with Lady Hendrickson. She was sure that it couldn’t have been an easy thing for Miss Mary to grow up under such a demanding and forceful mother.

  * * *

  Lady Louisa might have suffered under her aunt's displeasure these last several weeks, but Miss Mary had seemed to her whole life. It was no wonder that Miss Mary more often than not chose to keep her thoughts to herself than share with a mother who always seemed to disapprove.

  * * *

  Lady Louisa was willing to stay as long as it would take for
the sake of Miss Mary. If she could somehow help her aunt to see the good character in Colonel Jasper and accept him as a prospect for her younger daughter, Lady Louisa could at least feel she had helped in accomplishing something beyond the darning of stockings and fixing of hems.

  Chapter 25

  A week after the ball and Rowland was still no closer to discovering the identity of his lady in green, and he had come to name her.

  * * *

  Twice he had forced his uncle, and Jasper scroll through the list of invited and account for each one's where about during the time in question. Rowland had now reduced his hunt to a small list of five possibilities. Each one of these ladies had not been seen by any three of the gentleman as best as they could remember, had the possibility of matching the limited description, and were titled.

  * * *

  “Perhaps it is time to give up the search,” Mr. Vaughan said as he stood to look out the study widows and soak in some sunshine. “We have been at this for days. Would it not be better to just forget her altogether?”

  * * *

  “Your uncle does have a point,” Jasper also spoke up. “If the lady in green wanted to be found, we would have found her by now. It was no secret by the end of the night that you had been taken by her.”

  * * *

  “I won’t give up until I find her,” Rowland said with resolve. “How can you ask any less of me. She is the one, the one that you, Uncle, insisted I find upon returning to England.”

  * * *

  “I didn’t insist on you finding the one, just a one, anyone in fact,” he said with a smile of pride at his ingenious play on words.

  * * *

  “Yes, and what happened to picking the easiest option so as to return to the Indies?” Jasper asked with a raised brow. He had always contradicted Rowland’s schemes from the beginning.

  * * *

  “That was before I met her. Now everything has changed. How can one settled for a dimly lit cage when he was allowed to run free in the sun?”

  * * *

  Colonel Jasper smiled in a knowing fashion. He had suspected something like this would eventually happen to his friend. Jasper was a little disappointed that it was with the woman he had thought would be a good match for Rowland, but Jasper was just glad that he had found someone to be passionate about.

  * * *

  “You sound quite ridiculous when you speak like that,” Mr. Vaughan said turning back to his nephew.

  * * *

  No amount of lightning striking would ever be enough to prove to the older gentleman that finding interest in the opposite sex was more than just a fleeting moment.

  * * *

  He walked back over to the desk and held up the list of names for inspection again.

  * * *

  “If you would pick but one name on this list, I can assure you, Rowland; you would find sufficient happiness for your needs.”

  * * *

  “I don’t want just sufficient for my needs anymore. Uncle, I want to find her.”

  * * *

  “Well, I am finding that possibility more and more unlikely as the days pass, my dear nephew. Choose one or let us be done with this,” Mr. Vaughan added smacking the paper.

  * * *

  “I can’t do that. I cannot find solace until I know who the lady in green is. She has quite bewitched me,” Rowland added with a lopsided smile as he looked at the names. For all he knew, he was staring at the written manifestation of his future wife.

  * * *

  “Clearly she has bewitched you,” Mr. Vaughan said with a scoff before excusing himself from the room.

  * * *

  “I’m sure you find me just as maddening as Uncle James,” Rowland said to his friend after Mr. Vaughan left the room.

  * * *

  “I do,” Jasper stated simply. “But maddening is far better than indifferent in my opinion.”

  * * *

  Rowland’s uncle continued to encourage the Duke to focus on something real and tangible. Instead, Rowland spent many sleepless nights replaying the encounter in his head. He was sure that if he did it enough time, he would remember something missed. Some kind of a clue that would give the lady’s identity away.

  * * *

  Sadly, this was not the case. Instead he became more and more frustrated as the memory seemed to slip between his fingers.

  * * *

  “Lady Hendrickson has invited us over for a dinner party,” Mr. Vaughan said over dinner two weeks after the ball.

  * * *

  Rowland waved off the idea indifferently.

  * * *

  “It might be a good idea. If nothing else, it would be worth getting you away from Bassen Park for the night.

  * * *

  You are beginning to turn into a recluse, dear nephew,” Mr. Vaughan added.

  * * *

  “And how would spending the night listening to Miss Hendrickson drool on about her accomplishments improve my standing in society?”

  * * *

  “Well, I am sure we will not be the only ones to attend a dinner party. Even a small gathering will have a few other guests. The society might brighten your mood some, you have been very cross as of late. There are also the other ladies of the house to consider.”

  * * *

  “Who, Lady Louisa who despises me, or Miss Mary who has eyes set on another?” Rowland said in reference to the Colonel who was not present that night for dinner. “Where is Jasper?”

  * * *

  “I believe Lady Louisa and Miss Mary went to town to tend to some of Mrs. Vance’s business. Colonel Jasper offered to be their transportation. Those two have really taken quite a liking to the other,” Mr. Vaughan said in a whimsical tone that was not normal for him.

  * * *

  It was enough to catch Rowland’s attention from his meal.

  * * *

  “I suppose it would be a kind thing to do for Jasper.

  * * *

  After all, it would give him another chance to win over Lady Hendrickson. The woman seems so against Jasper, and I can’t fathom why.”

  * * *

  “I agree that Jasper is a gentleman of great character. He is also a commissioned officer,” Mr. Vaughan countered.

  * * *

  “He has already informed me of his plans to sell his commission and settled down,” Rowland countered. “Surely that isn’t Lady Hendrickson’s only dispute, though. It would be a ridiculous thing to deny two people in love simply because his means of support involved moving away from one’s home. She has some other objections to him, though I don’t know what they could be.”

  * * *

  “Perhaps she doesn’t relish the fact of the youngest marrying before the elder,” Mr. Vaughan said giving his nephew a look that said far more than his words.

  * * *

  “I won’t even dignify that innuendo with a response,” Rowland said trying his best to sound irritated but in fact knowing that his uncle was only teasing.

  * * *

  “No,” Rowland said with a heavy sigh, “as much as I would rather not, I see we must go. I will send my acceptance with the morning post. I am willing to suffer the night at the hand of Miss Elisabeth’s insufferable conversation, and Lady Louisa’s disdain, but only because Jasper is such a good friend.”

  * * *

  Mr. Vaughan nodded his approval at his nephew.

  * * *

  “And just think,” he added after a moment of silence, “your lady in green may very well be a guest as well. This could be the moment you have been searching for all these weeks.”

  * * *

  Rowland rolled his eyes inwardly at his uncle’s teasing. He had, in fact, created his own method of finding the girl out.

  * * *

  He had still in his hand the list of ladies from the three counties that were being considered as the lady in green. Rowland had already acquired invitations to two of the five estates and would not find many problems in securin
g the last three.

  * * *

  He would visit with each lady and her family. He was sure if he could but speak with the lady in green once more he would know in an instant it was her. A simple visit to each house was all he was sure he would need to exclude ladies from the list one by one until the lady he desired was found.