A Christmas Bride for the Duke: Clean Regency Romance (The Nettlefold Chronicles Book 4)

by Arietta Richmond

  “Good. What a dreadful day it’s been! All this gossip about some dramatic goings on in the stables this morning!”

  Eleanor attempted to look only normally curious, whilst her heart pounded in her chest, and her mouth went dry. What had people seen, or heard?

  “Oh? What drama? I have heard nothing.”

  “Apparently, long before any reasonable person rises for the day, Kilmerstan and Braeness were seen dragging a bound man from the stables to the house! And some people claim that, not long before that, there were screams heard from near the stables somewhere! Nothing has been said, and no one knows what to make of it. Braeness has barely been seen all day, and Kilmerstan is refusing to tell us anything yet. It is most vexing.”

  Well, perhaps things were not as bad as they might have been, then, if no one actually knew what had happened yet.

  “I am sure he will explain it all in good time Mother.”

  At that moment, a short hush fell on the room, followed by a flurry of whispering. Eleanor turned to see what had caused it, and met Braeness’ eyes as he walked into the room. He looked rather grim, and did not smile. Her heart fell – was he displeased in some way? All of her uncertainties about her feelings, and his, came rushing back. He turned away, crossing the room to where Dangerfield sat, and ignoring the whispers that followed him. After all, as he’d told her, he’d had practice.

  Beside her, Juliana was speaking, and she dragged her attention back to that.

  “Really, you would think that everyone had nothing better to do than accuse a man based on his appearance. Even after what has been reported this morning, many are still whispering as if Braeness might be a murderer. Garrett would not seek his assistance were that so!”

  Eleanor had the sudden urge to tell her mother and sister everything that had occurred in the stables that morning, but forced herself to say nothing. Garrett would tell them when he was ready, she was sure, and anyway, if she told them one part, she would likely have to tell them more than she was comfortable revealing about the last week.

  She was saved when dinner was announced, and everyone rose, and began to move out of the parlour. In the dining room, she settled into the seat she was shown to, and watched as people took their places. Moments later, an unmistakeable presence filled the empty chair next to her. For a moment, she froze in her seat. What could she say to him? How could she have a normal conversation about trivialities, after the events of the morning? And what did he think of her? What did he want from her? His voice came softly, and she forced herself to turn, to meet his eyes.

  “My Lady, are you well? I was told that you did not come down, all day. I hope that there were no….”

  Hurriedly, she shook her head and replied in barely more than a whisper.

  “No, there were no lasting… impressions. But some things took a little time to fade…”

  Heat flared in his eyes for a moment, and she saw an echo of that ferocity that he had shown in the stables. She felt herself tense in response, and his expression instantly calmed. Then he glanced away.

  “Justice will be done, never fear. There will be an announcement in the morning.”

  “I am pleased to hear that.”

  She felt awkward – all the ease which had been between them that night in the library was gone. The food was served, and she turned her attention to eating, unhappy, but unable to see a way to improve things. As the meal progressed, they said little, but she found herself repeatedly looking up, to find him watching her. She attempted to smile, to look normal, but it was impossible. He looked so serious, and she had no idea what he was thinking.

  It was almost as if she had dreamed that night in the library, as if this was a different man… yet in the stables this morning, when he had first dragged the groom away from her, she had thought… perhaps she had been wrong? The uncertainty was enough to actually give her the megrim she had pretended to have, earlier in the day.

  ~~~~~

  Adair looked for her, as he stepped into the parlour, unable to help himself. She looked up, as the short silence and the following whispers announced his presence more effectively than any footman or butler might, and met his eyes.

  She looked pale – too pale, and her expression was drawn.

  He could not smile – worry ate at him – had she truly been hurt more than he had realised? Or was she afraid of him, as women so often were, having seen his ferocity in the stables that morning?

  He could have stood there, just gazing at her, but that would not have been wise – that would simply have created more gossip. Instead, he dragged his eyes away, and went across the parlour to where Dangerfield sat. She watched him, he knew it, he could feel her eyes on him, as if she touched him, as she had brushed his brow in the library…

  Dangerfield greeted him cheerfully.

  “After dinner, Kilmerstan will announce tomorrow’s public drama – without saying exactly what will happen. Are you prepared for it?”

  “Prepared? For being gawked at, and still gossiped about, even after someone else has confessed….? I am always gossiped about – it will be no different.”

  “Cynical, Braeness, very cynical. But perhaps you are correct. Although… mayhap we can turn this to your advantage.”

  “To my advantage? How? What are you planning?”

  “Oh, nothing significant – leave it with me.”

  “Why do I not entirely trust you, when you say things like that?”

  “Because you’ve known me for too long.”

  Adair frowned at him, but at that moment dinner was announced and he rose with everyone else, and went to the dining room. A footman showed him to his seat, and he found himself beside Lady Eleanor. Which was the worst kind of torture. He wanted to touch her, to assure himself that she was all right, to ignore everyone else, and to discover whether, after the morning’s events, she could ever care for him.

  Instead, he sat there, stiffly, unsure. Still, he needed to say something, to break the dreadful silence. He asked the question he most wanted the answer to, in the quietest voice he could manage.

  “My Lady, are you well? I was told that you did not come down, all day. I hope that there were no….”

  She shook her head and replied in barely more than a whisper.

  “No, there were no lasting… impressions. But some things took a little time to fade…”

  The heat of anger flared within him, at the memory of that cad touching her, hitting her, and that anger must have shown in his eyes for a moment, for she tensed as if afraid of him. He forced his expression to calm, even as his heart broke inside of him. She was afraid, just as they all were. It did not matter what he did – perhaps he was the barbarian they painted him as, after all. He glanced away, unable to bear seeing that fear in her eyes. Instead, he spoke the words he suspected she wanted to hear at that moment – the ones that would assure her that action was being taken.

  “Justice will be done, never fear. There will be an announcement in the morning.”

  “I am pleased to hear that.”

  They lapsed into silence, and the meal passed miserably, with him acutely aware of her at his side, but unable to think of any way to converse suitably. He would have to treasure the memory of that night in the library, for he suspected that it was all he’d ever have of her.

  When the meal was done, Kilmerstan rose from his place at the head of the table.

  “Your attention for a moment, ladies and gentlemen. Tomorrow, at twelve of the clock, I ask that you all be present – and staff in the room, please note – this includes all staff of this estate as well, and all visiting staff – in the ballroom. There will be an announcement then which will inform you of everything which has been discovered, with respect to the unfortunate death of Molly, and will bring that unpleasant episode to a close. Thank you, in advance, for having the courtesy to attend as requested.”

  A positive roar of conversation occurred, and Adair turned to Lady Eleanor, who looked even paler than before.
She met his eyes, hers full of conflicting emotions.

  “I fear that my megrim has returned, even stronger. I will forgo taking tea in the parlour, and retire to my bed. Good evening, Your Grace.”

  She turned, and almost fled the room, leaving Adair feeling bereft, and confused.

  If only he might so easily escape the next few hours himself.

  ~~~~~

  It felt wrong. The ballroom was decorated for festive joy, in preparation for the Christmas Eve Ball – which was, Eleanor realised with a start, the following day. Yet here they stood, awaiting an announcement about death.

  The room was crowded, and it felt like everyone was talking. Eleanor could see the two magistrates from the local towns standing at the back of the room, inconspicuously located amongst the ranks of the staff. The noise battered at her, even from her position with her family close to the podium which would, during the Ball, provide a place for the orchestra, but today would house a different kind of public spectacle entirely. The door close to it opened a crack, and Dangerfield, where he stood near it, spoke softly to someone beyond the door, then turned back to the room, stepping up to the middle of the podium.

  “Ladies and Gentlemen…” His voice was an impressive roar, and brought the room to shocked silence in seconds. “Your attention please.”

  He stepped to one side, and that door opened completely, to allow Kilmerstan and Braeness to enter, the groom between them. Eleanor flinched back, instinctively, almost bumping into Juliana, who gave her a querying look. She said nothing, but stood, simply watching, like everyone else.

  They stepped to the centre of the podium, and Baggs, looking out at the sea of faces before him, struggled a moment, as if wanting to run back through that door. Braeness held him in place effortlessly, and the whispers started again. When Baggs stilled, Kilmerstan spoke, his voice carrying and clear, bringing silence to the crowd again.

  “After careful investigation, we have uncovered the exact sequence of events on the morning of Molly’s death. A sequence of events in which Mr Baggs here played an unfortunate part. For the sake of clarity, he will describe those events to you, in his own words.”

  The crowd shifted, many exchanging shocked looks, then waited with the same sort of expression that Eleanor had seen on crowds at a circus or theatre performance, as if this was entirely staged for their entertainment.

  Baggs shifted about, but Braeness gave him a little shake, then released him. The man cleared his throat.

  “I… ah… I didn’t kill her! I didn’! Never wanted her dead, I didn’. I’d been watchin’ her, thought she was pretty like, and she’d be a good one t’ have some sport with, if’n y’ know…” he paused, as a titter ran through the room, swallowed, then went on, “I’s bin sleeping in the hayloft, on account as there’s so many people here, and when she climbed up there that morning, wanting t’ see them kittens the dratted cat had just brought up there, I watched her comin’ up, and thought I’d take advantage o’ the… chance…. But she was too high and mighty fer the like’s o’ me. Shoved me away, she did, and said no. I thought mebbe she didn’ mean it, an’ reached for her. She stepped back, fergettin’ where she were, and then she were gone, just like that, before me eyes. Fallen down the hole where the ladder comes up, she had. I nivver meant it t’ happen, honest. But once it had – who’d believe the likes o’ me? So’s I climbed down and ran quick smart t’ the carriage house, and got a polishin’ and pretended I didn’ know. Would’a been aright from that too, no one would’a ever known I’d been there when she fell, if’n it weren’t fer her—”

  He turned at this point, and pointed at Eleanor, who wished, in that instant, that the ground would open up and swallow her. Whispers ran around the room, and everyone gawked at her. She felt the flush rise in her cheeks. She could not take her eyes from the men on the podium.

  But it was Braeness she locked eyes with, not Baggs, and what she saw there gave her courage. He faced this sort of gossip and pointing every day – surely she could manage it now. Baggs, who seemed to be enjoying being the centre of attention, went on.

  “She’s the one what told Molly where them kittens were. She was there, in the stable, an’ she stood there, watchin’ Molly climb up. I din’ think she seen me lookin’ down, but she must’a. An’ she told His grace here, and that’s what done for me. It’s not fair – I didn’ kill her, never meant her harm, I didn’.”

  Baggs wound to a stop, glancing about nervously. Then he looked to Kilmerstan, as if expecting something. Kilmerstan stepped forward.

  “What Mr Baggs hasn’t told you, is that he had previously accosted quite a few of the maids, and was prone to pushing himself on women who were not, shall we say, receptive to his advances. Nor has he told you that, yesterday morning, in a fit of misplaced anger and accusation, he accosted Lady Eleanor when she was walking in the gardens, struck her, dragged her into the stables, and threatened to do her harm.”

  Shocked gasps ran through the room, and at the back, Eleanor could see some of the maids nodding, and speaking to the people closest to them, no doubt confirming Kilmerstan’s words. Dangerfield stepped up beside Kilmerstan for a moment, and whispered something to him. Garrett nodded, then turned back to the room.

  “There is more to the tale yet.”

  His voice was quiet, but the sound of it silenced the room again, and they all turned to listen.

  Beside her, Juliana whispered, “What? Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

  Eleanor shushed her sister, as Garrett began to speak again.

  “The only reason that Lady Eleanor was not seriously harmed is the quick thinking and unhesitating action of the man whom you have all spent the last week whispering accusations about.” Many of the guests shifted uncomfortably in place, looking at each other with rather guilty expressions. “His Grace of Braeness, who had been out riding in the very early morning, had just returned to the stables. He heard Lady Eleanor cry out when Baggs struck her, and he ran towards that sound, just in time to see where the man was taking her, and follow. His prompt action allowed him to arrive in time to pull Baggs off Lady Eleanor as he accosted her in a back room of the stables, before Baggs had done more than leave a few bruises on her fair skin. The hero in this drama, ladies and gentlemen, is the man you have been accusing. I was standing on the terrace, and also saw Baggs accost Lady Eleanor, but I had far further to run to reach them, and Braeness had already saved her when I arrived – but nonetheless, I arrived in time to hear Baggs confessing his role in Molly’s death, as he ranted at Lady Eleanor and at Braeness.”

  From behind her, Eleanor heard her father’s voice, which rang out into the stunned silence in the room.

  “What do you plan to do with the reprobate, Kilmerstan? He assaulted my daughter, and for that alone, he should be punished.”

  Eleanor wanted to hear the answer to that question, quite as much as her father did.

  “in consultation with the magistrates from the nearby towns, I have decided that we cannot, in truth, accuse him of murder – for I believe that he tells the truth when he says that he did not intend Molly’s death, and that it was her own movements which caused her to fall – however much those movements might have been the result of her wish to avoid him. But he has lied, and has assaulted a Lady – who, by the way, did not see him well enough to have identified him. What gave away his presence where he had declared he wasn’t, was the fact that a stableboy saw him, leaving the scene. For that assault, and for his general behaviour, we are agreed that he cannot be trusted to behave well should he return to his work for Lord Eiderton. As a consequence, the decided punishment is that he will leave the country – he will be held in this area until a ship can be found which will take him as crew, and he can work his passage to wherever he chooses – so long as it is not England.”

  A muttering went through the room, and heads nodded everywhere. The magistrates came forward, and two burly men accompanied them, to lead Baggs away. Eleanor’s father spoke again
, and he sounded pleased.

  “Good riddance, I think. Hire better staff next time, Eiderton.”

  Garrett spoke again.

  “This matter is now closed. Molly’s death was a genuine accident, although one precipitated by Baggs, and no blame attaches to anyone else. I ask that all whispers, gossip and speculation cease, and that you turn your attention to enjoying the Christmastide which is upon us.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Hero? Adair shook his head in bemusement – what was Kilmerstan thinking, casting him as a hero! And then, as he looked at Kilmerstan, he saw, behind him, Dangerfield regarding him with a wryly amused smile, and it became clear what Kilmerstan had been thinking. Dangerfield had obviously put him up to it. This was his way of ‘turning things to Adair’s advantage’ as he’d put it. Damn the man!

  Lady Eleanor was coping well with having suddenly become the centre of attention – she was pale, but when he had met her eyes, as Baggs accused her, he had seen the strength there, and been proud of her courage. But when Kilmerstan had named him hero for saving her, a blush had risen in her cheeks, stronger than the flush of embarrassment which had been there already.

  Her eyes had flicked to him, and away again, as if she was not sure how he might feel about it. Which was fair – for he wasn’t sure that he was happy with it at all. He was happy, of course, that he’d saved her… but being lauded as a hero, and the centre of attention as a result… that was another matter.

  Once the magistrates’ men had carried Baggs away, and Kilmerstan had declared the matter closed, everyone milled around talking, as the staff went back to their work, also talking amongst themselves. Adair went to Dangerfield, and fixed him with a stern glare.

  “I’m not sure that I like your concept of turning things to my advantage.”

  “What, not keen on being the target of all of those husband hunting ladies, now that you’ve been proven to be a shining hero? See – it begins, there is a cluster of them, just near the door, all watching you, and waiting to pounce.”