by Fimch, Fanny
She had to assume the drapes were usually closed.
“It is brilliant,” the Duke of Lox said in an impressed tone. “This side of the house does not see the rising or setting sun. It is facing south. That is why these floors look nearly brand new.”
The Duke of Rabney looked at his friend, nodding. “Yes, Baldwin, I noticed that, as well. It is a selling point to me.”
To her left, Emma noticed a small stage had been built for the quartet or small orchestra that would play during parties and balls. Against the wall on the other side of the room sat multiple rows of chairs, some turned on top of another to provide space. Round tables were also stacked one on top of another, table tops turned together.
“He left you some furniture,” she remarked. The Duke of Rabney glanced at her over his shoulder.
“He just brought these back to Lockwood,” he replied. “He wanted me to see them as another selling point. He has no use for the tables and chairs.”
“That is brilliant,” Camilla murmured. Emma looked at her, knowing her dear cousin was picturing herself living in the mansion, decorating it to her liking, probably having children here and raising them with the Duke of Rabney. If she were Camilla, that’s what she would be thinking. She watched her friend turn to the Duke of Rabney with a smile. “I love this mansion, my lord. I would buy it if I were you. What do you think, Father?”
The Duke of Cooksey gave his daughter a satisfied grin. “I am in agreement, daughter. This is a fine home and though it can use a few repairs, I see it as a solid investment in your future. My lord, I believe, though, that you have already made up your mind, have you not?”
The Duke of Rabney grinned at the older man. “How did you know?”
The Duke of Cooksey laughed, along with the others. “It is quite obvious from the expression on your face, sir. As I said, this is a fine home and I encourage you to follow your heart and purchase it for your future.”
The Duke of Rabney’s expression turned to one of delight. Emma thought he must have brought the Duke of Cooksey along to get his approval. It was where his daughter would be living by this time next year. The thought brought an instant smile to Emma’s face.
The Duke of Rabney turned and looked around the room. “I believe I will purchase it, your grace. I am very satisfied with it.” He looked at the Duke of Lox. “What do you think, Baldwin?”
“I think you would be a fool not to purchase such a beautiful home, Christian,” the Duke of Lox replied.
Chapter Fourteen
The entire time they were in the Lockwood mansion, strolling through each room and marveling at the architecture and interior design, Lady Christian stayed close to the Duke of Lox. For his part, he noticed as soon as they all went in the grand ballroom that the woman was staying right behind him or beside him. When he’d spoken to Emma and she had given him the cold shoulder, he knew why.
It was as he’d expected. Lady Christian would make it impossible for Emma to relax around him. How could he win her heart when another woman was standing in between them? As a man, he wanted to physically remove Lady Christian from his side. But as a gentleman, he knew he could not.
When Lady Christian attempted to encircle his elbow with her hands, he quickly moved to the side, pointing to a marble fireplace mantel piece and talking to the Duke of Rabney about it as if he’d never seen anything so beautiful in his life. He did not care that the woman frowned and stood back, her hands clasped behind her, staring at him.
She followed him all around the house, even as he attempted to get away from her and draw close to Emma. He wanted to engage the woman in conversation but she was skilled at avoiding him. She made sure to be speaking to the Duke of Cooksey or, more likely, Camilla, so that she did not have to speak to him. She complimented the Duke of Rabney several times but would not speak to him unless she had to.
It was extremely frustrating for him.
Just before they left Lockwood Estate, the Duke of Rabney pulled him to the side. “Baldwin, you have one of the most disappointed looks on your face I have seen in quite some time. It is because of Lady Christian, is it not? She is bothering you?”
“She is certainly not making it easy for me to express my interest in Lady Wentworth. I wish she had not found us.”
“I agree with that,” the Duke of Rabney stage-whispered to him. “But, my dear friend, the look on your face is very revealing and will not help you with your cause. Be patient, Baldwin. Lady Christian will not always be in your way. There will be future opportunities for you, I am quite sure.”
“I do not see it.”
The Duke of Rabney sighed. “I can see that you are quite miserable. This is what is making you so pessimistic. You must get control of yourself. You will not be marrying Lady Christian. Not now, not in the future. You know that and so do I. It matters not what she wants or thinks. Nor does it matter what she tells other people. You are in control, Baldwin. Not her. Do not let her sour your mood when you are in the presence of the lady you most desire.”
“She does not desire me. She has been avoiding me the whole time.”
“I noticed. And you know why that is.”
“Because she is always annoyed with me?”
The Duke of Rabney dropped his head and tried not to show his amusement. “No, no, Baldwin. Because she is annoyed with Lady Christian. If she was not annoyed by the woman’s presence, she would surely not be avoiding you. Since she is annoyed by Lady Christian, you have cause to hope.”
“And why is that?”
The Duke of Rabney chuckled, shaking his head. “Because she is jealous, Baldwin. Come now. Can you not see this?”
The Duke of Lox instinctively moved his eyes to where Emma was standing with Camilla. The Duke of Cooksey had taken Lady Christian in hand and was leading the young woman around the house.
“Perhaps you are right.”
The Duke of Rabney nodded. “I am right, Baldwin. Trust me.”
“I do trust you, Christian.”
“Then lift your spirits and let us explore the outside of my new home.”
The Duke of Lox smiled at his friend. “Yes, that sounds like a fine idea.”
The Duke of Rabney announced to the rest of them that they were going outside and to follow along if they wished. As it was, they all followed him out onto the porch.
As soon as the door closed behind them, a clap of thunder rolled through the sky, followed by a bolt of lightning that lit the darkened sky. The Duke of Cooksey looked up at it.
“Oh dear. We are going to have a storm.”
“You will fit in the carriage, Papa,” Camilla said. “We can just rope the horse to the back of the carriage. You will not get wet.”
“I would not want that, your grace,” the Duke of Rabney said. “I invited you here and I will not allow you to ride back in the rain on your horse. As Lady Fielding has said, there is room for you in the carriage.”
The Duke of Cooksey nodded, smiling. “That will be fine. But I do suppose we will not be able to explore the outside of Lockwood Estate.”
“Not today, my lord,” the Duke of Rabney replied. “But we will return another day.”
“I am quite sure.”
Light pellets of water were sprinkling all around them. The ladies dashed to the carriage, though they would not have gotten very wet had they not run. The driver was standing by the door of the carriage and opened it before the women got there. He held out his hand, which each of them took and vaulted themselves into the carriage. Lady Christian was behind them, looking from the carriage to the Duke of Lox and back again.
Emma could tell by the look on her face that she wanted the Duke of Lox to help her up into the carriage, not the driver. But when the Duke of Rabney realized what she was doing, he put one hand on her shoulder and pushed her gently toward the carriage. “Go on, Lady Christian. You should not wait till the rain gets harsher.”
“I do not…”
“Go on, Lady Christian,” the Duke of R
abney said firmly. Lady Christian’s eyes widened slightly and she hurried to the carriage to be helped up by the driver.
When she got in the carriage, she sat on the opposite side of the ladies. Emma waited to see what the Duke of Rabney would have to say about that. She waited with anticipation, feeling a bit childish for taking delight in the man’s scolding of his cousin. He was not hesitant to tell her what he wanted her to do. He could not make her leave but he would make her behave.
The Duke of Rabney looked in through the window of the carriage as the Duke of Cooksey prepared to get in. He frowned at his cousin. “Lady Christian, you must sit on the side with the ladies. It is not proper for you to be sitting with me and the Duke of Lox.”
“But does the Duke of Cooksey not wish to sit with his daughter?”
The brashness of the question would have surprised Emma if she had not known Lady Christian was raised in New York. She had picked up the American ways and had never learned anything about her British roots.
Without waiting for the Duke of Rabney to respond to the question, the Duke of Cooksey, who was twice the age of all his companions, held out his hand to Lady Christian.
“If you please, Lady Christian. It has been a pleasure walking and talking with you today. But it is most inappropriate for you to sit on this side of the carriage. I understand you have spent most of your life in New York. I would be pleased if you would, at some time, talk to me about what it is like there, as I have never been.”
“I would be delighted, your grace,” Lady Christian answered, smiling wide and taking the duke’s hand. She transferred herself to the other side of the carriage and plopped down in between Camilla and Emma, who looked distraught that she had done so.
The Duke of Cooksey looked a bit disappointed but sat on the other side of the carriage and waited for the other two men to get inside.
They waited in silence while the driver roped the Duke of Cooksey’s horse to the back of the carriage. When he climbed into the driver’s seat and the carriage moved, Lady Christian was the first one to speak, which did not surprise any of them.
“I am impressed that you found such a nice home, Bru… my lord,” she said, once again stopping herself from calling her cousin by his pet name. Her hesitation confirmed the Duke of Lox’s thought that she knew the moniker annoyed the Duke of Rabney and that’s why she used it. “There are many mansions in New York.” She turned her eyes to the Duke of Cooksey, addressing him. “But there are none that are quite so magnificent as the ones here in England.”
“Have you visited here often?” the Duke of Cooksey asked.
“I have.” Lady Christian nodded. “As you know, my family is here…” she lifted one hand to indicate the Duke of Rabney. “And there is always one occasion or another to attend. My father has made it clear that I am not to marry an American man.”
“May I ask why he took you to America if he did not desire you to marry a man there?” Emma asked curiously. She was not highly interested in the answer but felt the need to contribute something to the conversation. If the Duke of Lox decided to court Lady Christian and the Duke of Rabney courted Camilla, she would be stuck with the woman’s presence simply because the two dukes were rarely apart.
She had a feeling they would live together for as long as they could. They had traveled together for years, apparently, and were more like brothers than friends. She had no plans to stop seeing her cousin, whether she was confronted with the presence of Lady Christian or not.
Lady Christian was quick to answer Emma’s question, though she continued looking at the dukes sitting across from her as she spoke. “Oh, America is quite beautiful. The lands there and the people are simply unique. I have seen waterfalls the likes of which you would only expect beyond the Gates of Heaven. He is particularly taken with the American people.”
“Then why does he not wish for you to marry an American man?” Camilla asked.
Lady Christian turned a smile to Camilla, which she had not done for Emma. “He knows that I have other prospects here in England. He would not want me to marry a man in America when there is one in England for me to marry.”
Emma knew in her heart that Lady Christian was talking about the Duke of Lox. It made her feel sick to her stomach but for the life of her she could not figure out why it would bother her in the least. Although the Duke of Lox was handsome, smart, and wealthy, he was also sneaky, disloyal, and manipulative. That was not the kind of man she wished to marry.
Emma glanced at him as Lady Christian responded to Camilla’s question with a story of a man in America who had asked for her hand but she had turned him down. He had no title, as they did not follow such customs in America. As the woman spoke, Emma grew more and more frustrated. She did not understand her discontent. The Duke of Lox was no more hers to be jealous of than the Duke of Rabney.
By the time the carriage pulled up in front of Cooksey Castle, the rain had lightened once more to a drizzle. They stopped and the driver climbed down, the umbrella he’d used to shield himself clutched in one hand.
“My lord! My lord!”
The group in the carriage turned to see the Duchess of Cooksey dashing toward them, completely ignoring the raindrops in her distress.
Chapter Fifteen
The Duke of Cooksey stepped quickly out of the carriage and met his wife, taking the umbrella from the driver and holding it over her head. She shook her head, waving the umbrella away. “My lord, we must get Lady Wentworth to her home.”
Hearing her name, Emma leaned forward, her heart racing. “What is it, your grace? What has happened?” Her first thought was that her father had passed on. Just the thought brought immediate tears to her eyes. The Duchess of Cooksey went to the open door of the carriage. “Your father has taken a turn for the worse, my dear. You must hurry home to see him. It is unclear how much longer he will be with us.”
Chills covered Emma’s body. The tears that had come to her eyes slid down her cheeks and she covered her mouth with her hands to keep from crying out. Camilla stood up and glared at Lady Christian until she moved to the edge of the bench seat. She sat with Emma, wrapping her arms around her cousin’s shoulders.
The Duke of Cooksey approached the door of the carriage and gently moved his wife to the side. He closed the door and looked through the window at the Duke of Rabney. “Please see to it that Lady Wentworth gets to her home quickly. I will follow along in another carriage with the duchess.”
“Yes, your grace. We will see to it.” The Duke of Rabney nodded, calling out to the driver to take them at once to the Corning mansion.
The driver was in his seat in moments and the carriage began to roll back down the hill to the main road.
Emma’s pain was palpable and could be seen on her face. Thoughts of her father when he was younger, stronger passed through her mind. She tried not to sob the entire way but knew she was going to anyway. Camilla’s arms around her were comforting. Her cousin did not care that she was wetting her sleeves with her tears.
“Shhh, we will get there in time, my dear,” she murmured in Emma’s ear. “We will get there in time.”
She patted Emma’s hair, bouncing with her as the carriage moved too quickly for its wheels down the rocky road. At one point, she looked up, annoyed because the carriage rocked sharply and sent Lady Christian spilling onto Camilla’s back.
“Oh, I do apologize, Lady Fielding,” Lady Christian said, pushing herself upright and glancing at the two women with sympathy on her face. The look softened Camilla’s heart. When Emma got herself under a modicum of control, she pushed herself from Camilla’s arms and pulled in a deep breath. She glanced at Lady Christian and saw the sympathetic look, as well.
She did not have time to think or worry about the woman right then. She wanted to get to her father. She wanted to be home as fast as possible and could only pray the carriage would not lose a wheel because of their speed or that a horse would not stumble.
“I did not know your father was
ailing, Lady Wentworth,” Lady Christian said. “I do not wish to intrude on your family. When we reach your home, I will have his grace take me home.”
Emma wondered which duke she was talking about. The thought was fleeting as the thought of her father passing before she was able to see him rolled through her mind. She struggled against the tears, swallowing them.
“Thank you, Lady Christian,” she replied in a weak, shaky voice. “But you are more than welcome to come in Corning Mansion and get some refreshments before your journey home. I know you must be tired after traveling all this way to come to England for the season.”
“I have been in England for a few days, Lady Wentworth. But if you do not mind, I will come in and rest a bit before having his grace take me home.”
Emma said nothing more as they rode to Corning Mansion. She was dreading what she would see when she got there. She did not hear when the Duke of Lox and the Duke of Rabney chatted quietly about the situation. They explained in soft voices to Lady Christian that the Duke of Corning had taken ill a few years back and could not seem to recover. The disease he was succumbing to had weakened his heart and any strain rendered him nearly useless.
When she saw Corning Mansion approaching quickly, Emma sat forward in her seat, straining her eyes to look at the house. There was only one extra carriage there and she knew it belonged to the doctor who was caring for her father.
Her heart pounded hard in her chest. “Papa…” she whispered, allowing new tears to slide down her face.
The Duke of Lox watched Emma with a heavy heart. He wanted to console her. He wanted to take her in his arms the way Camilla had done and ease her pain. He sat stiff on the other side of the carriage, watching the woman’s agony, feeling completely helpless.
He no longer cared that Lady Christian was there. He was not annoyed by her presence when he was not thinking about her. She was no longer talking incessantly. She was watching Camilla and Emma with sad eyes. Her compassion to Emma’s pain made him feel less irritated with her.