Bewitching the Duke

by Christie Kelley

  “Indeed? Exactly how do you propose to do that when I am standing on my foot?”

  “You really should not be on your foot, Your Grace. If you promise to go inside and prop your foot up, I will not touch your foot again.”

  He gave her a half smile. “Touch? Or caress?”

  Mortification heated her cheeks until they burned. “I did not caress your foot.”

  “Yes, you did,” he whispered, leaning in closer to her. “Even Mr. Roberts noticed.”

  Oh, dear Lord. This man was a dreadful person for mentioning such a thing to her. “I am leaving now, Your Grace. Good day.”

  She turned back around and noticed Randall running toward them. He at least wouldn’t notice anything between her and His Grace.

  “Miss White, Mrs. Thomas needs you now.”

  “Who is Mrs. Thomas?” the duke asked from behind her.

  “She is the wife of one of your tenants. She must be ready to deliver.” Selina opened her small valise to make certain she had everything she would need for a birth.

  “Oh,” he said in a stilted voice. “You must be off then.”

  “Off? I will need to run to make it on time. After four babies, this one may come before I get there.” She closed her valise and raced down the drive.

  Colin watched Miss White rush from the estate. His stomach suddenly ached. He strolled to the large reflecting pond where two swans paddled. Sitting on the concrete edge, he watched the birds swim.

  Turning around, he stared up at his ancestral home. Built two hundred years ago, it was a massive structure with more rooms than he would ever need. His mother used to hold large country parties here and filled the numerous bedchambers.

  For over an hour, he sat and looked at the house and grounds. Children should fill some of those bedrooms and run across the manicured gardens. There should be happiness here, not sorrow.

  Days like today, Colin wondered how his father would have advised him. Would the old duke understand Colin’s reluctance to live here? Considering his father remarried eighteen months after his mother’s death, Colin doubted the old duke would understand. Colin picked up a flat rock and skipped it across the water. He was certain his father would have told him to perform his duty as duke and mourn his wife for a year. Then find a new one and forget the first wife.

  Only it had never been that easy. Mary had been a very special woman. He’d never met a woman since who cared for people the way she had. He’d never loved a woman other than her . . . and never would again. She had taken his heart to the grave with her.

  His mind turned to the green-eyed woman who seemed to bother him far too much. She forced images into his mind that had no purpose and would only cause him frustration. He closed his eyes and remembered the way her breasts pressed against the fabric of her dress as she stood her ground with him. Her unbound hair had caressed her cheeks making him want to move the hair and let his fingers graze her skin.

  He blinked his eyes open in anger. The last woman he wanted in his bed was that little hoyden. He had to get her away. The temptation was far too great with her nearby. He felt guilty for asking her to leave while he was here but it was his estate and therefore his right. He had an obligation to Kate to make this wedding wonderful. He could not do that with Selina near, inciting his anger with her talk of medicine and herbs and her tempting scent driving him mad with desire.

  She had to leave.

  There was no other choice if he was to keep his sanity.

  “What are you doing out here again? I told you to keep that foot elevated.”

  Colin closed his eyes against the instant irritation he felt at being disturbed. It wasn’t the interruption that bothered him, but who disrupted his peace.

  “What are you doing here, Miss White?” he bit out.

  “I always come to the pond after a child is born.”

  She sat down on the wall and removed her short boots. She then reached under her skirts and pulled off her stockings. Colin stared at her delicate feet for a moment as awareness shot through him. She shivered as she dipped her feet into the water. The woman had no sense of propriety at all. Didn’t she understand showing her shapely calf to some men was an invitation to trouble?

  “The cold water would be good for your foot,” she said casually as if unaware of how inappropriate her actions were.

  “My foot is fine.” His gaze dropped to her slender bare legs rising from the water.

  She tilted her head up and stared at the sky. Slowly, she released a sigh. He stared at the long length of her neck and wondered if it would taste soft and sweet. Colin swore to himself. He had to stop that line of thinking.

  “It didn’t take long with Mrs. Thomas,” he commented, remembering the hours of agony Mary endured.

  “I barely made it in time. Mrs. Thomas was already to pushing when I arrived. Ten minutes later, the baby was born.”

  She made it sound so easy. Colin knew it wasn’t always so. “Why do you come here after a birth?”

  She shrugged again. “I don’t know. It’s just something I’ve done since my first delivery. After the excitement of helping a new life into the world, being here calms me.”

  “I take it Mrs. Thomas and her child are well?”

  “Yes,” she said with a wistful smile. “A healthy baby boy.”

  Colin looked away as pain seared his heart. Mary had been so insistent that she would deliver a boy for him. And she’d been right.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked softly.

  “Nothing.” He swung his legs around and stood. As long as she was here, he would never be able to forget what happened here. “Enjoy your peace . . . while you have it.”

  “While I have it . . . what do you mean?”

  “I want the cottage cleared out in the next week and you gone,” he said roughly.

  She turned around and stood with her hands on her hips. “How could you think to do such a thing? My family has been here as long as yours. My mother and grandmothers have kept your family safe from harm, helped birth your heirs, you included, and tended your family when sick.”

  “You are not a physician. You dabble in herbs and call yourself a healer. I don’t need a healer here. And I don’t need you here.” He turned to leave but stopped at the sound of her overconfident laugh.

  “You need me more than any of your relatives did, Your Grace.”

  He looked back at her trying to ignore the tears shimmering in her eyes. “I don’t need you.”

  “I won’t leave here. I have just as much right to be here as you do.”

  “Miss White, if you have not vacated the property within a week, I shall send for the constable.”

  “You will do what you must,” she said softly. “And so will I.”

  Selina strode back to her cottage determined not to let him run her off her property. He could call the constable or even the regent. She would never leave her family home. She flung the door open so hard it bounced against the wall, rattling the dishes in the cabinet.

  She walked into her bedroom and opened the trunk at the bottom of her bed. As she rifled through the mess of papers and things, tears blurred her eyes when she could not find what she needed. That document had to be here somewhere! Without it, she might have no choice but to leave her home.

  The late afternoon turned to evening. She opened the bottle of wine Mr. Thomas had given her as payment for her services this afternoon. Two glasses later, she went back to her search. There was still the bottom drawer of her desk to investigate.

  She opened the drawer and sifted through the old papers. She finally found what she’d been searching for and now he would never be able to make her leave. She sipped another glass of wine for fortification and then was ready to face her demon again. Armed with ammunition, she headed back to the duke’s house. No one would forcibly remove her from her cottage.

  A footman opened the door for her. “Welcome back, Miss White,” Randall said with a grin. “Shall I announce you?”

 
; “No, thank you, Randall. Where is the bastard?”

  Stilted footsteps sounded from upstairs. “The bastard is right here, Miss White.”

  She glanced up to see him glaring down at her. Did he actually think he could intimidate her by standing up there? He had a lot to learn about her.

  “I believe I asked you to leave,” he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

  She marched up the wide marble staircase, only grasping the rail once for support. “Hah! I have all the proof I need, right here,” she said, waving the paper in front of him.

  He shook his head. “You embarrass yourself, Miss White. Please leave before I call the footmen to escort you out.” He turned away and walked toward a long corridor.

  “Not until you read this paper.”

  He said nothing but continued to march away from her.

  Selina followed him quickly. “Don’t you dare walk away from me!” Spying a small pillow on a chair, she picked it up and hurled it at him. She smiled as it hit him directly between the shoulder blades. But her quick slice of happiness faded when he turned around with an ominous look on his face.

  He strode toward her with his fists clenched. She wanted to run but her legs seemed unable to move. Just as he reached her position, she turned to run.

  He caught her immediately and pushed her against the wall. “Who do you think you are to come into my home uninvited and order me to read some blasted paper you’ve found? I am master here and you . . . are nothing.”

  Selina gasped at the force of his words. Her eyes widened and her breath quickened. He stood only inches away from her and her senses filled with him. A hint of sandalwood drifted past her nose as he stood over her. Nothing! He thought she was worthless. He had no idea of her importance.

  “I am your wise woman, Your Grace,” she said slowly, enunciating each word with purpose.

  “No,” he whispered harshly, “you are not. You are nothing but a leech on my property. I want you gone.”

  “I have a paper that proves my right to stay.”

  He yanked the paper out of her hand and opened it. His lips twitched as he scanned the document. He handed the worn page to her and said, “You may know about herbs but you know nothing about the law.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He backed away from her with a shake of his head. “That paper gives your great-grandmother the right to live here into perpetuity.”

  “Exactly! Since I am her granddaughter, I also have that right.”

  “No, Miss White. Only your great-grandmother had that right. It does not give her progeny the same right.” He started to walk down the corridor again. “Good evening.”

  Selina couldn’t move. All these years she’d assumed she had the right to live on this land. But she didn’t. The duke could demand she leave for any reason. Whether it be blaming her mother for the death of his wife and child or the inane idea that as an uneducated woman she shouldn’t be attempting to heal people. She clutched her stomach in pain. She’d never questioned her right to live here. This land was her home too.

  There was nothing she could do now. Tears blurred her sight as she staggered to the staircase.

  Slowly, she walked down the stairs. Randall’s face was pale as she passed him.

  “I’m so sorry, Miss White,” he whispered with a quick glance up the stairs.

  “Thank you, Randall.”

  “It’s gotten dark, do you want me to have a footman escort you home?”

  She knew the estate was safe for her to walk even at night. Every one of the tenants was her friend. “No, I shall be fine.”

  She glanced back up the steps to see the duke staring at her.

  “At least take a lantern, miss,” Randall said so quietly the duke wouldn’t hear.

  “No, thank you, Randall,” she replied loudly. She glanced up at the duke, who stood at the railing glaring at her. “I know my way around this estate better than anyone . . . even the duke.”

  Chapter 5

  “When you are duke, every tenant is your responsibility.”

  The sound of his father’s voice echoed in his ears. Colin knew she’d aimed her barb directly at him for being gone so long. She dared to imply that she knew the land better than he did. He’d raced over the countryside as a child. He knew the dips and peaks in the land, where the rabbit holes were and the fox dens.

  Staring at the closed door, he realized that she had walked out the door without a candle or escort. “Randall, follow her home.”

  “She told me not to, Your Grace.” Randall looked down at the marble floor.

  The man was afraid of the woman. Dammit. He didn’t want to follow her but it was his duty. He winced slightly as he walked down the steps.

  “Open the door, Randall,” he demanded.

  “You’re going out, sir?”

  “Yes. You should have insisted she take a footman with her,” Colin chided. “There are wild animals out there.” Not to mention tenants he didn’t even know any longer. Any one of them might try to harm her.

  “I’m sorry, Your Grace. It will never happen again.”

  Colin breathed in the fragrant June air. He could just make out her yellow muslin as she walked along the tree line. Foolish woman didn’t know enough to stay away from the trees where the animals might be hiding.

  Not wanting to get into another argument with her, he trailed behind her. The full moon cast a white light on her golden hair. Her full hips swayed under her skirts suddenly spreading lurid thoughts into his head. With her fire, he could only imagine what she would be like in bed. Lusty. Wanton.

  Christ. What the bloody hell was wrong with him? He didn’t desire the termagant. He wanted her off his property. He wanted her and the memories she brought gone.

  Or did he just want the temptation she wrought removed?

  “I know you’re back there but I do wonder why.”

  “Until you leave my property, you are my responsibility.”

  “No, I am no one’s care. I am nothing, just a poor woman with no home. I am certainly not your burden.”

  Guilt sliced into him, but he pushed the feeling down. He walked a few steps behind her as the scent of lavender filled the air. He knew it came from her. The scent had swirled around him during his rage in the hall. She was as she’d said, just a poor woman and now he was taking her home away from her.

  But he would not give in to the guilt. He’d had enough regrets for his actions over the past eight years. “I will speak with the Earl of Hartsfield. He seems to have great respect for his wise women. I am certain he would love to have another.”

  “Stupid man,” she mumbled under her breath.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Hartsfield already has two wise women. Why would he need another?”

  Colin went silent for a moment. “At least he will take you in.”

  “Oh, then it must be for the best. After all, one of my ancestors has taken care of this estate and your family for centuries but you obviously don’t need one.”

  He blew out a breath. “There is more to this than that.”

  She turned around sharply, almost running into him. “And what exactly is it?”

  How could he begin to explain his reasoning when he didn’t know himself? It was simpler to give the answer she would assume. “I cannot have the reminder here.”

  “Reminder of what?”

  “Why my wife and son died,” he muttered, staring off into the forest. “I need you to leave so I don’t have to relive it every day that I’m here.”

  “Until you realize there was nothing,” she paused briefly, “my mother could have done, you will never heal. It was God’s will. I see it all the time. People die before they should and there is nothing I can do about it. God knows I wish I could.”

  God’s will.

  How many people had tried to tell him that? But he knew it wasn’t God’s will. It had not been God who insisted Mary deliver at the estate. He’d wanted his heir born at the estate ju
st as he’d been born here. He was the reason Mary died that day. She’d wanted to remain in London near her mother for the birth. But he’d insisted that his heir would be born at the ducal estate. Just as all the previous dukes had been born here.

  Miss White turned back around and headed for her cottage. “Good night, Your Grace.”

  “Good night, Miss White.”

  Once he saw that she was inside and a candle flickered, he headed back to the estate . . . alone with his guilt.

  Two days had passed with no sign of Miss White. Not that he’d had time to even think about her with the workers arriving daily to get the house in order for the wedding. But today, he left instructions for the foreman and then departed for a ride.

  He flicked the reins of his gelding and headed toward her cottage. As he approached, he saw nothing to indicate she was in residence. Perhaps she had already found accommodations elsewhere. He slowly jumped down and walked to her window. Peering in, he noticed a bowl on the table and the embers in the fireplace. It appeared she’d made no effort to start packing her things.

  He would have to speak with her again and insist she make arrangements. Or perhaps it was time to do that for her.

  He climbed back on Zeus and headed toward Hart’s lands. As he rode, he nodded to several tenants, only to have them turn their backs at him. What was that about? He could only guess that they were displeased that he hadn’t visited yet. But with the workers arriving daily, he had to make certain they knew what needed to be done. Tomorrow, he would make the effort to greet his tenants.

  Urging Zeus to a run, he flew across the countryside. He had missed getting a good ride every morning. Finally, he slowed his horse to stop when he reached Hart’s stables. He climbed down and handed the reins to a lad.

  “Give him a good rubdown, boy,” Colin said and tossed him a coin.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “That’s Yer Grace,” an older man said and whacked the boy on the backside of the head.