They had worked on the plan for two days and now that it was time to implement it, Selina worried what would happen to the people involved if they were caught. The duke would likely evict them for disobeying his commands. She couldn’t be responsible for that.
“Maybe I should just go live with Mrs. Featherstone,” she said softly.
“Absolutely not,” Mrs. Roberts said as she approached the wagon.
“Mrs. Roberts, think what might happen to you and your husband should the duke discover you were a part of this scheme,” she implored the older woman.
“He will never find out.” Mrs. Roberts looked at the other men involved. “But if any of you men feel unsure of helping out Miss White, just speak up.”
Mr. Evans and his son both shook their heads. “If not for you, Miss White, my wife might be dead from that fever last year,” Mr. Evans said.
David laughed. “My mama says I wouldn’t be here if not for yer mother helping with the delivery. I owe ye everything.”
“Very well, then,” she said. With all this support, they would make their plan work. With a flick of the reins, the wagon rumbled down the road. Selina cast a quick glance back in the direction the duke had left, but there was no sign of him.
A slice of disappointment slid through her. Why should she be unhappy that he wasn’t here to watch her leave? It made no sense. Had he been there, she would have felt angry that he did ensure that she left. Perhaps she was just going mad. That seemed the most likely explanation.
After a short drive, Mr. Evans stopped the wagon. She and David climbed down and made their way through the small copse of woods toward the house.
“Randall will give a sign that the master is locked in his study,” David whispered as if the duke might be directly behind them.
He locked himself in his study. She wondered why he would do such a thing. “What is the sign?”
“He will chase the swans out of the pond.”
Selina almost laughed. Unless Randall walked into the pond, she doubted those stubborn birds would go anywhere. They waited for close to an hour and then they saw Randall flapping his arms as he attempted to make the swans fly. He finally stepped into the pond and ran toward the birds. Only the swans wanted no part of this and turned on Randall, honking and flapping their wings.
“We need to go save that boy before they attack him,” Selina said with a laugh.
With a breath for courage, Selina ran for the salvation the enormous house would bring her. As they raced past Randall, David yelled at him to get out of the pond. Once they reached the terrace, Selina stopped near a statue of Venus. She caught her breath and noticed Mr. Roberts standing by the terrace door. He waved for her to come inside.
“The duke is in his study,” Mr. Roberts said as he ushered her up the back staircase.
“Why does he lock himself inside?”
“I believe when things are troubling him, he may take to the spirits.”
Her heart went out to the man who mourned his wife so deeply that after eight years, he still couldn’t get over her. She wondered if his upcoming marriage was only out of duty to produce an heir. How sad that his new wife would never know the love he gave to his first wife.
What was wrong with her? This was the man who had evicted her from her home and she was feeling sorry for him! Not for a moment longer, she decided. Some people might consider her softhearted, but she would harden her heart where he was concerned. He hadn’t a thought for her, and she would do the same for him.
She followed Mr. Roberts up the stairs to a third-floor bedroom. He opened the door to what might be a bright room . . . on a different day. She glanced out the window and noticed the clouds had finally given way to the rain they held.
“Here you are, miss,” Mr. Roberts said with a kind smile. “When the duke is out of the house, you’re free to come down. I’ll have a footman send up a tray for your meals.”
“What if one of the tenants needs me?”
“All the footmen who watch the door know you are here. It’s only those snooty London men we need to watch out for. If you are needed at a home, we’ll let you know straightaway.”
“Thank you, Mr. Roberts.”
“If you need anything, just ring.” Mr. Roberts closed the door behind him, cloaking her in her secret chamber.
Selina smiled as she looked at the bed that would be hers for a short while. The cherry four-poster bed was huge compared to the small bed in her cottage. The bedchamber was nearly as big as her entire home. For a brief moment, she wondered what it would be like to live in this luxury every day. She couldn’t imagine having a maid wake her in the morning with a cup of chocolate on a tray. Or dressing in fine silk gowns for a ball.
She wasn’t meant for that type of life.
As she glanced about, she realized that while beautiful, this room was her prison for the next two months. While Mr. Roberts had told her she could come downstairs if the duke was out, she really didn’t have access to the rest of the house. She couldn’t entertain her friends in here.
But it would all be worth it, she tried to convince herself.
Once he left for London with his bride, she would be free again.
Colin walked out toward the reflecting pond as darkness settled over the estate. He’d lived alone for the past eight years, other than when his stepmother and sister paid a visit. After the first year of mourning, he had not come to enjoy the solitude, but he at least could tolerate it. So why did he feel such dreaded loneliness at this estate?
Was it just the idea that his wife had died here? Or could there possibly be more to his morose feelings tonight?
It certainly wasn’t because he’d made Miss White leave.
She needed to be gone while he was here. He needed no reminders of eight years ago. There were enough memories here that would never leave. And he needed the temptation she brought as far away as possible. He’d promised himself that he would never put his heart at risk again. While he doubted he could fall in love with such a woman, he did desire her.
He sipped the last of his brandy and placed the snifter on the concrete edge of the pond. For a long moment, he stared up at the stars. He wondered if there were any other planets out there like this. Was there another man a million miles away staring up at the stars wondering the same thing? Colin shook his head. Perhaps that third brandy was one too many tonight.
He glanced back at the house as a candle flickered from a third-floor bedroom. Who would be there at this hour? He had never asked his servants to clean round the clock in preparation for the wedding. As he watched, a figure dressed in white passed in front of the window. The woman didn’t stop long enough for him to make out who it might be but he knew whoever it was, she was not one of the elderly servants he had in service.
As he stared up at the window, the figure passed by the window again. She moved swiftly, unlike most of the servants in the house, so he discounted the idea that one of them might be upstairs. He knew exactly who that woman was . . . Mary. Or rather, the ghost of Mary. There was no other logical explanation, not that believing in spirits held much logic. He stared up at the window, unable to look away. The specter never returned to the window and within a few moments, the room went dark.
The house was more than just a vessel for bad memories. It contained her spirit. She’d never left. No wonder he always felt so uncomfortable in the house.
Having this wedding here was a dreadful idea. Perhaps he could write to Kate and tell her so. Not that he could inform her that the house was haunted. She would think he needed to spend some time at Bedlam.
And perhaps he had.
But there was no other explanation for seeing a woman in the room upstairs. Either she was a ghost or he really had gone mad. Both thoughts left him cold.
He had to find out what was going on up there. He raced up the two flights of stairs and then stopped in the hall. Thinking back, he couldn’t remember exactly in which, of the many windows, he had seen the appariti
on. He stood still and listened. Not a sound could be heard from any of the rooms. No chains rattling, no footsteps, or moaning. Absolute silence filled the area. As if to prove he wasn’t mad, he opened the doors to two bedchambers and found nothing but dark rooms with white coverings.
He really was going insane.
Selina spent the first few days in her bedroom prison. Several times during the day, Mrs. Roberts would join her and they would chat. But for the most part, her day was dreadfully dull. The tenants were all quite well and didn’t need her services. The duke seemed to spend his days in his study. According to Mrs. Roberts, he never left the room and looked quite peaked. Selina thought about checking on him but knew he would not appreciate her interference.
After eating a lonely dinner tonight, she sat at the table next to the window and longingly stared outside. Dark clouds filled the horizon warning of an impending storm. A knock on her door broke the silence.
“Miss, it’s Randall,” he whispered from the hall. “Please let me in.”
Selina rushed to the door and let him in. “What’s the matter? Did the duke see you bring up the tray?”
“No,” he said with a laugh. “It’s Mrs. Wells, miss. It’s her time.”
“Of course,” she replied. “I’ll get my things.”
Quickly she packed her satchel and herbs. She prayed this would go smoothly. She had been able to sneak out for a short time yesterday morning to call on Susan. Selina had still felt no movements from the baby. Susan was optimistic and said she was certain she’d felt a few slight kicks.
“I’ll escort you out of the house,” Randall said with a smile. “But I can’t accompany you.”
“There’s no need, Randall. I don’t usually have someone with me.”
“All right, miss.” Randall opened the door, and peered right and then left. “It’s clear.”
Feeling like a spy in the war, she tiptoed down the corridor, trailing Randall. Once outside, she raced toward Susan’s small home. As it was a first birth, Selina would most likely spend the night there. Rain sprinkled down on her but she ignored the cool sensation.
Several candles blazed in the small cottage. Selina knocked on the door and Susan’s mother opened it. “Oh, thank God, you’re here, Selina. I fear this won’t go well,” Mrs. Jones whispered. “It’s only been three hours but she’s in terrible pains.”
“Let me check on her.”
Mrs. Jones led her past Mr. Wells who looked as if he might faint. “Outside, Mr. Wells. Miss White is here now,” Mrs. Jones ordered.
Once inside the bedroom, Selina pressed her lips together. Susan appeared pale and sweaty. “Susan, how are the pains?”
“Awful,” she gasped. “You said they would start slow but they didn’t. I want to push already.”
Selina thrust away her emotions and set to work.
Colin walked the length of his library as he sipped his brandy. No matter what he’d tried today, he couldn’t get the image of that specter out of his mind. He looked down at his snifter of brandy. Perhaps he was drinking more than normal. Although, he didn’t think that was the cause of his delusions. He had seen someone or something upstairs. For the past few nights, he had gone to the pond and stared up at the house. He had seen nothing to make him believe there was anything unnatural upstairs.
A knock sounded on the door to the library. “Come in.”
A pallid Mr. Roberts entered the room. “Excuse me, Your Grace.”
“What’s the matter, Roberts? You look white as a ghost.” Did he really just say ghost? He had ghouls on the mind tonight.
Roberts looked away. “It’s Mrs. Wells, sir.”
Mr. Wells had been the blacksmith on the estate for ten years but Colin didn’t remember hearing about him marrying. “What is wrong?”
“She delivered a stillborn girl tonight, Your Grace.”
He closed his eyes against the instant pain he felt. This was his fault again. He forced Miss White to leave. She might have been able to help Mrs. Wells. “I will speak with them in the morning. Thank you for letting me know.”
“Good night, Your Grace.”
“Good night, Roberts.”
Damn her!
No, damn him.
This was his fault for forcing her to leave. His servants and tenants would despise him for evicting her. They would never forgive him. Just another thing to blame on him. The tenants and servants loved her. And with good reason; she took care of them far better than he had the past eight years.
Selina. With her curly, blond hair and emerald eyes.
He had to stop thinking about her.
If it wasn’t guilt he felt, then he thought about her physical attributes. Her full, pink lips that just begged to be kissed. Or her breasts that would just fit in his hands. There was something dreadfully wrong with him. He didn’t want her on his land.
But he wanted her in his bed.
He walked the length of the room again. Why wasn’t this brandy making him tired? Or easing his frustrations?
If not for the rain, he would have taken a walk. He walked to the terrace door and opened it. Rain continued to fall but not as hard as earlier. A figure with blond hair caught his eye. She paced the length of the reflecting pond. He blinked to make sure he wasn’t dreaming or worse, imagining a spirit again.
It had to be her. But what was she doing here? She should be ensconced in Mrs. Featherstone’s warm home tonight, not out in the cold rain.
He placed his glass on the table and headed out into the night. As he approached her, she looked up, shook her head, and then held up her hand as if to stop him.
“Please just let me have my one place to calm myself,” she all but shouted at him.
Taken aback by her frantic tone, he slowed his pace. “What is wrong, Miss White?”
“Just leave me alone,” she sobbed and then wiped at her face. “I should have prepared her for the possibility,” she mumbled. “I should have told her this might happen.”
Colin took a few steps closer, drawn to the pain he saw in her eyes. “What happened, Selina?”
Her lower lip trembled as she stared at the water. “She was a beautiful baby. Blond hair and blue eyes. Lifeless blue eyes,” she cried.
Mrs. Wells’s baby. “Were you here for the delivery?”
“Of course I was here.” Her sadness turned to anger, directed at him. “Did you think if you forced me to leave that I would give up my duties here? Did you think I wouldn’t run here and help the people I love?”
“I honestly never thought about it,” he whispered. The wind blew tendrils of blond hair over her face. Without a thought, he brushed them away.
“You can’t stop me from doing my duty to this land and the people who live here. I won’t stop. You’ll have to send me to prison because nothing else will stop me,” she shouted her frustrations at him.
But her words never reached his ears. All he saw was the pain in her eyes and he wanted to comfort her. Ease her troubles. Make her understand all his reasons for wanting her to leave.
He stepped closer and pulled her into his arms. Expecting she would push away, he wrapped his arms around her tightly. Her head landed on his chest and after a quick pound to his chest, she wept.
“Why?” she mumbled. “Why does God have to be so cruel sometimes?”
“I don’t know,” he said against her hair.
“It’s not fair. She’d had such an easy time of it. No morning sickness, no problems at all. Why didn’t the baby survive?”
“Shh,” he whispered, unable to think of a word to say that would comfort her. He closed his eyes only to relive his own anguish at the loss of his wife and child.
“I didn’t feel movement the last few times I saw her. I should have prepared her for the outcome.”
He had no idea what to say to her so he continued to hold her close.
“Why couldn’t I have saved her?” She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
Unable to move for a long mom
ent, he just stared at her. She needed his comfort, his warmth, and God knew he needed the same from her. Slowly, he brought his lips to hers.
A gasp of shock was all he heard from her. He moved over her lips as desire crept over him. Waiting for her to push him away, he tentatively slid his tongue over her full lips. Her hands moved to his chest but instead of forcing him away, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Wanting nothing more than to take her pain away, he tugged her body against his. They were both soaked from the rain but he didn’t mind. Their heat warmed them. Passion flared as he skimmed his tongue over the crease of her lips again. Only this time, she opened for him.
The sensation of her velvety tongue on his almost sent him over the edge. He wanted to lay her down on the wet grass and make love to her for hours. As she responded to his kiss, he heard a low moan from her throat.
God, this wasn’t right. He couldn’t want her like this. He couldn’t make love to her all night. But his body wouldn’t listen to reason. He trailed his hands down her back and cupped her buttocks.
She moaned again as he pressed her hips to his growing erection. He wanted to slip into her warm depths and watch her face as she reached her climax. He wanted to release his pent-up frustrations and feel that moment of pure pleasure.
He wanted—
She thrust him away. “Oh dear Lord, what were you doing?”
He blinked and shook his head. “What was I doing? I believe you were doing it too.”
“That may be, but I am not engaged!”
Chapter 7
Selina raced to the woods to get away from the duke. Hiding behind a tree, she watched as he searched for her. She prayed the darkness would conceal her position. She didn’t want to hear his reasons for kissing her. Or face the fact that her body betrayed her.
“Selina, come out of hiding. I need to take you home,” he said, impatience lining his voice. “It’s raining and I believe we would both feel better if we talked about what happened in dry clothing by a warm fire.”
Bewitching the Duke Page 6