“I thought about very little else in the attic. I did not even have a book to read to keep me occupied, and so I made plans of what I would do when I finally escaped from Dandridge Hall. And I decided I would make my way to an employment registry and find myself a suitable position as a governess. There, my accommodation and sustenance problems solved in an instant.”
“Well, perhaps you should rest a few days here before you make any big decisions, Miss Winfield. After all, you have been through a good deal these last months, have you not?”
“I should be very grateful, Your Grace. And I promise to keep to this room and not give you away to your servants.”
“I would not want them to say anything in town which might get back to your stepfather.” He smiled at her.
“Thank you.”
“And I will see what I can do about getting some of your clothes,” he said and began to chuckle as he looked at the worn-looking pile of men’s clothes that she had neatly folded and left at the end of the bed.
“I am sure that Violet can spirit away some of my things without anybody ever knowing. She is cleverer than all of them stitched together.”
“She most certainly is.” He laughed and rose to his feet to retrieve the teapot.
However, as he moved, he caught his tailcoat on the bedpost, and it tugged wildly at the fabric. There was a clatter as something fell out of the inside pocket of his coat and landed on the floor. They both looked down, staring at the little golden mask Ella had worn to the masquerade ball.
Ella began to laugh. She reached for it and held it in her hands, turning it over and over. As she did, the Duke turned and studied the little pile of dark clothes again. Slowly, very slowly, realization clearly began to dawn.
“Last night when I handed you the men’s clothes, you said it would not be for the first time, did you not?”
“I believe I did,” she said and kept her focus on the mask.
“You have worn them before, have you not?”
“I have,” she said but would not meet his gaze.
Ella knew that the truth was about to come out, all of it, and she realized that she no longer feared it. If anything, after all that had happened now, she had a curious feeling that she was about to burst out laughing again. Her shoulders began to shake with the effort of trying to hold it in.
“Was that you? That scruffy little man outside my club? Was that really you?” the Duke said, and finally, the laughter broke free.
“It was me, Your Grace,” she said between gasps. “You must forgive me, but I did it with your best interests at heart. You see, I had overheard everything, and I knew how your attorney sought to mislead you. But I had never realized how far he would go, and in truth, I can quite imagine that Mr Mercer himself had not realized it would all get so very out of hand.”
“And so it was you who sent me the second letter? You are my well-wisher ?”
Ella did not answer him; she simply raised the little mask to her face and turned to him.
“My goodness … it was you all along. You are my masked woman,” he said and stared at her, his dark eyes wide, and his handsome face a picture of surprise. “But of course it is you, who else could it be? What other woman of my acquaintance would be bold enough to sneak into a masquerade ball and tease a Duke?” And suddenly, without warning, he threw his head back and boomed with laughter.
Chapter 31
The rest of that day seemed to speed by in a haze of activity. Rufus had sat back down on the bed and excitedly demanded that Ella tell him every bit of her tale from beginning to end, from the moment she had decided to be an interloper at the ball to the very moment he had rescued her.
He had been amazed at every turn and even more amazed that she could ever have thought that he would be angry with her, or even think her undignified for the eavesdropper that she clearly was.
Rufus did not think her undignified at all, but adventurous and spirited and beautiful. He laughed and laughed throughout the whole thing, only becoming serious when the depths to which his old attorney had sunk became clear.
He really had been prepared to put his master at risk, although Ella was keen to ensure him that the man had sounded most ill at ease with it. And she had pointed out what a terribly overbearing and intimidating character the Earl could be, especially to those who were beneath him.
In the end, Rufus had decided that he must see Henry that day. He must talk to him and tell him that he knew it all and ask him why he had done it.
And so it was that he left Ella in the room once more so that he could ride out to the home of Henry Mercer.
When Henry’s housekeeper showed Rufus into his small but neat drawing room, the look on the old attorney’s face clearly demonstrated that he knew that all was known to his master.
“Your Grace, I know why you are here.”
“Good, I am glad that you know, and I am glad that we do not have to discuss every detail of it. But I do know everything, Henry. Everything except for why .”
“I needed the money,” he said simply. “I have made some very poor investments of late and have found that I have now very little to sustain me in my old age when I can no longer work. I realize that that was not your fault, but my own, and yet I could see no other way out. Forgive me, Your Grace, but I knew that it would hardly matter to you which of the young ladies you finally married, for you would never love any of them. And so it was that I dropped hints, very subtle hints, each time I introduced myself to a prospective father of the bride. It may not surprise you to know that the Earl of Dandridge was the only one who picked up upon it. He seized upon it, in fact.”
“Tell me, Henry, tell me that he brought pressure to bear.”
“I wish I could blame him entirely, Your Grace. I wish I could play the misguided innocent and have you forgive me, but I cannot. I knew what I was doing from the very first, and when it progressed so very far, I had no idea how to get out of it. I have no excuses, and I shall not try to make any. But I do apologize, Your Grace, because I truly am so sorry.”
“I know you are, Henry,” Rufus said and paused for a moment, not trusting his voice to remain steady as he spoke. The emotion was so great that it took him by surprise. He remained there standing in the middle of Henry Mercer’s drawing room like a silent statue for some moments whilst he gathered himself. “And I do forgive you.”
“You forgive me?” Henry said incredulously, and it was obviously the last thing he had expected to hear.
“I forgive you if you will forgive me,” Rufus went on quietly.
“But there is nothing that I ought to forgive you for, Your Grace. You have done nothing wrong, and you never have.”
“If I had been a better friend to you, Henry, I would have known of your worries. I would have known of your financial mistakes, and you would have felt able to speak to me on the matter. If I had been a better friend to you, Henry, the matter of money would not have been an issue. It would have been a small problem for me to solve.”
“You have always been a good friend to me, Your Grace, as was your father before you.”
“But not such good friends that either one of us took the care to find out about your life away from Hillington Hall. Well, all of that is going to change, my old friend.”
“You mean …?”
“Give yourself a few days to get over things, and let us go back to where we were before. What do you say? Shall I see you in the study at Hillington Hall come Monday?”
“Of course, Your Grace. Truly, I do not know how to thank you.”
“Well, you might be able to assist me with a brand-new problem, my dear chap,” Rufus said, loudly light-hearted and keen to dispel the awkwardness. “For you see, I have stolen the Earl of Dandridge’s stepdaughter, and now I do not know what to do with her,” he said with an elaborate shrug.
“You have stolen her , Your Grace?” Henry looked so shocked that Rufus could only laugh.
And then he settled himself down in the
armchair opposite his old friend and attorney and began to tell him everything.
When he had finished at Henry Mercer’s home, Rufus felt much more light-hearted. He knew that he could have blamed Henry and nursed his own feelings of betrayal always, but what good would it serve? He had not been entirely blameless in the whole thing, and it was clear that Henry had not known what else to do. He would not banish him for one error; for one error in so many years was surely something that ought easily to be forgiven.
He felt relieved that he would see him again, that things would continue as they had always done. Honesty was certainly the best policy, and he had told the truth every bit as much as Henry. It had cleared the air between them and had done so much to make it right again.
As he began to head for home, he decided that he would use a little more of that honesty. He would not pressure her, but he would go straight up to that room and tell Ella Winfield exactly how he felt about her. And, if she chose to go out into the world on her own and make her life as a governess, he would do whatever he could to help her. He would open his heart, tell the truth, and accept whatever fell out of the whole thing.
By the time he reached her door and knocked loudly on it, his nerves were almost as high up as his spirits. But still, he determined that he would say all of it, tell her everything, come what may.
Ella was sitting on the bed wearing the breeches and shirt and waistcoat, clearly tired of mooching about the room in his old robe. She was reading one of the books that he had left to keep her company whilst he was away, and she seemed fully engrossed.
“Can I interrupt?” he said with a smile.
“Yes, of course, Your Grace. Did everything go as planned? Have you seen Mr Mercer?”
“Yes, and we have straightened the whole thing out between us.”
“Really?” She closed her book and sat bolt upright on the bed full of interest.
“He was suffering from a dreadful financial worry, and I genuinely believe that things got away from him, got out of hand before he knew quite what to do about it.”
“And so you have forgiven him?” she said gently, her bright blue eyes staring up into his own.
“I have forgiven him, and I have asked him to forgive me. For if I had been a true friend to him, Henry Mercer could have come to me with his problems instead of trying to solve them in a most convoluted fashion.”
“Violet was right about you … you really are such a very good man.”
“I like Violet better and better every day,” he said and laughed. “As I like you better and better every day.” He stared back into her eyes and was pleased that she did not look away.
“You do?” she said quietly.
“Ella, I know we have had a most peculiar start, but I feel as if I have come to know you very well. And I realized something today, something that I would like to tell you.”
“What is that?”
“I realize that I have only truly been in love twice in my life.”
“Twice?” she said quizzically.
“Yes, and it turns out that both times it was with the same woman,” he said and reached around her to pick the golden mask up from the nightstand. He gently placed it against her face and tied the little ribbon at the back of her head.
She chuckled, such a sweet sound, and he found he could do no other than pull her into his arms and kiss her. And when she kissed him back with equal passion, Rufus knew that he had finally found what he had sought for so many years.
Epilogue
“I must admit that I am sad that Violet cannot be there. I should so much have liked her to see me married.”
“I know, Ella, but it was just impossible. She could not have managed to get away from the hall to come up to Scotland with us so suddenly. She would have lost her position immediately, and the Earl would very likely be hot on our heels, doing what he could to prevent us getting married.”
“I can hardly believe that I am eloping. It is very exciting when you think about it, is it not?”
“It strikes me, Ella, that you are no stranger to excitement, and I think now that I have you in my life, I will be no stranger to excitement either.”
“I must admit I am a little adventurous at times.”
“Oh, you mean sneaking into a ball and running away, dropping your mask and disappearing into the night? Dressing as a scruffy little man to hand me a note outside my club having escaped from your home in the dark of night? Or perhaps you mean climbing out of the window like a little monkey at the circus?” He laughed loudly and put his arm around her. “I am only pleased that you are going to be getting married in a gown and not breeches.”
“What a good thing that Lady Brightwell is so similar in size to me. She really does have wonderful taste, does she not?” Ella said and looked down at herself approvingly. “I cannot think that I have ever been so well-dressed.”
“You always look beautiful, Ella,” Rufus said and put his arm around her as the carriage rumbled on into the sunshine. “Always.” He pulled her to him and kissed her again.
“I will never tire of you doing that, Rufus. When we are married, will you kiss me every day?”
“I will kiss you every day, every luncheon, and every night. And then I will kiss you every ten minutes in between.”
“What a wonderful life I am to have,” she said and traced her fingers down his handsome dark face as she looked into his eyes. “And I really do love you, Rufus. I have loved you for quite a long time.”
“And I have loved you for quite a long time too, Ella.” He laughed. “I will love you forever.”
“And when we return home, we will be married. There will be nobody on earth who can part us, and not a thing that my mother’s husband can do to upset us.”
“That is very true, my love.”
“But I wonder, is there a way that I could have my dear Violet with me? Could you not steal her away from Dandridge Hall just as you stole me away?”
“Well, I would certainly take her without references,” Rufus said and laughed. “But I hardly think that we can take Violet without taking that young man she speaks of.”
“Oh yes, William. You would like William. It was William who drove me out that night in the cart so that I might sneak into the ball. And he waited for me out in the woodlands on your estate, ready to spirit me away again.”
“Well, then I shall certainly steal William away too, whether he likes it or not.”
“I think they would both be very pleased, Rufus. And it would mean more to me than I can possibly tell you. Violet and William were my only friends in my darkest hours. Apart from you, of course, who was every bit the friend to me that they were. I would never have managed it without you all.”
“And you never shall have to manage without any of us ever again. I promise you that.”
“Thank you, my darling,” she said and leaned her head on his chest, feeling suddenly so tired.
“Sleep a while … we are nowhere near Scotland yet. Gretna Green is some days away, my dear.” She could feel Rufus’s deep laugh inside her body, almost as if it were her own.
As the carriage rumbled northwards, bound for Scotland, Ella knew that she had never been so content in all her life.
She had never been as happy as she was at that moment.
THE END
Can't get enough of Ella and Rufus? Then make sure to check out the Extended Epilogue to find out…
Will Ella be able to forgive her own mother?
What happened to the cruel Earl of Dandridge?
Did Violet and William end up together?
Click the link or enter it into your browser
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(After reading the Extended Epilogue, turn the page to read the first chapters from “A Bride for the Betrayed Earl”, my Amazon Best-Selling novel!)
A Bride for the Betrayed Earl
Introduction
When Hunter Bentley, the Earl of Addison, returns from Scotland, it is to find
that the love of his life has married another. On a mission of mercy to see his beloved father through his final days in the country he loved, Hunter is unaware that the woman he was set to marry, feeling neglected by his absence, has accepted a proposal of marriage from the Duke of Galcross. Still, Lady Felicity Morgan was always a little spoiled and a little ambitious.
Weeks later, Emmeline Fitzgerald suffers the worst humiliation of her life. Just months after the death of her beloved father, the man she is set to marry publicly announces his engagement to another. Feeling all eyes on her, Emmeline almost turns to run, but her dignity is saved by none other than the Earl of Addison. Within days the Earl, a man she barely knows, makes her a most unusual proposal; a marriage of convenience. He is looking for a wife so that he might produce an heir to his title and estate. She needs a husband of means to save her, her mother, and sister from financial ruin when her second cousin, Kent Fitzgerald, finally inherits her father’s estate some months after his passing.
Kind Ella and the Charming Duke: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 26