Loving A Lady: A Clean & Sweet Regency Historical Romance Book

by Ayles, Abby

  “She doesn’t really know what she is talking about,” Noelle told him. “She’s always been a tad spoiled and she has indeed never wanted for anything, so how can she ever understand that the vast majority of people are not as fortunate?”

  He looked at her thoughtfully, clearly appreciating her candor. His mother looked a bit shocked as she explained this. It was probably not common for a lady to tell such stories about a duchess.

  Noelle was just so tired of pretending that everything was as she wanted it to be. She was tired of having to follow what the ton dictated, and she was tired of letting other people control her life. It had gotten her nowhere.

  She didn’t imagine that no one had ever thought that people like her and the duchess were spoiled. In fact, she thought that perhaps part of why Mrs. Edwards looked so shocked was because she didn’t expect Noelle to confirm her beliefs.

  “I wish that there was something that I could do, some magic incantation that I could recite that would allow me to leave the ton for once and for all,” Noelle said to Mr. Edwards. “For I believe that titles are pointless and don’t matter at all in the end.”

  Mr. Edwards gazed at her appreciatively. “I believe the very same thing,” he replied. “All that they seem to do is get people all in a fuss over nothing.”

  His mother was watching the two of them with a funny sort of expression on her face. She appeared as though she had something on her mind. Noelle didn’t know what she could be thinking but she thought that it had to be something good.

  “Well, while we’re out here, I think that I should pay a visit to dear Alexander,” his mother said. Noelle wondered if she was trying to give them an excuse for some time alone. But Mr. Edwards did not pick up on this.

  “A splendid idea,” he replied, looking from his mother to Noelle. “What say you to a visit to Westwood? I thought that my cousin would be too busy to entertain this weekend, but it turns out that he is at home.”

  Noelle smiled and nodded her head, excited to see Lord Edwards again. She hoped that this man would be at least as forgiving as Mr. Edwards had been towards her. She didn’t believe that Lord Edwards was angry at her for the horrible words that her mother had said to him and Miss Tate.

  “Why, I think that’s a wonderful idea,” she said in agreement.

  Since they were already walking along the land belonging to the Earl of Montgomery, it wasn’t a very long walk before they were at the front door of Westwood, waiting for a servant to invite them inside. As soon as this happened, they were sitting inside the drawing room, awaiting Lord Edwards or perhaps his father – though Noelle did not expect the reclusive gentleman to come greet them of his own volition.

  Mother would likely think that this is very improper of him, she thought. But she never was the most compassionate person. This fact should surprise no one.

  Noelle wondered if this anger towards her mother was all in fact genuine or if some of it was misdirected anger at the Duke of Cumberland still. After all, he was the person who had really sullied her belief in titles and societal rules. Before everything had happened, she’d thought her mother was entertaining and harmless.

  She supposed that Catherine’s hurried wedding and disappearance had made everyone quite a bit distrusting of one another. She hoped that things would go back to normal soon, now that Catherine was confirmed to be safely back at home from their trip to Scotland.

  Before too long, Lord Edwards appeared in the room. Miss Tate was with him, and they were also joined by the Earl of Montgomery, who seemed a great deal friendlier than he had been the last time Noelle met him. She wondered if Miss Tate had some kind of power to her that put everyone at ease.

  Noelle rejoiced that the young gentleman was now so happy with his new match. She walked back through the grass and trees with Mr. Edwards and his mother after spending a considerable portion of the afternoon with Lord Edwards, his father and their guest.

  She was quite sad to quit the manor after such a short stay, but Mr. Edwards assured her that she would be invited back, and soon. “Thank you so much for coming to spend some more time with me,” he said to her appreciatively. “I hope that it shall not be too long before you are here in Hertfordshire again.”

  “I shall always be willing to come provided that you invite me,” Noelle said to him with a grin. She got into her coach and waved farewell to him and his mother. How strange it is that this pleasant little cottage should now feel more like home than the townhouse in Grosvenor Square where I have spent so many a Season!

  There was no accounting for it, really, other than the important facts that the cottage was more pleasantly located and the members of the household all the more kind and enjoyable for her to be with.

  Chapter 38

  Rodrick was so very sad to bid adieu to Lady Noelle after her short stay at Wildhill. He thought that her every visit was a pleasant one and so carefree that it was often easy to forget that the lady was a member of the noble class at all. To be sure, she certainly acted like a lady, but she was so easy-going and fun to spend time with that he thought of her more as a member of his intimate circle of friends and family than as a high-ranking person in the ton.

  As soon as her carriage was on its way back to London, he wished that he could send along another invitation to stay at his home. He couldn’t think of another occasion for her to do so, other than because he wished to spend more time with her. Walking through the woods behind his house with her had been quite enjoyable and he wondered what such an excursion should be like if his mother did not join them.

  He felt that such a thing would be scandalous. He was not supposed to go off wandering with a lady without a chaperone! Her father would never allow such a thing.

  Ah, that is so, but I can still dream about it, Rodrick thought. Days spent alone with her, getting to know some more of the thoughts and dreams in her own mind. Getting to know her away from the maddening crowd.

  Such a thing was currently his biggest dream. Rodrick had never asked for much out of life, but he wished like anything that Lady Noelle could be his wife. Discussing titles and the way she disagreed with her mother had got it into his head that she and he saw more eye to eye about such things than anyone he had ever gotten along with before.

  Even James, his closest friend and confidante, was a viscount and held the rules of society in high regard. His courtship with Miss Tate did not quite change his mind about the ton. He wasn’t going to bow to what everyone wanted all of the time, but he was indeed intending to make her his viscountess and someday take his father’s place as earl.

  ‘That’s just how it is done,’ James would say. He was not one to try and change things, even though he was currently unabashedly bending the rules somewhat.

  Rodrick did not wish to pull Lady Noelle out of the structure that had been her life but he saw within her the same longing for happiness, wherever it may come from. He didn’t believe that he would ever find another lady so like him. He didn’t even want to try now that his heart was fully set on her.

  A few days after Lady Noelle had departed his house, he sat with his mother in the drawing room and tried to see if he could get some advice from her. “I have resolved to propose marriage to Lady Noelle,” he told his mother. He recalled how she had told him to be careful, so he knew that she wouldn’t be entirely surprised by his news.

  His mother stared at him in shock anyway, and then she smiled at him. “I think that this is a marvelous idea. You probably want to be careful when you do it, though.”

  She continued to tell him to be careful, but Rodrick didn’t know what that meant! “How should I be careful?” he asked her. “What am I trying to be careful of?”

  Eleanor sighed softly, though she still smiled at him. “Be careful that she doesn’t break your heart. She is a sweet girl, but you and I both know that things don’t always work out the way that we want them to.”

  “I know that her mother dislikes me,” Rodrick said. “Even though I just don�
��t think she knows me very well yet. But her father doesn’t strike me as the sort of person who would tell her no…”

  “As I say,” his mother said, holding her hands up in a defensive sort of gesture. “I just want what’s best for you and I want you to be careful. She might not hurt you because her parents are controlling her either; she might accidentally hurt you entirely on her own.”

  Rodrick didn’t see how that could happen. Lady Noelle had always been kind and thoughtful to him. Even when she had attended Alphonse’s ball, she hadn’t been doing it to harm him.

  The trouble was that he didn’t know how he was going to go about asking her to marry him. She’d only just left Wildhill and he didn’t think that her parents were going to say yes to another visit to his house so soon. It would be suspicious if she kept being sent back to his manor house, particularly when there was no occasion for it.

  He knew that she would love to explore more of the land here. But he had a feeling that her mother would not understand that the way they did. Exploring tall, old trees was not an event that everyone would find enthralling.

  But he just knew that Lady Noelle would love to learn more about every bit of his manor. And if she grew tired of looking around there, there was a vast history at Westwood that she had yet to hear about. The best one to tell her about the estate was, of course, the Earl of Montgomery.

  Rodrick knew that his new invitation for her would only appeal to her, but he hoped that somehow her parents would consent and go along with it.

  Sitting at his desk in his study, Rodrick got out some paper and quickly wrote a letter to the lady, thinking that if he was denied this visit, he was going to keep trying until her parents permitted her to go to Wildhill again.

  Dear Lady Noelle,

  I know that it has not been very long since you were last here with me at my manor house, but I have occasion to ask for you to return. I have much and more that I want to show you, both of my land and of the land of my cousin. There is so much rich history here in Hertfordshire and I know that you are interested in learning more about it.

  I hope that this letter finds you well and that you have been feeling much better since last we spoke. I know that it is a tumultuous time right now and several changes have occurred in a brief period, but I know that you shall get through them. You are the most optimistic person I’ve ever met and your smile induces me to smile even now when I am only imagining it.

  Please, I ask you, do not be alarmed but there is a question that I feel I must ask you. I hope that we may find a private moment so that we may discuss it. I am telling you this now so that you can be prepared and you won’t feel as though I’m surprising you too greatly.

  I look forward to seeing you again soon.

  Fondly,

  Rodrick

  He’d never signed a letter to a lady like that before, but this time he did not do it as an accident, nor did he wish to alter it. He folded up this letter and refolded it, handing it off to Smyth so that she might receive this letter as soon as possible.

  Rodrick knew that his mother wanted him to be careful and think this business through, but in truth he had been thinking about doing such a thing for some time. Ever since he’d met Lady Noelle, she had captivated him heart and soul. She was his closest female friend and someone with whom he wanted to spend the remainder of his days.

  If that is not love, I don’t know what is.

  Rather than sitting around hoping for the arrival of the lady, Rodrick walked up to Westwood so he could confer with James. He didn’t think that it would be much of a shock to James to learn that he intended to marry Lady Noelle. He hoped that he wasn’t overstepping, however, since he knew that James intended to propose to Miss Tate.

  “How strange it is that we should have ladies at the same time, in much the same social circle,” he said to James with a mirthful smile. “Only it does seem as if there’s been some kind of error. You wish to be engaged to a commoner and I, an unfortunate commoner myself, wish to marry the daughter of a duke!”

  James laughed and nodded his head good-naturedly. “Indeed, I have thought about this many times. I daresay that these titles aren’t always all that they’re cracked up to be, are they?”

  Rodrick laughed along with him. He recalled how he used to tell all of his deepest, inner-most thoughts to Alphonse. He thought that his cousin made a far better listener and was better able to give him blunt advice.

  “That is the very same conclusion that Lady Noelle and I came to,” he said with a smile at the memory of that moment. “The only people who really seem to care about such things are flirtatious youths and the elderly.”

  Shaking his head, James laughed some more. “Upon my word, you have emerged from all of this absolutely wittier than ever!”

  Rodrick shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know if I would say that I’m wittier, I’m just exhausted from trying to keep up with all of this nonsense. Did you know that at one point I tried to meet people in Hertfordshire?”

  James raised his eyebrows at him. “Then you really would have found someone like Miss Tate. I have heard so much about her humble beginnings. It truly has made me love her even more.”

  It was all well and good for Rodrick to talk about Lady Noelle and the upcoming visit, but he wished that the days would go by faster so that he could see her again. He’d never been in such want before, largely because she had attended so many of the same balls as he did. But ever since word got out about her sister marrying the duke, she didn’t go out as much.

  I wonder what it is that she does for fun when she is indoors by herself. Surely, she must have some sort of hobby. Perhaps she knits like my mother does.

  He thought right away that this couldn’t be it. Too many ladies knitted and sewed. Lady Noelle was far too unique to do something like that in her leisure time.

  One of these days, I hope that I find out, he thought. If we ever live in Wildhill together, I hope that she will entertain her hobby in my presence like my mother does.

  The anticipation was nearly about to kill him when one morning, just after breakfast, Rodrick heard the sounds of hooves at the front of his house. He rushed to the large window in the drawing room and saw a familiar-looking coach. Rodrick grinned from ear to ear and readied himself to greet her.

  He wasn’t going to leave her sitting there and waiting this time. This time, he wasn’t even going to let his butler do the job for him. He stood there in wait at the door, looking forward to her knock most excitedly.

  The duke and duchess have let her come, he thought triumphantly. Either they do not actually dislike me or Lady Noelle somehow prevailed upon them to allow her visit.

  Chapter 39

  Noelle knocked upon the front door and was amazed to find that it was opened by Mr. Edwards himself. She immediately smiled when she saw him standing there at the door. He even took her valise for her and brought it inside for the butler to carry upstairs to her guest room.

  “Hello again, sir,” she greeted him in a friendly voice, wishing that she could hug him but gladly settling for a bow again. He looked just as handsome and full of joviality as he’d been when last they met, and perhaps even more so.

  “Greetings, Lady Noelle,” he said to her before bowing to her. He still referred to her by her titled name, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that told her that he was basically having fun with it at this point. “I hope that you travelled comfortably.”

  She nodded. “Oh yes, I’ve gotten quite used to long carriage rides. My father thought that we should have a house in the city because that is where all of the people are, only now we’ve discovered that just about everyone really lives in the country!”

  They chuckled together about that and then all of a sudden Noelle realized that there was no sign of Mr. Edwards’s mother. She was normally right there on the couch as soon as she came in for a visit. “What’s happened to your mother?” she asked him curiously.

  “Hmm?” Mr. Edwards asked her. “Oh, s
he’s quite well. She’s just intently focused on her knitting upstairs right now.”

  Noelle furrowed her brows a little bit at him. This sounded an awful lot like it was just a made-up excuse for them to be alone together. “I do believe that you’ve been planning something,” she said, vaguely suspicious.

  “Oh no,” Mr. Edwards said, shrugging his shoulders at her. She felt as though he was putting on airs for some reason, and she didn’t exactly like it. The way that he was acting made her feel nervous.

  “What is the occasion for this visit, sir?” she asked him then. She didn’t wish to be rude, but she felt as though she had come all the way from London just so Mr. Edwards could look at her.

  He looked down at his hands. “Would it be permissible if I told you that the occasion is really that I wished to see you again and I got too impatient waiting for someone else to host a ball? I know that this doesn’t really count as a ball, but it certainly counts as another chance to be with you.”

  Noelle looked at him skeptically. He really was acting so odd. She didn’t know why, but he seemed quite nervous.

  Has he heard some gossip about me that he wishes that I’d disprove? she wondered. I didn’t think that anyone told gossip about me anymore. She surprised herself by only feeling a little sad about that.

  She didn’t really need gossip to know that people thought about her sometimes. And sometimes she really wished that they wouldn’t.

  Mr. Edwards cleared his throat as he gazed at her. She could tell that there was a lot on his mind, but she wished that she could know what it all was. “I know that your parents don’t think much of me,” he began.

  “It is true that I do not have much in my name. I don’t have a title. However, I do think that my status as a right-hand man for James and my uncle all of these years means that myself and my future wife shall never want for much.”