Once Upon a Duke

by Sandra Masters

  “Serena, you are different than what we are used to. That is all. You sparkle from within and perhaps he is not accustomed to seeing anyone happy.” Josephine turned to look behind them, saw no one and whispered, “I am not encouraged to dance or even play the piano. This is more like a convent with my mother as the Superior. I shouldn’t speak so or there will be chastisement. I must go to my room now. Good night.”

  Emma waited for her mistress. “I brought your salves. Why not lie down and let me minister to you?” They attempted to maintain their normal routine.

  “Mistress, I do not wish to distress you, but I have been told I must help out in the kitchen. It will be difficult. Is it what you would want me to do?”

  “Yes, do as you are asked. It will end soon. It could be a boon in disguise. Keep your ears open and report back to me anything you hear that could be helpful.” Serena sat up, pulled her wrapper about her. “I believe it is time for you to contact John when you go to the market. You did make arrangements with him?”

  “Yes, mistress. We spoke about it when I gave him Adonis. He will wait in the village every second day and will look for me around ten in the morning. He knows it is a three-hour ride. When he sees me, we will go to the small church at the west end to speak.”

  “Emma, that is tomorrow. I must hurry and compose a note to give you to take to Lord Geoffrey. Tell John to bring you and Adonis to the Duke, but first get the portrait, the sketchbook and pup to him. He must know that I love him. Perhaps he can devise a rescue.”

  “Mistress, I saw Lord LeBran leave in his carriage. Now would be a good time to write the note. I will hide it in my bosom until I can hand it to him. John will have to secure the things the night before and be prepared to meet me with them as we ride to London. I will make a detailed list of where everything is.” She chattered like a magpie. “I will make sure I leave a little early on my way to the village market. Every minute will be accounted for. Because it is such a long trip, I have been given permission to visit my sick father.”

  “You don’t have a sick father.”

  “No, mistress, I do not. It seemed a good excuse to cover my trip with John.”

  “Emma, you can be quite devious when you must. I will hurry with my note. For the first time, I feel hopeful, dear friend.” Serena looked out the window at the storm. “Go, Emma. Tend to your other duties. I can manage myself. I am lectured by his mother and tormented by him.”

  “I have never seen you in this mood. Is there anything we can do, mistress?”

  Serena sat on a small chair. “We must escape this awful place. I fear he will poison me.”

  “He wouldn’t dare, would he?” She placed her hand to her lips, obviously distressed at her mistress’s plight. “Is this why you eat so little? I can bring you cream from the kitchen and fresh baked bread. At least, you will have some sustenance.”

  “Thank you, dear Emma, that would please my empty stomach. Do not get caught. They might think you are stealing.”

  The maid left the room.

  Serena gazed at the mirror in her bedroom only to see the shaded circles under her eyes. The reflection changed when she envisioned Geoffrey’s face. It gave her strength. Serena wished she could be on the other side of the looking glass—with him.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Lord Geoffrey rode out to Serena’s lakeside retreat arriving about midnight. He waited for her and Adonis to come down the path. After some time, he looked at his watch in the moonlight and saw that at least an hour had passed. He walked partway up the path holding the horse’s reins until the house was in view.

  He thought it strange when he saw no lights. He surmised that Henry might have called upon her to serve as his hostess and she’d spent the night at the manor house. Or she might be unwell and had gone to sleep foregoing her nightly swim.

  He walked his village horse to the stall and noted Sheba wasn’t there. He tethered the animal and headed to the front door.

  Locked. Odd again. Why wasn’t Adonis barking? He remembered the little-used back door, walked around to it and found it unlatched.

  Geoffrey groped around. The full moon glowed through a windowpane, revealed a table and a taper. He knocked on the door to roust Emma, so he might go inside and surprise Serena when she returned.

  No answer.

  He knocked louder.

  Emma did not come. No dog barked.

  After lighting the candle, he cracked the door and peeked inside to see the bed made, the room empty. He ascended the steps to find an empty studio and Serena’s bedroom unoccupied.

  The easel, on which his portrait always rested, held no canvas.

  What the hell? Something was awry. But what?

  All within him wanted to pound on the doors of Henry’s manor house and demand to know where Serena was, but that would only cast suspicion on them both.

  Geoffrey sat in the chair, clothed in his great coat, and waited for the sun to rise. His patience dwindled as the clock chimed each hour. An eeriness rained over him. When at last the sun dawned, he left, took his horse, and rode to the manor house stables. The groom, John, took the animal from him.

  “I search for Lady Serena.” He noticed Sheba in a stall. “She is here?”

  “No, your Grace. She left with her maid and Lord LeBran two days ago.”

  “Lord LeBran?” His heart quaked. “Where did they go?”

  The groom gazed behind him. He turned to see Sir Henry walk toward him.

  “Henry. Hello.”

  “Geoffrey, what a surprise to see you. Judging from your unshaven face, you’ve visited your wench in the village?”

  Geoffrey’s smile accommodated Henry, but he sensed a cat and mouse game once again.

  “Join me inside and breakfast with me. You’ve come a long way and must be hungry.”

  “Coffee would do me fine.”

  They walked to the manor house and into the breakfast room. Henry helped himself to sausages and eggs. A servant poured coffee into Geoffrey’s cup.

  “Is Lady Serena here with you?” he asked, in an attempt at nonchalance. “I saw her horse in your stable.”

  “No. She’s gone.”

  “Gone?” He arched a brow.

  “I might as well be truthful with you,” Henry stated. “She went to her betrothed’s estate. She will stay with his mother and sister prior to her marriage to Lord Leland LeBran in three weeks.”

  A barb pierced Geoffrey’s heart. His fists clenched. He fought the urge to bash them against Henry’s smug face, which expressed his perverse pleasure.

  “She left no word?” Blood pounded in his head like an anvil hammer.

  “Serena can be a fickle woman, Geoffrey. As you know, she has a certain allure. She toys with men. You are a noted knave and it appealed to her vanity to use you. No harm came from it. She has wanted to marry LeBran for a long time, but he did not seem amenable. I do believe she used you as a ploy to make him jealous. It worked. He proposed. She accepted. I approved.”

  He couldn’t believe the words Henry had spoken.

  “Geoffrey, she played you for a fool. Forget your misfortune and go back to your wench in the village.”

  He wanted to wipe the smirk off Henry’s face with a quick blow to the jaw. Sir Henry stuffed a sausage into his mouth. “Serena and her maid are at his Portsmouth estate in preparation for a salubrious marriage. I have never seen her happier.”

  A second arrow ripped Geoffrey’s heart. Had she truly played him for a fool? If she could love that cold-hearted prick, LeBran, then she wasn’t a woman he could trust. Had he misplaced his affections?

  “I am surprised he would be her choice, but I too, wish her happiness. Did she finish my portrait, do you know?” He needed time to think, and not betray his inner emotions to the arctic Henry.

  “I am sorry, but she burned it and ordered the puppy drowned. She said it was a reminder of her foolishness. John, the groom, has taken care of it. Serena wished to start her new and proper life as the
wife of an important man with a clear conscience. Henry wiped the residue of eggs from his plate with a slice of bread and popped it into his mouth. “I am thrilled at the prospects.”

  It did not escape Geoffrey that Henry smirked and chortled his delight even as he tortured him.

  Not little Adonis. He couldn’t release his breath. His chest threatened to burst. How could this be? Serena never acted in any way that revealed she possessed such cruelty. He remembered her words. This is a living present and I will cherish him as I treasure you. Diamonds could not compare to a gift like this.

  “I am sure she told you about her scars, did she not? She is a flawed and damaged woman, her prospects not great, but LeBran agreed to overlook them, as any true gentleman intrigued with a well-dowered temptress would do. I do believe he indicated it would not matter because he would keep Serena on her back until she produced a child for him.”

  Geoffrey silently screamed to the angels. Hear my anguish. Give me control so I will not kill this heartless bastard.

  He arose and walked toward Henry, leaned in and towered over the chair where he sat. The veins in Geoffrey’s neck corded, his knuckles white where he squeezed the arms of the chair.

  “That is a terrible thing to say about your sister, Henry. You are despicable. We are no longer friends. I leave today and never wish to see you again. If we meet in public, give me no notice. I have been known to fight a duel over lesser things. I, for one, thought you loved Serena.”

  “In my own way, I do care for her, Geoffrey. This is an important marriage to the family. It will make us all powerful—Serena, LeBran, and me. You realize in our culture, marriages as such are arranged between willing partners. Believe me, Geoffrey, Serena was willing.”

  “So you say. I suppose I have no reason to doubt your word.”

  Geoffrey didn’t want to hear Henry’s reply. He went to the stables, mounted his horse, cantered to the village and returned the horse. He headed for the village pub.

  “A pitcher of ale,” he ordered. “Make it two pitchers. I have much to wash from my memory.”

  Geoffrey gulped down a tankard. Serena once told him she would never leave Sheba behind, but she had. As he drank the brew, he recalled just before he rode out of the stable, Sheba whinnied, as if wanting to catch his attention, to tell him something he did not know.

  Serena spoke kind words about Adonis and yet she ordered the puppy drowned. Feckless, evil woman—he would like to strangle her, and the groom who drowned the puppy.

  He imbibed more, but the ale refused to dull his senses.

  The memories hurt as they came and went from his mind. He remembered Serena had once stated, I will bring you to your knees one day.

  True, I kneel now. You have done that, dear Serena—and more.

  Her words and his weakness to them clawed at his gut like the underbelly of a snake slithering over sharp stones. She surely had played him for a fool.

  Geoffrey stumbled to his waiting carriage, got in and laid his head against the padded back cushion. Serena, Serena, Serena, why would you go away with him, but not with me? He knew the answer. He could not, would not, make a commitment to her, and now she was gone from him forever. The agony in his body, eternity’s chill and hell’s fiery heat consumed him. There could be no solace.

  Serena had used him to acquire the skills to please her new husband in their wedding bed. Would LeBran believe her deceased husband had taught her so well?

  Geoffrey shook the image of a panting Serena, sprawled beneath him, from his mind. She was a monster in her own right with her cunning, clever lies, and her tempting body. She had inflicted scars Geoffrey thought he’d carry until he took his final breath.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The carriage neared London, and Geoffrey tapped his cane to the roof. “Take me to White’s Club.”

  The sound of horses’ hooves echoed his heartbeat. His driver turned to St. James Street and arrived at number 37.

  Inside the famed club, Geoffrey hailed his friend, Lord Carleton, and sat beside him in an oversized leather chair.

  “You look dreadful,” Carleton said. “Your face has stubble. Your eyes hold a peculiar look. Did someone die?”

  “Yes. I did.” He slumped in the seat. “My Serena is betrothed to Lord Leland LeBran and will be married in three weeks.” He lifted his chin, gazed upwards, and loosened his cravat. “May she make him as happy as she has made me.”

  “Geoffrey, how could that be?”

  “She resides at his estate with his mother and sister in preparation for the ceremony.”

  Lord Carleton motioned the attendant for drinks. The brandy was served in large snifters.

  “She told you this herself?” Carleton took a sip. “Drink.”

  “No. Her brother did.”

  Geoffrey took a large swallow of brandy. “What a fool I’ve been. I started to care about her, bought her an expensive necklace I hoped to give her. I arrived to an empty house.” He took another swig of the liquor. “Henry told me she burned my portrait and drowned the puppy I gave her. What a hard-hearted tart. She will pay for that innocent life. I hate her. If I had her within my reach, I would place my hands at her throat and choke the life out of her. No, I would take her to the lake and drown her. Then, she would know how the animal suffered as the water filled its lungs and it gasped for air.” He looked at his friend. “Serena pulled the wool over my eyes. I do not like being bamboozled, Carleton. God’s blood, she toyed with me like a spinning top.”

  “Wait a minute, Geoffrey. I find it difficult to believe this after everything you have told me. You have always been a good judge of women.”

  “Serena outwitted me. My mind burns with her memory. She played me well with her ardent attention and knew how to tantalize. Her skills were as practiced as mine. How could I have not seen her ploy?” Geoffrey gulped the last portion of liquid from the glass. “She did to me what I have done to many women. She walked away without a goodbye or backward glance. It pains me to be on this anguished side.” A stab of guilt lay buried within and grew into volcanic eruption.

  He appreciated women, and the joy they brought, but he had used them. “I have always been on the up and up in my affairs. I never deceived my partners the way she did. Her brother told me she wanted a fling to make LeBran jealous. Henry knew of her scars and made a political marriage arrangement for Serena, to a man who offered to ignore them for a price.”

  “What scars?” Carleton frowned.

  “She made me believe she could not bear to tell her brother that her husband marked her, beat her into submission. She feared if Henry knew, he would have slain the monster. Another lie of the many she told me.” Geoffrey faced his friend, fisted his hand, and unclenched it. “When I saw the scars, I wanted to protect her and keep her safe from any other brute who might think to do the same.”

  His face contorted, eyes narrowed in thought. “I was falling in love with her. I wanted time, and needed to be sure I could commit my heart fully before I could consider marriage. She used me to make LeBran jealous enough to propose. I hear she has never been happier.” His eyes darkened with pain and remembrance.

  “I think we should visit Madame Odette’s tonight. You will need a woman for sport. The way to forget one woman is with another. That is the manly thing to do.”

  “Perhaps. I do not know. I cannot think any more. I want to get drunk. She hooked me, reeled me in like a trout on a line.” Geoffrey got up and motioned to the door.

  His friend stood also. “Let’s go to your place and I will get bosky with you. When we awake in the morning with a terrible hangover, we can think more about your dilemma. Something does not make sense to me, Geoffrey, but I cannot finger it. In the state we are in, we should not draw conclusions. Liquor addles the brain.”

  “Carleton, my carriage is outside. I will pay the bill and we will depart at once.”

  At Geoffrey’s townhouse, his footman took charge of the traveling luggage.

  “The
decanters are always full in my study,” Geoffrey announced as they walked the long paneled corridor. He placed a hand to Carleton’s shoulder. “Why would Henry lie to me?” Geoffrey closed the door. “He warned me off, but I could not resist the challenge: fall in love with me or not. Serena plied her wares well.” He poured cognac into glasses, handed one to Carleton and then took a large gulp as he paced the floor. “I am a fool taken in by a widow courtesan.”

  He sat in his leather chair behind the desk and motioned for Carleton to sit opposite him.

  “I will give her this, though, she played her part to perfection.” Geoffrey drummed his finger against the Waterford glass.

  An unexpected rain pelted the window just as she had pummeled his heart. The thunder rumbled as if inside his head. Geoffrey ran his hand through his hair and stared out the window. The slick cobblestones glistened beneath the gaslights that illuminated the street.

  “For a woman so agreeable and such a temptation, I never saw it coming, Carleton. I remember when she danced for me, and I compared her to Salome seeking my head on a platter. Well, she got it, the bitch.”

  “Geoffrey, you work yourself into a lather, my friend. Your first instinct is to become offensive like when we played rugby. Perhaps you should consider your good fortune at the revelation.”

  “I want retaliation. She is a deep bruise to my pride.”

  “Revenge is a dish you can choke on, Geoffrey. You are in no mental state to think with a clear head. Besides, I know well enough to realize any harshness toward this woman or any other will be only with your words.”

  “She has enraged me more than any other, Carleton. I could embarrass her, show up at the wedding and tell everyone I took her long and well. I could congratulate the bridegroom, then tell him I enjoyed her favors first, that he is a lucky man to have a wife to whom I taught the art of bed sport that could put a royal courtesan to shame.”

  “Your pride is indeed wounded, and yes, it hurts, but you will not show up at the wedding and give her the satisfaction of your humiliation. If in a drunken stupor you should try such a thing, I will stop you.”