A Damsel for the Daring Duke: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Bridget Barton

  “I shall do my very best.”

  “Then perhaps it is time for me to wander off, as you will remember it is my custom, and leave you to drink this tea, if it ever arrives, with the lady herself. What do you say?” The Baron rose to his feet.

  “I should like that very much, Sir.”

  When Charlotte’s father told her that James was waiting for her in the drawing room, she hardly knew how she would react when she saw him. The last days had been the worst of her life and yet, at the same time, they were strangely the best.

  When she saw her father with Ruth, how at peace he was now to finally be able to act as a true father, Charlotte felt a curious excitement. She knew, of course, that the relationship could never be declared publicly, but at least they would know it amongst themselves now and it was as if they had turned a corner into a better life.

  She opened the door of the drawing room and stepped in, quickly closing it behind her. She remained where she was for a moment, looking across the room at James and the untouched tea tray which sat on the low table in front of him.

  “Are you waiting for me to pour that?” Charlotte said in a haughty tone.

  “Well, I did not like to start without you,” James said and smiled at her. “It would seem rather rude, given that I am only a guest not a very welcome one at that.”

  “Now what makes you think you are not welcome?” For some reason, Charlotte could feel her mouth turning up into a smile, quite unbidden, and the old feelings of excitement returning to her.

  “I suppose because I have made such a mess of things these last three years, have I not?”

  “My goodness, I have never seen such a mess,” Charlotte said and began to enjoy herself in the old way, teasing him just a little. “But I daresay you blundered along with the very best of intentions.”

  “I did. I really did blunder, my dear woman.” He nodded vigorously and his green eyes twinkle just as they always did when he was amused.

  How very handsome he was with his neatly clipped dark hair and wonderful smile. Charlotte could feel her resolve turning to nothing.

  “I do wish you had told me back then, James.” She said, being serious for just a moment. “Just me, I mean. I know now that you could not have gone against your father’s wishes without hurting my father, and I will always be grateful to you for that. Not to mention the fact that I will always be disquieted by the way I treated you afterward.” She shuddered and winced. “But I do wish you had told me, for it would have spared me the pain of the last three years. I would have missed you dreadfully, but I would have known that you loved me.”

  “At the time, I did not want to hurt the wonderful relationship you have with your father. Never having had such a thing myself, I could see immediately that it was a thing worth protecting, whatever the cost.”

  “And it is still wonderful, James. We have certainly had our moments these last few days, but we are closer than ever now.”

  “If only I could have foreseen that at the time.”

  “I suppose that is something that none of us could have managed.” She said and shrugged. “But at least you have put things right now before I made a fool of myself by marrying that dreadful Marcus Hillington.”

  “So, you really were going to marry him then, if he agreed to it?”

  “What do you mean if he agreed to it?” Charlotte said and finally continued through the room to stand in front of him. “Of course, he would have agreed to it.”

  “I am afraid you cannot sure of that, my dear Charlotte. You see, I made something of a study of that man and am bound to tell you, however painful it might be, that he appeared to have absolutely no regard for you whatsoever.” James’ broad grin was enough to melt her heart.

  “I think we should never mention Marcus Hillington again.” Charlotte said and laughed.

  What a truly wonderful feeling it was to laugh again, how very much better life felt already. She could hardly think that she had laughed at all since the night of Lord Morley’s ball.

  “Perhaps you should have it written into our marriage vows, my dear.” He reached out to pull her into his arms. “For I fear that if you do not, I shall find myself unable to keep quiet about it.”

  “You are sure that I will marry you then?”

  “As sure as I will ever be.” He said and gently tilted her chin so that their eyes met. “But you should know that I cannot bear to be without you now. I love you so much, Charlotte. These last three years have been as purgatory to me.”

  “And I love you too, James. However angry I grew, I could not stop loving you.”

  “Well, hurry up and let me kiss you, my dear, before your father blunders back in here.” He said and quickly covered her lips with his own.

  Epilogue

  “Well, I could have remained your lady’s maid, Charlotte.” Ruth said plaintively as she helped her sister into her beautiful ivory wedding gown.

  “No, you could not, because you are my sister, Ruth. I cannot have you as a maid now that I know that, can I?”

  “But what else am I to do?” Ruth was clearly teasing her.

  “Be one of the family at last. Would you not like that?”

  “I would like that more than anything, you know I would. But I cannot sensibly be a part of your family, sitting down to dinner and sharing my life with you all without drawing the suspicions of the rest of the household, not to mention the rest of society.”

  “But if you were my companion, then you would.”

  “Oh, I see.” Ruth said and Charlotte could see her thinking it through.

  “And as my trusty companion, you would come everywhere with me. Into the town to buy fabric and have tea, abroad if my new husband and I ever decide to take a trip. Do you not see, we really shall be together forever?” Charlotte said and smiled before she saw Ruth’s expression drop. “My goodness, whatever is it? Why do you suddenly look so sad?”

  “I am sad, sister because I cannot come over to the west of the county with you. As wonderful as it would be for us to be together every day, I cannot now live at Sandford Hall.”

  “Because of Papa?” Charlotte said,and tears of emotion filled her eyes.

  “I cannot leave him. He cannot lose two daughters in one day, it would be too cruel.”

  “You have never blamed him, have you?”

  “No, there is no sense in it. We all make mistakes in his life, each and every one of us. And it is only by dint of circumstances that the consequences differ for us all. But then I look at the consequences of your father’s mistake and I find that I can easily forgive him. After all, I finally have a sister, do I not? And, after one-and-twenty years on this planet, I realize I have a father who truly does love me. No, I cannot blame him for any of it, even if I should just a little.”

  “I am bound to say that it gives me great comfort to know that you will be here with him when I am not. Oh, but I cannot tell you the pain that our parting will cause me.” Charlotte said, and her voice cracked.

  “No, no, you must not cry before you go to church. You cannot arrive tearstained and have the whole congregation think you are marrying under duress.” Ruth said and laughed.

  “And we are not to be parted now, are we? We live in the same county and we shall be regular visitors to one another, shall we not? Your new husband is a very fine and sensible man, so sensible that I do not think he would dare to try to keep two sisters apart now, do you?”

  “I know he would not.”

  “And so, we must now both reconcile ourselves to new lives. I shall stay here, and you shall stay at Sandford and we shall write every day and see one another often. And in that manner life shall work out very well indeed, shall it not?”

  “You always know what to do, Ruth. You always have the most sensible plan of all and the very best way of saying it.”

  “And you are always so very free with your compliments.”

  “I do love you, my dear Ruth.”

  “And I love you, sister.”
Ruth said and the two of them embraced. “Now, you cannot leave him waiting any longer. We must set off now or your groom will think that you are not coming at all.”

  “Very well, Ruth.” Charlotte said and kissed her sister’s cheek before the two of them walked hand-in-hand out of her chamber for the last time.

  THE END

  Can't get enough of Charlotte and James? Then make sure to check out the Extended Epilogue to find out…

  Click the link or enter it into your browser

  http://bridgetbarton.com/extended

  (After reading the Extended Epilogue, turn the page to read the first chapters from “A Damsel for the Mysterious Duke”, my Amazon Best-Selling novel!)

  A Damsel for the Mysterious Duke

  Introduction

  Recovering from a lengthy illness, Georgina Jeffries is sent to convalesce in the Devonshire home of her father's cousin. Finding an instant friendship with his daughter, Fleur, the two of them eagerly await a garden party to be held on the fine estate of the young and handsome Duke of Calder. But when she first meets him, Georgina is certain that she knows him from somewhere, she just cannot place the handsome man anywhere in her memory.

  Emerson Lockhart is a man with a secret. Now the Duke of Calder, he is painfully aware that he was not always so. And when he meets Miss Georgina Jeffries again after more than ten years, he is relieved to realize that she does not recognize him as the boy who was once a servant in her home; the boy who had once been her only friend.

  But when the Duke lets his old nickname for her slip, Georgina finds herself spiraling back in time, instantly remembering young Sammy White, the servant boy and childhood friend who had disappeared so suddenly and without explanation so many years before.

  As a team, can the two of them discover the young Duke's true origins? And can they, along the way, finally navigate the growing romance which both of them would try to deny?

  Chapter 1

  Although Winton House in Devonshire was very much smaller than her father’s estate in Hertfordshire, Georgina Jeffries instantly warmed to it.

  It was a fine old house of many quirks, crooked corridors, and narrow secret staircases here, there, and everywhere. And it was set in the most beautiful grounds, both neat and rambling all at once.

  From Georgina’s chamber window she looked down on a small lake surrounded by beautiful trees and luscious green shrubbery. And all around the water’s edge were daffodils, as yet unopened, but with buds enough to promise a fine display when spring began to turn warmer.

  “May I come in, Georgina?” came the tentative voice of her cousin Fleur from the other side of the door.

  “Yes, of course,” Georgina said brightly and turned to smile at Fleur as she came cautiously into the room. “I have just been looking at the view. Really, I do not think I have seen anything so pretty in a long time.”

  “That is why I told Papa you ought to have this chamber. It really does have the nicest view of the lake, and when the daffodils are out, there are so many that they seem to glow when you look down upon them.” Fleur smiled.

  Although the two had met many years before, they were but girls, and Georgina could barely remember the experience at all. Fleur’s father, Felix Allencourt, had made the journey from Devonshire to Hertfordshire many years ago to see his cousin, Georgina’s father. He had taken his young daughter with him, leaving his son behind as comfort and company to his ailing wife.

  Georgina had never met her second cousin Fleur’s mother, but she knew that she had died some ten years before.

  “It really is so kind of you to have spent so much of your day showing me around the place. And I cannot tell you how comfortable I am already here at Winton House, for it really is such a lovely place. I can hardly wait to see the sea; I so rarely have a chance of it, being landlocked back home at Ashdown Manor.”

  “If I concentrate very hard, I can almost remember Ashdown Manor,” Fleur said thoughtfully. “Well, I can remember how large it is, at any rate.” She laughed.

  “Yes, it is very large. But I cannot think that I have ever seen a house so well situated as your own. Devonshire really is the most beautiful county, is it not?”

  “I would never wish to leave it.” Fleur advanced a little further into the room somewhat shyly. “I thought you might like some help unpacking your gowns and what have you.”

  “Oh, yes please, that would be most welcome,” Georgina said and looked down at her open and unpacked trunk. “I seem to have brought rather a lot with me.” She laughed.

  “Well, that means that you may stay for a long time.” Fleur looked extremely pleased with the prospect. “And I would be very glad of your company. I have friends, of course, but it would be so nice to have a woman of my own age in the house for a while. Jeremy is a fine and attentive brother, but he is a brother.” She laughed. “And Great-Aunt Belle is a wonderful lady with many stories, but alas she forgets that I have heard the stories over and over again.”

  “My grandmother was the same,” Georgina said brightly as she thought that she and her cousin might get on very well indeed. “And I am keen to meet Great-Aunt Belle to see if she is anything like my grandmother, given that they were sisters.”

  “I must admit that I am not sure that they were the greatest of friends when they were young girls together,” Fleur said cautiously. “And I also must warn you that Great-Aunt Belle often speaks her mind with little thought to the impact it might have on another. She is very old and often very sweet, so I must beg your forgiveness on her behalf in advance.”

  “Good heavens, she sounds like my grandmother already. She was also a woman who did not spare anybody’s feelings when she had something to say.” Georgina laughed and reached into the trunk for the first of her gowns. “I am already looking forward to meeting her, and you need not worry about anything. Your family has been so kind already, and I cannot tell you how pleased I am to be here.”

  And it was true, Georgina really was pleased to be in Devonshire and the home of her cousins. As the only child of Baron Charles Jeffries and his wife, Jane, Georgina had often felt lonely.

  Like Fleur, she had friends of her own, although they were few, but they now seemed so keen to marry that she did not see them anywhere near as much as she might have liked.

  She had always wanted a sister, often feeling a little envious of friends who were so blessed. But now that she was at Winton House with Fleur, she had high hopes of finding just that close relationship at last.

  “I think the two of us will get along very well indeed,” Fleur said as she gently hung one of Georgina’s gowns. “I say, this gown is awfully pretty.”

  “Thank you, it is one of my favourites.” Georgina smiled as she looked at the gown, a well-fitting garment in a very deep blue velvet; a colour which suited her pale complexion perfectly.

  “When you are feeling a little better, Georgina, I think we must find a wonderful ball to attend so that you might wear that gown,” Fleur said excitedly. “Or, at the very least, a dance at the assembly rooms.”

  “In truth, I am already feeling much better than I have done for some weeks. I think the promise of a change of scenery and a chance to meet family I have not seen since I was a child has done much to improve my health.”

  “But we must be careful; we must not set you back in any way,” Fleur said seriously. “As the spring down here can be quite deceptive. Especially being so close to the sea, you must take care to keep well wrapped because there is often a keen breeze.”

  “I shall take care, I promise.”

  Georgina, ordinarily hale and hearty, had suffered from a lung infection which had seen her bedridden from Christmas until late February.

  It had come as a great surprise to all, given that nobody could remember Georgina being ill since childhood.

  When she had finally declared that she was well enough to be up and about again, her mother and father had been greatly relieved. But it had been necessary to keep to Ashdown Manor
and out of the cold, so much so that Georgina had become a little melancholy.

  The stronger she got, the more listless Georgina became. She had not seen friends and acquaintances for several weeks and had the dreadful sensation that the world had moved on without her whilst she had remained standing still.

  When her father had suggested writing off to his cousin in Devonshire to ask that she might convalesce in new surroundings, Georgina had felt an immediate sense of excitement. She had never been to Devonshire but had remembered her grandmother telling her what a beautiful place it was. Not only that, but there were cousins of her own age and the prospect of meeting other new people.