Courteously Seduced By An Enigmatic Duke (Steamy Historical Regency Romance)

by Scarlett Osborne

  “No one could blame you for that, my dear,” the Duchess said tenderly. “We all know what you must be going through.”

  Hannah sighed again. She stared out at the water, watching the tiny little waves lap over the stones. She couldn’t get the memory out of her mind of when she and Rowland had tried to throw stones over to the other side using one finger.

  “What do you think I should do, Mother?” she asked finally.

  “There’s nothing you can do right now, Hannah, but wait for the truth to come to the light. It always does. But sometimes I wonder if every couple out there goes through such terrible trials before they find their happy ending.”

  Hannah knew she was referencing her own past, when she had been on trial for the attempted murder of the Duke. Hannah had only been nine when that happened, but she could remember as clear as yesterday the stress her mother had been under.

  “Perhaps those trials are what makes us stronger,” Hannah murmured.

  “If that’s the case, then there is nothing stronger than the love between your father and I. And when this is all over, there will be nothing stronger than the love between you and Mr. Albertson.”

  “Mother, how can you remain so positive? The wedding is in a matter of days and there doesn’t seem to be any end to this. If this all ends badly, our family will be ruined.”

  “Well, I’ve been looking forward to this wedding and I’m not about to let lies get in the middle of it. If Miss Peggy is lying, Hannah, we will know about it.”

  Hannah frowned at her mother. Her face was peaceful, though her tone was passionate. “Mother?”

  “Yes, Hannah?”

  “Everything will be all right in the end, right?”

  Hannah didn’t think her mother knew the answer to that. Unless she truly could do dark magic and see into the future as had been rumored in the past because of her eyes, the Duchess was just like the rest of them, uncertain about what would happen.

  The Duchess nodded. “Everything will be all right, Hannah. Now, would you like to head back to the manor?”

  Hannah shook her head, gazing back out at the water. “I think I’d like to stay here for a little while longer.”

  “All right, my dear. Don’t stay too long.” The Duchess rose and made her way back to her horse. Unlike when she had first arrived, Hannah heard her leave.

  That talk with her mother helped lift her spirits. The Duchess had been through a lot in her life and she made it out relatively unscathed and happy. It was easy to accept positive thoughts from a lady who had been through so much.

  Everything will be all right.

  Hannah repeated it to herself, over and over again, until it nearly sounded like the truth.

  Chapter 34

  Rowland couldn’t take it any longer. Hannah was no longer looking at him, not even acknowledging his presence, the Duke and Duchess were both fraught with stress over this situation, and it was all because of the lying lady who was somewhere in this manor. He couldn’t stand the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that everything he loved was about to be gone.

  He didn’t know if anger was what fueled his steps. Or perhaps it was simply frustration that this had gone on for so long and had affected so many people. Rowland hoped it was more the latter than the former because he feared to think of what he might do or say if he acted out of rage.

  Then again, this entire situation was madness. The mere fact that he was scouring the entire manor searching for Miss Peggy just showed how uncontained his emotions were. No matter how much he tried to remain under control, as the days wore on, he only grew more and more furious.

  Hannah’s silence was the last straw. She loved to talk, loved to laugh. She loved to make everyone around her comfortable and she was a light in every conversation. Even when the Prince was here, despite what he had done to her, Hannah had put a smile on her face and did what she did best.

  The Hannah he’d seen over the past few days was not the Hannah he had fallen in love with it. That lady had disappeared under the weight of Miss Peggy’s presence and he hated himself for being a part of that. He hated himself even more when he saw that she couldn’t be around him any longer.

  The longer he took looking for Miss Peggy, the angrier he grew, until finally he found her sitting in a small drawing room. She was staring out the window, almost thoughtfully, and the anger grew to hatred.

  Rein it in. Don’t let her turn you into someone you aren’t.

  He didn’t get angry very often and he was happy to see that he didn’t get many opportunities for that throughout his life. As if in response to that, every ounce of that anger was now concentrated on her.

  Looking at her like this, still unaware of his presence, he could easily remember why he had fallen in love with her. Her incredibly lovely features hadn’t been marred by her lies and bits and pieces of the lady he had fallen for shone through now and again.

  She was a convincing liar, so convincing that Rowland had nearly started to doubt himself. He caught himself asking if he really had misinterpreted her letter, or if there might have been a part of the letter that he hadn’t seen, before he stopped it. There was no truth in her words. Anyone reading such a thing would see her say as plain as day that she didn’t want to marry him. Rowland himself had read the letter over and over again. There was no way he might have missed that.

  His biggest mistake was the last letter he sent her, explaining his absence from New South Wales. After her rejection he should have just left it at that, yet he had given into that hopeful part of him that perhaps that final letter would change her mind.

  Now, here she was, with her lies, when he had finally moved on.

  “Miss Peggy Flynn,” he called out to her and she jumped with a gasp, her hand flying to her mouth. It was so perfect that Rowland wondered if it was orchestrated.

  Miss Peggy got to her feet, looking flustered all of a sudden. She tucked her hair behind her ear, glancing at her feet then back up at him shyly. “Mr. Albertson! I didn’t see you there.”

  He came further into the room. Now that he was here, he didn’t know how to go about this. “What are you doing in here?” he asked, attempting to ease into it.

  Miss Peggy blinked, not expecting that at all. “I…well, I just wanted to be alone for a little bit. I feel as if my presence here is unwanted and so I wanted to just get out of the way.”

  “If you feel that way, then why are you still here?”

  She went rigid at his harsh question. His anger spiked when her eyes lowered to the ground. She’s putting on an act. How can no one see that?

  Because they don’t know her like I do. They don’t know that this isn’t the real Miss Peggy Flynn.

  “You know why I’m here, Mr. Albertson. Are you really going to make me say it?”

  “I want to hear you say it,” he growled. Hold it in! I shouldn’t let her see just how angry she’s making me. “I want to see if you’ll lie while looking straight into my eyes.”

  Miss Peggy rushed forward. She was staring into his eyes, with no shame, only pleadingly. “Mr. Albertson, this is all just a misunderstanding, please. You must believe me. I’ve been meaning to approach you alone so I could get you to see that I’m not trying to be deceitful, but I…I just didn’t know how to. I can only imagine you must think that I’m lying, as well.”

  “That’s because you are lying.” His voice was composed, but he could tell she felt the strong tremor of anger running through it from the way she jerked.

  “What can I say for you to believe me? I mustn’t have made my letter clear to you. That must be the reason for this terrible misunderstanding.”

  “There is no misunderstanding!” Now he was shouting and Rowland whirled away from her, not wanting to be too close when the true brunt of his rage unleashed itself. He was happy they weren’t in the part of the manor that the others frequented. “You wrote to me telling me that you were betrothed to someone else. You clearly stated that you didn’t want to ma
rry me. How could I misunderstand that when you wrote it as plain as day?”

  “Is that why you rushed over to England so quickly? Because you thought I broke your heart?” She stepped into his space so quickly that Rowland wasn’t prepared for the hand she placed over his heart. He stiffened at her touch. “Don’t you remember all those times we had together? Surely you don’t think I would have said no to your proposal when I so clearly fell for you?”

  When he first came here, Rowland would have easily believed that nonsense. He would have latched on to any explanation for why she might have said no. Now that his heart belonged to someone else, his judgment was clear and he could see her for the liar that she was.

  He stepped away from her. “You’re going to tell everyone at dinner tonight that what you’ve told them was a lie. You’re going to beg for their forgiveness for all the trouble you’ve caused and hope that they are merciful in deciding what they want to do with you.”

  “I won’t do that, Mr. Albertson.”

  “You’ll tell the truth, or so help me—”

  She stepped closer once again, this time taking it a step further. She placed one hand on his heart, the other on his cheek. She gazed into his eyes. “I love you, Mr. Albertson. And I will marry you.”

  Acute disgust crawled up his spine and Rowland pushed her away. She stumbled a little, but then she righted herself and smoothed down her gown. The lady who had cried in front of the Duke and Duchess wasn’t the one standing before him. This was a lady determined to get what she wanted and when she looked at him, she looked about ready to trample him in that quest. But then she was gone the next second.

  “I hope that one day you’ll believe me, Mr. Albertson. And then you’ll see that we’re meant to be with each other.”

  Rowland didn’t think he could stick around to listen to her talk any longer. He backed away from her, stalking out of the room with the remainder of his fury just as she called out to him to wait.

  He came to a halt the moment he stepped out of the room. Hannah was frozen on the other end of the hallway, staring at him, Lily hovering over her shoulder.

  The next few seconds went by so slowly that Rowland could hardly see it as reality. Miss Peggy came rushing out behind him, grabbing his arm and pulling him back to face him. As soon as he did, he pulled away from her, but he knew Hannah had seen it all. When he looked back up, Hannah picked up her skirts and rushed away.

  “Lady Hannah!” he called out to her and began racing down the hall. But by the time he made it to the end of the hallway, she had disappeared.

  * * *

  At this point, Hannah was simply numb. She didn’t know what to think anymore, what to feel, how to react in certain situations. When she saw Rowland and Miss Peggy together, her only instinct had been to get out of sight as quickly as she could.

  Lily had helped her hide from him and had listened at the door of the room they had run into to make sure that he was gone. Once he was, they went back out and stayed out of his sight for the remainder of the day. She knew he was looking all over for her but she didn’t want to face him just yet. She needed to process what she had seen.

  In actuality, Hannah didn’t know exactly what she just saw. She only saw them together and thought the worst. Numbness consumed her and the only emotion peeking through was Hannah’s longing to be near him once again.

  There was no avoiding him at dinner, however. She had missed the last few, which meant she was expected to be at this one. Even though everyone was well aware of how badly she had been affected by this ordeal, she was tired of looking weak and so she forced herself to attend, even after what she’d seen with Rowland and Miss Peggy.

  Her parents were already at the table, talking in low voices to each other. As soon as Hannah entered, they separated and watched as she made her way to her seat.

  “How are you, dear?” her Father asked, laying a hand on hers.

  Hannah tried to give him a smile, but it didn’t come out as well as she hoped it would. So she laid her other hand atop his and sighed, letting her walls drop though she had spent a while building them up. “Not well, Father,” she admitted. “I just hope everything ends soon. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

  Her Mother bent her head sadly and her Father had a clear loss of what to say. Hannah understood. It was the first time she had expressed how much this was affecting her since Miss Peggy first arrived and now that the wedding was only a couple days from today, Hannah didn’t know how this would be concluded.

  Lady Rosamund and Lady Violet came into the dining room lacking all of their usual gusto. Though Hannah doubted anyone had explained to them what was happening, they were smart enough to know that something was wrong and it had something to do with their new guest. Their eyes went straight to Hannah when they entered and Hannah tried her best to give them comforting smiles. Neither of them smiled back. They only took their seats in silence.

  Shortly after, Rowland entered, followed by Miss Peggy. Hannah tried not to let the fact she came in right after Rowland bother her but after a moment, she knew it was to no avail. Everything that had to do with them both bothered her now.

  Miss Peggy looked more reserved that usual. During previous meal times, it was as if she was replacing Hannah as the conversationalist at the table, but no one felt comfortable enough for any topic to last long. Now, she didn’t say anything but her greeting before she took her seat, and they all let silence descend over them.

  Hannah was fine with the silence. But she didn’t get to enjoy it for long. Miss Peggy set her fork down with a clang and cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention. Everyone, including Hannah, held their breath in anticipation of what she was about to say.

  “Forgive me, Your Grace,” Miss Peggy said, looking at the Duke. “But I don’t think that I can hold this in any longer.”

  “Miss Peggy?”

  “The wedding between Lady Hannah and Mr. Albertson is set for two days from now, is it not? I know that while I’ve been here I have been a little aggressive in stating my reason for coming, but now that I see no progress, I can’t help but be even more so.”

  Miss Peggy looked at Hannah and Hannah saw apology in her eyes. Hannah gripped her fork. Then Miss Peggy looked at Rowland with determination before returning her gaze back to the Duke. “Please, Your Grace. I cannot allow this wedding to happen when I know that I am the one Mr. Albertson should be with. Please, allow me to leave with him.”

  Hannah’s head was on fire. She kept staring at Miss Peggy, gripping her fork so tightly that her knuckles went white.

  “Miss Peggy,” the Duchess’ voice cut in. “I don’t think this is a conversation we should have over dinner.”

  “It is only because of how distressed I’ve become over the past few days that has brought me to this point, Your Grace,” Miss Peggy said desperately. “Can’t you understand what I might be going through? How unfair it is for me to see my betrothed marry someone else when he had promised himself to me?”

  “Miss Peggy.” It was Rowland who gave that warning growl and she looked at him, eyes once again filling with tears.

  “Mr. Albertson, perhaps your heart is truly torn between two ladies. But it breaks my own heart to see you deny me and your love for me so publicly. Did you forget all the love letters you wrote to me? Did you forget how many times you confessed your love to me? Was it all truly nothing to you?”

  “The truth of the matter, Miss Peggy,” Rowland snapped, “is that you, for whatever reason, are determined to slander my character by making me out to be a liar, when it is you who have been lying all along.”

  “Oh, dear.” And she broke down. It was only for a moment, a few sobs before she lifted a napkin and dabbed her eyes with it and looked back at the Duke. “Please, Your Grace, hear my plight. Please understand what I must be feeling right now.”

  Someone entered the room. A servant, Hannah noticed, just as she tore her gaze away from Miss Peggy to look at her father. As
the servant hurried over to whisper something in the Duchess ear, Hannah watched her father’s reaction.

  He was clearly torn. Miss Peggy was in tears, begging him to understand how badly she was being hurt by everything that was happening. But on the other hand, if he were to extend any degree of sympathy to the other lady, his daughter would be hurt as well.

  I’m not the one who lies in the center of this. Rowland is.

  So she looked at Rowland to see that he was filled with barely contained rage. His hands were in tight fists, eyes boring into Miss Peggy as she looked at the Duke. The only person in the room who didn’t seem to be looking at anyone in particular was the Duchess, who was also the only one eating.

  Hannah couldn’t allow the suspense to go on for any longer. She rose suddenly, eyes on the table when everyone else’s eye went to her. She racked her brain for an excuse for why she needed to be excused, for an apology at least for leaving in such a rude manner, but she couldn’t settle on anything.