Alice scoffed as she stood, and Emma stood too.
“That is a great idea,” the Duke answered. “Have a wonderful time, my dear.” The Duke leaned in and gave Emma a sweet kiss on her lips.
“Why can I not find a man like him?” Alice muttered to Emma.
“Because you probably chased the poor man away,” Emma answered.
“Probably,” Alice sighed as the two women made their way down the steps that led from the terrace to the brick path that ran along the front of Rivenhall Estate.
CHAPTER THREE
A short while after Miss Emma and Miss Alice left the estate, the Duke made his way to Lord Harrison’s chamber, and knocked on the door. Despite Lord Harrison and the Duke’s long friendship and their brotherly bond, the Duke’s patience was wearing rather thin. He had had enough and while the women were away, and not near enough to hear his angry words, he would speak with Lord Harrison regarding the tension at the estate.
When there was no answer, he knocked again. “Harrison,” he called out impatiently and knocked again, harder than before. “I am well aware you are inside. Open the door.”
“Your Grace?”
The Duke spun around and noticed Margaret, one of the maidservants, looking rather displeased, approach him in the hallway.
“Margaret.”
“Lord Harrison is not in his chambers.”
“Where is he?”
“I saw him in the upstairs parlour-”
“Thank you, Margaret,” the Duke said, not giving the maidservant the opportunity to complete her sentence and rushed down the hallway.
“Your Grace, wait,” she said in a slight panic. “There is something you must know.”
“Not now, Margaret. I must speak with him at once.”
Margaret’s eyes widened, and she continued to follow the Duke down the hallway. He reached the door to the parlour and realized Margaret was still behind him.
“Your Grace, please wait a moment...”
He opened the door to the parlour and his eyes widened. Lord Harrison and Trudy, one of the younger maids, were on the floor completely undressed, surrounded by their clothing. Trudy tried desperately to cover herself and the Duke looked away.
“Trudy, get back to your quarters,” the Duke ordered.
“Yes, Your Grace,” the maid answered, as she quickly gathered her clothes and was escorted out of the parlour by Margaret.
The Duke entered the parlour, closed the door behind him and glared at Lord Harrison, who nonchalantly glanced at him. The Duke ran his fingers through his hair and waited for Lord Harrison to dress before speaking.
“This is unacceptable,” the Duke stated after a short while.
“And why is that?”
“You cannot fornicate with my employees, Harrison.”
Lord Harrison scoffed and shook his head. “I do not understand your anger, nor your lack of understanding.”
“My lack of understanding,” the duke gritted his teeth. “You upset Miss Alice, you did not show up for breakfast, and now I find you disrobed in my parlour in the arms of my maidservant, but you do not understand why this upsets me?”
“Firstly,” Lord Harrison said and pointed to himself, “I was not the one who started this battle with Miss Alice.”
“I do not care who started it, Harrison. The point which I am attempting to make is that she is a good friend of Miss Emma and when Miss Alice is upset, Miss Emma is upset. When Miss Emma is upset, then it affects me. I have grown tired of defending you at every corner, trying to put out fires that you lit.”
“I do not require your defence.”
“Clearly you do,” the Duke scoffed.
“You are not taking her side.”
“I am not on either side. Miss Emma is who I ally myself with.”
“I see.”
“When you find a woman who is worth more than a simple romp every now and again, you will understand exactly what I mean, Harrison.”
“I have never had that luxury, Your Grace.”
“I understand that.”
“I admit it was not the best decision, and I apologize.”
The duke nodded in acknowledgement, but his jaw was still clenched. “Miss Alice is rather agitated with you as well.”
“I can only imagine,” Lord Harrison muttered.
“This must come to a stop at once, Harrison. As I mentioned before, it is causing a rather strained atmosphere at the estate and we all have enough on our plates without the added tension.”
“Very well. I will be on my best behaviour.”
“You have promised me that in the past, yet here we are with the same problem.”
“I can understand that you are tired of my behaviour-”
“Tired does not even begin to describe my feelings.”
Lord Harrison’s shoulders slumped, and for the very first time, he looked as though he felt guilty for putting his oldest friend in such a position. Lord Harrison must have finally realized that he was indeed making it very hard for the Duke, as well as for Miss Emma and Miss Alice.
“I am truly sorry for adding strain to all of you. Perhaps it is better if I simply leave,” he said.
“That will not be necessary,” the Duke said and shook his head. “You are my friend, you are like a brother to me, and I want you here, but I require your word that you will no longer torment or anger Miss Alice.”
“Your Grace-”
“I need your word, and I am serious. I cannot stand this atmosphere a moment longer,” the Duke said.
Lord Harrison nodded and said, “I will apologize to her, and keep all opinions of her to myself.”
“Be courteous when doing so, please.”
“I will, and this,” Lord Harrison said as he motioned to the entirety of the parlour referring to the activities that had commenced with him and Trudy, “will never happen again.”
“The four of us are having lunch together when the women return, and you are obligated to be there. No excuses.”
“I would not miss it for the world,” Lord Harrison said and placed his hand on his chest.
“Good,” the Duke said and left the parlour.
Lord Harrison lowered his hand and sighed. “This will certainly make for interesting proceedings,” he muttered to himself as he reached for his shoes that lay under the desk.
*****
Pure Elegance Dress Boutique
Blundeston, Suffolk, England
Alice tapped her fingers impatiently on her thigh as she waited for Emma to make her appearance from the dressing room. The previous visit to the boutique, the seamstress had stitched the gown together, but the outer layers of lace and were still to be added. The seamstress wanted to make sure Emma would fit into it first before anything else was added or finalized. This time however, the dress had to be perfectly fitted, and only hemmed, as the wedding was drawing near and the seamstress did not wish to rush her work.
The seamstress appeared from behind the burgundy velvet curtains and drew them back for Emma to walk through them.
Alice stood slowly and brought her hands up to her face. She had never seen Emma look as beautiful as she looked in this gown and tears suddenly filled her eyes.
“Emma,” she gasped.
“Judging by the look on your face, you approve,” Emma said with a smile.
“Indeed I do. You look magnificent. The gown is exquisite,” Alice said.
While the seamstress was pinning the hem to the desired length, Alice glanced at Emma.
Emma narrowed her eyes, as she noticed Alice’s gaze on her in the mirror. “Tell me what you are thinking,” Emma said.
“I think Her Grace’s seamstress can teach Doris a thing or two,” Alice answered.
“Indeed,” Emma chuckled, but her laugh soon faded. “Is that all you were thinking?”
Alice sighed and lowered her gaze. “I wish your mother were here to see you like this.”
“She is here,” Emma said and placed her hand on her h
eart.
Alice pursed her lips and nodded.
“Alice, please talk to me. I can see there is something amiss,” Emma said.
Alice sighed and shook her head. “I do not wish to place a damper on your excitement.”
“If there is something bothering you, then it affects me as well.”
“It’s Lord Harrison.”
“Are you still upset with him?”
“Not directly at him but the situation upsets me.”
“What do you mean?”
“He came to me last evening while I was in the library-”
“You were in the library?”
“Do not pretend to be shocked. I have been there quite a few times.”
“I was under the impression you did not like to read.”
“That is rather beside the point, Emma.”
“My apologies,” she said as she held her hands up in defeat. “Carry on.”
“He apologized to me for his behaviour, and at that moment I felt he meant what he said. He told me how his father would be ashamed of him if he were alive to see how Lord Harrison treated me and spoke to me.”
“That was noble of him.”
“That was exactly what I thought. Even though he was cocky and arrogant, he seemed different.”
“Different in what way?”
“I am not certain, he just stood there and stared at me.”
“He stared at you.”
“Indeed, but not at all in a way that was condescending, or uncomfortable.”
“What did he do?”
“Nothing. He stared at me for a few moments, and then...” Her voice trailed as she attempted to put her thoughts into words. “I am not even going to attempt to explain it, but his eyes softened, and the corners of his mouth curled in the most seductive way. It was mesmerising.”
Emma raised an eyebrow at Alice and exchanged perplexed glances with the seamstress.
“It sounds as if she is in love,” the seamstress pointed out.
Alice frowned as she briefly gazed at the seamstress before glancing at Emma.
“Are you attracted to Lord Harrison?” Emma asked with a smile.
“Do not be ridiculous, Emma. The man is arrogant and pompous.”
“Yet you cannot stop speaking of him,” Emma smirked.
“He is annoying and rude and a terrible person. I cannot even begin to imagine why I would be thinking entertaining thoughts of such a man.”
“Your friend seems to be in denial,” the seamstress muttered.
“I most certainly am not!”
“Alice, shouting at the seamstress is not going to help the situation.”
“I realize this, but I cannot have feelings for him. That is simply absurd.”
“Is it really?” Emma asked.
Alice opened her mouth to answer, but immediately shut it again. She frowned as she mulled it over in her mind. Lord Harrison was extremely attractive, his dark brown hair always seemed rather disheveled more than it was neat, and certainly matched his chaotic personality and behaviour. Alice thought of his alluring green eyes, causing her heart to pound in her chest, and at that moment she was not certain whether it was from anger, or attraction. She thought of his broad shoulders and how she had wished he would grab her and hold her close to him. She thought of his wicked laugh and deep throaty voice, and it made her shiver.
Upon the realisation that she found him physically very appealing, she began to think of him as a person. He had a sense of humour, only she was not certain what type it was. He laughed often, and on more than one occasion she had walked past the parlour, or the drawing room, when Lord Harrison and the Duke were conversing. He did not seem pompous in the Duke’s company.
Was he perhaps hiding his true self to avoid getting close to someone? Close to her? Was it because they lived in different worlds? Had his parents raised him to be gallant and charming, but only to those they deemed worthy of such?
Alice grew angry again, and realised it was directed at herself rather than at Lord Harrison, the arrogant man who she despised with her entire being. She glanced at Emma, who had a smile on her face and Alice shook her head.
“No.”
“No, what?”
“You are wrong. Even if, and that is a very big if indeed, there was a small part of me that felt anything but despise for that man, nothing would come of it, as I cannot bear the thought of being treated that way by someone I loved.”
Emma’s smiled widened and she chuckled. “She said loved,” Emma whispered to the seamstress.
“Indeed she did,” the seamstress agreed.
“I heard that,” Alice pointed out and crossed her arms. “I feel confused, and you are not being helpful.”
“There we are, Miss Emma,” the seamstress said and stood from the floor. “Is the length to your liking?”
Emma glanced at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. “I adore everything about this gown. What do you think, Alice?”
Alice glanced at her and smiled. “It is magnificent. His Grace will adore you in it.”
As Emma was led back to the dressing room by the seamstress, Alice sat on the stool and sighed miserably. Perhaps she did in fact have feelings for Lord Harrison, but he certainly did not deserve to know of them. She would be a fool if she allowed him to know. He would mock her relentlessly, or he would distance himself from her ‘kind’, as his mother would certainly have much to say about that.
Alice was quiet the entire ride back to Rivenhall Estate, despite Emma asking her many questions. She resorted to answering Emma’s questions regarding the wedding, as well as the ceremony as best she could, thankful that Emma distracted her from thinking too deeply about Lord Harrison, but also ensured that her answers were not too short as to let Emma believe she was upset. Regardless, as they neared the estate, Emma asked the question she had feared more than anything since they left the dress boutique.
“Why did you not tell me about you and Lord Harrison?”
“There is nothing to tell. I may have had a momentary lapse of judgment, or possibly a seizure that caused damage to my brain.”
Emma chuckled and glanced at Alice reassuringly. “There is nothing wrong with developing feelings for Lord Harrison.”
“Of course there is. Have you listened to anything I said to you about him?”
“I have. I just feel that you and Lord Harrison have not had a chance to properly get to know one another.”
“I do not wish to know him, and I can assure you, he does not wish to know me. You told me of his mother, and how she feels regarding the lower classes. I do not stand a chance with him,” she said, “not that I wish to.”
“Alice, you certainly are contradicting yourself.”
“I am not. I am not in love with Lord Harrison, nor do I have feelings for him.”
“It certainly sounds like you do, Alice.”
“It is not logical to feel things for him.”
“Love is not logical, my dearest friend. You cannot choose who you fall in love with.”
“I hear your words, and I hope they are true, but they are not.”
“Alice-” Emma began as the carriage came to a stop, but Alice immediately stood up and climbed out.
“I am done speaking of this, Emma, and I would appreciate it if you did not speak of this to anyone, especially not the Duke,” Alice said and made her way inside.
Tears filled her eyes as she made her way to the stairwell, passing the Duke without a glance, or a greeting. She went directly to her chambers and closed the door behind her. As she lay on her bed, weeping sorrowfully, she realized she was being rather dramatic, but she did not care. She felt conflicted in her heart, lying to her dearest friend about her feelings for a man with whom she could have no future, and who would most certainly not reciprocate her feelings.
It was a while later that she heard a knock on her door, and she sat up abruptly, realizing only then that she had fallen asleep. Admittedly she did feel better, but it d
id not fix everything, as her mother had told her a long while ago.
“Sleep can cure many things,” Alice remembered her mother saying to her.
“It does not take feelings away, Mother,” Alice muttered to herself as she walked to the door and opened it.
To Be His Lady: A Regency Romance (Finding Forever Love) Page 3