The Duke's Predicament (The Reluctant Duke Book 3)

by Fenella J Miller

  The duke, he believed he could no longer refer to him as major as he’d done initially, was waiting to greet them looking every inch an aristocrat. It was hard to credit that two years ago they’d been fighting side by side in Portugal, both career soldiers, neither of them anticipating how their lives would change.

  ‘Are you ready, Paul, still time to change your mind,’ the duke said in jest.

  ‘No, sir, I’m eager to say my vows. I can’t tell you what a difference it makes having my mother living under the same roof and knowing that she’s happy again.’

  ‘Mrs Marchand has made an enormous difference to our lives. Amanda and I are delighted to have her as part of the family. See – the ladies are arriving now.’ He laughed. ‘Don’t look so terrified, not your bride. I’m to fetch her when everyone else is seated.’

  Patrick turned. His eyes widened. Hannah looked quite stunning, every inch a lady, and so far out of his reach he accepted at last that it wasn’t to be. Then he grinned. All the ladies were wearing bonnets which looked decidedly odd when they were indoors.

  ‘Mr O’Riley, what has amused you about our arrival?’ Miss Westley said.

  He pointed to her hat and she returned his smile. ‘I know, ridiculous, but as the wedding breakfast is to be served in the marquee, which is technically outside, bonnets are de rigueur.’

  ‘Lady Elizabeth, might I be permitted to compliment you on your gown?’

  He’d expected her to clap, to spin around demonstrating how the skirts swirled about her ankles, but to his surprise she nodded and smiled as any girl would do.

  ‘Thank you, Mr O’Riley. I think that Miss Westley’s gown is pretty too, don’t you?’

  ‘It is, my lady, I’m honoured to be in your company.’

  The orchestra began to play something he recognised as Bach and he stepped aside to allow Paul to greet his mother.

  Chapter Two

  Amanda stood beside Richard and watched her sister marry a man she’d only known a few weeks. This didn’t bother her as it was obvious to everyone how much in love they were. He seemed to sense she was thinking about him and reached out and took her hand in his. He squeezed it gently and spoke softly into her ear.

  ‘I have to sign the register, darling, but then I’ll not leave your side again today. I love you and know you feel neglected. Things will improve once this is out of the way.’

  ‘I love you too and if Sarah and Paul are half as happy as we are then they’ll be doing very well.’

  He touched her face with his hand and then strode off to the table set out for the purpose. Upon this the register and marriage certificate could be filled in and witnessed correctly.

  The orchestra were playing Bach again, a favourite composer of hers. Beth was fidgeting at her side. ‘It won’t be much longer, sweetheart, then we’ll all be going outside to the big marquee and a delicious wedding breakfast will be served.’

  ‘Why is it called breakfast when it’s in the afternoon, Amanda?’

  ‘I don’t really know. But then when we go out to visit in the afternoon it’s called a morning call, isn’t it?’

  ‘It is, and I think that’s very silly too.’

  There was a sudden scuffle at the back of the room which attracted their attention. Ladies were protesting, gentlemen standing up. What on earth was going on?

  Suddenly an unfortunate cat shot between her feet followed by three small shaggy dogs. The racket attracted the attention of the small group around the table. Patrick, Richard and Paul turned first and reacted immediately as one would expect from ex-soldiers.

  If they’d discussed who should collect which puppy, she certainly didn’t hear it but they split up and, in seconds, the furore was over. Richard held up Mouse, Patrick had Marigold and Paul collected Silly Billy. The cat vanished over the windowsill much to the relief of everyone present. The three gentlemen in their smart clothes marched one behind the other down the aisle and vanished. Sarah was left standing at the altar with her mother-in-law.

  Beth was giggling so much Amanda feared her sister would fall from her chair. She left Miss Westley to deal with this and rushed over to Sarah. ‘Well, that was exciting and unusual. Shall we march down the aisle one behind the other as the gentlemen did?’

  Sarah was laughing almost as much as Beth. ‘Oh yes, let’s do that. I’ve never seen anything so funny in my life and it’s the perfect start to my marriage. I wonder how the dogs got out?’

  The orchestra had continued playing as if nothing untoward had occurred and now the guests were seated again and most of them were laughing too. Amanda caught the eye of the conductor and he understood immediately.

  The orchestra struck up a martial tune ideal for marching down the aisle. Sarah set off, Amanda followed her, then Beth jumped to her feet and came third. Mrs Marchand and Miss Westley followed along behind. What the guests thought of this bizarre spectacle she’d no idea and cared less.

  They were all in the entrance hall when the gentlemen returned. Sarah ran into the arms of her husband and he picked up and kissed her thoroughly. She did the same and Richard didn’t fail her. She had no time to see what Patrick did with Miss Westley but when Richard finally released her, they were standing very close together looking rather pleased with themselves. Mrs Marchand was no longer there – no doubt she’d returned to her duties with Mama. The only one not looking happy was Beth. However, Miss Westley immediately took charge of the situation and averted a possible incident.

  ‘Should we tell the other guests the ceremony is over and they should make their way to the marquee?’

  Sarah answered the question she’d directed at Richard. ‘They’ll soon realise when we don’t go back in. I feel sorry for the vicar he must think we’ve all run mad.’

  She and Paul linked arms and dashed off through the drawing room and out of the open French doors. The rest of them followed on. Richard had offered to lay a carpet across the grass but both she and Sarah had insisted this was unnecessary.

  She stepped into the tent and paused to admire what had been achieved. ‘Isn’t this absolutely splendid? So much better than being squashed together inside. It was an inspired suggestion to arrange things this way as now the villagers and staff can enjoy their own dance out here whilst we’re attending our far more formal, and less enjoyable, ball inside.’

  ‘As the owners of all this magnificence, sweetheart, it behoves us to attend both events. From the racket behind us I think our guests are coming to join us so we’d better take our seats.’

  The wedding breakfast was sumptuous, champagne and various wines were served with each course, but she wisely stuck to lemonade. Alcohol didn’t agree with her.

  Eventually the meal was over and Paul stood up. He tapped his glass and everyone fell silent. ‘I wish to thank you for coming and apologise for the minor interruption by the puppies and the cat. As you can hear the garden party is about to start. There will be fire-eaters, stilt-walkers, fortune tellers as well as a coconut shy and a tug of war. But, the most exciting event will be the air balloon. I can’t wait to ascend in it. My wife and I are going out to enjoy the delights. I hope you will join us.’

  There was a spontaneous round of applause and the scrape of chairs being pushed back on the board floor that had been laid inside the marquee.

  ‘I think there’s going to be trouble with Beth this afternoon, Richard. From her cheeks I’d say she’s been drinking wine whilst Miss Westley was distracted. I think we’d better escort her, she’ll not misbehave if we’re with her.’

  ‘I’d hoped to spend the time alone with you – well, as alone as we ever are nowadays. Miss Westley, as far as I recall, hasn’t taken a day off since she arrived last year. Excuse me, my love, I’m going to collect Beth and tell her governess that she can have the remainder of the day and tomorrow as much deserved, and belated, free time.’

  ‘Doctor Peterson was to attend the wedding itself but he isn’t here. I don’t recall having received a cancellation from him
. I suppose he must have been called away to an emergency.’ She put her hand through his arm and they moved swiftly towards Beth and Miss Westley.

  Her sister was trying to pull away from her governess. There was going to be an unpleasant scene at any moment. Richard moved so swiftly she was forced to release his arm. Then he was beside Beth.

  ‘You will not make a scene, young lady. Either you behave yourself or I’m taking you up to your room and you shall remain there and miss all the excitement here.’

  ‘I won’t go in. I don’t like you.’

  He tightened his hold and spoke softly to the truculent girl. ‘Then I’m afraid it’s inside for you.’ He whisked her away before she could protest and anyone notice the altercation.

  ‘Miss Westley, there’s no need for you to go with my sister. You must have the remainder of the day to yourself and his grace suggests you take tomorrow as well.’

  ‘I should be with her. She’s my responsibility…’

  ‘Not today or tomorrow – Nanny and the nursemaids are quite capable of looking after her. Excuse me, I must go and see her settled. You enjoy yourself. I’ll expect to see you at the ball tonight.’

  *

  Hannah was torn by the pull of her duty towards her charge and the thought that she could enjoy the delights available today without responsibility.

  Patrick had watched the drama and now offered his arm. ‘You deserve some time off, Miss Westley. I’m determined to go up in the balloon and am hoping I can entice you to join me.’

  ‘I’m not sure I wish to do so but I’m intrigued. I understand that it’s filled with some sort of gas and is being inflated at this very moment.’

  ‘Then that’s what we shall do first. I’m yours to command for the remainder of the day. I, too, have been given two days’ furlough. Perhaps you might consider accompanying me for a picnic or some such nonsense tomorrow?’

  She smiled up at him. ‘What I would like to do is go for a gentle hack about the countryside. I’m a novice rider and since Beth has once more taken against horses for some reason, I no longer have the opportunity to go out with her.’

  They threaded their way through the growing crowd of happy tenants, employees and villagers accompanied by their families. It wasn’t often the two sides mixed so freely. Mind you, the Denchester family were like no other of their status. His grace, having grown up with no expectation of becoming the duke, had been a career soldier like Patrick, so had not become arrogant and treated everyone with respect from the lowliest bootboy to a visiting aristocrat.

  From his superior height her escort was able to see in which direction to go. ‘It’s already half-full and attracting a deal of attention. I think it will be the main attraction, don’t you?’

  ‘Imagine the disappointment if the weather had turned and it was raining and not glorious summer sunshine.’ Talking about the weather was a safe topic but what she really wanted to do was discuss the brief moment in the entrance hall when he had raised her hand and kissed her knuckles. It was the lightest of kisses and probably meant nothing at all – but she was certain Beth had witnessed it and this was why she’d become disobedient and difficult.

  Then all thought of this troubling incident fled from her mind when she saw the top of the balloon billowing above the heads of the gawping crowd.

  ‘Oh, my goodness! I’d no idea it would be so enormous. What’s that alarming hissing sound I can hear?’ Instinctively she moved closer to him and he didn’t move away. But neither did he take her hand or put his arm around her in a way that might have been construed as taking liberties.

  ‘Look, over there are barrels of gas and what you hear is the gas going into the balloon. The basket is pegged to the ground with those iron loops and the hessian bags hanging over the side will be dropped in order for the balloon to rise higher.’

  There were half a dozen men busy around the rapidly inflating balloon but two of them, better dressed than the others, must be the aeronauts.

  ‘How do you know so much about this? Do you have secret yearnings to be an aeronaut yourself?’

  He grinned and shook his head. ‘I’m quite happy to go up as long as it’s firmly tethered to the earth. I’d not wish to be at the mercy of the wind and not know in which direction I’d be taken.’

  ‘I imagine rising is safe enough but landing might well be problematical – certainly not something I’d wish to experience.’

  A pretty young woman brightly dressed in stripes, her wild brown hair haphazardly piled on top of her head, approached them. ‘Do you wish to put your names down, ma’am, sir? There are already a dozen people ahead of you.’

  ‘Yes, we do wish to ascend. Mr O’Riley is my name. When should we return here?’

  ‘The balloon will be ready in half an hour. The weather’s perfect, no wind at all. If you would care to return in two hours it should be your turn by then.’ She pointed at Hannah’s gown. ‘It’s a mite chilly up there, ma’am, so you might want to put on a cloak for your ascent.’

  Patrick handed over the required coins and they moved aside to allow other eager would-be aeronauts to sign up for the experience.

  ‘There’s so much to see, shall we start from here and make a complete circuit? There are numerous stalls and sideshows – it’s better than any country fair I’ve ever attended.’

  He held out his arm and willingly she slipped her hand through it. She felt a moment’s guilt that she wasn’t upstairs with Beth, but then pushed it aside. Although she had one afternoon a week to herself, she’d not taken any more time away from her charge than that.

  The two hours sped by as there was so much to see and her companion kept her amused with his lively wit and obvious enjoyment of all that was on offer. The balloon had floated up many times much to the enjoyment of the watching crowd and now she was confident it held no risk so was looking forward to her turn.

  ‘I must go in and fetch my cloak, Patrick. Shall I meet you at the balloon in a quarter of an hour?’

  ‘I’ll be waiting. Are you still sure you wish to participate in this?’

  She pointed into the sky where the balloon was floating and the occupants waving and gesticulating from within the basket. ‘I can’t wait, it’s an opportunity to experience something unusual and I doubt it will occur again.’

  As her small apartment was adjacent to the schoolroom and Beth’s accommodation, she feared she might be unable to escape again. Perhaps it would have been better to send a maid to fetch her cloak and thus avoid the possibility.

  Too late to repine – she must find it for herself and pray that Beth didn’t notice her slipping in and out. The nursery floor was quiet and she began to breathe more easily. She collected the garment she needed then looked into the schoolroom. There was no sign of Nanny and the two nursemaids were busy doing mending and looked up on her entry.

  ‘Is Lady Beth resting?’

  Both girls jumped up and curtsied briefly. ‘She is, Miss Westley. After his grace spoke most sternly to her she settled down and played with her dolls. She asked if she could go to her bedchamber for a rest and we’ve not heard a peep from her since then.’

  ‘I’ll just look in on her before I go down again.’ Hannah tiptoed to the door, which was ajar, and looked around. Her stomach turned over. The bed was empty – the room deserted – Beth had somehow tricked her watchers and was now God knows where.

  *

  Patrick watched Hannah move smoothly through the crowd, stopping to speak to many of the happy folk with that easy manner that she had. His good intentions had vanished when Peterson had failed to appear. It behoved him to escort her as he could hardly allow her to wander about unattended.

  After the nonsense at the ceremony with the puppies and the cat he’d returned with his grace and Paul and been swept up in the moment. When the other two couples had kissed each other so fiercely he couldn’t resist entrapping her hand and placing a light kiss on her knuckles.

  Her cheeks had turned pink but she hadn�
�t objected. Was it possible that she returned his feelings? That she was prepared to forego a life of luxury and ease and marry him?

  There was no need to head towards the balloon just yet, he would wander about and then, when he spied her coming back, would walk with her rather than meet her there. He wandered to the far edge of the lawns where there were the caravans and small tents belonging to the Romany who had provided much of the entertainment.

  It was quieter here, fewer people, and the trees that edged the grass cast a welcome shade. As he was passing a striped booth he saw Lady Beth vanish behind it accompanied by a well-dressed young gentleman that he didn’t recognise.

  How the hell had she managed to be out on her own? He followed the two of them and she was being led away and obviously not an unwilling companion to this bastard. He didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the cove by his shoulder, spun him round and floored him with a massive right hook to the side of his jaw. Before the girl could protest, he picked her up and made a dash for the trees where her screams of protest wouldn’t be heard.

  He took off at the double and didn’t pause despite her frantic kicks until they were far enough away to be safe from any spectators. He dumped her unceremoniously on her feet but kept a firm hold on her arms.

  ‘Enough of that racket, my lady, I’m quite prepared to put you across my knee if you don’t stop.’ He had no intention of doing so but the threat was enough to calm her down. Her bonnet was on sideways, her gown creased and what looked suspiciously like grass stains across the back.

  Her defiance crumpled and she burst into tears. He gathered her close and comforted her as he’d done many times before. She was, after all, still a child and couldn’t be blamed for what had taken place.

  ‘There, no need to cry, little one, you’re safe now. Here, dry your eyes, and then you can hold my hand and I’ll take you back.’