A Lady To Redeem A Rakish Lord (Historical Regency Romance)

by Lucinda Nelson

  He later slept while thinking about this and then the next day, he got up early to go back to the manor.

  This time, he was able to see the manor. It was surrounded by a manicured lawn to give off the look of a miniature castle. Its stones were pale grey, void of the moss that clung to the walls of other houses surrounding it. There were two stone pillars supporting the porch. He climbed out of the carriage and walked to the front door. The doorman opened it immediately.

  He was a tall, lanky men with bushy hair. He gave Christopher a hostile glare.

  “Who do you want to see?” he asked, looking at him from head to toe.

  “Lord Benjamin Gibbs, please,” Christopher replied calmly.

  The man looked shocked as if it were the first time that Benjamin received visitors.

  “I am afraid, there has been some sort of mistake,” he said to Christopher.

  “I do not understand. He stays here, does he not?” Christopher questioned.

  “I cannot answer that question. You must leave,” the doorman said.

  “Who is that?” asked a weak voice from somewhere in the house.

  “No one, my lord,” replied the doorman as he slammed the door and locked it.

  Christopher was astounded. He recognized the voice as the one that was shouting at Benjamin the other night. Where was Benjamin and why was the doorman acting strange?

  He decided to walk around the house and while doing so, heard a voice coming from one of the windows. He realized there were two voices as he got closer to the window.

  “Did someone ask for Benjamin?” asked the older voice.

  “Yes, my Lord,” replied the cold voice of the doorman.

  “What do they want?”

  “I told him to leave.”

  “Well, you could have allowed him to see me first, idiot! Why did you not tell him where Benjamin had gone?”

  “Because the Baron told me before he left not to tell anyone where he would be going,” replied the doorman.

  “Including me?”

  There was silence and a sound of movement. “Where is my grandson, Elias?”

  Christopher laughed quietly outside the window. The name Elias did fit the doorman.

  “I’m afraid, I am not at liberty to say,” Elias replied in a low tone.

  “Well, who should you be more loyal to, Elias? Me or my grandson? You know what he is capable of and you know what I am equally capable of.”

  “He was talking about a proposal, that is all I know,” Elias quickly replied.

  “A proposal?” asked the grandfather. “Surely, he cannot be planning to get married.”

  “I do not know more than what I just mentioned, my Lord.”

  “Well, you may leave.”

  Christopher also left. His mind was disturbed. If Benjamin was planning to propose to Ophelia then he would be losing her to him. There was only one person to help him; he would have to find a way to get to Mr. Charles Doodleton.

  * * *

  Mr. Charles Doodleton

  It was a beautiful evening at the Millian park. There were fewer people taking a walk today and some of the other visitors were sitting under the shed. Doodleton, Charles horse, was grazing on the field while Charles watched from afar.

  The sun was setting fast and he knew it was time to go home. While he motioned towards his horse, a carriage pulled over very close to him. He frowned at first but relaxed as he recognized the man that stepped out of the carriage. It was Lord Crampton. Charles walked closer to him, hoping he had brought good news about him and his cousin.

  “My Lord,” he said, taking a slight bow. “I hope all is well?”

  He looked clearly disturbed. It was enough to answer Charles’ question.

  “I think he is going to propose to her,” he blurted as he got to him, arms akimbo.

  Charles was surprised. “So soon? May I ask how you got to know that?”

  “I overheard his doorman telling his grandfather,” he explained.

  Charles shrugged. “Well, if that is the case then I do not think I need to be worried.”

  “Why would you not be worried?” he asked.

  “My cousin is getting married. Her desire has always been to marry for love.” he explained, about to turn and leave.

  “But he is not right for her,” he cried in despair. “She belongs with me!”

  Charles stopped to face him. “If she says yes to him, then it has nothing to do with you anymore. She will have to make her choice.”

  “I beg of you, do not let him have her.”

  Charles was surprised and slightly impressed. “What would you have me do? How certain are you that you are right for her?”

  “I will prove it to you,” he said, beating his chest softly. “I will do anything you want me to do. I have changed my ways. I stopped drinking in excess, stopped gambling and sleeping around with women. I want to be the right person for her, and I am certain that she loves me still.”

  Charles smiled. “Well, if I did not think you were serious before, I can see that you are serious now.”

  Lord Crampton inhaled upon hearing that.

  “Well, I will need to talk to my cousin but first I think you need to see her father.”

  The Viscount nodded as Charles went on. “The family needs the marriage to support them. I hear that a tax is coming up greatly on all merchants and it can ruin them. The only way to sustain the family financially is to have their daughter married. I hope you are ready for that?”

  * * *

  Christopher Crampton, Viscount Barrington

  Christopher nodded. “Certainly, I am,” he was ready for anything that would disrupt Benjamin’s plan.

  “Well then,” continued Charles. “Did your parents know about her before?”

  “Yes but she was never introduced to them properly for courtship. That was when everything started.”

  Charles sighed. “Then you need to get her back in your parent’s good graces if indeed you plan to marry her.”

  “Yes, I am going to do that tomorrow. I shall speak to my parents immediately, but first, how do I stop her from accepting his proposal?”

  “Well, I would suggest you talk to your sister to speak to her about giving you one more chance. I shall also speak to her. By the look of things, she is under pressure from her mother and her friend. They both want her to marry Benjamin and if her father also adds to that and there is no one speaking on your behalf, I am afraid she might end up with him.”

  “Alright. I shall speak to Rebecca,” he said. “She will speak to her and at the same time, I shall talk to my parents.”

  “Let us hope that things work out for the best,” said Charles.

  “Thank you very much,” Christopher said before going back to the carriage.

  * * *

  Lord Benjamin Gibbs, the Baron of Salsbury

  He dismounted from his horse and opened the door of the manor.

  “Welcome back, my Lord,” said Elias on seeing him.

  Benjamin grumbled his reply and walked past the doorman.

  “My Lord…someone asked of you.”

  He stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at Elias. “What do you mean by that?” he asked, his brows furrowed in a frown.

  “A man came in the morning, asking of you,” the doorman replied, looking at the floor fearfully.

  Benjamin turned and walked back to him. “Are you drunk this early morning Elias?”

  The man shook his head, unable to look back at his master.

  “Then what madness do you spurt from your mouth about a man coming to see me?” he demanded angrily, seizing him by the neck.

  “That was just what happened, my Lord,” the man said in a quivering voice.

  “Leave the poor man alone, Benjamin! He has told you the truth!” shouted his grandfather behind them.

  Benjamin pushed Elias from his grip and then turned to face his grandfather.

  “Who was the man that came to ask for me?” he asked
again.

  “I do not know. I could not see his face,” replied the grandfather.

  Angrily, Benjamin pushed the table in front of him and everything on it clattered on the floor.

  “I am living with a bunch of people who….” he stopped all of a sudden and then calmly walked back to Elias. “Could you describe this strange man that came asking for me?”

  Elias sighed, with his head bent low. “He was tall, very tall, dark hair, blue eyes….”

  Benjamin was shocked. No, it could not be! He thought, leaving abruptly for his room. When he got to his room, he slammed the door and locked it.

  Quickly, he walked to the table and brought out two envelopes. They were letters from Christopher which he had not gone through. He had received them but had imagined that Christopher only wanted to meet for no particular reason.

  He opened one of the letters and began to go through it.

  Benjamin,

  How are you? Please let me see you. It is very important.”

  Christopher.

  He opened the second letter…

  Benjamin,

  I know about everything you have kept from me. We must see each other as soon as possible else I shall find you by all means!”

  Christopher.

  He folded the letters and began to think. What could he be talking about? The only thing that came to mind was nothing but Ophelia. He could not possibly know that he was planning to propose to her, could he?

  He brought out the letter he wrote which he planned to send to Mrs. Campbell, to reveal his intention to ask Mr. Campbell about marrying their daughter.

  He was not interested in wasting any more time, he wanted to be done with this as soon as possible. When he was done, he folded the letter into an envelope and left the room.

  “Moses!” he shouted at a servant that was standing close by.

  “Yes, my lord,” said the lad, rushing towards him.

  “See to it, that this gets to Havenswood and precisely, the Campbell’s cottage,” he ordered.

  The lad bowed and took his leave. Afterward, he faced his grandfather who was sitting on a lounging chair in the parlor.

  “Grandfather, I am getting married very soon. I hope you are prepared to meet my bride?”

  His father stared at him. “So it is true, then? Who is the unfortunate lady that wants to marry someone like you?”

  Benjamin looked at him but shook his head. “I hope you are not going to talk this way when she comes,” he said with a sneer.

  His grandfather said nothing but stood and took his leave.

  Chapter 32

  Miss Ophelia Campbell

  Ophelia sat in her room, thinking about all the things she heard from her parents. Two days had gone by and neither of her parents had spoken to her about their discussion. She could not talk to them, so she had told Emily instead.

  “I am surprised with what I just heard,” Emily said to her. They were both sitting on the bed. “Do you think that Lord Gibbs knows about the tax?”

  Ophelia was not certain. If Lord Gibbs was indeed as honorable as he claimed to be, then, he would do something about the tax. He could talk to some of people he possibly knew in parliament to ask them to reconsider the proposed law.

  “But why would his grandfather have a hand in something so unfair? How does he expect the small-scaled merchants to feed their families when they are spending all their profits on taxes?” Emily complained.

  “I have no idea, Emily,” replied Ophelia with a huge sigh. “I am disturbed. I am confused. I do not know what to think and I wish they would just bring this to my attention.”

  “This can ruin your family. I hope it does not happen.”

  While they were talking, the door opened and Ophelia’s mother walked in.

  “Emily dear, please will you terribly mind your friend and I? she shall call you once we are done.”

  “Alright, Mrs. Campbell. It is no problem at all,” replied Emily as she stood up and left the room.

  Ophelia’s curiosity grew as her mother sat next to her.

  “Is everything alright, mother?” she asked.

  “I have something important to discuss with you, dear,” her mother started.

  Ophelia inhaled, hoping this would be about the same thing she had been discussing earlier with her friend.

  “It is about your marriage,” said her mother. “Lord Gibbs has shown his intention. He sent a letter to your father and I …”

  Ophelia looked at her in disbelief. “He wants to marry me?”

  Her mother nodded with a smile.

  “Well, I must reject his proposal!” she declared.

  “I am afraid that is not going to be possible,” replied her mother.

  “But I do not wish to marry him. I do not desire him at all,” she said again, more firmly this time. She thought of telling her mother what she had overheard but she changed her mind.

  “Ophelia, I need you to listen to me,” continued her mother. “You have no choice.”

  “I have no choice?” she asked again, now standing up. “Are you saying I have no right to choose if I want to marry this man or not?”

  “That is exactly what I am saying, daughter. It is important that you marry him.”

  “This is about the tax and his grandfather, is it not?” she asked all of a sudden.

  Her mother stood up, the surprise was visible on her face. “What? I do not understand. How did you know about that?”

  Ophelia sighed. “I overheard you and father talking about it two days ago,” she replied, looking out of the window.

  Her mother was quiet for a while and then she nodded. “Since you have heard all that has happened, there is no need going all about it again. If you do not marry him, Ophelia, we are ruined.”

  “I shall not marry him, mother. There is nothing anyone can do about it.”

  “You must not talk in such a selfish manner, child! Do you not hear what I just said? Your family needs you to survive financial ruin.”

  Ophelia inhaled as her mother left. She was boiling with rage. Benjamin must have done this on purpose. She was certain that he sent the proposal knowing that she would not have a choice than to accept his proposal.

  She hissed and flung herself on the bed.

  That same time, Emily came back in and she recounted all that has happened to her.

  “You do not know if he only sent the proposal because he loves you, not because he wants to force your hand…” Emily started.

  “Do not defend him,” Ophelia blurted. “You do not see what I see. All you are seeing is this kind, tolerable man but he always managed to appear at the most convenient time. I am afraid of him, Emily. He terrifies me.”

  “Enough with that, Ophelia. Do not judge the poor man without speaking to him first. I think that he might not know about his grandfather’s imposition and he is only doing what he thinks can help you.”

  Ophelia was quiet. She had finally realized that Emily would never see anything bad about Lord Gibbs until she could finally give her concrete evidence that would discredit him.

  “What did your mother say?”

  “She said I have no choice.”

  Emily thought for a while and then asked. “What about your secret admirer? When last have you heard from him?”

  Ophelia was surprised. The only thing she could say was “oh.” It had been a while since she gotten a letter from the so called secret admirer.

  “I think he is no longer interested in me,” she told Emily as she came to sit by her.

  “When last did you hear from him?”

  “Some weeks ago, after the whole thing with Lord Crampton. If I am not mistaken, I could have sworn that he stopped sending messages almost at the same time when Lord Gibbs started paying me a visit.”

  As they were talking, a knock sounded on the door and Ophelia stood up to get it.

  “Lord Gibbs is here to see you, miss,” said the maid and left.

  Ophelia was speechless.
She looked at Emily who shrugged.

  “It is just a coincidence.”

  Ophelia sent her a scowl before leaving to meet her guest in the parlor.