The Lady's Fate (The Reluctant Grooms Volume II) Read online

  “I adore her. She is a lovely, agreeable child six and three quarter days among seven.”

  “And on the quarter days when she is not?” Penny asked.

  “She is the veriest nanny-goat, stubborn to a fault.” Violet smiled. “However, she knows her tantrums do not hold with me. Mostly when she has her spells, she is either tired or hungry and they do not last long. Your mother-in-law means well, but she is apt to spoil the child with too many sweets and not enough sleep. I cannot bear the thought of Jane losing her schedule because of an impromptu visit from Lady Chesnick.” She could not help the derision in her voice.

  “You take your responsibility to Jane very seriously, do you not, Violet?”

  “Yes, of course. I do not know why she felt such a rapport with me, but I have grown extremely fond of the child.”

  “Yes, Haverlane told me about his first meeting with you by the river. Quite an interesting situation to be sure.”

  “Yes, it was,” Violet agreed. “I recall I had been lamenting on the heat of the day and wanting to dip my toes in the water. I should be more careful of what I wish, I think.” Violet giggled.

  They walked through the labyrinth of the various rooms and halls, ending in the unused ballroom toward the back of the house.

  “I find it interesting as well you gave up your place at your sister’s side when she made her debut. Do you not wish for a Season?” Penny asked.

  Violet hesitated. Knowing her presence among Society did not bear well, Violet did not wish to cast her sister in the same light.

  “When I took the position, I had no idea Haverlane’s cousin could not fulfill her promise to him and become Jane’s nanny. I would not abandon the child and so, remained here with Jane.” She hoped she had sidestepped adequately to not allow further questions.

  “Surely, you wish to find a husband for yourself,” Penny said.

  “I am content to remain here with Jane. My sister is all enthusiasm and writes regularly to tell me of her latest adventures and it is enough for me. I am comforted in the knowledge she has made friends and seems quite attached to Viscount Welbey. I am not as keen to join the parties and balls. I am quiet by nature and do not take pleasure in gadding about. Ogled by strangers, primped and prodded into dresses that shan’t fit by evening’s end, and having my father’s name whispered about ballrooms does not entice me.” Violet thought the older girl would turn her nose and walk away or say she was foolish. Didn’t every girl dream of her first Season?

  Penny placed her hand on Violet’s arm. “You know your own mind, Violet. That is a good deal more than I can say for most. I will confess I was a lot like you when I had my first go ‘round. I liked nothing more to have my nose in a book and dreaded the outings my parents forced on me. If it had not been for my chance meeting with William, I am afraid I would very well have become a spinster.”

  “Surely not, Lady Penny. As charming and beautiful as you are, you would have found a husband.”

  Penny laughed, a light tinkling sound that echoed through the vast chamber. “Ah, but you see, I was not looking for one. I was quite content to lead the Apes in Hell. I did not care if I married. My horses and books were the only things I required for my happiness.”

  “Jane is the only thing I require,” Violet said without thinking.

  “Yes, but with Jane comes Haverlane. He is formidable at best, and intolerable at his worst.” Penny smiled, took Violet’s arm, and led them from the ballroom.

  “I do not find him so,” Violet said. “He is intelligent, handsome, and although he lacks something in his manner to lend a certain air of amiability, he is quite unequal to any I have met thus.”

  Penny stopped her perambulation and looked at Violet. “I believe my brother-in-law has found a friend in you, Violet. And I dare say his very first. He is my brother by marriage and I could not love him more, but he is a hard man to know.”

  Violet touched the crumpled letter in her pocket. Not so hard.

  The week until Twelfth Night was the hardest thing Violet had ever endured. Lady Chesnick forever chided Violet on the care of her granddaughter. Her mother insisted she stop helping the servants, although the maids they brought did not lend a hand. Violet’s only bright spot had been Penny who helped soften the blow of Lady Chesnick’s words and her mother’s derision. Yes, she would be sad to see Lady Penny depart. Besides her sisters, she was Violet’s only friend.

  Violet sat in the library one afternoon reading a book of poetry Reverend Perry had lent her from his collection. It was the only thing to give her peace at Fairhaven since the families’ arrival. However, as she read a poem of two lovers parting, tears coursed unbidden down her cheeks.

  “Violet, are you all right?” Penny asked from the doorway.

  Violet quickly wiped the tears. “Yes, of course. It is only foolishness as I am reading love poems.” Could she be more embarrassed?

  Penny walked into the room and sat on the settee across from Violet. “Are you sure, dearest? Your distress is alarming.”

  “I am well. Thank you. It is this poetry. I cannot help feel saddened by the lover’s loss.”

  “Are you sure it is only his loss?” Penny asked. “Forgive me, Violet. I can no longer keep silent. I have seen how your face changes whenever Haverlane’s name comes into conversation. Have you feelings for him?”

  Violet burst into fresh tears. Did she dare say? She reached into her pocket for her handkerchief and Haverlane’s letter fell to the floor.

  Penny picked it up and handed it back to her. “Violet, although we have not known each other long, please tell me what troubles you so. Perhaps I may be of some comfort.”

  Violet looked at her new friend. Having no one else to speak with about her sorrowful predicament, she unburdened herself to the young duchess and told her everything that had happened between her and Haverlane.

  “And this is the letter he left for me before he quit Fairhaven,” Violet said and handed Penny the letter.

  Penny read it quickly. “I hardly know what to say.”

  “There is nothing to be said. He does not return my affections. He is still in love with Lady Anne.”

  “I am sure he holds her in his heart with great affection, but he is out of mourning at last. My mother-in-law has said he is now looking for another wife.”

  “Yes, and that will be Lady Baxter,” Violet sniffed.

  “Lady Baxter? Lady Georgiana Baxter?” Penny asked in disbelief.

  “Yes, my sister wrote to me during the Little Season and told me Lady Baxter and Haverlane danced at all the balls she had attended and that Lady Baxter remained by his side throughout the night.”

  “Oh, dearest,” Penny said. “There is nothing between them. I myself attended several of those same balls and although they did dance together, there is no great attention on Haverlane’s part. Her father holds the key to a piece of business Haverlane wishes to espouse and I am sure he only grants Georgiana his favor to placate Lord Axminster. I may not know what is truly in my brother-in-law’s heart, but I do know he does not hold Georgiana Baxter in any favorable light.”

  Violet felt a small measure of solace from the words, but her heart remained heavy.

  Penny took hold of Violet’s hand. “If it will lend you reassurance, I shall ask Haverlane upon my return to Town.”

  “No! I beg you, please, do not. He has told me we are only friends and for that, I must be content. My time with Jane will end soon enough and although Haverlane has thoughts of matrimony, he has made it clear it is not with me. My broken heart will mend soon enough and when next we meet in Town, I shall be well.”

  “As you wish. Though I will say, you are more forgiving than he deserves.” Penny’s tone voiced her dissatisfaction.

  “I shall never think ill of Haverlane,” Violet said. “No matter the circumstances. He has done me no disservice other than to reveal his truth. I allowed his kisses and my ego became flattered such a man could find me attractive, but I shall overcom
e my melancholy in time and with distance. My only hope is whomever he chooses for a wife shall love him and Jane completely.”

  “You are a fine and forgiving woman, Violet,” Penny said. “After all you have told me this day, it is my own opinion that Haverlane does not deserve you. You are too good for him.”

  “You are very sweet to say. However, there is nothing for it, and whence I find myself in Town, we shall meet as nothing more than friends should. It is the least I can hope to accomplish. It is my wish above all things.”

  However, in the deepest place in her heart, Violet wished for so much more.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Bloody ballocks, Haverlane! Are you not even listening to me?” Prince George slammed his fist down on the table, and the plates rattled.

  Ellis looked up. His thoughts scrambled as he tried to remember what he and Prinny had been discussing. Protocol? Procedure? He had no idea.

  “I am sorry, Highness. My mind is elsewhere, forgive me,” Haverlane said. He reached for his wine glass.

  “Elsewhere? I should certainly say. You have not heard a word I’ve uttered for the last half hour. If I did not know you so well, old friend, I would say you are in the throes of an unrequited passion.”

  Haverlane choked on his wine.

  “Ah, so it is love that has your mind engaged and not me. Tell me, who is she?” Prince George leaned further over the table. “Pray, I will not divulge your secret.”

  “Your Grace, you mistake my absentmindedness,” Haverlane said. He did not wish to have this discussion, especially with the Prince.

  “Damme, if you are not in love. You have not spoken two words of any sense together in three weeks. It is so unlike you Haverlane, my only conclusion is that it must be love. Come now, tell me, who is she that holds your heart.” George waved his hand at the servants standing at table and they left. “There now, I have cleared the room and you may speak freely.”

  “Your Highness, there is no one,” Haverlane said, stiffening in his chair.

  “Haverlane. Ellis, have we not been friends these many years?”

  Ellis nodded.

  “And as your friend, have we not shared many secrets together?”

  Again, Ellis nodded. Too many, he thought.

  “Then it is my wish to help you as you have helped me. Come now, you must tell me. Who has you so troubled?” George waggled his eyebrows. “If you do not, I shall send my spies out through the ton to see who holds your heart.”

  Haverlane stood, outraged at the Prince’s audacity. “Highness, you will do well to leave this matter alone. There is no one and I must beg you, do not follow through with your threat.”

  “Or what? I am the Prince of the greatest monarchy in the world. What shall you do to me that has not already been done?” George laid his napkin aside and stood. “Come with me, I want to show you something.”

  Haverlane followed George through Carlton House until they reached his private quarters. Several footmen stood idle and George dismissed them. He walked to the dresser along the far wall and opened a drawer. From it, he withdrew a small painting. The prince walked to Haverlane standing at the window and handed him a portrait of a woman in a blue dress.

  “Do you know who that is?” George asked.

  “No, Your Grace. I do not.”

  “It is my true wife, Maria. The only woman I keep in my heart. I have never loved any other and never will. Had I not been first born, I would like to think we should still be together. The Pope does not acknowledge our annulment and neither do I. And although we are apart, there is no one whom I hold dearer.”

  Ellis handed the painting back to the prince. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Haverlane, I know how you cherished Anne. When she died, I watched how you went half-mad with grief. It is a condition I know well. It is only now I finally see you coming back to life. And there is only one reason for it. Love. Tell me the truth. Are you in love?”

  Ellis sighed. “I do not know, Highness. There is someone who has torn me apart and I know not what to do. I have never felt like this before, not even with my beloved Anne. I had never thought to imagine myself in the throes of such devotion again. It is all I can do to keep a simple thought in my head.”

  “Well then, why not you make your intentions known?” George asked. “Ah, she is married.”

  “No.”

  “She is common.”

  “Most assuredly not,” Ellis said.

  “Then what is the problem? She is foreign. She is French. If that is the case, I promise you now, I will sanction the union so there is nothing to stand in your way.”

  “No, Your Grace, she is none of those things,” Ellis said.

  “Does she not return your affections? Is that it?”

  “No. I believe she returns them, although now, I dare say I do not know for sure. I have hurt her most grievously, and I would be surprised if she ever speaks with me again.”

  “Haverlane, you make no sense. You say you love her, and she loves you. She is not common, not foreign, not married. What then, stands in your way?”

  Ellis looked at the future king. “She is too young.”

  “Too young!” George tried to suffuse a laugh. “That is absurd. Unless she has not received her courses, no woman is too young.”

  Haverlane wrinkled his nose at George’s indelicacy. “Your Highness, I am not the sort of man to take a virgin child.”

  “Of course not. Well, how old is she then?” George walked back to the dresser and returned the portrait to its drawer.

  “Ten-and-seven.”

  “Ten-and-seven! She is but full grown, Haverlane. Why do you blather on so? Will her parents not approve the match? Is that the trouble?”

  “I do not know, nor do I care. It is my own feelings I cannot ignore. I am too old for her.”

  George threw back his head and laughed.

  Ellis would not take another second of George’s mirth at his expense and strode from the room.

  “Haverlane, wait,” George called from the doorway.

  Ellis continued down the hall, but slowed when he heard the Prince huffing to catch up to him.

  “Forgive me,” George said. “I did not mean to make light of your situation. I know you to be a hard and implacable man so it is with pleasure when I see you completely undone in this manner.” George placed his hand on Ellis’ shoulder and stopped him. “Ellis, there is no life when one lives without love. You must not wish it for yourself. Go to her, ask her to forgive you, and then marry the chit. You shall get over age soon enough.”

  “Yes, but what if she cannot live with mine? I am six-and-thirty on my next birthday, which is certainly old enough to be her father.”

  “And since when has age stopped any of us? Maria is fully ten years my senior and I loved her then, as I love her still. Age holds no account in matters of the heart.”

  “That is what Andrew said,” Ellis mused.

  “Andrew is a smart man.” The Prince clapped Ellis on the back. “Now come, let us try once again to set our minds to the tasks at hand. Once I have been declared Regent, I promise I shall give you more than enough time to woo the gel properly. But for now, as your future sovereign, I come first.” George walked down the hall.

  Ellis wondered if by the time of George’s ascension, it would be too late.

  Ellis stamped his feet and brushed the snow from his hat on the stoop.

  Manning stood inside the doorway. He helped the Marquess off with his greatcoat and took the hat and gloves Ellis handed to him.

  “Shall I have tea sent to the library, my lord?” Manning asked.

  “Yes, Manning. That would be nice, thank you,” Ellis said and headed down the hall.

  Sitting in his favorite chair, Ellis thought about Prinny’s words that afternoon. There is no life when one lives without love. No, there is not, Ellis agreed. Losing Anne had nearly destroyed him, and now, without Jane near, his life was certainly empty. He had been a fool to se
nd her away, despite what his mother said. Jane had been his only bright spot.

  And now, Violet. Was there any way to make amends? Surely, she must think him the veriest of libertines. He had taken her affection and thrown it back in her face because of his own misgivings. She did not seem to find their age difference insurmountable. She claimed to care for him. She had shown him she cared for him, and he had rebuked her. What a fool he was!

  Manning brought his tray and set it on the table. “Will there be anything else, my lord?”

  Before Ellis answered, loud bangs came from the front door. Moments later, someone shouted to speak with him. Ellis stood.

  “Shall I attend it, my lord?” Manning asked.

  “Where is he? I must speak with him at once,” said the voice, louder now.

  A harried footman rushed into the library. “My lord, forgive me, but there is a Mr. Grennan here and he says it’s urgent.”

  Grennan practically ran the footman over. “My lord, please, you must come at once. It is Lady Jane. She has succumbed to the fever and Lady Violet begs you to secure a doctor.”

  “What?” A tight knot formed in his stomach.

  “Lady Jane, my lord,” Grennan cried. “She has the fever that has run rampant through the village. Lady Violet has tried every remedy and they are not working. She sent for the apothecary, but even his concoction did not help. She sent me to you, on the advice of the Reverend Perry, to secure a doctor.”

  “Flint,” Ellis said to the footman, “tell Corbett to saddle Draco and ready the carriage. Manning, send someone to find Doctor Blakestock and fetch him here at once. When he arrives, settle him in the carriage, and make for Fairhaven.” He watched his servants go, and then turned to Grennan. “How is Lady Violet?” Ice ran through his veins.

  “Not well, my lord. Lady Violet has seemed to waste away before our very eyes. Beggin’ your pardon, my lord, but you know as how Lady Violet was always such a sturdy girl. Now she’s a mere shadow. I can even tell she’s dropped two stone or more. There is nothing left to her. She’s holding on as best she can, but I fear it is only a matter of time before she succumbs as well. She has been taking care of all of us and it has taken its toll. When the Reverend Perry called to enquire after Lady Jane, he convinced her to send me here to fetch you.”