Romance: Regency Romance: In Bed With The Duke (A Regency Romance) (8 page)

BOOK: Romance: Regency Romance: In Bed With The Duke (A Regency Romance)

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Chapter 13

I was having the very best dream: Sophie and I were traveling to Paris. The war was over, France was safe, and we were off to see the world together. The sunlight was dazzling, and it sparkled off of the deep blue water as we boarded the steam ship that would carry us to France. But the sun was in my eyes. I tried to shade them from the glare, but nothing I did would keep it away. I blinked my eyes, and the sunlight from the harbor became the sunlight streaming through the leaded glass windows. I groaned and rubbed at my eyes. I had a horrible headache. That blasted wine. I pulled the covers over my eyes and tried to roll over… and then I realized that I was naked, and that I wasn’t in my room.

Oh no.

This was His Grace’s room… Duncan. It was Duncan’s bed. I was… I had… Oh no. I felt stupid and ashamed. I wondered how many of the ladies staying in Barclay House had found themselves lulled into a trustful state and then had been tumbled into bed by His Grace like common milkmaids. I could feel a sob rising in my throat as I saw my beautiful dress in a heap on the carpet, the glass of wine I barely remembered dropping lay on its side on the carpet. I sat up quickly, gathering the coverlets around me. Duncan was nowhere to be seen, but the pillow next to me had been slept on. I touched it gently. He had spent the night beside me, cradling me in his arms. He had pulled the feathers and crystals gently from my hair and called me sweetheart. It had meant something to him. I meant something to him. I touched the necklace at my throat – I couldn’t bring myself to think of it any other way.

A gentle knock came at the door, and I clutched the bedclothes around my nakedness as a footman entered the room.

“Mrs. Rutledge. Good morning. This letter came for you, and His Grace bade me deliver it here.” He held out a silver platter that held a letter. I took it carefully and thanked him. “When you are ready, please ring the bell and a ladies’ maid will come to help you dress.” He bowed quickly and left the room, leaving me alone to read the letter he had brought.

I turned the letter over in my hands. The seal had been broken, and the paper was stained and torn. I unfolded it carefully, my fingers shaking. This letter had come a long way to get to me. The writing was halting and messy, the ink smudged in places, and it took me a few moments to be able to read the full message.

Mrs. Rutledge.

I regret to write to you to tell you of your husband’s death. George Edward Rutledge fell in battle against our foe within a week of arriving in Belgium.

I advise you to return to your parents in the north at once.

I wish you God speed.

Sgt. Martin Grey

The letter dropped from my fingers, George… He had been dead for almost three months, and I hadn’t been told. I didn’t know Sergeant Grey, but then again, I imagined that I never would know him now. I wondered if Sophie had received a similar letter… was her William still alive? Did she feel as woeful and alone as I did? I read the letter again and allowed the tears to flow freely down my face. I had cried for George many a night since he had left, but the tears that ran down my cheeks now were for myself. I was truly alone. I would find no remorse, no comfort with his mother.

I looked around the room again. Duncan’s room. I had to leave, I had to get out of this house, and away from everyone in it. I wondered if they knew; I wondered how many people had seen the Duke take me to his room, and how many more would see me slinking to my own room disheveled and dressed in my finery from the night before. I would never be able to outrun the shame of it. I pulled myself out of bed, and walked across the deep carpets in my stocking feet to the Duke’s massive wardrobe. I opened it quickly and pawed through his fine clothes before finding what I was looking for. I pulled his dressing gown over my shoulders and belted it tightly around my narrow hips. My beautiful dress, the exquisite hair accessories… I left everything behind and fled the room, leaving the door ajar behind me, but not caring.

I ran down the staircase towards the wing where all of the ladies staying at the villa were housed. I hoped that no one would see me, but thankfully, the hallways were deserted. I could hear music coming from the salon as I ran by, but I didn’t pause to see who was playing. I shut the door of my room tightly behind me and turned the key. I couldn’t bear to have Sophie burst in on me. Not like this. I threw the Duke’s dressing gown onto the bed and hurriedly splashed some water from the washing bowl over my face and body. I shivered from the cold, but it helped brace me for what I knew I had to do. I dressed quickly and tied a bonnet over my wildly messy hair. I could send for my things later.

After shoving a few essentials into a small valise, I stopped to look at myself in the mirror. At my throat, the Duke’s necklace winked at me. The necklace. I unclasped it and held it in my hand, running my fingertips over the exquisite diamonds and admiring the delicate craftsmanship. This was a love token, something I could never keep. I set it delicately upon the marble surface of my dressing table and without another glance, I left the room, and then the house.

As my feet crunched over the gravel path I felt my heart breaking. It had broken for George months ago, and now it was shattered, breaking into smaller and smaller pieces with every step I took. The things I had felt while in Duncan’s embrace were beyond anything I had ever known, and now that I was leaving those feelings behind, their power hit me even harder.

It was a long walk back to the village, and by the time I reached my house, my feet were bleeding and raw inside my slippers. I unlocked the door with fumbling fingers, unsure of what I was going to do with myself now that I was here. The door creaked open, and I saw that His Grace’s men had covered all of the furniture as though I would be gone for a long time. A thin layer of dust covered everything, and I coughed delicately. It would take some time to bring the house back to livable, especially now that I was on my own and had no help, and no way to hire any helps should it come to that.

I would write at once to my uncle, perhaps he would take me in, in the north no one would know of my shame and I could leave all of this behind.

Chapter 14

A month had passed since I had left Barclay House. Letters arrived almost daily, from Duncan, from Sophie, from the other ladies staying with His Grace… but I burned them all unopened. Visitors called on the house, knocking on the door frantically. But I opened it for no one. I cleaned one of the smaller rooms to make it livable, making small fires in the grate to warm my toes. I delayed sending letters requesting my things to be returned… no sense in filling the wardrobe with things I wouldn’t need. I managed just fine alone, or as fine as I could under the circumstances. I went to market and bought small things with the money I had found in George’s desk. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to keep me fed and to purchase a seat on a carriage on its way north in a few days’ time. A letter had finally come from my aunt and uncle, they would take me in, but only until I found myself another husband. It was enough. A new start was a new start, after all.

On my way back from the market the next day, my small basket laden with a few meagre supplies to make up my food for the carriage ride, I saw two men waiting at my door. I slowed my pace, suddenly nervous. They didn’t appear to be soldiers, but one could never tell any more.

“Can I help you, sirs?” My voice betrayed my nervousness, and my heart stopped as they turned to look at me. Immediately, I dropped to my knees in the muddy street. “Your Grace!” It was the Duke, on my doorstep once more. I heard footsteps and then saw the tips of his boots in the mud before me. His strong hands lifted me to my feet, and I looked up into his deep blue eyes. I wondered if he was here to rebuke me for leaving, for not answering his letters… I wanted to run away, to run and hide inside the house until it was time to leave this place forever.

“Mrs. Rutledge… my Charlotte. I’ve been so worried about you. I’ve sent letters, I’ve sent men… money… But you have rebuked me.” He held up a letter. The letter I had received on the day I left Barclay House… In my haste to leave, I must have forgotten it in his chambers. “Charlotte. I know everything.” My eyes filled with tears at the sight of it, and of the memory of my night spent in his arms. I turned my face away from him, too ashamed to look him in the eye.

“You must forget me, Your Grace, forget me and pretend that night never happened. I am going north to stay with my family. They will help me find a suitable husband… it will be difficult for me, especially now, but maybe if it happens quickly…” I let my voice trail away. His Grace reached out and gripped my chin with gentle fingers and wiped away my sudden tears with his delicate handkerchief.

“My darling Charlotte. You don’t have to go away.” I pulled my face away from his hands and shook my head.

“You don’t understand. How could you understand? My reputation is in tatters. George’s mother has told everyone that I stayed at Barclay House, the rumors are everywhere. I will never have a chance at happiness unless I leave this place.”

“I see. Charlotte, you must know my own reputation has never been a polished one, I have tarnished it willingly, but something has changed. I once had a mind to give my heart to someone, but that was not to be – but now, I believe that I am ready to try again. I want to right some old wrongs and heal some family hurts, and I have a feeling that a marriage to a good woman will do just the trick.” He pulled something from his pocket and held it out to me. The Devonshire Star twinkled at me from his gloved palm. My breath caught in my throat. “Charlotte Rutledge, I find myself in love with you and I must wait no longer. Would you be my wife?”

I felt my legs give way beneath me and I reached out to steady myself on the Duke’s arm. He stepped closer and slipped his arm around my hips to catch me. I stuttered, not knowing how to answer. I stared at him with wide unbelieving eyes, could he really mean it? A Duke marrying someone like me? I watched a small smile creep across his leonine face.

“All you have to do is say yes, Charlotte. Say yes and all of your dreams will come true.” His voice was soft in my ear and I closed my eyes, savoring every last syllable.

“Yes.” My reply was a whisper, “yes.” He kissed me then, his lips pressing sweetly against mine. I loved him, I knew that now, I knew that my life would be changed forever as soon as I had slipped my hand into his that night, but I could never have imagined it would be changed like this. The Duke’s hand roved chastely over my stomach as he pulled me closer to him, and all at once he pulled away and looked down at me in surprise. “Charlotte… are you?” I smiled at him shyly and nodded. My body had only just begun to change, my waist thickening and my belly just beginning to round, but it was true, I was pregnant. The Duke, my soon to be husband, smiled down at me with eyes full of love and adoration before he took my breath away with his joyful kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him with equal joy and passion. I was to be a Duchess, and no one in the world could be as happy as I was at that moment.

THE END

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