His Secret Heroine (29 page)

They came upon a village that looked like any other in the South Downs, a scattering of half-timbered and  buildings with their thatched and tiled roofs, surrounded by green fields and squared off by hedgerows and narrow little lanes sunk down so deep, it was almost like d
riving through a cavern. An inn of freshly whitewashed s stood at the center, across from a small church with a well-kept churchyard. A woman in a shawl stopped in her journey to watch the coach as it passed.

The coach tilted in a long rut, then finally righted again, and at last came to a stop in front of a  and timber manor house at the far edge of the village. The silent duke stepped out and held out his hand for her. She had become accustomed to his silences and all the thoughts he did not deign to share.

She snickered to herself, thinking of all the thoughts he shared unbidden, whether she wanted to hear them or not. Then she realized there had been none of those since the night before.

"Where are we?" she asked, allowing him to help her down.

"Marstens Hall," he responded.

She smirked. As if that told her anything.

"It is yours, now, although as it once belonged to a favorite aunt of mine, I expect you will take good care of it."

This toweri
ng place? It was huge! "Oh no, Your Grace, I cannot accept it."

"It was to be for my daughter Elizabeth, but now it has no purpose, so you might as well have it. I am not willing to part with anything dearer."

"But it is much too large. I cannot possibly support it."

"You will not need to support it. It has never failed to
produce a reasonable living."

From a window above, she heard a high-pitched shriek.

"It's the duke! Hurry! Look! He's brought Chloe!"

The shrieking garbled and dimmed, then before she reached the door, it burst open and two young girls in white dresses dashed out, their yellow-blonde curls bouncing.

Madeline! Allison! They rushed headlong into her, arms wide, then thrown about her. Tears streamed down her cheeks and flowed onto their golden curls as she nuzzled their heads. Sobs choked her throat, so that she could not even manage a greeting. It was real. They were really here, and safe.

"Oh, Chloe, you have grown so pretty!" said Madeline. "He said so, but you really are."

She glanced at the duke, who stood aside, glowering.

"Let me see you both," she replied, holding them back for a moment. "No I think it is the two of you have grown so lovely. And growing up too, I vow. Madeline, you are still a wee bit taller, I see. And you, my beautiful Allison, still remind me of a lovely porcelain doll. My, how you have grown!"

"But you are truly beautiful," said Allison, smiling shyly.

Chloe drew her into another hug. "We have so much to say, let us get on with it."

Then Allison, her blue eyes shining, turned to the duke. "I knew you could do it, Your Grace," she said. She stood up on tiptoes, and planted a kiss to his cheek.

Madeline grinned brashly and kissed his other cheek as Chloe's eyes widened. The duke blushed a brilliant red and for a brief moment his jaw went slack.

"Is he not wonderful, Chloe?" said Madeline, beaming. "After all this time, to bring us together again? And he says we may not part until we are finally all wed."

"Yes. I am sure you feel that way." But she caught the duke's subtly anxious gaze, as if he awaited a telling blow. In a few words, she could destroy their idolization of him. Did he dare hope she would not? Why did he care what two young girls thought of him, when he cared not a tuppence about anyone else?

Perhaps it was true instead that he cared far too much. Chloe bit her lower lip and tried to smile at the same time, reminding herself what she had promised to herself and to the absent Reggie.

Giggling, the girls linked arms with both
Chloe and the duke, all but dragging them into the house.

"Come and see our house, Chloe," said Madeline, prancing like an excited pony. "It's wonderful. I have my own chamber, and Allison has hers, and you have a really big one. But we sleep in the same room anyway, as we are not accustomed to sleeping alone. And there are rooms for everything. It is not as big as father's castle, of course, but it hardly matters as we were not allowed the use of it."

"It is much in need of a woman's touch, " the duke replied. "If you find anything lacking, you may apply to me."

"Did you not say the house is mine,
Your Grace?" she asked.

"I did."

"In that event, I shall not find it necessary to apply to you to manage my own property."

He slid a sideways glare at her. "Then I shall be going. It is time you renew your acquaintance with your sisters."

"Are you not staying the night?" Allison asked.

"Certainly not, Miss Allison. It would be improper. My coachman will arrange a room at the inn."

"Not even supper?" Madeline wailed.

"You have not seen your sister in several years, Miss Cottingham. It is proper that you should spend this time with her. No arguing, now. I shall not have it."

"Perhaps supper, Your Grace?" Chloe asked, then wondered why she had. She certainly did not want to spend another moment with this curmudgeon.

The duke gave her a surprised frown.

"Clearly, it would mean so much to them."

He sighed. "Very well, then, Miss
Englefield. If it so pleases you. I'll bid you good day, then, until supper."

Chloe watched the duke as he pivoted in that
startlingly abrupt manner he had, and strode across the great hall and out the door. Beside her stood her new butler, Weems, who she expected to be more or less a man of all work such as Cargill had been. She asked about the evening meal.

"Cook prepares a simple fare, ma'am,
” said Weems, “but dare I say you will find it tasty. I shall ask her to add a bit to it, for you would not wish to appear a poor hostess to your benefactor."

Benefactor! The man thought she was a mistress being set aside! She took a deep breath to remind herself of her composure. "Very well, Weems, then be sure Cook knows the Duke of Marmount is to sup at our table tonight. Now, girls, I really must see my chamber."

It would not be so terribly much longer before she could be shed of her nemesis. She changed her clothes to a simple gown she found laid out for her. Then that must mean someone here was performing the duties of a maid. She had not had a maid of her own in two years.

The girls rushed in
. Madeline plopped down in a plump chair in Chloe's sitting room. "I have decided I shall become a duchess, Chloe. Would that not be grand? I shall marry the duke's older son, and Allison may have the younger. Only, I should not like for anything to happen to the duke, so I do not mind being very old when I become the duchess."

"I suspect the duke has other plans for his sons," Chloe replied, surmising it would not be good to mention Reggie just yet.

"Oh." Madeline sighed. "Well, then, I shall find another duke's son to marry, I suppose."

"Oh, you are such a goose," Allison said. "She thinks of nothing but who she will marry, Chloe."

"And what do you think of?" Madeline retorted. "Being a spinster?"

"Well, I should rather not marry than to have someone who did not love me. I shall marry only for love, Chloe. He need not have a title or wealth."

"I can as easily love a rich man as a poor one, I vow," said Madeline. "Who are you going to marry, Chloe?"

"I have not given it great consideration," Chloe lied.

"Madeline said you are going to be a spinster like Aunt Daphne. Are you, Chloe?"

Chloe hid her sadness behind lowered eyelids. She knew now she would not marry if she could not have Reggie. And she had ruined that because she could not believe in him. "I should not be terribly unhappy if I did not wed," she said. "But I would always prefer to choose a man with a kind heart over a pretty face or great wealth."

"Well, that is not being in love. Have you ever been in love, Chloe?"

Chloe looked across her chamber to the little red book resting on the bureau. "Yes."

"You have?" cried both girls at once.

"Oh, come tell us all about it, Chloe," Madeline pleaded, pulling on Chloe's arm. "Was he so very handsome?"

"And nice? Was he nice, Chloe? Is it all so sad, now that it is over?"

"What makes you think it is over?"

"If it were not," Allison said, "then you would be married, and the duke would not have had to take us from Uncle."

Clearly, the duke had not told them anything of his plans for his sons. Or for Chloe. "Well, perhaps you are right. But I cannot imagine how the duke got you away from him."

"He was wonderful," Madeline said, pressing her hands together.

"He offered to call the man out," Allison said. "Well, I think that is what he said. Madeline had a bruise on her cheek from where Uncle Cotting
ham hit her with his fist, and His Grace was very angry. Then he told Uncle something we did not hear, and Uncle looked very frightened. Then Uncle told the duke he had one hour to get us and everything we thought we could take with us, before he shut the gate behind us. And I did not care at all, Chloe, as long as we got free of him."

"We have a bit of mama's jewelry, an
d the miniature of her and papa,” said Madeline. “Allison got our china dolls, and Miss Appleton grabbed whatever she might of our clothing and books. But the duke has had some things made up for us, so it does not matter. I think I should like to marry him, if only he were not so old."

"Silly. He has a wife. Even if she doesn't like him
," said Allison.

"Well, that is quite enough, girls," Chloe said, and stood. "We must go down to supper, for the duke will be coming shortly, and we do not wish for his ears to burn."

"If the duchess dies, you could marry the duke, Chloe," said Madeline.

"That is not at all well done of you, Madeline," said Allison. "You should not wish anyone dead."

"I did not wish her dead, even if she is so silly as to not love him."

"Enough," said Chloe, starting down the stairs. "Our company has arrived, and you must attempt to be civilized."

Through clenched teeth, she greeted the duke when he returned, noting as she had before that he was uncommonly handsome for a cold, hard statue. But now she was seeing something different. He did not hide that sad loneliness nearly as well as he thought.

Supper was the simple, pleasant pottage Weems had promised. As they ate, she watched the girls banter and tease, Madeline in her exuberant
way, and Allison in quiet shyness. Something about the stone duke softened as he basked in their adoration.

They must surely be the only human beings on God's earth who liked him, and perhaps that was why he warmed to them. How terribly lonely that must be. But the fault for that belonged to him, not to her, or the rest of mankind. No man was ever universally disliked because of his kindness.

"But how is it you came to know Chloe, Your Grace?" Madeline asked, then spooned her dessert.

The duke paled. His lips thinned as he searched Chloe's face. "We are acquainted through my son," he said slowly.

"The one who is a captain in the Guards?"

"My second son. The one who is an author."

"He is an author?" Allison asked, squealing. "Lord Reginald is an author? Oh, it is so very exciting."

Chloe locked her hands tightly together in her lap.

"Then he introduced you to Chloe, and she asked you to rescue us," Madeline guessed.

"It was what she wished," the duke replied, watching Chloe's face closely.

Well, it did no good to say otherwise. "And I thank you that they are safe at last, and we are together."

"I am glad, too," Allison replied, and smiled shyly, then hid a yawn behind her hand.

"Well, Miss Allison," said the duke, "I see you have grown weary at last. You must be watchful of them, Miss Englefield, for I have discovered they will stay up too late if you allow it."

"Ah. I thank you for the warning. Very well, girls, off to bed with you, now. Tomorrow we shall be very busy, as you will have to acquaint me with the property."

"But Chloe!" whined Madeline. "Your Grace, just a little longer!"

"Up the stairs with you, Misses Cottingham. You have been enough trouble for one day." The duke's characteristic gruff voice seemed oddly tinged with the music of affection.

"No more than you, Your Grace," said Madeline, her giggling tinkling like silver bells.

"And you, Miss Cottingham, have all the cheek of your older sister. Do not expect that I shall overrule her, Miss Cottingham. You are to mind her without exception. I shall have nothing else from you. Go on, now."

Both girls groaned together as they rose from their chairs and gave a kiss to Chloe's cheek, then one to the duke.

"I shall come up shortly and see you tucked in," Chloe said.

"Oh, we are quite too old to be tucked in, Chloe," Madeline insisted. "But you may come to say good night."