Lady Adventuress 01 - His Wayward Duchess (32 page)

Avonbury returned the duke’s grin. “
She has convinced me. Now I think she is too good for you. Max would have found her delightful.”

“You know, I rather think so too. I’ve said it before
– she has a sad habit of adopting strays. It seems despite all I could do to dissuade her, she’s decided to include me in their number.”

There was a pause in the conversation.

“So she’s gone to the carriage pond, eh? Lady Strathavon is a dab hand at tooling her Phaeton, I am told,” said Avonbury with a great deal of carelessness. “I imagine she could even win a race along the Great North Road, if she set her mind to it.”

“I dare say that even Lady Strathavon would not go so far as to agree to a race,” said the duke, with artful disinterest.

“Yes, conceivably she may yet change her mind – though I don’t see Holly as the kind to back out of a challenge,” Avonbury replied, even more casually.

The duke’s eyes flashed to his cousin’s carefully composed face.

“And precisely what do you mean, ‘change her mind’?” Strathavon asked coldly. “I am not at all certain I wish to know even five of the scrapes she is in at the moment, but it seems I have no choice. So there it is, and you had best tell me. ”

“Ah, you see… T
he heart of the thing is that she means to race Wooley at dawn. On the Great North Road. The object is to get to Brighton. It was a bet at Lady Graham’s party, I’m told. She seems very keen to see whether her new carriage comes up to scratch. Miss Dacre said Holly claimed that wouldn’t dream of being so fast as to race in Hyde Park because she promised you that she would not. Wooley wins a lock of her hair if he comes first. The meeting point is Archway Road. I shall go along I daresay, to see them start, if you’d care to join me?”

“The Great North Road!” sputtered the duke, flying to his
feet. “Of all the infamous!”

“I believe so. It is all that I can presently recollect, I fear,” Avonbury told
his cousin, looking entirely unapologetic. “I trust you have enough sense not to call out Wooley. I don’t think she’d forgive that.”

The duke did not see the amused look on
Avonbury’s face because he’d already stormed out of White’s in a temper. And nearly ran head-first into Sir Jeffrey Millforte, of all people.

Strathavon
stared at Holly’s father as though he had seen a ghost.

H
e had ascribed to the man the membership of such a club as Boodle’s. He had never seen Millforte set foot in White’s, and this was not a good time to stand corrected.

“Strathavon,” said the older man with an astonishingly friendly smile.

“Sir Jeffrey, I trust that all is well with you and Lady Millforte?” the duke asked, forcing his voice into a semblance of civility.

“Ah yes, very well indeed. I’m only just passing through town, so I thought I’d stop by to see a friend. You haven’t see
n Pensy, have you, my boy?”

“I fear not. Is there some way in which I can be of assistance to you?”

“Oh, no, no. Not at all. But now that I’ve met you so fortuitously, I do wish to commend you on making my daughter so happy as you have done. I own I had some doubts about the wisdom of the match when it was first proposed to me, but my wife informs me that Holly’s letters are full of every felicity. You have my eternal gratitude for the kindness which you have shown her.”

The man wa
s clearly in his cups, even if he didn’t look it, Strathavon decided, blinking in amazement and aware of a faint tinge of guilt that had begun to creep upon him.
Every felicity?

“I shouldn’t think –” he began.

“Certainly not, my boy. Merely go on as you have begun and it will be a very joyful life. Now I beg you excuse me, I can see Lord Pensy has arrived. Do tell my daughter I shall call on her some time later in the week.”

With that
, the man was gone, and Strathavon still did not have the faintest notion what to make of this unexpectedly friendly greeting.

He wondered what it was that Holly had written her family.

He’d have plenty of time to find out, once he stopped her damned race.

On the brief stroll home, however, it occurred to
Strathavon that he oughtn’t stop the race after all. At least, not yet.

The morning air was crisp with a taste of winter. Holly dressed warmly, determined not to let such a little thing as the encroaching chill, ruin her chances of winning.

Soon
, the rusty leaves would fall from all the trees in a carpet of yellow and gold, and what a delight it would be to walk in the park then.

It was still dark out when the duchess
woke up, and she took a quick breakfast in her room. Bolstered by a cup of hot chocolate, she felt ready to take on the world.

“Is it not a little early to go driving?” asked the duke, meeting her on the landing, where he was leaning indolently against the balustrade, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. He was already dressed. Had he been waiting for her?

Holly looked at him with
a guarded expression, as though trying to work out how much he knew.

“Not at all.
I find I cannot sleep and I do believe all that crisp air will do me good.”

“I don’t believe I asked
yesterday: did you enjoy your card party?”

“There was white soup,” said Holly tentatively, a glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

“Indubitably there was. There always is.”

They looked at each other a moment.

“You are up early also.”

“
Yes, I have been working on the estate accounts, but now I think it is time to take a break.”

“Then I hope you enjoy the respite
,” said Holly, wondering if it wwas possible that he might not have heard of her upcoming race. She had been very sure that Avonbury would tell him.

“
I pray you will let me pass, for I really must go outside. It is very warm here in my driving dress.”

The duke was tempted to ask her
about her destination, but decided against tipping his hand too early in the game.

“But of course, my dear.” He stepped forward and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before letting her pass.
It had become such a dear, familiar gesture. Her skin tingled at the brush of his fingers and she wondered that he hadn’t noticed the missing curl.

Strathavon
waited ten minutes after Holly departed the house before calling for his horse. He would easily overtake her in the saddle.

With nothing for it, his lordship set out for the
rendezvous point, wondering what possessed Holly to keep getting into these scrapes.

He
considered whether he really ought to challenge Wooley, not because the fool had demanded a lock of Holly’s hair for his prize, but because of the sheer inconvenience of the thing.

*

Holly arrived at the meeting point to find Lord Myles Wooley already there, dressed in a many-caped great-cloak that had to be the envy of every would-be dandy in attendance.

His black and yellow curricle looked a flimsy thing next to the chestnut pair that stomped impatiently at the ground, as though eager to be off.

It appeared that half of London had indeed turned up to see them off. Sir John was already at the starting point, and Holly gave him a cheery wave.

She was intercepted by
Wooley’s distinctive drawl before she could approach the baronet.

“Good morning, Lady Strathavon,” Holly’s opponent said with a mocking smile. “I must say you look the very vision of loveliness in
the twilight. I trust you have not forgotten my prize?”

“You know perfectly well that I have not, Wooley. If I were you, I wo
uld pay less attention to my so-called loveliness, and more to those chestnuts you’re barely holding under control.” Holly kept her voice deliberately quiet, the better to deliver every biting nuance.

She moved past him with imperial dignity and met the concerned eyes of Sir John.

“Are you certain you mean to proceed with this madness?” he asked Holly with a resigned sigh that suggested he was already well aware of her answer.

Holly gave him a confident smile. “Tell me, Sir John, do you
remember when I first met you and we discussed how you might go about making your fortune?” she asked barely above a whisper.

“
I do,” said the baronet with a wary frown.

“It so happens
I have thought of a way. Ten thousand on the race should just about do it.”

“Ten t
housand? Now, Holly, I hope you realise that I would never bet on so appalling a thing.”

“Yes, I know you wouldn’t. You are too nice in your sensibilities by far. But that is quite alright, as the bet has already been placed for you, and the money put forth.”

“I cannot take your money, Holly, nor will I.”

“I do understand. But fortunately it is not my money that was put forth, and
so it won’t be mine when you win it.”

“Then whose?”

“That, I cannot say. You see, I am a lady of my word. But a favour was owed me, and I do think I’ve made very clever use of it,” she said with a pleased smile.

She
spotted Avonbury in the crowd. He was watching the road expectantly.

Ah, so he had told the duke,
she thought.
I wonder what can be holding him up. Or did he decide to call my bluff?

“Now, I do believe we had better get started,” Holly said in a louder voice. “Ready, Wooley? Remember, first one to Brighton wins all.”

She returned her attention to her horses, concentrating on the road ahead.

It was just as they were about to go careening off that Strathavon came flying along the Great North
Road on his finest stallion, Penumbra.

Holly did her best not to smile triumphantly at the sight of him, handsome and striking
as he was.

The duke’s arrival drew some murmurs from the crowd that had gathered
more tightly to send the racers on their way and Lord Myles looked somewhat ashen.

“I have borne with very many of your
escapades, Holly, but on this I will put my foot down,” the duke said grimly, halting his steed just short of the Phaeton. “I won’t have my wife racing along the Great North Road like some ne’er-do-well out of Cambridge.”

“Like yourself
, then?” she asked innocently.

“Yes, like myself… How did you know – never mind
that now. I think I can guess. No matter. There will be no race today.”

“Oh? I do think we had better take a short str
oll,” she said, handing the reins to Sir John as she descended the short ladder from her carriage.

The duke dismounted.

“I hope you don’t think you will dissuade me – because I can assure you, it won’t happen. We are going home, Holly.”

“
We are.”
By way of Brighton.

She took his arm as they walked a little
farther away together.

“I do not think you meant to race at all,” said the duke. “I think you meant to provoke me, because you
are
a most vexing and insufferable creature.”

His voice, however, was entirely lacking in venom and Holly felt her heart skip a beat as she gazed into his eyes.
Strathavon looked grave and pale about the lips.

“No? I beg to differ. But
, Your Grace, I daresay you were concerned for me! Now what is it that has you so out of temper, exactly?”

“
You, of course. You have become the very bane of my existence – and I do believe you’ve been doing it on purpose. I did not think I could love you – because I did not wish to love anyone.” He chuckled grimly. “I see now how wrong I was for thinking love is a choice. Indeed, it is no such thing. It comes upon one just as a tide does – slowly, inevitably and mercilessly, until one finds that one lives only for that most burning affection. I know that I shall live for that love for the rest of my days. Avonbury tells me that you are much too good for me, and I’m inclined to believe him.”

“You would listen to Avonbury on this head? In that case,
I think you may be a trifle disguised,” Holly told him gently.

“Not a thing of it.
”

“Well, we shall see. And it was on purpose – just as your own game was.
I thought at first that I was only playing a part – but now I find that I like being the Duchess of Strathavon, and there is more of her in me than I expected. I always held that it would be dreary to be the wife of a peer, but I find I was mistaken.”

“I am most gratified to hear that.
Do you then mean to continue being one?” His voice was wry, but his eyes serious.

Sh
e remembered that he’d said those words to her once before. Maybe he did mean them after all.

“Yes, I rather think I might.”

The duke looked momentarily uncertain before laughing and kissing her. His lips claimed hers before either of them could say another word, and for that moment the world reached an absolute pinnacle of perfection.

He did not seem to care a whit what their audience might thin
k of this display.

But oh, that
last kiss was the most extraordinary yet, Holly decided. It was like thunderstorms, and hurricanes, and the grandest display of fireworks in the whole world.

I
t was as if her heart had almost stopped from the sheer bliss of feeling his lips on hers.

“I think I owe you
yet another apology – for I have neglected in all this to-do to tell you that I love you. I know now, beyond any doubt or denial, that you are the dearest thing to me in the world. But what is the matter? You are crying!”

“No, no,” murmured
Holly, feeling embarrassed. “Or rather, I am – but it is a good thing.”

“
A good thing? If you say so, dearest. You must know, also, that I have discovered that it is only your love that matters to me, and your regard,” he said.

“Then I think the only cure to our present troubles is
to be love, Your Grace,” she ventured tentatively, looking up at him with a shyness he found extremely disarming, “Do you think you could bear such bittersweet medicine as that?”

He looked at her intently a moment,
taking her hand in his much larger one.

“Most gladly.”

Holly felt certain that such words ought to have tinged her skin with a blush, but that felt paltry, given everything that had happened.

Her heart felt full of unbelievable joy and the most serene contentment she had ever known.

“Well, I am glad we have cleared the air, but I fear, my love, that I must still drive my race, though I own I would much prefer to go home with you. I have given my word you see, and Lord Myles does have a claim on a lock of my hair. It is a debt of honour and I would loathe it if he were to win. Besides, Sir John has a considerable fortune riding on my winning – just enough to let him support a wife in very real comfort. He means Verity to know that he has no need of her portion when he offers for her, you see. ”

“Compton placed a wager on you?”

“Oh no! He wouldn’t have for anything in the world. So I had one placed for him. He’s hopelessly besotted with Verity, and has been trying very hard to win her regard this whole Season.”

“I am surprised. I would have expected your Miss
Dacre to take up with some puppy – a romantic second son,” the duke said.

“Don’t be so
coxcombish,” Holly scoffed. “She needed only to see sense.”

The duke’s
eyes flared with understanding. “And that is the explanation for most of your theatricals this Season. I see now. It was very wicked of you to play such a game. But I must stand by what I said – I won’t permit my wife to race her chariot to Brighton against a known scoundrel.”

Holly nodded
. “Very sensible. But how shall we go on then? I know! Maybe, since you won’t have your wife participating in such an infamous endeavour
alone
, you would care to sit beside her instead? That would be a very different matter.”

“I beg your pardon, sit beside you?”

“Yes – while I drive. My horses are very good and it shan’t make much difference. A heavier carriage is better on the road as it is now, anyway. Lord Myles, however, it too tight on the bit and I do think his curricle not steady enough to overtake us. We have a very good chance of winning.”

“I don’t think there’s ever been a bride like you in all the history of the world.”

“No? Your mother was a very wilful woman even in her youth, you know.” Holly thought of the pages and pages of memories that had brought her such comfort. It was time to share.

“My mother!
However could you know that?”

Her eyes were bright with a secret smile. “I’ll show you when we get home. Now, we mustn’t keep the on-lookers waiting.”

His Grace the Duke of Strathavon could only attribute what happened next to a momentary lapse of sanity and propriety, for he found himself handing his horse over to Sir John, and taking his place next to Holly in the carriage.