The Compromised Duchess

Chapter 9

The carriage moved briskly up the driveway of Trevelyan House and pulled to a stop close to the front doors. Lord Giles hopped down and gently picked Laurel, still unconscious and strode quickly through the door that was hurriedly opened by an alarmed butler.

“Inform Her Grace that there has been an accident,” Giles instructed curtly “then please send for a physician at once”

“Very good Your lordship,” George replied, turning to lead the way to lady Laurel`s chambers. “The lady’s rooms are this way, I believe her maid is in there.”

George snagged a passing footman and gave instructions to have hot water brought up immediately, and to fetch the doctor, then he walked ahead of Lord Giles and threw open the doors leading to Laurel`s bedchamber.

Giles gently placed Laurel on the bed and stepped back respectfully. Agatha gave a cry of dismay and hurried to her mistress` side.

“Oh lawd!” she exclaimed, placing a hand on Laurel`s forehead, then quickly began unfastening the buttons that lined the front of the gown. “what happened to her ladyship?”

“Do what you can for her until the doctor arrives,” Giles replied feeling an uncomfortable surge of desire as the lady was being undressed. He backed out of the room hurriedly only to bump into Lady Abbington who rushed in with a cry of alarm, George in tow.

“My dearest girl! What on earth happened to her?” She exclaimed ,pushing the maid out of the way to cradle her daughter`s head in her arms. “Well?” She glared at Lord Giles, “Have you lost the use of your tongue? Say something”

“We went for a walk Your Grace,” Giles replied, angered at the Duchess’s tone, “She must have wandered too close to the edge of the river, lost her balance and fell.”

“I entrust her to your care for one afternoon and this is how you bring her home?” The duchess snapped, rising from the bed, still glaring at him. “I must say I am extremely disappointed, Rosehaven”

“Forgive me Your Grace,” Giles said softly, “it was a grievous error on my part, one I deeply regret”

Lady Abbington dismissed him with a slight wave, and turned to George. “Has the doctor been sent for?”

“Yes, Your Grace” George replied, “He is on his way here as we speak”

“Good,”

The door opened and Mrs. Rivers, the housekeeper entered, followed by five maids carrying steaming buckets of water and a huge tin bath. The housekeeper bustled about supervising the preparation for the bath, and Lord Giles took it as his cue to withdraw discreetly.

He passed a balding middle aged gentleman in the hall who bowed stiffly and murmured something unintelligible. Giles presumed he was the physician and silently prayed that the lady would be alright.

He shivered. In all the confusion, he had quite forgotten that he too had been in the cursed river, and now, his damp clothes caused cold shivers to run down his entire body. He hurried into his carriage and used the blanket to wrap around himself. The sound of hoof beats informed him that another carriage was coming up the driveway and he peered around his own, brows scrunching together in a frown when he noticed the carriage bore the St. Crye coat of arms. Damn the man, couldn’t he stay out of his life?

The carriage pulled up alongside his and Thomas alighted, giving his arm to the countess. Giles` displeasure deepened at the apparent intimacy between the two of them.

“I don’t think the duchess is in any state to receive visitors” He addressed them curtly, “I`m sure you will find you have wasted a trip coming here.”

“Has the lady regained consciousness?” Thomas asked, choosing to ignore Giles` arrogance.

“No, at least not while I was in her bedchamber”

Thomas raised an eyebrow at Giles` words. “You were allowed in the lady’s bedchamber?” he questioned, not liking the answer he was already sure of.

“Someone had to carry her there seeing as she was unable to simply waltz in by herself,” Giles replied sarcastically. “and since her knight in shining armor had apparently decided to abandon her in favor of his own comfort, I had to take on the task.”

“Oh don’t carry on so Giles,” Beatrice laughed, “You make Thomas out to be some sort of selfish monster, while he was only being sensible by trying to avoid catching a deadly chill.”

“I`m sure the Duchess was most grateful,” Thomas said, studying his opponent, trying to fathom just how much he had gained the affections of both mother and daughter, but Giles was far too experienced in the art of subterfuge to allow a hint of the truth to show.

“Of course she was grateful and couldn’t thank me enough for having her precious darling brought home at once.” Giles replied. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Your Grace, My Lady, I must attend to myself before more harm is done.”

He stepped into his carriage and it set off down the drive and through the ornate wrought iron gate that marked the entrance to Trevelyan hall.

****

Giles ignored his valet’s fussing over his cravat and stared into the fire in his bedchamber at his fathers house, his jaw set in anger and frustration as he seethed over being refused admittance into Trevelyan house for the second time since the incident a week ago. As always, he had been met at the door by Benedict Abbington, who had coldly informed him that his sister had no wish to see him, merely answering his inquiry into the Lady Laurel`s health with a brief reply that she had regained consciousness and was doing well- no thanks to his cruel treatment.

He emitted a sound deep in his throat like a growl, causing Adam, his valet to glance at him, startled.

“Is everything all right your lordship?” Adam inquired nervously, his master’s rages were legendary, with Giles lashing out at the nearest person or object in his path.

“Don’t ask stupid questions man” Giles snapped in reply, “I pay you handsomely to see to my toilet, not to play solicitor.”

“Forgive me My Lord” Adam swallowed nervously and quickly finished tying the cravat, so he could retreat before being forced to bear the brunt of Lord Giles` fury.

“Is my father still at breakfast?” Giles asked, striding to his writing table to pour himself a scotch from the bottle that sat there.

“Yes my lord,” Adam replied, “I believe he is in the morning room with the estate manager”

“And my mother?”

“She has gone to town with lady Georgia to shop for the lady’s wedding trousseau.”

“I shall join father for breakfast, and in an hour, I intend to call on the Countess, so inform the stable master to have Winchester saddled and ready by then.”

“Yes, my lord” Adam bowed out of the room, shutting the door in relief at being finally able to escape.

Giles downed his scotch in one swallow and poured himself another, then walked to the fireplace and stared at it in contemplation. His plan had been slightly derailed but he knew that with some careful planning, and maneuvering, it would still work absolutely well, it was simply a matter of time. Somewhat cheered by this, he finished off his drink and set the glass on table, then proceeded to the morning room.

The Earl was poring over some papers in front of him with a deep frown and he looked up as his son entered.

“Ah, I was just about to send for you Giles” Lord Hartwell said, “I have to pay a visit to my solicitors today and I want you to accompany me”

Giles frowned. “I have other plans father, can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

“Certainly not” Lord Hartwell snapped, “It’s high time you started taking an interest in the family finances, all that good money I spent putting you at Eton should not be wasted.”

Giles drew up a chair close to the table laid out with the morning meal and picked up a plate, lading it with eggs Benedict and hot rolls. “I assure you father, I am interested in our finances, I wouldn`t wish to see us fall into ruin and forced to beg for our daily bread. However, today is not the day to play up that interest, I’m afraid.”

Lord Hartwell glared at his son, then sighed and smiled fondly, “Sometimes, you remind me of my young stubborn self Giles, so eager to have my own way, until marriage to your mother taught me a valuable lesson”

Giles swallowed a mouthful of food before asking, “What lesson would that be?”

“Where a woman is concerned, it is far better to play the imbecile and give in to her demands than to suffer long agonizing nights of tears and sighs, which cause more damage to the liver than any potent poison known to man.”

“I believe you are waxing poetic, father, it suits you immensely”

Lord Hartwell gave a snort of laughter and took a sip of tea. “You should try it sometime son, might do you some good to have a woman by your side.”

“Come now father, my sister, Georgia, will soon descend into the pits of married bliss in a fortnight, and Lily is certain to have a new suitor by her next ball. Surely, you cannot be in such a hurry to see another offspring wed so soon?”

“I shall be profoundly grateful when all the hullabaloo is over and done with” Lord Hartwell said with a shudder, “The wedding outfit arrived this morning and your mother had a fit of the vapors when she found out the veil was not included. Enough shrieks to last me a lifetime”

Giles laughed heartily, amused at the pain in his father’s expression. “I`m thankful I was not there to witness it, one can only take so much screaming. Rosehaven Hall is so much quieter and peaceful. However, I believe I shall soon take part in the felicitations myself.”

“Huh?”

Giles leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smile on his face, and took a large bite out of his sandwich, taking long moments to chew slowly.

Lord Hartwell leaned forward impatiently, “Come on young man, spit it out, I have very little patience left.”

Lord Giles swallowed and grinned. “You see father, I believe Rosehaven Hall needs a mistress to oversee the household affairs and I have found the perfect woman for the task”

“Good lord!” Lord Hartwell exclaimed, looking extremely pleased, “and who is this lucky young woman?”

“Lady Laurel Abbington, sister to the Duke of Trevelyan. She will make the perfect marchioness, don’t you think?”

“Splendid” his father said, “and have you proposed to the lady?

“Not yet father,” Giles replied “but I am confident she will accept my proposal, she is quite fond of my company.”

“You better snap her up then, these young ladies have a notorious habit of suddenly switching affections in the blink of an eye. Remember how we all thought Georgia would marry Hendrickson? And then, POOF!, she settles on Wilford.”

Lord Giles frowned as he recalled the sight of Laurel wrapped around Thomas at the ball. But then he remembered his plan and smiled reassuringly.

“I`m not worried about that, I KNOW, she will have me, one way or another”

*****

Back in his room, he sat at the writing desk and opened the drawer, pulling out a fresh sheet of writing paper, then dipped his quill into the ink pot and wrote:

My dearest,

I’m sorry I put your health in jeopardy, but I wish to use this medium to sincerely apologize. I have not slept a wink for days with profound concern for your well-being constantly in my thoughts.

I need to see you to reassure myself that you are all right. Please, my dearest lady, I shall be at the park tomorrow at noon and it is my sincerest hope that you come to see me too. I remain,

Earnestly yours, Giles.

He set down the pen and reread the letter, then folded it carefully and rose from the desk. He pulled the bell to summon his valet from the servants quarters, and stood waiting, lost in thought.

Adam entered the room cautiously and was relieved to see his master in a good mood.

“You rang, my lord?”

“Ah there you are Adam,” Lord Giles replied, “Tell me something, do you have any connections with any of the staff at Trevelyan hall?”

Adam thought for a minute, then brightened hopefully. “I do know one of the kitchen maids, Bertha’s is my cousin’s wife.”

“Excellent Adam” Giles smiled, “I have an important missive for the duke`s sister, and I want you to take it to this....maid with instructions to see that it gets to her without anyone else being the wiser. Can you accomplish this?”

“Of course my lord, Bertha’s a jolly good sort of girl, I’m sure she’ll be wi......”

“Whatever, here’s a guinea for your trouble, hurry along now.”

“Thank you my lord” Adam took the coin and grinned. “Your horse is ready, shall I fetch your hat and cane?”

“Yes yes,” Giles said impatiently, “see that the note reaches her before noon tomorrow or I shall have your head.” He snatched his hat and cane and strode out the door.