Deceiving the Duke of Kerrington (Ladies of Deception) (2 page)

Chapter 2

            Lady Noelle Parrish could
not stop thinking about the handsome man she had met earlier in the day; it had
been quite an accident really. It was an unusually sunny spring day and after
having been cooped up in the house for the better part of the week, Noelle had
been anxious to get out and partake of some fresh air and feel the sunshine on
her face. She had convinced her lady’s maid, Hope, to accompany her on a brisk
walk, grabbing a bonnet as she eagerly exited the townhouse she inhabited
during the season with her father, Lord Brattondale in Mayfair.

            She had been clumsily
attempting to tie her bonnet in place as she vigorously walked down the road,
Hope trailing in her wake when she felt herself colliding into a solid mass.
Noelle gasped, taking a sudden step back away from the object when she felt two
strong hands encircle her upper arms. Even through the thick spencer she was
wearing, she felt the warmth of those strong hands and an odd tingling
sensation accompanying the warmth. She focused her eyes on an expertly tied
cravat, white as freshly fallen snow. She vaguely remembered hearing a low
chuckle before looking up into the most striking green eyes she had ever seen,
causing her to inhale sharply.

            “Pardon me miss,” the man
said, his rich voice soothing and distracting at the same time. She could tell
by his accent that he was an American.

            Noelle reached up to
straighten her bonnet before speaking, “My apologies sir, I wasn’t paying
attention to where I was going.”

            “I can’t say that I mind.”
The stranger smiled a radiant smile that caused flutters in the pit of her
stomach.  Reaching for her hand, he placed a gentle kiss on the inside of her
wrist, “I’m Soren Johanssen from Boston, pleased to meet you.”

            “Nice to meet you, I’m
Noelle Parrish.”

From somewhere
behind her she heard Hope clear her throat, “That would be Lady Noelle.”

Noelle rolled
her eyes, not sure she cared to have her maid inform this untitled American of
proprieties. There was something exciting about not having to bend to the rules
of society and being able to be just plain Noelle for once. She looked back
into Soren’s handsome face, “How long are you in London, Mr. Johanssen?”

He looked into
her eyes before slowly perusing the rest of her body. When his eyes finally
rested back on her face his own face held a look of satisfaction. “Not nearly
long enough it would seem my lady.”

Noelle felt her
cheeks heat at his words but couldn’t help her own forwardness, “Well then
Soren,” it felt deliciously naughty to call a man by his Christian name,
especially one she had only just met. “I sincerely hope that I see you again.”
She looked down coyly before rewarding him with a stunning grin of her own.

“As do I
Noelle.” He replied, purposely leaving off the Lady. She knew it was wishful
thinking to assume she’d ever have the opportunity to see him again. With him
being an American, she knew the chances of seeing him at any society event was
extremely limited, but still it had been fun to flirt with the handsome man
with chestnut hair and startling green eyes the color of a spring leaf.

            As if sensing her thoughts
he leaned in close, his voice just louder than a whisper, “I hear the ices at
Gunter’s are refreshing on a sunny day. I may just have to find out for myself
tomorrow afternoon if the weather holds.”

            Was he implying what she
thought he was implying? She held her breath, not daring to hope that he had
been suggesting she meet him at Gunter’s for fear of those hopes being dashed.
The thought of seeing him again made her heart beat with anticipation. She
must’ve taken too long to reply because he straightened and said, “You do like
ices don’t you Noelle?”

            “But of course, in fact I
think tomorrow afternoon might be the perfect time to enjoy one.” She couldn’t
believe she had just slyly agreed to meet him. Before she had the chance to
back out, he winked at her discreetly then bowed slightly.

            “Well good day to you my lady.
Be careful where you’re walking.” Then he took off in the direction he had been
initially heading before the interruption as if it was an everyday occurrence
for him to make plans for clandestine meetings with innocent young ladies. And
for all Noelle knew of the man, maybe it was. 

            Noelle had spent the better
part of the afternoon daydreaming about that brief encounter with the
mysterious and handsome American. She kept fretting about her decision to agree
to meet with him at Gunter’s the following day. She was deeply intrigued by the
man, for he had sparked more interest in her in their short acquaintance than
had any other gentleman in the entire three seasons since she had debuted. She
knew her father, Lord Brattondale, was becoming increasingly impatient with her
reluctance to settle on someone to marry. But that was an enormous part of her
problem, she refused to settle. All the men that she met and danced with were
either too boring, too conceited, too tall, too short, too plump, and too stern—the
list could go on and on.

            It wasn’t that they weren’t
interested in her, for she certainly had plenty of offers of marriage and
courtship— she just wasn’t interested in any of them. She knew that at almost
twenty-one years of age she was getting close to being considered on the shelf
and as her age increased, so did her father’s desire to see her married off,
almost as if she were a burden he wished to see placed on somebody else’s
shoulders. 

            She shifted in the window
seat of her bedroom overlooking the streets below and harrumphed, if only she
could figure out how to meet with Soren the following afternoon. It just wasn’t
proper for a lady of her class to be seen with a gentleman alone in public and
the thought of having her maid tag along was out of the question. Something
inside of her was telling her that this man was different than the other men
she had met and if she was going to see him again, she preferred to have some
privacy.

Just then Hope
entered her room, “It’s time to begin getting you ready for the Everston ball
tonight. Do you prefer the lavender gown or the periwinkle one milady?” When
she got no response from her mistress, Hope glanced to where Noelle was sitting
and was shocked to see her intently gazing at her, an odd look on her face.

“Milady, are you
not feeling well?”

Noelle shook her
head dispelling her intent gaze, “On the contrary, I’ve just been thinking.”

Some instinct
inside of Hope told her exactly what her mistress had been thinking about,
“You’re thinking about that American gentleman aren’t you?”

She slid off the
window seat and came to stand directly in front of Hope, closer than either one
of them was usually comfortable with. “Oh Hope, I’ve been thinking about his
offer to meet me tomorrow at Gunter’s. I just have to see him once more.” Then
abruptly changing directions she said, “I’ve just suddenly realized how much
you resemble me. Isn’t that odd?” Her voice was suspicious.

“I hardly think
so milady, flattering as that may be.” Hope’s hand went self consciously up to
her hair and the tight bun she had always worn at the base of her neck. Her
mother Matilde had always gone to great lengths to ensure that Hope didn’t
appear attractive in the least, claiming if she appeared even slightly
beautiful she’d only attract unwanted advances from the master of the house or
other servants, finding herself in the kind of trouble she didn’t need. She even
made her take the extra precaution of wearing spectacles to disguise any beauty
she may have though she didn’t need the things to see. She knew she couldn’t
look even similar to Lady Noelle who just so happened to be an exceptionally
handsome lady, with hair the shade of honey and striking eyes the unique shade
of light amber. More than one man had fallen in love with her based on her
looks alone. Surely she mustn’t be feeling well if she thought that Hope’s
plain features held any resemblance to her own.

“I think you may
be getting ill milady, why don’t you lie down for a spell and see if this
episode passes.”

“Oh nonsense,
have you looked at yourself in the glass recently? You even have the same odd
colored eyes as mine.”

Of course Hope
hadn’t noticed, she couldn’t remember the last time she had looked in a looking
glass. She purposely tried to avoid mirrors, having been told she should avoid
vanity at all costs. Besides, she knew she was nothing fancy and didn’t want to
depress herself further by having that truth confirmed to her each time she
caught her reflection staring back at her.

Noelle grasped
Hope’s shoulders and spun her towards the looking glass hanging above a small
desk, “Take a look for yourself. And take those dratted spectacles off so you
can actually see your eyes.” Hope stood in front of the desk, her eyes focused
on the toes of her serviceable brown shoes. She felt apprehensive about looking
in the mirror, not sure what her mistress was trying to accomplish. Before she
had time to decide what she should do, Noelle had reached over and pulled her
thick framed spectacles off of her face, nudging her closer towards the glass.

“Come on, look.”
She urged her. Slowly Hope’s gaze ascended till she was staring at herself in
the looking glass, seeing her reflection for the first time in years. She let
out an audible gasp as one hand flew up to touch her cheek then her lips as if
she couldn’t believe what she was seeing was real. She leaned in to take a
closer look at her eyes and jumped back with shock. They were the exact same
shade as Lady Noelle’s. She had never been so shocked in all of her life. She
slowly turned her astonished expression on Noelle who was smiling as if she had
just been granted a prize.

“See what I
mean? I suspect if we let your hair out of that severe style and refashioned it
into something a bit more becoming and applied a touch of rouge to your cheeks
you could pass as me.” Before Hope had a chance to object, Noelle was reaching
for the pins holding the bun in place and gently tugged them out, causing
Hope’s hair to cascade in thick waves down her back, nearly reaching her waist.

“This isn’t a
good idea milady. I’m not sure what you are trying to accomplish but I think we
best be getting you ready for the ball and quit this nonsense.” Hope tried her
best to put an authoritative tone to her voice, “And I think it would be best
if you put all thoughts of this American man from your head.” She quickly
rewound her hair into the ever present bun, pinning it tightly into place.

“Oh but I can’t.
He’s the most handsome, intriguing man I have ever met. I’ve never felt so
attracted to a man in all my years, and you and I both know I’ve met plenty.
Please just hear me out, I have a plan.”

“You know it
wouldn’t be seemly for you to meet with a gentleman alone in public. You’re
father would never allow it and I will not be party to that meeting because I
do not approve. You know nothing of the man or his morals.”

“Of course
father wouldn’t approve,” she decided to gloss over the fact that Hope herself
didn’t approve as well, “But it wouldn’t be unseemly for
you
to go out
by yourself in the afternoon. No one would suspect anything if you left for an
afternoon visit to go see your mother.”

Hope shook her
head back and forth slowly, confused. “You know I have no desire to speak to
that American again, I told you I wouldn’t be party to this.”

Noelle laughed
heartily, “Don’t be obtuse. Of course I’m not suggesting you go meet him. How
would that solve anything?” Hope didn’t know, for she had been wondering the
same thing. “I was actually thinking that if I posed as you I could easily slip
from the house to meet him. No one would suspect a thing, it’s brilliant!”

“But what if
your father comes looking for you or someone comes calling and you are nowhere
to be found? How then would I explain your absence?”

“That’s why you
would have to pretend to be me. You could borrow one of my dresses and style
your hair as you do mine and no one would ever know.” She clapped her hands
together excitedly, “It’s the perfect solution, rather brilliant actually.”

Hope felt a knot
of dread forming in the pit of her stomach. She could not even pretend to feel
a modicum of the excitement that Noelle was exhibiting at the preposterous
scheme. There was no way that she, a lowly servant, could ever pass herself off
as a real lady, even if there was an uncanny resemblance between her and her
mistress. No, it wouldn’t work and Noelle was a fool to think otherwise. Hope
would simply have to refuse.

Before she could
offer her objections Noelle was speaking once more, “Oh Hope, you have to do
this for me. I think I’ll just die if I don’t get to see Soren once more.” She
flung herself dramatically across her large tethered bed. Hope rolled her eyes.
She was used to her mistress’s dramatics but this was even more exaggerated
than what she was accustomed to.

“I’m almost
positive you wouldn’t die milady. Now put this nonsense from your mind and
let’s get you into your dress.” She went to the dressing room and pulled the
lavender gown from the closet, “I think this will do perfectly, I prefer it to
the periwinkle one.” She set about laying out the dress, hoping that Noelle
would abandon her idea and let her begin her preparations for tonight’s ball.
Just as Hope had turned to retrieve the purple satin slippers that went so well
with the lavender dress, Noelle had come up behind her and put a hand on her
shoulders, forcing her to turn and face her.