The Duke's Dilemma (2 page)

Chapter Two

Hester woke when Birdie brought her morning
chocolate. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, disorientated. ‘What time is it? I
feel as though I’ve only been asleep for an hour or two.’

‘It’s after seven o’clock, my dear, and I
thought it wise to rouse you early. There are things you need to
know
.’

She was wide-awake. ‘Tell me, have you heard
why Aunt Agatha wouldn’t let us in yesterday?’ She raised a hand as her
companion prepared to put the tray across her knees. ‘No, Birdie, please put it
on the side table. I shall get up. There’s something awry or you wouldn’t be
here so early
and
fully clothed.’

With her companion’s assistance she was soon
dressed in yesterday’s costume which had been freshly sponged and pressed by an
obliging chambermaid. She sat down in front of the mirror and impatiently
gathered her hair up into its usual chignon and pinned it securely to her head.

‘My dear, despite your lack of sleep you look
pretty as a picture. I’ve always said that autumn
colours
suit your golden hair. It’s a pity you have to hide your outfit under that ugly
cloak.’

Hester was now intrigued. Why was Birdie taking
such an the interest in her appearance?
 
‘Birdie, tell me why I have to look my best this morning? Who am I to
impress?’

She watched as Miss Bird walked her measured
way across the l rag rug to stand gazing pensively at the fire. She knew not to
interrupt whilst her erstwhile governess and now dearest friend was considering
her next utterance. While Hester waited she rose from her seat in front of the
mirror and walked to the window to peep from between the heavy curtains to see
it was, as expected, still dark.

Her friend turned, her face serious. ‘After you
retired to your room I decided to go downstairs and sit in the snug. A woman of
my sort is often overlooked and indeed such was the case last night.’ She
indicated Hester should be seated in the small armchair beside the fire.

‘The place was in fine uproar. Everyone was
talking about it. It seems the occupant of the coach in front of us yesterday
was a Lord Colebrook, the Duke of Waverly. It was his dust we were following
for two hours. It seems he was not best pleased to find we had bespoken the
only decent chambers.’

Hester couldn’t help smiling; she had no love
for aristocrats of any description; if she was honest her sympathies were like
her aunt’s, more with the
sans culottes
,
the revolutionaries in France. Of course beheading all the aristocrats had not
been a pretty solution but she believed the poor deserved better from their
masters. She contained her curiosity and waited to hear the remainder of
Birdie’s story.

 
‘
Mr
Jarvis was ordered to turn us out and give us the
inferior rooms but, bless him, he refused. He insisted that gentry or not,
ladies came first in his opinion. The general consensus was that his grace was
not pleased. However, by the time I arrived the altercation was over and the
gentleman in question was sitting over a large jug of claret nursing his woes.’

Hester couldn’t restrain herself. ‘He sounds
typical of his class. I’m glad he had to spend the night in
meagre
accommodations. Now tell me immediately, what manner of man is he? Is his
appearance as repellent as his nature?’

‘Well, he’s an extremely tall man, wide
shouldered and fair haired. I wouldn’t call him handsome, but he has a striking
appearance. Actually he has the
demeanour
of a
soldier, a man more used to commanding troops than arguing with a landlord in a
country hostelry.’

‘Because he shouted? In my limited experience
the rich and influential are prone to do so when thwarted. Do you know exactly
what their rooms were like?’

‘I’m coming to that, my
dear. After it became apparent the landlord wasn’t going to budge and we were
to remain, the gentleman and his companion, a more common looking individual,
presumably his valet, took themselves off to discuss matters. Which is why they
were in the snug in the first place.’

‘I wonder why someone so top lofty as the Duke
of Waverly was also visiting Neddingfield Hall? I don’t suppose you overheard
them discussing why the gates were barred?’

Miss Bird shook her head. ‘I did not, my dear.
However, taproom gossip according to

Tom,
is that your aunt and her staff are definitely in residence. They have to pass
through the town in order to leave.’

‘How odd! But you know my aunt, she’s a law
unto herself. I think she’s about to embark on one of her extraordinary
adventures and wishes to inform me of it.’

If this was the case it didn’t explain why a
member of the nobility should also be visiting. It wasn’t a coincidence; Aunt
Agatha must have had a reason for asking them both to come at the same time. A
thought popped unbidden into her head. She almost choked, spraying her
chocolate in a most unladylike manner across the boards. Coughing and
spluttering she leapt to her feet, incapable of explaining to her companion
what had discommoded her.

When she recovered her composure she was able
to say in an almost natural tone what she suspected. ‘I think I know why
Waverly is here. Aunt Agatha has decided it’s time I married and has invited
him along to make me an offer. Perhaps she thinks I will renege on the promise
to attend the season this year.’

She waited for an explosion of laughter, for
Birdie’s vehement denial of her outrageous statement but none was forthcoming.
Instead her friend’s expression changed from one of alarm to amusement.

‘Of course! How silly of me not have thought of
that. Last time we visited, dear Miss Culley and I had a comfortable
coze
whilst you were gallivanting around the countryside on
your horse; she confided to me that she had exactly the man for you and would
arrange for you to meet. She decided that as you’re approaching two and twenty
it was high time you gave up your single state.’

‘Birdie! How could you? A lady is supposed to
marry to better herself or her family but I’ve no need to do that; I’ve told
you countless times matrimony is not for me. My two dearest friends both
believed themselves to be in love and embarked on the married state. Look at
them now! Poor Charlotte is at daggers drawn with Sir Charles and from what I
gather from her last letter she has banished him to the dower house.’

Birdie chuckled. ‘Yes, and Miss
Merryweather
, now Lady Alsop, is about to produce her
fourth bundle of delight in as many years. From one extreme to the other, my
dear. I know you’ve no wish to emulate them but your mama begged me to keep you
safe and guide you to a happier life than she had.’

Hester’s eyes filled at the mention of her
mother. Her papa had been neither a good husband nor father; he had been a weak
man and his answer to every problem was to give in to it, eventually giving in
to a bout of pneumonia when, as Mama had remarked on the morning of his
funeral.
‘If your father had had any
backbone he would have fought the disease and recovered and not left us to
manage on our own.’

‘Whatever my father’s failings - and they were
legion, I will admit this to no one but yourself, Birdie - he didn’t waste my
inheritance; neither Mama nor I ever went without. I have sufficient money in
the funds to keep me in whatever lifestyle I choose for the remainder of my
life. Why should I wish to give that up?’

‘Why indeed? There’s no need for you to do
anything you don’t want, my dear. Your aunt and I merely discussed the hope
that you would meet someone your equal in both intelligence and wit and decide
being a spinster was no longer the best option. Surely, my dear, you would like
to have children one day?’

Hester swirled around the floor the heavy
woollen
skirts of her dress impeding her long strides. She
stopped, glaring down at the offending garment and came to a decision.

‘This is ridiculous. Help me get into my riding
habit, please. I shall take Tom and James and ride to the far side of the park.
We can get in to Neddingfield by fording the river. Although it’s cold it
hasn’t rained for weeks and it should be quite safe to cross.’

‘Is it your intention to discover what Miss
Culley has in mind, before you’re obliged to meet the gentleman?’

Hester nodded as she flung her gown on the bed.
‘You think it’s a good idea don’t you, Birdie? I promise, if he’s suitable,
apart from the fact that he sounds arrogant and autocratic, I promise I’ll be
civil to him and not turn him down without a fair hearing.’

Dawn had scarcely broken when Hester cantered
away from the inn. She was determined to speak to her aunt before Waverly
arrived to look down his nose at her. She glanced across at the black shape
loping along beside her; at least Jet was delighted with the excursion as was
Thunder. The geldings muscles were bunching and releasing beneath her; in spite
of his long journey yesterday he was eager and ready to go.

She led the way through the town, around
several farms and down various back lanes, her visual memory excellent. She
believed this was the only worthwhile thing she’d inherited from her father.
She sat back in the saddle, pulling gently on the reins and her horse responded
immediately, dropping back to a trot and then to a long, easy walk. Whilst she
waited for her henchmen to catch up she had time to reconsider the sketchy
information she’d got about her adversary.

‘Tom, if we go down this path we’ll arrive at
the river. If I remember rightly all we need to do then is follow the bank for
about half a mile until we reach a where we can ford.’

‘I’m glad you waited until light to set off,
Miss Frobisher. I wouldn’t like to do this ride in the dark.’

‘Did you doubt me, Tom?’

The man shook his head, his face serious. ‘No,
miss, but I’m not sure creeping about the countryside is the best approach.’

‘Would you have preferred me to have waited
patiently at the inn until I discovered why my aunt barred the gates?’ He
nodded and Hester’s laugh echoed through the naked trees startling a flock of
pigeons into the air. The flapping spooked Thunder and for the next few moments
she was fully occupied calming him and the conversation was forgotten.

She was delighted to discover the crossing
place was exactly where she thought it would be. They reined in and she eyed
the grey swirling water with
disfavour
. ‘It looks a
lot deeper than I anticipated. It must have been raining a lot for the river to
be so full.’

‘I’ll try it, miss. You wait on the bank with
James.’
 
She watched Tom urge his mount
forward. She held her breath as he urged the nervous animal down. The horses’ hoofs
struck the gravel bed of the river.

The water eddied about the animal’s hocks then
rose almost to his stirrup irons. He would be forced to turn back and she would
be disappointed if he did. Then to her relief the water became shallower and
Tom was safely across. He patted the chestnut’s neck, it was Bess, one of the
carriage horses, who went as well under saddle as she did leading a team.

‘It’s safe, Miss Frobisher, it looks deeper
than it is. If you come next James can ride behind, that way Thunder can’t
change his mind.’

Hester smiled. She knew he was recalling the
embarrassing occasion when her horse had been halfway across a narrow bridge
and balked, refusing to go further. In the end she had been forced to dismount
and back him across the bridge much to the amusement of James and Tom who had
crossed ahead of her.

She dug her heel into his side and slapping him
on the neck urged him into the foaming water. Jet chose that precise moment to
erupt from the undergrowth and fling himself into the river with a splash.
Being suddenly deluged in icy water so upset them both they parted company. She
landed on her back in the river, Thunder half-rearing, lunged forward to join
Tom on the far bank.

The water was barely two feet deep but for a
terrifying moment it closed over her head and she could see nothing except
swirling blackness above. Then an arm reached down and she was hauled to the
surface coughing, spluttering and freezing cold.

James was standing beside her the water not
even over his boot tops, trying hard to keep a straight face. She glared at him
daring him to comment on her misfortune. Without waiting to have her stupid
horse brought back she stomped across the river; after all she was so wet what
would a little more water matter?

With some difficulty she was assisted back into
the saddle with her riding habit clinging unpleasantly to her legs. Even with
Tom’s cloak around her she shivered miserably. Through chattering teeth she
called. ‘Tom, let’s get to the Hall. It’s not far through the park. I keep
fresh garments there and I’m sure James can borrow something from one of the
grooms.’

She led the way through the woods, the area
becoming more familiar and she saw the park ahead. ‘I’m going to gallop the
rest of the way, Tom, it will warm us both up.’ She kicked her mount and he
responded; they raced across the frost whitened grass to arrive in
 
spurt of gravel by the tradesman’s entrance.