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“I cannot see how,” the lady replied. Her tone snapped as if she wanted to sound firm but there was something in it, as if she were holding back a smile that made Caroline suspect that she was enjoying the pursuit.
“It’s forever been you and I,” the male argued. “We’ve always known we would make this work, hell or high water. It’s not my fault that it has taken so long.” There was a note of desperation in his voice. “I want you, Lydia.”
There was a pregnant silence and a sigh.
Caroline felt her stomach fall to the floor. A part of her had suspected that the pair in question was Lord Robert and Lady Lydia, but another part of her had hoped that it had been a pair of servants arguing or perhaps even Lord Edward with one of his many lovers. This is where the duke must have been this past week… wooing Lady Blackwell. Caroline reminded herself that she did not care. She was cross with him, she recalled, and he had proven himself most false.
“And I thought I wanted you but fate is against us. It just never seems to align,” Lady Blackwell seemed pleased to have the upper hand. “Besides, I have heard enough whispers about you and that maid…” Caroline bit back a gasp. She was not surprised that there would have been whispers, others had been bound to figure out where she had been going. Still, she had not expected such information to reach Lady Lydia, nor did she expect the lady to have sounded threatened, if only slightly, over a maid.
“It’s nothing,” he promised. “It’s over. There is only you.”
“Only ever me?” she demanded.
“You are the only one who has my heart. I swear it. From now until eternity.” Caroline felt a pang at the words but reminded herself that it was only because she had experienced a deep loss of the friendship, she had thought that she had, a friendship that had turned out to be a lie. The pair deserved one another. They were two spiteful, manipulative wretches who deserved nothing more than to make each other miserable for the rest of their sorry lives. Perhaps that was a bit harsh, she amended. Hadn’t she been trying to help him repair things with his betrothed even before they had fallen out of sorts? Why should she be so disappointed at his success?
“Oh, Darling,” Lady Blackwell crooned.
There was a prolonged silence that left Caroline with widened eyes and what must have been an apple-red blush to her cheeks. A soft, feminine moan told her that her assumptions had been correct. The pair were sharing in what they thought was a private embrace, a kiss that had Lady Lydia sighing with pleasure. Caroline tried not to think about the fact that she had nearly kissed the duke herself. Would it really have been that earth-shattering? She suspected yes as the heat rose to her face anew. He was too insightful to not know how to please a woman. She shook such thoughts from her head, reminding herself that she was intruding upon a very private moment.
“Promise that it will be soon,” Lady Lydia whimpered. Caroline could hear the pout upon her face. Yes, the female was getting exactly what she had long wanted.
“I’ll handle it all as soon as I can,” came the soothing reply. “But you must be patient; these things do take time.”
“I’ve been patient my entire life,” she groused. “I don’t want to be patient any longer.”
“Soon, then,” he promised and again they fell into that telltale silence.
Caroline felt ill. She ought to be happy. She ought to be thrilled that the duke was finally getting the response from the lady that he had long desired. She did not know why she had thought that during those magical evenings in the study there had been something between them. She cursed herself for a fool again. Then she thanked the fates that she had been freed from the gentleman’s influence before she had had the chance to develop any irreparable feelings. No, she thought, she was just fine now and listening to him coax a gentle mewling from Lady Lydia didn’t bother her in the least. Not in the least, she repeated just for good measure.
“Oh, Edward,” Lady Lydia sighed.
Caroline’s mouth dropped open and before a sound could come out, she clapped a hand over the offending orifice. Her eyes felt as if they might bulge from her sockets as she did her best to control the utter shock that had taken over.
Lady Lydia and Lord Edward? Certainly, it could not be!
Yet, it made sense, she realized. Lord Edward had been here these long years comforting the lady and chaperoning her on his brother’s behalf. Of course, Lydia, who seemed vain in every sense, preferred the beautiful brother to the one who had been permanently marred, even if he was the duke.
Caroline almost vowed to tell the duke what she had witnessed as soon as he returned from wherever it was that he had gone, but swiftly changed her mind. First, she was still cross. Petty as it may be, she was disinclined to tell him the truth when he had so expertly lied to her. Besides, hadn’t she just overheard the lovers discussing that the matter would be handled soon. Lord Edward was going to tell his brother. Oughtn’t he be given the opportunity to come out with it in a respectful manner so that his brother might understand that the pair had found the passionate love that Lady Lydia had been dreaming of all these years? Discovery second-hand was never the best route. Caroline resolved to stay out of it although that did little to lessen the shock that had rocked her when Lady Blackwell had not said the duke’s given name, but instead his brother’s.
She wondered how Lord Robert would take the news, but she hoped that she would be long gone before she had a chance to find out.
CHAPTER18
The duke returned to the townhouse less than an hour later. He had narrowly missed Lady Lydia’s departure. Caroline wondered how long the lovers had been meeting in secret without the duke being made aware. He would have thought it strange that she would so readily visit the house when she had been hesitant to accept the previous invitations to visit her betrothed.
Rumor among the staff members was that the duke had ridden to his Manchester estate to settle some important business dealings. Caroline wondered what could have been so urgent that he had had to travel in the inclement weather for the winter season was now fully upon them. Again, she began to suspect that he had reached for the excuse to be free of her and the hurt that she had caused. It was sad really, to possess the knowledge that he was very soon to be dealt another blow.
“Did you hear that his Grace had met with the Baron Wickham on his return journey?” Lizzy had whispered that evening while they had each lain in bed.
“I had not.” Northwickshire! Father! Caroline thought as she sat upright with interest. She then placed a placid smile on her face, hoping that the maid would not suspect that she was overly interested.
“They arranged to meet near Wollington where his father and the men had been discovered.”
“To what purpose?” Caroline asked. She had heard that her father had traveled to the scene of the crime and had been in close contact with the local constable who was spearheading the investigation. She had not heard, however, that any progress had been made on that front. She frowned at that.
“They have yet to find any sign that her Grace had been harmed,” Lizzy leaned over the side of her bed with a conspiratorial whisper. Caroline could tell that her companion viewed the information as nothing more than titillating gossip. Sweet, innocent Lizzy, Caroline mused. She had no idea that she was speaking to her mistress. No idea that the lady of the house lay on a straw mat on the cold floor of their pitiful room. “It seems she might have been taken, although no one can think why. Apparently, she was somewhat of a recluse. She oughtn’t to have had anyone after her and the highwaymen hadn’t shown the duke any mercy for his position, so why would they have kept the duchess? Unless she were as beautiful as the rumors suggest.” Lizzy shrugged as if it mattered not. “They’ve decided to offer a reward for information. The duke pledged half the fee himself, on behalf of his father.”
“He did not!” Caroline exclaimed. She had known that a reward would come to be offered, was pleased that the time had finally come. This new development meant that she was one step closer to returning to the safety of her own home. Still, she had not expected that the duke would feel any obligation toward his father’s new wife, a woman which he had never even made acquaintance. She felt sure that any amount that the baron and duke had been able to collect would appeal to her captors. Her father was wealthy, yes, but the duke was drowning in coin.
