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“Verity. You are the only woman I will ever love. I fear that my father’s title will go to a rake if you refuse me. My brother Duncan is more than qualified for that, with his drunken, licentious habits. I will surely die of a broken heart if you will not consider my request a sincere one, made with love.”
He kissed her hand and looked into her eyes.
Verity wondered if her melting heart showed there.
Resolving to stop chastising herself and her fickle heart, she could only answer softly.
“I will indeed consider it sincere, Daniel. Please give me a little time.”
As the door opened after a brief knocking, they drew apart. John Hanson stood there, slightly out of breath.
“Forgive me, Your Grace, I came to warn you of a man looking for Mrs Millwood.”
Daniel stood and looked wildly about.
“Who, when, why?”
John had no chance to answer, before the door opened again with no knock at all.
The man who entered could not have startled Verity more had it been her dead husband.
“Father! What are you doing here? How did you find me? What do you want of me?”
Lord Ainsley glared about him, focusing on the obvious gentleman in the room rather than his daughter.
“Sir, answer me this. Did you make my daughter with child and secrete her here to make her your mistress?”
The gasp from Verity was answered by a voice more dangerous than the thunderous voice of her father.
“If you think that, my Lord, you know not your daughter, and you insult my character as well. She is with child by her husband and, as desirable as she is, would never be my mistress. I would rather she be my Duchess, but neither her mourning nor mine will be finished until December. Given those circumstances, she will not yet answer my love with her own, although she does not tell me no.”
Verity watched as Daniel stared the older man down for minutes that seemed like hours. As he did, Verity spoke, her voice almost harsh, and her anger palpable.
“Father, you dishonour me! What makes you think that I would ever agree to be a man’s mistress? This gentleman is the Duke of Summerfield, and he has been all that is kind and honourable to me, providing assistance with nothing asked in return, when my husband’s family turned from me, and your past anger made me unwilling to return to your home.”
Finally, the Earl’s shoulders sagged, and he turned to his daughter.
“Daughter I apologise. I’ve been looking for you since I sent that reply to your notice of Edward’s death. I am an old fool to have believed village gossip from a lout at the Inn. In the end, I discovered where you were from the Innkeeper’s wife. I meant to avenge your honour, then beg your forgiveness. It seems that only the latter is needed. Will you forgive me? And you also, Your Grace, will you forgive me for my foolish assumptions?”
Verity had risen during her father’s comments and now extended her hand to him.
“Father, you don’t know how I’ve longed to reconcile with you. I’ve been so sad. If not for the friendship of Daniel — His Grace of Summerfield — I would have certainly perished from loneliness.” Her father kissed her hand and drew her into an uncharacteristic embrace. Tears were in more than one pair of eyes. “Please Father, sit and have some food and tea.”
Through all of this, John Hanson had stood by, quietly, in case his assistance should be needed. Verity glanced at the tray and saw it empty. Smiling, she pulled the cord again and requested replenishment and two more cups. She smiled at the silent John Hanson who nodded gratefully. Little was said until the tea and food had been consumed.
“Lord Ainsley, which village lout was besmirching my name and that of your lovely daughter?”
“I believe that he was the Innkeeper’s son – his mother was most apologetic when she realised that I had asked the boy for information, and not received it.”
Verity could see that Daniel restrained himself with difficulty as he heard that young Dirk Jeffries had been spreading rumours. Remembering what Dirk had said to her, all those weeks ago on the meadow, when Daniel had saved her, Verity felt that she had to explain how the problem had started, with the message from Edward’s family, which had reached her at the Inn.
She swallowed the last of her tea, and spoke.
“Father, let me tell you about what has happened – which I believe has led to that boy spreading untruths. When I first arrived in Bellbrook, I had barely entered the Inn, when a messenger, resting there, overheard me give the Innkeeper my name. The messenger approached me, and gave me a letter – one he had been charged to deliver to me, at Lady Chittendom’s. I read it in my room, as soon as I was shown there, and discovered that I had nowhere to go. I was distraught and forgot to lock my door, simply falling into bed, crying. For a while, I slept, then when I woke, I ate, and went back to bed, miserable. Moments later, a man came into my room – he was very much in his cups, and he immediately made his less than appropriate intentions clear. I averted his drunken assault with the timely use of a principle of defence which you taught me. I used his motion – wobbly as it was - against him, spun him around, and redirected him immediately back out of the door, which I then slammed and locked. I only saw a little of his face in the light of the lamp in the hall, but I think that I would recognise him, if I saw him again.”
“Are you sure, Verity? Could you perhaps draw a sketch of the man?”
“Certainly Daniel, I could try, although I am not all that good at drawing people. But I have not finished my story.” She turned back to the Earl and continued, her eyes begging her father to see her innocence in this matter. “So, you see, the young rake who’s been spreading rumours apparently saw the drunkard appear from within my door, and stagger off down the hall, which was enough for the boy to think that he’d be justified in assuming that I was available. He would not believe that the man had been inside my room for less than a minute. As a result, some time later, he accosted me when I was walking on the meadow, and I was only saved from his attentions by Daniel’s timely arrival. After Daniel intervened in the meadow, and sent the boy home with the threat of repercussions should he accost me again, it appears that he did not drop the matter as we assumed that he would, but instead, has turned to spreading rumours.”
