Page 41 of A Countess Captured for the Captain
She felt as though some impending doom was hanging over them, some piece of the puzzle not yet revealed. She could not quite put her finger on it, but it seemed that strings were being pulled, and some dark intention was lingering in the background. It made her wary, and she wondered just what the ball would bring.
“If we are married and if we are equal in that marriage, Earl and Countess, why do your uncle and aunt insist upon excluding me all the time?” she asked, and Nox sighed.
“I told you, it will not be for long. You will see. Now, I must bid you goodnight. There is much to see to tomorrow for my uncle wishes to discuss the future of the estates and perhaps then we shall know better where we are to live in years to come. Goodnight, my darling,” he said, and kissing her, her bid her farewell.
But Samantha was no longer tired, indeed she was wide awake, pondering her father’s invitation and the strange revelation of the two family’s connection. What could it mean, and what did it mean for her and Nox?
“Curious, very curious,” she said to herself, her suspicions growing, her doubts lingering–
Chapter Twenty-One
The arrival of Regina’s baby was announced in the periodicals two days later. It was the talk of the ton and Rebecca and Catherine had hurried to share the news with Samantha, who had already discovered it for herself thanks to Nox’s aunt, who had been privy to the arrival before the announcement.
“Hubert Arthur Sherridan Crawford, the heir to His Grace Randolf Crawford, Duke of Hampton, son of Duchess Regina Hampton, delivered safely at Hampton Manor–” Rebecca read out loud as Samantha groaned.
“A boy, yes, a boy, and now Regina’s hold is complete,” she said.
“You were hoping for a girl?” Rebecca replied, and Samantha rolled her eyes.
“You know I was hoping for a girl. Regina will be insufferable. She has done what my poor mother could not do and provided my father with a male heir. She can do no wrong now, not a thing. He will dote upon her until the day he dies, and he will think nothing of me,” she said.
“You do not know that, perhaps now he will be kinder to you given that your existence is not a disappointment,” Rebecca said, and Samantha laughed at her reasoned logic.
“So, you are saying that he need not despise my sex any longer,” she said, and Rebecca nodded.
“That is how I would see it,” she replied. “Nicholas was delighted to have an heir, and now he tells me I can have as many girls as I wish.”
“Even though he will have to pay the dowries?” Catherine asked, and all three of them laughed.
“Well, we shall see what Regina is like as a mother, I am sure she will be the center of attention as ever at this ball,” Samantha replied.
All three of them had been invited, as had the entire ton, for it seemed Regina was intent on showing off her newfound status as the mother of the heir to the Dukedom and wished to be feted by all and sundry.
“I think it will be quite jolly,” Rebecca said, and Samantha raised her eyebrows.
“It is Nox who has persuaded me to go. He talks about healing a rift between our families. If someone had intended to have me hung by the neck, I would not be so ready to accept an invitation to a ball at their expense,” she said, and Catherine giggled.
“You are funny, Samantha. Do you really think that Nox and your father can put their differences aside? Though Nox was not the Earl of Brimsey when your father made such allegations,” she said.
“I am not sure that Nox knows who he is yet,” Samantha said, shaking her head sadly.
There had been no further revelations of memory from Nox, though still the secret interviews between him and his uncle and aunt continued. Samantha had grown used to being excluded and no longer even sought to ask him what he may or may not remember. There could be no convincing him that his uncle and aunt might tell lies and try as she might, Samantha could think of no reason they should. All she had was an uncomfortable feeling, one that would not go away, and which told her that something was being hidden, something important that she longed for Nox to remember.
“He will remember, surely he will remember in time,” Catherine replied, and talk now turned to other matters.
But Samantha remained unconvinced, and as the day of the ball approached, she became ever more convinced that something was amiss, something of great importance to them all.
* * *
“You will look lovely in whatever you choose to wear,” Nox said, said, as Samantha dismissed first one and then another dress selected by the maid.
“You would think I looked beautiful in rags, otherwise you would never have married me – I arrived on boardThe Rosa Mysticain rags and spent the whole voyage thus attired. No, it is Regina’s forked tongue that I fear,” Samantha said, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
“And what does it matter what Regina says? You have said yourself that she will be quite awful whatever happens, so what you wear makes no difference,” he said, and Samantha smiled.
“You are right, it is just that I have worried so much about this evening that I am in a terrible state,” she said, picking out a dress with a gold sash and a red trim.
“You need not worry about this evening, we shall hardly be noticed. Regina clearly wishes to show off your father’s heir to all the world. If our presence can help bring peace, then it is all well and good. I have told you, Samantha, soon we shall be free of London and can go where we wish. I discovered only yesterday that there is a modest house in Yorkshire – Farlbrough Heights – right out on the moorlands, where the two of us might retreat to. We would need only a few servants and we would be quite alone,” he said, putting his arms around her and kissing her.
