Page 62 of The Duke's Last Dance
Though he had told his mother he was going to make arrangements for the funeral, and he would, he knew that he was also going back to Town for another reason. He was going to make things right with Lady Catherine, and he had to get there sooner rather than later. It had already been two months.
The last letter had been dated a fortnight ago, and nothing had come in since. She had not written in two weeks, and that worried him. He had not yet had a chance to read the other letters; he would do that while he journeyed to Town.
Unfortunately, as he was the only one going to Town, he was not taking the carriage. He was taking a horse, and that would make his journey longer than it needed to be. The horse would have to pull a buggy, and since it was only one horse, they would not be able to go as fast as the carriage could have taken him.
It would probably take him a week and a half to get to Town. He wanted to write to Catherine, but he felt that he would arrive before the letter did, which would only end in a bit of a snafu or in her reading something she already knew because he had talked to her.
Instead, he gathered up her letters and the ones he had written her and put them on the top layer of one of his trunks.
He would have to read them so that he could at least show that they had arrived at the right place. Beyond that, he had no idea what else he could do to show Catherine that she had not waited in vain. She had not waited for him in vain for three years while he was in the Navy, and he would do all he could to make sure that was true this time, too.
So, it was with a heavy heart that he loaded everything into the small buggy that he would be using to get back to Ashwood Manor. Then, he hugged his mother goodbye, and hurried off.
A funeral to plan and a woman to marry… this was not going to be easy to do.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The metal was cold, and the small gem shined brightly in the sun. Catherine sat at her dresser again, staring at the brooch in her hand. It had been a fortnight, and she had not written anything more to Nicolas. She had been courting the Duke of Hestina for that time, and as she sat looking at the brooch, she could not help but feel it was time.
“What are you thinking about, Lady Catherine?” Miss Amelia’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
Catherine looked over towards her handmaiden, and then sighed.
“’Tis time to let go of the past. Will you fetch the small jewelry box from my wardrobe, please, Miss Amelia?” Catherine then looked back down at the brooch in her hand.
Ten years… and he could not keep his promises. Nicolas Lockhart may have been a lord and soon-to-be a duke, but he was not the man she would marry. He had not kept his promises to her, and though she had done her best, she was starting to lose faith that there would be any chance for her to have him as her husband.
Miss Amelia set the little jewelry box on her dresser.
“Thank you, Miss Amelia,” Catherine said.
She opened it and stuck the brooch in the box. It was time to get rid of the past, let it sink to the back of her mind. It did not matter that he loved her, and she loved him, if he could not keep a simple promise.
Unlike the Duke of Hestina. The duke had made quite a show of promises, and he had kept every single promise he had made her, even if it took him a little longer than he had originally thought it might. He had promised her that first night after going to Haymarket Theatre together that he would call on her again soon.
She had not expected to see him at the doorstep the next day as she readied for a walk in the gardens. Miss Amelia had accompanied them, and she was quite fond of what had happened next. The Duke of Hestina had made it his goal to court her, he told her, and he knew it was rather fast, seeing as they had not really done much yet, but he wanted to officially court her.
That had been the beginning of the end of Nicolas Lockhart’s chances to be with her.
Now, she got ready for breakfast, leaving the little jewelry box on the dresser. She picked out a suitable dress – a soft colored gown that fell to the floor with a square neckline – and then she walked downstairs.
The air of Camberton Manor was different today. There was a buzz of some kind, as if there was something more that had happened than would normally happen by this time in the morning.
Her mother was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.
“Good morning, Mother,” Catherine said. “What is all the hustle and bustle about this morning?” She pursed her lips.
“The Duke of Hestina has asked for a meeting with your father this morning, Catherine,” her mother said with a wide smile. “They are in his study now, and I can only imagine you know what is going on now. I believe you are about to be engaged, Catherine, and to such a fine man. Though I am a little sad it did not work out between you and Lord Lockhart, I believe the Duke of Hestina will be a fine match for you.”
“Thank you, Mother,” Catherine said, her smile growing now.
They walked into the dining hall together, and Catherine could not wait patiently.
If Lord Lockhart did not believe that there was something there, then there was no reason for her to feel guilty going on with the engagement that was surely coming. However, there was a pang of guilt in her heart. It was not her fault she had come to this point; she had kept her promise to Lord Lockhart and had only stopped writing to him when it became painfully clear to her that he was not writing her back, nor did he have any intention of writing her back.
The guilt in her heart did not make any sense. It was not her fault the promise had first been broken, but she had broken her promise after writing for so many weeks without hearing back.
She took in a deep breath. This was not what she wanted to think about on the cusp of such a happy occasion. It was time, she reminded herself, to let go of what had been in the past. If Lord Lockhart did not want to marry her now, then she was sure that the Duke of Hestina would want to.
