Page 11 of The Wise Daughter
Please, no.
The stranger by the riverbank was much too pleasant, but she couldn’t deny the possibility. Her stomach sickened as she realized she might never see Locket again.
“Nora, are you all right?” Her father nudged the gate open, releasing a ghostly whine into the air that must have alerted the entire castle and all of Ravenglass to their presence.
“Yes.” She lightly fingered the iron vines as she passed through after her father.
They braved their way through a large courtyard where stone archways bridged two imposing towers in front of the castle, then through another courtyard where a gravel path led to large wooden doors reinforced with iron studs and bands.
Her father stood motionless before the door, gazing upward. Knowing what she had to do, Nora closed her eyes and searched for strength.
“Now, remember, Nora, you’re a lady,” her father said. “We have every right to be here. Hold your head high and smile often.” He pulled out a handkerchief and frantically wiped at her cheeks. “Did you have to roll in the mud? Nora, this is dreadful.”
“Don’t you think our Saxon royalty will shine through?” She deftly avoided his next attempt to wipe a spot on her chin.
With a surge of courage, she lifted a fist to the heavy doors. It felt good to pound on something, even if her hand smarted a little. She pounded two more times before a long-nosed butler, who introduced himself merely as Chuff, opened the door to them and stared with his mouth gaping.
When her father said nothing, she smothered her worries and rallied her most pleasant voice. “Good evening. My father and I are here to see the Duke of Ravenglass.”
With jaw still hanging, the butler shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
“What?” her father burst, finding his voice. “Of course, it is.”
A debate ensued between her father and the butler. On the brink of outrage, Mr. Lacy promised the butler he would regret turning them away. When the butler still refused, Mr. Lacy proceeded to list as many important ancestors back as he could remember.
Nora buried her cringes and placed a silencing arm on her father’s.
She gave the butler her most polite smile. “Mr. Chuff, I understand your concerns. I’m sure you are only doing your duty, but we won’t be turned away. We’ve travelled a great distance, and as you can probably guess from my muddy appearance, I’ve been through quite the ordeal tonight. We really must see His Grace. I ask you to help us.”
The butler stood very still as if unaffected by her speech, but his brows pinched together slightly in what she thought was sympathy. “The circumstances are most unusual.”
“Indeed, they are.” She spoke as if it were a joke they shared. He was softening. All he needed was one more nudge, and she was certain he would let them inside.
The ring,she reminded herself. Though her stomach swayed with nerves at the thought of being caught with the duke’s signet ring, she chose to hope he would be grateful to have it restored to him.The handsome stranger had been so confident in his advice that she go tothe duke and make her petition. It could not be coincidence. The ring had to be her chance.
Slipping the cold metal off her thumb, she held it up to the butler’s view. “It’s rather cold out here, and the rain is growing heavier. Please, let’s not have any more delays. I believe the duke will admit me.” She arched her brow in what she hoped was a knowing expression and held her breath.
His eyes momentarily widened before he wrinkled his nose and sniffed, then stepped aside to admit them. “Very well. Follow me.”
“Well done, Nora,” her father whispered, which only made her more nervous.
Ignoring the way her feet squished inside her boots, she followed the butler through an old entryway with a cross vaulted ceiling into a large drawing room where she and her father were asked to wait.
And wait they did. For several minutes Nora had to endure the clammy feel of her stiff, wet clothes while listening to her father’s continuous reminders of why they were there, what was at stake, and how important it was that Nora trust him. All Nora cared about was the warm fire that thawed her fingertips.
Chuff’s return was a strange relief to her after those tense minutes alone with her father. With the invitation to follow him, he led them up a wide, curved staircase and down a lengthy corridor that led to a more modern, polished wooden door, the only barrier now between Nora and the duke.
Before she could steady her nerves, that barrier was gone.
The butler announced her and her father, and she entered a spacious room that looked part study, part sitting room, part library. Every sense within her hummed. The stone fireplace was large enough for her to stand in. The elaborate tapestries reached from ceiling to floor. A wall of shelves full of worn leather books left a slightly sweet, familiar scent in the air. Nora tried to step lightly on the plush carpets, but her boots’ squelches were unavoidable. Her eyes lingered on thecushioned armchairs by the fire, and her lids grew heavy. The only thing lacking was something to fill her empty belly.
The heat of the fire and the sudden tiredness and hunger that weighed on her made her dizzy. She almost didn’t see the man on the other side of the room.
He stood mostly in shadow, barely turned toward the crackling fire with his arms folded. Nora couldn’t clearly see any of his features, only that he was tall, his hair dark, and his coat a fine black.
So this is the infamous duke.No greeting, no polite bow, no acknowledgement at all.
Insolent.
