Page 10 of A Duke in Pursuit of Passion
“Oh, there is nothing that can be done!” Lady Partridge cried out in an utterly piteous tone that grated painfully upon Nathaniel’s eardrums.
“Now, please, Cynthia dear,” Lord Worthington said softly, reaching out to lay a comforting hand upon Lady Partridge’s forearm. “All will be well.”
Were it any other woman, Nathaniel might have been concerned for the affection his father was showing to another man’s wife, but to Lady Partridge, he may as well have been comforting a sister.
Once she had calmed slightly, the duke turned to his son and declared, “Someone must go to Scotland, quickly and quietly, and bring Louisa home. Hopefully, before anything untoward should have a chance to happen.”
Nathaniel gulped at that. It had taken him a day’s journey to arrive in Nottinghamshire; who was to say that Louisa and her lover were not already well on their way to Gretna Green by now? This was no job for the likes of the duke or even the earl. They were both too old and slow to handle such a journey with any great urgency, even concerning Louisa’s scandalisation.
“I have long desired to return to Scotland,” Nathaniel admitted, pushing himself to his feet and straightening the buttons of his jacket. Clearing his throat, he announced, “I shall go.”
“That will not be necessary.”
The feminine voice that hit him from behind took him greatly by surprise. It appeared to have had a similar reaction in everyone in the room as all, even Mack and the maid who had been standing quietly in the corner, turned to look at the doorway.
The very moment that she entered the room, Nathaniel was taken by her. Dripping with radiance and beauty, the blonde woman who entered entirely took his breath away. She moved so gracefully that he had to glance at her feet for a second, wondering whether they were even touching the floor.
And when his gaze darted back to her most handsome face, he was caught even more off guard by the striking colour of her violet-blue eyes, a colour that reminded him of the violet flowers that Lady Partridge had always had planted in her garden when he was a child.
Who … who is she?he wondered, confused by her presence and even more overwhelmed by her sheer beauty. Against his newfound morals, he felt a tingling in his stomach and a heat in his groin, the likes of which he had been unable to ignore during his roguish days. He did it with great difficulty now as he tried his hardest to recognise the woman, feeling as though he ought to have somehow, though he couldn’t quite put his finger upon it.
And when her gaze met his, the confusion was clearly mirrored in her gaze, a half-recognition, half-surprised glare in her gaze that made Nathaniel’s heart stop.
Then, just like that, it hit him.Ella!
The woman had come a long way from the girlish pigtails and frilly dresses she had always worn when they were children. The slender yet womanly figure she now possessed was nothing like the short, dumpy child she had been when they had been close childhood friends.
In fact, many had often stated that her sister, Louisa, was the pretty one of the two, though if Ella looked like this now, he dreaded to think what her sister might have come to. It would not be difficult to imagine why the likes of Mr Giles had swooped her away when he had the chance.
“Lord Rolfe,” Lady Ella greeted him coolly, curtseying slightly as though it was only out of formality and not in any way a friendly greeting.
“Lady Ella, it is a pleasure to see you after all these years,” Nathaniel responded, bowing in return.
“Indeed,” she said, offering him only a cursory glance before she turned her full attention upon the duke and her mother, her hands clasped firmly before her. “Mama, we have no need of Lord Rolfe’s help. I shall be going to Scotland to find Louisa for myself.”
Lady Partridge looked about as gobsmacked as Nathaniel felt, not only at the woman’s revelation but also at her cool greeting. Even more so was his sense of her tone, one that suggested she found him wanting and did not believe he could accomplish such a task. Unable to stop himself, he blurted, “That is absurd!”
Though both Lady Partridge and his father opened their mouths as if to speak, Lady Ella turned to Nathaniel before they could do so and said, “What is absurd, My Lord, is that you believe you could accomplish such a feat on your own.”
“Excuse me?” Flabbergasted, Nathaniel stared back at the lady, slightly unnerved by how coldly she stared at him. She was a far cry from the young girl he had known when he left for Scotland, and he wasn’t at all sure he liked what he had come home to.
It is none of my business the lady she has grown into,Nathaniel told himself firmly. Clearing his throat once more, he straightened up with his hands clasped behind his back and stated, “I have knowledge of Scotland and its nobles. I know its inns, taverns, and other darker areas that a young lady such as yourself has no business setting foot in.”
For just a second, Nathaniel thought he might have got her to see reason. Then a darkness came across her gaze that left Nathaniel feeling stunned. “I am the only one in this room who knows what Mr Giles looks like.”
Nathaniel had to admit that she had him on that one. Though he still felt a tingling in his gut that told him he ought to know the name, he most certainly did not recall a face to match it.
“A gentleman and a noble lady travelling together should not be all that difficult to find,” Nathaniel protested.
“And yet you did not even recognise me? How do you ever hope to recognise my sister?” Lady Ella snapped coldly.
Nathaniel flinched. He hadn’t realised he had made his lack of recognition quite so obvious. Annoyed with himself, he gritted his teeth and tried to make certain that his face was expressionless before saying, “A lady cannot travel alone. It would be unwise.”
“It is settled then!” Lord Worthington put in so suddenly that both of them whipped around to look at him, both caught off guard by his words.
“Excuse me?” Lady Ella asked.
“Yes, father, I don’t quite understand your meaning.”
