Page 11 of A Duke in Pursuit of Passion
The two spoke at the very same moment, and when Nathaniel glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Lady Ella had begun to blush.
“The two of you make some very valid points,” the duke insisted, rising from his chair to announce, “You shall both go.”
“Your Grace, is that wise?” Lady Partridge piped up, seeming to have finally calmed herself enough now that the conversation had finally turned towards a solution. “I already have one daughter out there unchaperoned. It would not be wise to send another.”
From the way she trembled, Nathaniel could tell that Lady Partridge was mightily concerned for the welfare of both her daughters. He opened his mouth, meaning to offer agreement, to suggest that Lady Ella should remain and perhaps someone else who might recognise Lady Louisa should go with him. But before he could get the chance, his father announced, “My son is an honourable man and a duke’s son; nobody would dare to question such a thing.”
Nathaniel gulped, uncertain whether his father’s words were entirely true. There had been many a time during his youth that he likely ought not have been left alone in the company of a young and impressionable woman.
“Perhaps, it could be allowed were some ruse made up?” Lady Partridge suggested, “And, of course, a lady’s maid should be sent along with them for propriety’s sake.”
“My own manservant shall attend us also,” Nathaniel pointed out. There was nowhere he could go without taking Mack with him. The man had become invaluable, not only with his own well-being but also with attending the places that he could not always attend, being a nobleman and so well known. Mack was the kind of man who could slip in and out of a building quietly without anyone batting an eyelid; he was certain they would likely have need of him.
“As I have said before, My Lord, we do not have need of you,” Lady Ella insisted, looking to her mother for a little support. Yet it was clear from the look on Lady Partridge’s face that she had already begun to like the plan forming.
“Yes, yes, you should all go and pack and be off as soon as possible,” she said, gesturing them all from the room. “The longer we waste whittling on about it, the further away your sister becomes.”
Even the clear tension in Lady Ella’s shoulders could not dissuade from the beauty that radiated from her, and the moment she was gone, hurried from the room by her mother’s words, Nathaniel felt an odd sense of disappointment.
A single thought popped into his mind as he said his farewells to Lady Partridge and his father,This is going to be interesting.
Chapter 7
The preparations that evening left Ella too preoccupied to think too much on her shock at seeing Nathaniel Rolfe after almost sixteen years. At least, that was how long she thought it had been, but she decided it wasn’t worth thinking about. Though he had grown into a handsome nobleman, she had more important things to worry about, like packing light so they would not hinder their journey to Scotland.
Overseeing Alice with instructions to be sure they had everything they required without going overboard, Ella managed to distract herself right up until dinner when she decided it was probably best just to have supper in her room so that she could get an early night.
They would be leaving before dawn to hopefully catch the next ship to Scotland, one that just so happened to be captained by a close friend of the duke’s. Their only hope was that word had reached the captain to hold off on departing so they could be aboard when theMerry Roseset sail.
For another night, Ella tossed and turned, having fitful dreams, and when she was awake, all she could think about was the journey ahead. It was a journey she would have been anxious to take alone, but the thought of going with a man she had not seen for sixteen years made it all the worse.
And by the next morning, she felt dreadful, only able to hope that Alice could work wonders with powder and rouge to make her look a little less like something that had just crawled out of a casket.
There was one good thing to the plan that her mother and the duke had come up with; she would be able to hide her face with a widow’s veil for practically the entire journey. Pretending to be Lord Rolfe’s cousin might be a little more difficult. After all, she barely knew the man. They may have been friends once, but that was a long time ago.
Setting out well before dawn in the carriage with Alice at her side and Lord Rolfe and his manservant on the bench opposite, she was more than a little relieved for the veil, even when Lord Rolfe suggested, “You know, you don’t have to wear that thing when it is just the four of us.”
“Does it unnerve you, My Lord?” Ella responded, still biting back a smirk on the off chance he might actually be able to see the shadow of her face beneath the sheer black material.
“No, I just … I thought you would be more comfortable without it,” he said, though Ella did not miss the way he shivered as he spoke. She sensed that he most definitely was unnerved by the veil.
“I would prefer to remain in character,” Ella explained, straightening herself up in her seat. “At least until I have got my head around all the details.”
“I am certain that once everybody is aware you are my cousin, recently widowed, and I am escorting you back home to Scotland, nobody shall feel any need to question you any further, Lady Ella.”
“Be that as it may, I would much prefer to be safe than sorry.”
Lord Rolfe turned to his manservant as if looking for help, but the man, Mack Ella thought he had been called, only smiled at her and said, “Your dedication to the story is commendable, My Lady.”
From the pursed lips that Lord Rolfe gave, him that was not the help he had been looking for. For the rest of the journey, Ella and Alice remained quiet while Lord Rolfe and Mack discussed the arrangements that would be taking place during their stay in Scotland. Ella listened quietly, holding onto any information she thought she might need in the future.
And when they finally made it to London docks, she felt much more at ease and prepared to board the ship that would take them to Scotland. That was if in fact it was actually in the harbour.
Mack and Alice were the first ones to clamber from the carriage, followed by the duke’s son. Ella allowed him to go, feeling no desire to get out in her current attire, feeling certain that everyone would begin to stare at her in her widow’s clothing.
Clambering out behind him, she instinctively placed her hand in that offered to her. She was most surprised when she found that it was the hand of Lord Rolfe, and, stunned by the fact, found herself stumbling down the last step right into his arms.
Gasping in shock, she could do nothing but feel his arms around her as he steadied her and asked, “Cousin, are you well?”
