The Theft of a Dukedom Read online

  Richard sniggered from his chair across the room. ‘Are you sure you still want to marry Louise?’ he said jokingly.

  ‘I’m marrying Louise, not her mother!’ Charles responded as a footman gave him a cup of tea.

  ‘Where is Kitty?’ Richard asked softly.

  ‘She should be down in a moment.’ Charles murmured and watched Louise Trenchard sitting with Millicent Carter.

  ‘Have you kissed her yet?’ Richard asked impertinently.

  ‘No.’ Charles said. ‘It’s too dangerous.’

  ‘Why?’ Richard asked perplexed.

  ‘Because I don’t know whether I could control myself.’ And the two men laughed. ‘Have you kissed Kitty?’ he demanded.

  Richard shook his head. ‘No, for the same reason!’

  A moment later Kitty entered the room holding the hand of a young boy, she looked the epitome of a lady, just as Charles said she would, in a white muslin dress embroidered with tiny gold flowers. The square neckline was camouflaged with a lace fichu, draped elegantly around her neck and shoulders and her hair was braided harshly onto the back of her head.

  The boy was almost jumping up and down in excitement. ‘When can we go Kitty?’ He was trussed in an exquisitely cut burgundy velvet jacket, chamois britches and a fine lawn shirt with lace cravat. His boots were highly polished and looked brand new.

  ‘I shall have to ask father. Cauldron Snout is quite a long way; maybe we should go to High Force first.’

  ‘Will you ask him today?’

  ‘Yes.’ She said and smiled indulgently. She looked up at the guests. ‘Everybody? I’d like to introduce the Duke of Wentworth.’ And she steered Edward around the room, introducing family and friends. She ended with Charles and Richard. ‘And of course, this is your new brother Charles and his friend Lord Richard Dunsmore.’ She offered Edward a chair, which he clambered into with alacrity.

  ‘I remember you from the wedding.’ Edward said brightly. ‘It was so exciting!’ he blurted to Kitty. ‘Mama got married in a cathedral!’

  ‘And I’m sure the entirehaute tonturned up to drink father’s wine!’ Kitty said scathingly as she accepted tea from the footman.

  ‘It was a very nice service.’ Charles said evenly, ‘and if Rochdale hadn’t been such a problem, you would have enjoyed drinking father’s wine!’

  Kitty was just sipping her first cup of tea when Deacon, the butler approached her.

  ‘Excuse me, Lady Amelia, but your father requests your presence in the study.’ He said formally.

  ‘Again!?’ She said in surprise. ‘That’s twice this summer.’ She put down her cup and stood muttering ‘I wonder who died this time!?’

  Charles watched her go and then sniggered. He looked at Richard. ‘You asked, didn’t you?’ Richard smiled and nodded.

  ‘I can’t envision her in the arms of another man.’

  ‘I hope you’re prepared for some wildness.’ Charles warned jovially. ‘She’s too much like Robin at times.’

  ‘So long as she doesn’t challenge me to a duel, I think I’ll live!’

  ‘Don’t be surprised if she does, she’s an excellent swordswoman!’

  Kitty ran to the study and then stopped outside the door, smoothed her dress down and composed her face for a serious matter. She rapped firmly on the wood and waited patiently. She heard the ‘Come In!’ and gently turned the knob, pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

  ‘Ah! Kitty!’ Thomas said and smiled. ‘Take a seat please.’

  ‘Who?’ Kitty asked and Thomas looked up at her in consternation to find a worried expression on her face. She slowly sat, arranged her skirts and folded her hands in her lap.

  ‘What do you mean, who?’ Thomas said and frowned.

  ‘The only times I have been called to your study was for you to tell me somebody died!’ she said, but couldn’t stop the sob escaping.

  Thomas roared with laughter and shook his head. ‘No, my dear girl!’ He spluttered through his mirth. ‘I’m not going to tell you somebody has died. I’ve had an offer for your hand and would like to discuss it with you before dinner.’

  ‘Thank God!’ she swore in relief, making Thomas’s eyebrows shoot up to his hair line.

  ‘You can watch your language for a start!’ he said in reprimand and then smiled gently. ‘Will you give this some thought, because I believe this is a fair and generous proposal?’

  She slumped in her chair. ‘Just tell me who it is!’

  ‘Lord Richard Dunsmore.’ He said with a smile.

  ‘Richard?!’ she gasped. ‘Why would he ask for my hand?’

  ‘I shall leave out all the unromantic aspects of the matter, but he did say that it would kill him to see you in the arms of another man!’

  ‘Was he argumentative over the settlement?’

  ‘He couldn’t have cared less about the money. He was only interested if I thought you would accept.’

  ‘Are you still including the manor in Kent?’

  ‘I am. Eynsford Manor will be yours on your marriage.’ Thomas said firmly, ‘well, it’ll belong to your husband. He will also get the financial settlement and will receive the portion of my estate when I die.’ He smiled then. ‘So! What’s your answer?’

  Kitty’s heart rate had gone through the roof when her father had said Richard’s name.Can I marry a man I barely know?She thought about that night on the lawn, when he tried to strangle her and how she had not retied the ribbon on her gown. She stared in the empty grate and thought about how he made her feel and she remembered how safe she felt when they were dancing.

  Thomas sat and watched the expression flit across her face. The fact that she hadn’t blurted an outright refusal was in Richard’s favour. He remained quiet and waited.

  Kitty thought of the sinful things that Millicent had told her and her belly went hollow with excitement. She felt her cheeks flush with heat and looked at her father. He was calmly waiting. She cleared her throat. ‘Yes.’ She said clearly. ‘Yes, I’ll marry Richard.’

  ‘And when would you like this wedding to be?’ he asked, fully expecting her to give him a ridiculous date for the following year.

  ‘As soon as possible.’ She said and smiled, ‘after all, we’re all here. If Richard wishes his brothers to attend I’m sure arrangements could be made.’

  Thomas almost choked at her answer. ‘Is there something I should know about?’ he asked with a frown.

  ‘Like what?’ she asked innocently.

  ‘Like a pregnancy?’

  ‘Father!’ she said in horror. ‘Why would you think such a thing?’

  ‘I just wondered whether you got a little carried away on the lawn.’ He muttered still frowning.

  ‘I’m shocked you could think such a thing of me!’ she said indignantly and scowled at him.

  ‘It’s not so much you, my dear, but Richard is handsome and he could have taken liberties?’ he made it a question as well as an explanation.

  ‘Well, he didn’t!’ she said the scowl deepening. She looked at him firmly and said ‘if it bothers you that much, we can get married next summer in London!’ They were quiet and Kitty sat inspecting her hands.

  ‘I sense there is something on your mind?’ Thomas asked evenly.

  ‘I would like to apologise for frightening you in the coach.’ She said softly. ‘I was just invaded by a devil and I had to beat the carriage.’

  Thomas sniggered behind his hand. ‘I was surprised that Charles didn’t race you to it!’ he said.

  ‘I think his thigh was bothering him. Racing like that is a strain.’ She said brightly. ‘I have a request?’

  ‘I’m all ears!’ he said and smiled at his favourite child.

  ‘Can I take Edward to High Force and the Cauldron?’ She looked fairly at him. ‘I promise to treat him like cut glass. No silly racing, a proper outing.’

  ‘I’ll ask Victoria.’ He said evenly.

  ‘Thank you.’ She smiled then. ‘I promised I would ask.’

/>   ‘You may have to take the nanny, as well.’

  ‘Well, I hope she can ride!’ Kitty said firmly and crossed to her father.

  ‘Be off with you!’ he said jokingly. ‘You’ll give me grey hair!’

  ‘But you’re already going grey!’ she said, stroked her fingers through the grey wings appearing around his ears, kissed his cheek and scuttled to the door.

  ‘Don’t be cheeky and send in Deacon!’

  ‘Yes! Daddy!’ she said and flew out of the door. By the time she got back to the drawing room, tea was over.

  Chapter 10

  Kitty was wearing indigo silk. Her gown was stunning, with seed pearls adorning the bodice and puff sleeves, and the ivory silk gloves were highlighted with tiny indigo coloured glass beads. She wore a simple string of pearls that sat around the bottom of her throat, emphasising the length of her neck. The lustre of her skin made them pale into insignificance.

  The guests seemed small against the size of the dining room and Kitty was quiet. She had watched Deacon fetch Richard to the study from the library door and now she was sitting opposite him. Her stomach was still hollow with excitement. She again picked at her food through the entire meal. Dinner was interminable, but eventually the footmen brought in the port and cigars and Kitty got up to leave with the rest of the ladies.

  ‘Lady Amelia?’ Richard called before she left the table. She looked at him over the huge candelabra that had stopped them from conversing during the meal.

  ‘Yes, My Lord?’ she asked with her eyebrows up.

  ‘Will you take a turn around the terrace with me?’

  ‘Of course.’ She said and smiled.

  He walked around the table and offered his arm. She gently rested her hand on his forearm and they walked to the french windows. She could hear Edward asking if he could go with them and Victoria saying no, not tonight.

  Kitty tried not to laugh. Once at the door she removed her hand to lift the hem of her exquisite gown as she stepped out onto the terrace. She walked over to the balustrade and looked at the stars. The new moon was just rising and it made a silver scimitar in the night sky.

  ‘Did you have nights like this in Spain?’ she asked Richard.

  ‘Many. But never with such beautiful company.’ He replied from just behind her shoulder. ‘It’s quiet here, just like Portugal. London is always so busy.’

  ‘I shall miss it.’ She said sadly.

  ‘What, London?!’ he asked surprised.

  ‘No. Here.’ She murmured. ‘I shall miss the rugged beauty and the earthy realism of life here. It’s one of the reasons I was reckless today.’

  ‘Why will you not be here?’ he asked confused.

  ‘I’ve just finished my first season.’ She sighed. ‘By now I should already be betrothed. Soon my father will insist and choose a husband for me. When I’m married I will be too busy being a wife and with any luck a mother. Mickleton is too far from London and I shall be most fortunate to have a husband that does not object to a week in a carriage to get here.’ She sighed deeply again.

  ‘Kitty?’ he whispered her nickname and she turned at the tone of his voice. He lifted his hand and stroked his fingertips over her cheek. ‘You are so beautiful.’ He murmured as his hand cupped her chin. He dipped his head and gently brushed her lips with his. She jerked and gasped, as if a current had passed between them. It gave him the courage to go further and he pressed his lips against hers with light pressure. She did not back away, so he rested his hand on her waist.

  Her heart was thudding in her chest and she was suddenly breathless as he deepened the kiss and licked the line of her compressed lips delicately with the tip of his tongue. She gasped again and as her mouth opened he almost plundered her mouth, but instead he kissed her carefully, he didn’t want to frighten her. He vividly remembered her reaction to Rochdale when he tried to kiss her. His hand slid around onto her back and he pulled her against him. Already his erection was testing the strength of his britches and he carefully kept it away from Kitty, turning his hips slightly so that she wouldn’t feel it. Her hands were resting on his shoulders and he was very aware that the fingers of her left hand were resting right on one of the wounds in his back. Slowly he lifted his head, breaking the kiss and looked down into her flushed face. She couldn’t hide the light in her eyes, or the heaving of her bosom as she panted.

  ‘Marry me, Kitty?’ Richard asked softly. ‘And then I can kiss you all day long.’

  She cleared her throat and looked at his cravat, which was right in front of her eyes, pulling her hands down onto his chest. She could feel his heart pounding. ‘If what Millicent told me is anywhere near the truth, you’ll be able to do more than kiss!’ She looked up abruptly and the expression in her eyes made him gasp. He could read it like a book, she wanted him.

  ‘I suspect that Millicent only told you the basics.’ He said with a knowing smile. ‘I can take you on a journey of sinful pleasure you can’t imagine.’

  ‘Really?’ she asked in surprise.

  He pulled her against his chest and whispered in her ear. ‘I can show you things Millicent hasn’t even heard of and I can make you scream in ecstasy while I’m doing it.’ He boasted and nestled his lips under her ear.

  ‘Why do you wish to marry me?’ she said suddenly.

  ‘Because you took my breath away the first time I saw you on the lawn with Charles.’ He murmured. ‘You’re funny and brave and I would like to spend the rest of my life with you. See you bear our children, watch you grow old.’ He put his hands on her face and looked in her eyes. ‘Please say yes!’

  ‘Kiss me again, just to make sure.’

  ‘Make sure of what?’ he asked, bemused.

  ‘To make sure I wasn’t wrong the first time.’ She said and smiled, her teeth flashing in the moonlight. He dipped his head and took her lips in a searing kiss, and as she gasped this time, he delved deeply tasting every sweet corner of her mouth, clutching her body to his. She wrapped her arms around his chest and squeezed him with her hands flat on his back. It made him jerk and groan, breaking the kiss with an imprecation she hadn’t heard since Robin left. She took a pace backwards. ‘What did I do?’ she asked in trepidation.

  ‘Sorry.’ He muttered. ‘I’m still sore in places.’

  She was quiet while he stood and tried to combat the stabbing pain she had wrought just by pressing on his wounds. Unfortunately she had found them with her hands.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ She whispered. ‘I didn’t realise your wounds still bothered you.’

  ‘I suppose when you have a wound like Charles, it’s obvious, but my injuries were actually more severe than his. Canister is not pleasant.’

  She could see a film of sweat on his brow. ‘You must make me a promise.’ She murmured as she pulled his handkerchief from his sleeve. ‘To tell me everything.’ And she blotted his brow.

  ‘No.’ He said firmly. ‘I won’t tell you everything.’

  ‘Then I won’t marry you.’ She said and handed him the linen, turning away to go back into the Hall.

  ‘Kitty!’ He called plaintively and she turned to look at him. ‘I will tell you what I can, but I will never tell you everything.’

  ‘Why?’ she asked her interest piqued and she walked back to him. She stood looking up at his handsome face in the moonlight. He had an oval face, she decided. He had a deep brow that was camouflaged by his dark wavy hair falling over it in a question mark. She had felt like stroking it off his forehead from the first moment she saw him. His eyebrows arched over clear blue eyes that were set wide apart either side of his very straight nose. It flared down to his lips which were full without being fleshy. His cheeks were angular and his jaw strong and determined. She lifted her gloved hand and pushed the hair off his brow.

  ‘I can’t tell you everything, because some of it would be just too sickening to hear.’ He whispered. ‘War is most unpleasant and anybody who says different is a liar.’ His voice had gone hoarse with pent up emotion. She knew he nee
ded to cry, just as Charles had done.

  ‘I’ll accept that. But I will insist on no secrets.’ She whispered as she looked in his bright eyes. ‘Secrets kill a marriage quicker than a forest fire.’

  ‘Very well, but I will keep quiet if I should take a mistress!’ he said with a smile.

  ‘I hope you never feel the need for one.’ She said as he took her in his arms again. This time she didn’t touch his back, but kept her hands on his arms and he kissed her thoroughly, until she was panting again.

  ‘So, my lady, what’s your answer?’ he demanded.

  ‘Yes. I’ll marry you.’ He made an inarticulate sound and crushed his mouth over hers again.

  ‘I think you should come back in now!’ Thomas said from the door. ‘It’s time to join the ladies.’

  Slowly Richard removed his lips and let her go. He offered his arm again and this time she put her hand in the crook of his elbow. It was a very intimate gesture, the way a wife would hold her husbands arm. He proudly turned her for the door.

  ‘He’ll probably announce it now.’ She said and sniggered.

  ‘Maybe.’ He murmured. ‘We may have to wait for the Earl.’

  She frowned. ‘The Earl? What’s he got to do with us?’

  ‘I’m surprised.’ He said as they passed through the doors. ‘I expected Louise to tell you.’

  ‘To tell me what?’ she demanded as she turned to block the door way. He stopped, looked down into her determined face and could see exactly what Charles had meant. She was a warrior at heart and he’d stake his life she would be as ruthless as some of the Spanish Ladies.

  ‘Charles has made an offer.’

  ‘I know, he told me this afternoon.’ She laughed. ‘The Earl will say yes.’

  They followed her father to the music room and Kitty was astonished to see Aunt Agatha sat at the grand piano.

  Thomas walked over to the piano and rested a hand on Agatha’s shoulder while he whispered in her ear. A beaming smile lit her face and she nodded.

  Thomas cleared his throat. ‘I have an announcement to make. My daughter Amelia has agreed to marry Lord Dunsmore.’ This news was greeted with ooh’s, aah’s and a round of applause. ‘So I should think we’ll have an autumn wedding?’ He asked and looked at them.