Having handed his gloves and coat to an attendant footman; Aldworth, his hand on the door handle, paused.
He rested his forehead against the frame, closing his eyes briefly, and --
The secretary, who had walked into the hall as his employer had begun to ascend the staircase, raised a mildly surprised voice.
"Mr Cardwell, Your Grace?"
"He will wait."
Mr Fenton, if momentarily taken aback by the uncharacteristic brusqueness in the communication, proceeded to -- most politely - assure that punctilious gentleman, who was shown into the study some moments later, that His Grace should be with him shortly.
"Where is Miss Allington?"
The maid who found herself subjected to the Duke´s displeased scrutiny, dropped a quick curtsey.
"Miss went to the library, Your Grace." She blushed a little at the directness of the dark gaze. "The doctor gave his permission."
Aldworth strode out of the elegantly furbished chamber, the expression on his face set.
Judith found herself before a problem of some complexity.
She had briefly considered applying for the aid of a chair that was positioned within not unreasonable distance from her present predicament, but had been quickly dissuaded from following that intuition by the sharp reminder that whilst Sir Charles might have given his blessing to some minutes of non-strenuous activity during the day, the moving of objects larger in size than a tea pot had almost certainly not been on his mind when he had stipulated his conditions.
Perhaps if she were only to rise up on her feet and stretch -
She flinched.
No.
Oh, but this was exasperating.
She was still not permitted to go outdoors, and now she was not even able to procure herself a book.
Crossing her arms before her, she lowered herself onto the carpeted floor, raising her knees so as to be able to rest her chin on them, her brow furrowed; her slippers peeking out from underneath her dressing gown.
"Miss Allington."
Thoroughly startled by the unexpected voice, Judith got up so quickly that her head began to sway and -
She instantly found herself steadied by a pair of strong arms, her cheek pressed against a decidedly male shoulder. For a brief moment, she contemplated the wisdom of giving in to the temptation that was to rest against - oh.
She looked up - and found herself face to face with the strained countenance of her host.
Blushing furiously, she mumbled an apology and attempted to extract herself from the firm hold.
"I beg your pardon, I did not -"
Judith flinched at the sharp pain her efforts resulted in, willing it to go away and leave her in -
She found herself lifted off the floor - and before her mind had had time to connect with the rest of her person; she was lowered onto a settee, the dark face dangerously close to her own as a hand lifted to gently -
It seemed to have recalled its sense of decorum.
The colour rose into her cheeks once more as she attempted to adopt a more upright position, firmly attaching the sash of her robe.
"Drink this."
She looked up to see that he had procured her a glass of a suspiciously dark shade, clearly expecting her to take it from him.
Judith shook her head.
"No, I thank you. I am quite well. You only surprised me -"
"Don´t be foolish."
There was no mistaking the command in the levelled voice.
With a sigh, she accepted the glass, and took a few, slow sips of the wine. And strangely enough - she found it instantly invigorating. Just as she had become accustomed to the taste -
"Why must you fight me?"
Her eyes flew to the handsome face, which was once more so close to her that she should only need to reach out minimally so as to be able to touch -
Never had she heard him use such a soft voice.
She opened her mouth and -
"I do not care for wine."
His brow instantly creased, and she felt her colour heighten again at the intensity of his gaze. Almost she could think that he was trying to read her mind. But that would be absurd. Besides -
"What were you thinking?"
Well, now he should deign to be angry! He had not even seen fit to visit her, to enquire how she might be.
In truth, his continuous absence had more than a little vexed her. At first she had attributed it to the slowness in her recovery; she had realised it would not have been quite proper in him to see her in her chamber, but she had since been permitted to leave her bed for some length at a time and spend it, albeit in a primarily reclining position, in the adjoining sitting room.
And yet - he had not come.
Oh, she had had a constant stream of visitors enough; once Sir Charles had declared her strong enough for the procedure, and both her father and brother had sat with her for a greater part of the day, but he - he had never once presented himself, and even if she had known it to be ridiculous, the obvious conclusion that he only cared as much for her as was within the duties of a nominal host -
Judith shook her head.
Eventually, she rose from her seat.
"I beg your pardon. Sir Charles has given me permission to leave my room - and I had thought everyone to be out, so -"
She briefly lifted her brows so as to suggest the subsequent conclusion from there.
"I had an appointment."
"Oh." Judith became conscious of her current state of dishabille again. A light flush returning to her face, she made to take her leave.
"If you will excuse me -"
"Which book?"
The abrupt query inspired a frown between her brows.
"I beg your pardon?"
The dark brows lifted.
"I apprehend, Miss Allington, that an alleviation of your current restrictions must have induced you to take this step."
She almost felt he was laughing at her.
Very well.
"I could not reach it."
As he made no sign to desist -
"Evelina."
In one swift movement, she was presented with the coveted volume.
"Thank you."
He nodded. "I must go." The severe features softened a little as his eyes rested on her once more. "Go back to bed."
She found herself in the company of another, new visitor the next morning.
"Ah, but that is the point, my dear Judith." The gentleman tapped his nose secretively. "We military men know when to be strategic."
Judith laughed.
"Your General must be very pleased." She let her gaze travel to the elegant bouquet. "They are lovely. Thank you."
The Captain bowed.
"My fiancée, Miss Allington, has most excellent taste. But -", he continued rather audaciously, "I am convinced I need not have apprised you of that."
Judith shook her head with a smile.
"I am only sorry that I shall not be able to attend the wedding. Please assure Kate that it is only my cowardice which is keeping me away." Her eyes twinkled. "I had much rather she thought me terrified in the face of Sir Charles's tyranny than of a sickly disposition."
"It has been noted," Captain Warren assured her gravely. "And now - much as it does, of course, pain me to say so -", he lifted his brows in exaggerated dismay, "I shall have to be added to the lists. I am expected to present myself at the lion's den. And already three days late."
He betook himself of Judith's hand, pressing a light kiss on it.
"Take care of yourself, Judith." He bowed. "Any time you may require the service, both my pistols and dashing person shall be available to you!"
On that assurance, the gentleman took himself out of the room.
The Duke lifted a brow as he walked into the hall.
"An admirer?"
"I shall have you know, my dear Aldworth -", the Dowager began most primly, "- that I broke quite a number of hearts in my day. Now - where do I put them?" She frowned, surveying her surroundings. "Orchids!" She shook her head in mild despair. "I wish you young men were more practical these days! Quite presentable on the outset, but they give one such a headache that one is soon tempted to subject them to a premature demise. Miss Allington -", she continued resolutely, her piercing eye fixed on a possible solution "- has suffered enough."
She deposited the offending arrangement on a small table near a window and then began the process of rearrangement.
"I can only hope it is largely the red coat. Surely its sheer brazenness must befuddle the mind!" She fiddled with a particular obstinate exemplary. "Thank heavens you never showed any such ambition. Although -", Her Grace permitted herself a slow, appreciative smile, "- he really was a most striking example. Now -"
She turned towards her grandson, a certain sharpness in her voice - only to find that he had departed from her sight.
"Well, Miss Allington -" the doctor lifted his brows, "- you have proven a most exemplary patient, and may hereafter consider yourself free from my shackles. However -", the gentleman continued with a little more severity, "I must ask you not to overexert your strength just yet. I am a very selfish man and should take great umbrage at being forced to forgo my nurturing dinner merely because an overactive young lady may have seen fit to embark on a prolonged expedition."
Sir Charles smiled at the relieved face before him.
"It was very bad of me, was it not?", he enquired gravely.
Judith laughed.
"I am sorry to have been such a tiresome charge, sir. But it was quite cruel of you to enforce such limitations on me."
"True." Sir Charles deposited his requisites into his bag. "But most effective, you will agree." He smiled again - and then bowed.
"And now I must go and pester another of my prospective victims."
On that note, the doctor took his leave.
"Home?"
Judith resisted the urge to laugh at her sibling's obvious dismay.
"Yes. Sir Charles has declared me all but mended. Or, at the very least, I shall not fall into a decline merely by being subjected to a perhaps somewhat waggling journey. Papa should like us to go, you see."
Mr Allington appeared a little mulish.
She smiled at him.
"You will see her again quite soon."
James's eyes narrowed at her, prompting Judith to straighten in her seat, her eyes cast down, her hands clasped in her lap.
"I thought you should be glad, dear James", she ventured demurely.
Her brother's features relaxed, a soft smile appearing on his handsome face.
"So I am." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I shall inform Aldworth."
"If it is what Miss Allington wishes."
James lifted his brows in mock trepidation.
"I will pretend to have missed the insinuation that I shall not be so sorely missed." He smiled. "You know my sister. Full of sensible notions! Apparently -" His brows lifted even higher - "- we have trespassed on your generosity long enough. But she should be at home," he conceded in a more serious tone. "The past days cannot have been easy on her." James frowned mildly. "I do hope that physician of yours knows what he is about!"
"You may trust in his judgement", the Duke responded in an expressionless tone. "When do you propose to leave?"
"This afternoon still, if all goes well. Which -" The smile rose into the younger man's face again - "- largely depends on my next assignation." He rose from his seat. "If you should wish to speak to Judith before we leave, you will find her somewhere out and about."
"Miss Allington."
Judith opened her eyes at the familiar voice, blinking a little at the sudden intensity of the sunlight. She made to -
"No - don't trouble yourself."
The Duke had taken the seat to her right, turning his face so as to be able to study her; a certain pensiveness in his expression.
She lifted her brows in mild enquiry and -
He smiled one of his rare, disconcerting smiles.
"I see you lost no time in extricating yourself from your imprisonment. Almost it induces me to think that I should have been well advised to apprise Sir Charles of your stubbornness." Then - his voice lowering - "Allow me." He bent and presented her with the object she had begun to look around for.
"Thank you." She quickly retracted her hand as his fingers brushed against hers as she accepted the glove; a light flush on her cheek. "I assure you, sir, Sir Charles considers me not quite past redemption."
"You relieve me."
The smile had still lingered in his voice.
A momentary silence engulfed them, and Judith felt the irrepressible urge to break it. She recalled that she had yet to show herself sensible of her situation. However little he may have cared to - no.
"I have not yet had the opportunity to thank you, Your Grace. I am aware that I must have proven a most tiresome guest, and can only beg your pardon for having been so troublesome."
"You need not thank me", came the curt reply.
She was puzzled at the sudden change in his manner - and could only conclude that he must consider himself responsible for -
"Your brother -"
Oh.
Her wrist had been taken into a sudden, firm grip.
"He need not trouble you."
"But --"
"No."
The finality in the ducal tone left nothing open to debate.
"I was only going to say that I do not blame you", she replied with some irritation. Which was not helped by the fact that not only was her wrist still held in his strong clasp -- but that the sensation caused by the -- unconscious, she had no doubt - soft brushing of his thumb against the delicate inner skin of the same did nothing for her general composure.
He smiled grimly.
"You should."
Almost she was tempted to roll her eyes at him. Oh, but he could be so obstinate -
She became aware of a sudden chilling breeze, which prompted her to draw her shawl a little tighter.
The dark head instantly turned towards her once more, the brows creased.
"You are cold."
Aldworth rose and held out his arm to her.
"Shall we?"
They walked back to the house in silence - until the unmistakable sound of hushed whispers, and low laughter, reached their path. There was no mistaking the -
Judith bit her lip, resisting the urge to laugh. How uncharitable of her to - she risked a quick peek up at her companion's face. Surely enough -
"Miss Allington - I can only hope you to be in the possession of a strong sense of forbearance!"
She could only shake her head, her eyes dancing at the strained voice.
"I should rather hope Lady Harriet to have been thus favourably endowed, sir. Even if quite unsisterly of me. " She smiled. "But I am convinced they shall be truly happy. At all events -", she continued more decidedly, after a brief pause "- their marriage will be based on more than just a passing fancy. And in my brother's opinion, you see, it can only prosper under the timely consideration of attention."
She shook her head in light amusement at the recollection of Mr Allington´s communications on the subject.
"And in your own?"
Judith resisted the sudden urge to clench her fingers. Must he continue to allude to -
"My opinion has not changed, sir."
After a momentary pause -
"It is a pity."
Her irritation began to rise.
"I should think, Your Grace, that whatever my preconceptions may be, they would be mine to evaluate."
"Then, Miss Allington -", came the unnerving, unrelenting reply, "- you shall be disappointed."
"Indeed!" Judith could only hold on to her mounting exasperation, her composure slowly deserting her. "How fascinating that I should be considered so little in control of my own sentiments!
The dark eyes momentarily fixed themselves on her face. Then -
"You will find, Miss Allington, that when there is an obstacle in my way, I am apt to remove it." The Duke nodded as they went into the hall. "Do not overstrain your strength."
A bow, and he was gone.
Sir John surveyed his surroundings in mild dismay.
"When you should marry, Judith, I beg you will have the foresight to have all the well-wishers direct their effusions towards your husband´s door."
Judith, who had been spending a greater part of the morning arranging for the impressive number of parcels, boxes and floral greetings to be placed so that it should be possible for an unsuspecting visitor to at least pass through the hall in something akin to equanimity, if not quite as much elegance; looked up at her father's voice, shaking her head in light amusement.
"I believe we may now surmise why James was in such a hurry to depart for Scotland!" Her eyes danced at the scene before her. "But he will not be spared." She bit her lip, a small crease on her forehead. "Though I cannot help having a strong suspicion that it shall fall upon Harriet to deal with the acknowledgements once they have returned to Town."
"I should hope your brother to be possessed of such circumspection." Sir John's eyes fell onto a particularly opulent bouquet. He grimaced. Then - "And you?"
"Papa?"
The greying brows lifted.
"I have been given to understand that all the bustle surrounding your brother's wedding must, in one more romantically inclined, inspire the desire to soon be caught up in their own arrangements. I will only ask this of you, my child -", Sir John concluded in a resigned voice, as another well-meaning offer crossed his line of vision "- no ostriches."
On that recommendation, retrieving his hat and cane, he leisurely walked out into the busy streets of Mayfair.
"I was only thinking!"
"Then strive to rid yourself of the habit -", a cool voice advised his lordship, "- it does you no service."
A lopsided grin appeared on the boyish face.
"Well, Everad suggested it and since he will be joining up -"
The Duke looked mildly pained.
"Rupert."
"Yes?"
"Go away."
The young lord´s grin grew even wider.
"Am I to apprehend that you do not think it wise for me to join the Dragoons?"
"You are to apprehend -", His Grace began in an ominous voice, "- that if I shall be forced to endure any more of your inspired notions, you will wish that the concept had been long put into motion!"
"Thank you." Lord Rupert smiled, a hint of relief in his voice. Then - "To tell you the truth, Aidan -" He raked an absent-minded hand through his hair, "- it does not appeal to me so very much. Only, if you thought I should get myself into a scrape -" He shrugged his shoulders in a gesture of reluctant concession.
"I flatter myself that you will find yourself able to resist the more pressing temptations." The Duke, who had risen from his desk, had put a firm hand on a tense shoulder. "Try to not shake me in my preconceptions."
Rupert nodded, the smile having returned to his eyes. He let his gaze travel across the room.
"I should like to go up to Oxford", he offered a little wistfully. "Well, I will go now. Don't tell the girls that I have been here! They wanted me to procure some ribbons." He visibly shuddered at the recollection.
A smiling bow - a muffin he had quickly snatched from the breakfast table in one hand; and he was gone.
"Will Your Grace be at home to visitors?"
"No. And you need not shower me with barely disguised disapproval, Nicholas -", His Grace informed his secretary with unwonted affability, "I shall be going out."
"Oh, I see." The young man's features visibly relaxed at the communication. "That is -", he continued promptly, his posture all that bespoke due respectfulness, "- if Your Grace should wish me to -"
"I should." The Duke had pulled on his gloves. "Remind me when I return."
A slow smile threatening to overrule the punctilious secretary's sense of proper conduct, he subsequently attended to the correspondence that had accumulated during his employer´s journey to a northern estate.
"Thank you, no. I am not going far."
A smile at the elderly proprietor, and Judith walked out into the street.
Turning into Berkeley Street, she could not resist any longer.
If an author must insist to publish their work in volumes, they should at least have the goodness to not stop their literary outpour at the most inconvenient of passages. And furthermore -
"Miss Allington."
Startled, Judith looked up - to find herself confronted with a familiar pair of dark, appraising eyes; which appeared to be laughing at her.
Judith curtseyed, her voice pointedly civil.
"Good morning, Your Grace."
An elegant brow lifted at her.
"So formal?"
She was in no mood for frivolity. Especially not as she had just found the very same passage -
"I should think my manner merely correct, sir."
"Yes -", the Duke agreed with wonderful equanimity, "- that is the pity." His gaze flickered towards the small pile in her hands. "Allow me."
She shook her head.
"Thank you, but it is hardly necessary. It is no great distance."
The dark eyes momentarily fixed themselves on her.
"Humour me, Miss Allington."
The decided calmness in the well-bred voice brought the colour to her cheeks. Well - if he must be odious -
Relinquishing her burden to him, she accepted his escort to Brook Street.
She had last seen him at the wedding, not a fortnight ago.
And then she had barely exchanged two words with him.
On largely her own accord, of course, but she had, during the weeks following her return to Allington, and many an hour spent in deliberation and contemplation, decided on it being the best course.
Any other approach would have been even more foolish.
She had hardly known what to think.
He had always been more of a puzzle - but one that she had, or so she had previously been inclined to think, started to unravel during the course of their progressing acquaintance. And yet - their parting conversation still on her mind, the events at Aldworth; the combined assault of it all on her thoughts - and feelings - had left Judith, for a prolonged period of time, quite unsettled.
And it had not helped that she had become conscious of missing him - odious, provoking and unfeeling though he may be.
What had further added to her confusion was a jesting salute by her brother as they had been taking their leave that afternoon.
"Ah, and that reminds me!" James had turned towards their host once more as he had handed his sister into the carriage, his brows having lifted to exaggerated heights.
"What, pray, have you done to poor Jason? And it is of no use to deny it -", the younger man had continued in mock severity, "- why, I myself saw him practically shaking in his boots at the mere mention of Your Grace's most illustrious name when I went to retrieve the books my sister wanted!" The sudden flush on the same´s cheeks had quite escaped his brotherly notice. "Confess now, my dear sir - " The blue eyes had twinkled merrily as he had continued, "- you have threatened to have him skinned to the bone, followed by being tarred and feathered at your mercy - if he should only dare so much so as touch a single hair on your grey's fine shoulders! I -"
Judith had longed to enquire - but it had, naturally, been quite impossible. Not without alluding to an event that -
The logical conclusion, of course, was that he must have applied his consequence to rather great effect.
Poor Jason! She had smiled at the reflection. As it was, she had, for a time, wondered that the gossipmongers had seemed disinclined to shower her with barely veiled hints - or not at all veiled reproaches. She had expected an onslaught, had been prepared to laugh it off as absurd - and had hoped that it should die down eventually, when the next calamity should have peeked the interest of some or other of their busy neighbours - but none had come.
Whatever his opinion on her conduct should have been, Judith had concluded, it had not provoked him into revenge. And for that, she had to own herself grateful.
Nevertheless, she had to extract herself from this state of recurring despondency. She had rejected his offer, her grounds - if perhaps not all of them, or at least not entirely - had been of sound validation, and now she only had to put the episode behind her. Once and for all.
With newly found resolution, Judith had striven to return to her normal routine, banishing all thoughts of him from her mind - and succeeding quite well at it. Until her brother's nuptials approached, which meant that they should be meeting once more. Lady Harriet, provokingly, was his cousin. Still, she should meet him as no more than an acquaintance - and the fact that whilst his brother had, duly and most penitently, presented himself some weeks after her return to her home (almost she had had to give in to the impulse that was to laugh at the absurdity of her having been the one to have felt sorry for Lord Weston, who, though quite remorseful and proper in his assurances, had appeared to be more than a little unhinged by the watchful, and rather expressive, presence of her brother during the short interview), he had not once shown himself inclined to appear at her door, if not quite her feet (and she had known that to have been a thoroughly frivolous, if not altogether uninspired, wish), had only confirmed her in her position.
Sir Charles, however, had been to see her twice - and had declared himself entirely satisfied with her progress, so much so as to consign her to the care of the local physician, should the services of that able gentleman become necessary at all.
He had added, with a touch of humour in his polished voice, that he should, nevertheless, consider himself much obliged to her if she were to restrain her enthusiasm for Mr Jones's company - until he himself should have been firmly ensconced in his own home, were he might refuse his more persistent visitors at his leisure.
Judith had laughed.
"My brother, sir, will be quite preoccupied, I think."
The doctor had smiled, closing the buckle with a snap as the last instrument had found its way into the bag.
"Possibly, Miss Hartwell. But my friend is less prone to distraction when it comes to enforcing his will. One may even call him overbearing." His brows had lifted. "But you did not hear me state so."
Well, she had grudgingly admitted - perhaps he had not been quite as disinterested.
She had been his guest, after all.
They had turned into Grosvenor Square, the Duke's grey coat swaying leisurely in the mild spring breeze whilst a loose curl tried itself at insubordination with regards to its confinement underneath her bonnet.
She gave up any effort at admonishment after a third futile attempt.
"You may remove it."
She sighed.
"That would be highly impractical in me."
The dark eyes smiled at her.
"But quite charming."
Judith did not dignify this with an answer.
After a momentary pause -
"Merely out of interest, Miss Allington -" There was a hint of impatience in the levelled tone - "Am I expected to attend to a particular charge or does your reluctance stem from a more general verdict?"
The unexpected enquiry shook Judith from her carefully accumulated composure.
"I do not know -"
"Permit me the assumption that I am not a fool." There was a warning note to the normally cool voice. "You have done your most to keep me at a distance - and I find myself unappreciative of your efforts. What is it?"
Judith felt her irritation rise. Must he always be so -
"I hardly know what you can mean, sir", she began coldly. "We have met but once since my stay at Aldworth. Surely I did not show myself uncivil at my brother's wedding."
"Merely illusive." His Grace appeared unresponsive to the snub. Then - "Do you ride out tomorrow?"
Judith frowned.
"Ride out?"
"I understood it to be the expected practise."
There was a dismissive note in his tone - which Judith thought inexplicably provoking.
"Yes. But it does not follow that one must be meticulous in adopting it."
Aldworth nodded.
"I shall call on you in the morning."
She lifted her brows.
"I am at a loss, Your Grace, as to why you should be wishful to see me."
"You are not." The Duke returned the parcel to her care, momentarily robbing her of speech when his gloved hand reached up to brush away the aforementioned persistent strain of hair. "Go inside now."
Judith was left at the steps to her father's house, the wind on a fine way to winning its self-appointed battle with the charming confection on her head.
She hugged the small pile of books to her person.
With a shake of her head, she eventually went inside.
"No, I can manage." The Duke freed his person from the restrictions of his neck cloth. "Do not wait up for me."
The valet, if a little reluctantly, bowed himself out of the room.
If he permitted himself the assumption - His Grace seemed to be in a mild state of a temper.
And he had begun to indulge himself to hope that they had passed this peculiar stage.
Aldworth unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt with a carelessness that would have inspired Mr Johnson to burst into tears. Had that gentleman counted such a dramatic streak amongst his more cherished possessions.
He caught sight of his reflection in a mirror, a muscle tensing at the corner of his mouth.
Enough.
"No, they should be sent to Mount Street. Thank you."
The servant respectfully bowed his retreat - pausing in the same to offer a further adequate acknowledgement to a newcomer, who had just appeared in the door; his brows lifting in mild incredulity at the scene before him.
"Another, Ju?"
She looked up and -
"James!"
Mr Allington accepted the embrace with all the appearance of pleasure, planting a kiss onto the top of his sister's head.
"I had no idea you should return so soon!" Judith smiled up at him. "Harriet - ?"
"Ah." James sighed tragically. "Already my wife has decided to desert me." At his sister's speaking look - "She went to see her sister." James rolled his eyes. "The baby made up its mind to favour us with its arrival at last. Now doubt it meant to signal to me that I need not regard my claims on its Aunt in any way higher than its own." His tone turning quite grave - "It is a boy, you see."
Judith shook her head, her eyes smiling.
"Then I shall follow the gentleman's lead and shall stake mine -" She took possession of her brother's hand and led him over to a settee - "- before Harriet will come to collect you."
"I will have you know, dear sister -", Mr Allington began in affronted accents, "- that I am not tied to any apron strings!" Upon reflection, and with a rueful twinkle in the blue eyes - "Not quite, at all events."
"But enough of my marital bliss - you shall hear more of it from Harriet. I hope." James smiled. "How have you been faring, Ju? Shall I be required to inspect a hopeful, if rather more presumptuous, candidate? I assure you, my wife should not mind lending me to you for the service. Under the strict regulation, of course -" He sighed heavily - "- that I should show myself agreeable to the notion of your marriage. Or so I have been given to understand."
Judith merely smiled, handing him another box.
Mr Allington grimaced as he inspected the same.
"Mayhap you should simply remain single after all. If anyone had told me it should come to this -"
He deposited the box onto the floor, shaking his head.
"I have no notion of marrying."
James looked up in surprise. He frowned, saying nothing for a moment. Then - his voice somewhat levelled -
"What of Aldworth?"
Judith busied herself with another offering.
"I should think you much better informed than I on that subject."
James sat down next to his sister, one elbow resting on his booted leg as he regarded her pensively. Then -
"You were quite cold towards him at the wedding."
She did not look up. Her cheeks, however, were a little flushed as she replied.
"I hardly spoke to him."
"Yes. That is what I meant." He reached out to tuck a finger under her chin so as to force her to look at him. "Why?"
Judith did not immediately respond. There was so much she could say - and so much she should rather not. It was enough to think that she was expected to receive him the next day. Not that she had been asked whether she should be agreeable to it. No, he had, of course -
She shook her head, seeking refuge in absurdity.
"Now you are being irrational, dear James. It should have appeared very odd in me had I singled His Grace out at a wedding. Your wedding."
Mr Allington seemed not convinced, or so the narrowing of the normally good-humoured eyes suggested.
"Do not attempt to distract me. Harriet has taken to it enough." He repossessed himself of his sister's chin. "Well? And it is of no use to tell me you do not like him - I have eyes, little sister." His tone became almost severe. "And when I recall all he did for you at Aldworth -"
She began to feel mildly exasperated.
"James, he did not even once visit me, to see how I was. I am very much obliged to him for engaging Sir Charles, of course, but please do not be absurd!"
The fair brows had lifted in surprise.
"You do not remember -"
Judith was a little startled at the shocked expression on her brother's face.
"I cannot -"
"Judith." James Allington´s tone was quite earnest, the blue eyes unusually serious. "He was with you all night."
"I should apologise for springing us all onto you so unashamedly, Judith, but - I am quite desperate. As you can see."
Lady Harriet rolled her eyes in a confirmation of her pronouncement, a twinkle, however, belying her agitation.
Judith, who had been in a fidget all morning - well, and during a larger part of the previous night, too, if she were to admit it, could only smile at the scene before her.
When the door bell had been rung the next morning, she had not expected her sister-in-law to appear in the hall, and much less that she should be accompanied by three little girls - the youngest firmly attached to her ladyship's skirts, large blue eyes eying her person in great apprehension.
"My husband, should you have been wondering -", her ladyship had reached up to attach her hat, "- has sought refuge in his club. I have been given to understand that whilst he should consider himself honour-bound to meddle where his own offspring should be concerned, he finds himself unable to bring up the courage to practise on the hope of his lordship's noble house. Even though -" Lady Harriet continued with wonderful equanimity, "- he should be only confronted with the female congregation."
The eldest girl looked up at this, a frown on her face.
"But we are no trouble, Aunt Harriet!"
"No, my love", her ladyship replied tranquilly. "But your Uncle fears he may be." She turned to Judith. "Please tell me you will come with us to the Park, dear Judith! Nurse has gone to visit her sick sister - and my own is happily engrossed in her newest arrival. I faithfully promised my nieces they should be accorded the attention due to them. And with James now failing me -" She gently smoothed the golden hair at her side, whose owner was still clinging to her, even if the look of apprehension had given way to one of contemplation as her attention had become fixed on the unknown lady.
Another pair of eyes travelled to Judith's face, a joyful smile in them.
"We will be feeding squirrels!" Miss Lavinia Danvers nodded encouragingly, having taken an instant liking to the pretty lady.
Caroline, the eldest sister, nodded once in assent.
"You can join us. If Emily does not mind." She looked down at her youngest sister, who had been studying Miss Allington in great concentration. "Emmy?", she coaxed in a soft voice.
Emily unfurrowed her brow. Then -
"If you like."
Almost as if she were surprised at her own bravado, the little girl hid her face again in the fold of her Aunt's gown.
Lady Harriet, striving to keep her countenance, adopted a serious tone as she addressed her sister-in-law once more.
"A very great honour has been bestowed on you, Miss Allington. Your brother was only permitted attendance at the second meeting." Her ladyship's eyes danced. "But to be serious - if we are not detaining you, we should be happy to have your company. If only to remind me that there is safety in numbers."
Judith was not immune to the expectant looks in the two pairs of eyes directed at her, and even less to the quiet charm of the third little girl, so contemplative for one so young in age. Nevertheless - she had a prior engagement. Of sorts.
Her mind was in a whirl. A rather constant state it had found itself in ever since the previous
day.
She was not at all prepared to see him at that moment; there was too much to think of, she must first sort her thoughts.
Glancing at the clock in the hall, she made a split decision.
"There." Judith lowered the finished adornment onto the fair head, gently brushing away a wayward curl. "Now you do look like a fairy."
She smiled at the thoughtful face before her, which began to slowly light up at the reflection.
Her Aunt having been confiscated by her elder sisters, Emily had put her small hand into Miss Allington´s, quietly informing her that she had planned to pick some daisies so as to be able to make a small headdress.
They had found a generous display of the unassuming flowers on a meadow and, once a sufficient number had been accumulated, the little girl calmly and intently observed Judith in her progress, offering a particularly handsome exemplary whenever it struck her fancy.
"Oh."
Emily calmed assessed a figure some yards ahead of them, her tone quite even as she pronounced her discovery.
"It is my cousin."
Judith looked up and -
She instantly coloured.
The rider had dismounted and advanced towards them in a few, determined strides.
"Miss Allington."
It was quite clear to Judith that any idea of pretence should be of no use. She could only hope that he should -
"Cousin Aldworth."
The Duke appeared to be momentarily distracted by the tug of a small hand at his coat. He looked down to find himself appraised by a pair of contemplative blue eyes.
"Well?"
Emily cocked her head to one side, regarding the gentleman thoughtfully. Then -
"I like her."
The calm pronouncement had a strange effect on His Grace. Almost it appeared that he was struggling with a greater part of his temper.
Judith, whose wits had at last returned to her, was quick to grasp at the offered straw.
"I am very much obliged to you, Emily -", she smiled at the little girl, "- but any current preference, I fear, must rather be attributed to my skill at arranging daisies than to my character." She turned to the Duke, a silent entreat in her eyes. "We have just become acquainted, sir."
"You may take it as a great compliment, Judith -", Lady Harriet interjected placidly from behind her cousin, "- for my niece is known to be quite fastidious in her tastes." She raised a brow at the Duke. "Well, my dear Aldworth, I did not think I should ever see you in the Park at such a time of the day! Have you forgotten that it is only us matrons - and our unfortunate victims - who tend to parade their good fortunes at such unfashionable hours? Poor Judith, of course, has to be counted to the latter. But I did not think myself quite up to the task on my own, as you may imagine."
She shook her head in comical dismay.
"You will endeavour to bear it", the Duke informed her ladyship curtly, his eyes never leaving Judith. "Miss Allington will favour me with her company."
"Aidan -"
Aldworth seemed supremely unmoved by the note of protest in his cousin´s voice.
"She will meet you at the gate."
Judith risked a quick glance at his profile.
The familiar face was set in an unreadable mask, and she could not quite make out his eyes. Although, she reflected, it was highly unlikely that they should be regarding her with particular warmth at that present moment. Moreover -
"I had been under the apprehension, Miss Allington, that we had an engagement."
He was certainly not inclined to be lenient.
Well, she could not claim that she had expected him to be precisely that - and not only because she knew him to be generally impartial to the notion. He could be quite odiously overbearing, as she recalled.
At another time, the thought should perhaps have induced her to smile.
For now, she could only seek refuge in an attempt at civility - belated though it might be. Her cheeks flushed a little at the recollection of her conduct.
"I am sorry that I should not have been at home when Your Grace called - but I had no notion of a specific time."
She found herself instantly pulled onto a more secluded path, which gave way to a small, deserted clearing.
He let go of her, prompting her to reach up to her shoulder in an instinctive movement.
The dark brows knitted, some of the severity replaced by concern.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head, trying to adjust her thoughts.
"No, I am quite well. It is only sometimes a little tense."
His hand reached out to her face - only for the same to abruptly retract.
For a moment, the dark eyes merely regarded her with a fathomless expression. Then - one elegant brow raised in speaking enquiry -
"Well?"
Judith began to feel a little irritated - and not least because she knew very well that her action had not been only foolish, but decidedly uncivil.
"Please do not be absurd! What should I have told your cousin when she asked me to accompany her and the girls? It would have seemed highly peculiar to her had I informed her that I was expecting you to call - without my being able to furnish her with any possible purpose of your visit!"
"Enough!" The sudden fury in the well-bred voice was unmistakable - and almost caused Judith to flinch in surprise. "Oblige me, Miss Allington. What precisely am I being accused of? You are fully aware that I want you - and have endeavoured to repress my suit at any conscious moment. You will have the goodness to inform me why." A flicker of an inscrutable emotion passed the handsome face. Then - "Am I to be held responsible for being in the damnable possession of the most unbalanced of siblings imaginable or does your inexplicable stubbornness stem from a predilection for the society of those rather more elaborate in their effusions?"
Judith, having overcome her shock at this inexorable attack, felt her own anger rise. Oh, he was so arrogant, so -
"I am, of course, very much obliged to His Grace for being so good as to want me in view of what appears to me to be an incurable amount of unfathomableness -" Her eyes sparkled in indignation - "But I can only wonder that he should persist in his suit when he must be quite aware that my opinion on the subject must be quite contrary to his."
She was surprised to see him start - as if he intended to shake her - before an almost challenging expression appeared on his face. He suddenly smiled, crossing his arms before him.
"Am I? You never had the goodness of explaining yourself on the occasion, as I recall. I may therefore be excused to assume that the actual event may not have been so repugnant to you after all."
Judith felt her colour heighten at the provocation. She lifted her chin.
"I did not ask for you to kiss me, sir. I am very sorry if you should think me ungrateful for all you have done for me -" Her voice was shaking a little - "- but neither my gratitude for your kindness, nor any intention you may have of making reparations for an accident that was not at all your fault will induce me to waver in my position!"
"I have no notion of making reparations. What I am wishful of doing to you, Miss Allington -" He appeared to restrain himself with an immense effort, or so the tension on the noble features seemed to suggest. When he spoke again, his tone was quite controlled once more. "You stated, madam, that you did not ask for me to kiss you. I will acknowledge the fact. However - and do not attempt to evade me! - you were not the unwilling participant you would wish me to believe, nor had you previously taken my person into disproportionate dislike. I must therefore conclude that another reason prevented you from accepting me." The dark eyes bore into her face. "And only one such impediment appears of some validation."
He had closed the distance between them, his tall form almost intimidating as his hand reached out to possess itself of her chin, raising it so that she could not escape the intensity of his gaze.
"And if it should be that -" Aldworth continued softly, lifting her chin a little further - "- you will be disappointed, my love. I shall not give way."
After an unnerving silence -
"You will not marry Warren."
She was not to -
"Oh!" She wrenched herself free.
She was so angry that she could hardly speak. He did not only think that she might be wishful of marrying another man - he also had the arrogance to inform her that whatever her preferences should be, they were not of the slightest relevance to him!
And even more exasperating - it was highly insulting of him to assume that having made her love -
She stood still; her eyes blazing in indignation as she met the impatient, almost tense expression on the Duke´s face.
"Well?"
Judith lifted her chin.
"Captain Warren recently married Miss Thornton. My brother James had the honour of being best man at his wedding."
She saw him momentarily start at her communication, but was too angry to pay it any heed.
"And even if he had not become attached to my friend -", she continued almost blindly, her guard quite forgotten - "I find it quite impossible of you to assume that I should have had any such inclination, when you not only made me fall so hopelessly in love with you that I could not bear the thought of your marriage; when you had not even the good manners to visit me during my confinement when I wanted you to come - and no-one told me that you had been sitting with me that night! - when I have become so foolish and disagreeable in my attempts at making myself forget you that -" She was so piqued at the suggestion that she was as oblivious to the smile that had appeared in his eyes at her ongoing effusions as she had been to the earlier endearment, and to the fact that he was slowly closing the distance between them once more. Her voice was heavy with accusation as she went on - "How could you think I wished to be married to you merely because propriety dictated it to be so - to be bound to someone who, because of a momentary lapse in judgement, may feel themselves compelled to abandon their hopes of -"
Judith found herself obliged to forgo the rest of her clarification - as her face was seized by a pair of firm, gloveless hands and an uncompromising mouth ruthlessly descended upon her own.
A prolonged moment later, she found herself able to attempt to regain some air.
She could clearly feel his heartbeat underneath the softness of his coat. It was strangely soothing. Oh.
The colour rose to her cheeks in the recollection of -
"Now, Miss Allington -", an authoritative voice broke the silence, prompting Judith to suppress an attack of belated hysterics. Well, she might already have shown herself in possession of them enough, upon reflection. And furthermore - "If I am to make sense of the ingenious accusations thrown at my door - I am to be held responsible for not only inspiring in you the absurd belief that - having become better acquainted with all the many unprepossessing sides to your character - any women should have the power to inspire in me even the smallest interest in their own - but that I have failed to demonstrate my intentions in a manner sufficient to convince you that none whatsoever need ever take the trouble."
She could only stare at him.
"Oh."
"Yes - oh!" Aldworth laughed softly, his hand reaching under her chin again. "When I consider how far I have fallen in the esteem of my valet in view of my recurring bouts of despondency at your hands -" His tone becoming decidedly serious once more - "Let me make myself perfectly clear, my foolish one." The dark eyes were quite intent as they held her own. "I love you. Whatever mistaken notion of propriety may or may not have entered your beautiful head - I have never wanted anyone else. I may have wished to wring your neck - but I would never have given you up."
Judith's eyes were quite bright as she looked up into the handsome face.
It was impossible to give voice to all that she felt at the declaration. To know that - to think that she had -
She slowly made her reply, her voice smiling.
"I am sorry for having been such a trial on your forbearance. But I was convinced you did not love me. Not then. Later -" Judith let herself be drawn in by the penetrating dark gaze. "It seemed unfathomable that you should care for me after I had refused you. You were so used to getting your way that I felt certain -"
She had to resist the urge to hide her face in the fold of his coat at the mildly affronted expression on his face. Instead, her eyes smiling, she turned her head so as to be able to kiss the palm of the hand that had reached up to her cheek - seeing his eyes turn even darker at the gesture.
She then peeked up at him, a small twinkle in her eye.
"And then there was Lady Mary -"
"Be silent."
His Grace, most effectively, and seemingly goaded beyond endurance, proceeded to ensure that his love should not be tempted into any further flippancy.
"Yes, my love. But we have to wait for Miss Allington. Surely you do not wish her to get lost on her own!"
Judith sought refuge in the timely appliance of inattentiveness.
She felt not at all inclined to relinquish her current position - her cheek firmly resting against a most conveniently placed shoulder, a pair of strong arms enfolding the rest of her person.
"You must go."
Judith sighed into the dark coat.
"Miss Allington -" The Duke began in a voice of great strain - "- must I recall you to your surroundings?"
She mumbled something inaudible in its severity.
Her chin was raised once more, the dark eyes softening as they rested on her.
"We will talk tomorrow."
Her own, gloved hand reached up to a well-defined cheek. Aldworth caught the same - and held it in a firm hold.
"Do not make me forget my remaining restraint." He nodded. "Now go."
The Duke, having put on his gloves once more, had returned to where he had left his stallion, unfastening the reins from the tree that had stepped in as temporary host.
The horse, which had been happily engaged in the business of partaking of an early luncheon, had pricked up its ears at its master's approach, its alert eyes fixing themselves on his person, the delicious repast forgotten.
It snorted.
Aldworth laughed softly as he stroked the elegant nose.
"Yes. You shall have to resign yourself to it."
"Not at home, you say?" The Dowager eyed the footman with undisguised suspicion. "If my grandson should be hiding himself from those so inconsiderate as to be wishful of an audience with him -", the old lady had drawn herself up to her full height, "- you will inform him that there are those who will not waver in their resolution!"
The footman, stoically unshaken by the communication, informed Her Grace, most respectfully, that his master was indeed from home. Would madam care to leave a message for His Grace?
The Dowager glared at the servant from underneath her thin brows.
"I would."
The footman bowed and led her to the library, where she could avail herself of the necessary components.
"Kindly see to it that it does not escape his attention."
The Dowager handed the note to the attendant servant, and turned so as to take her leave when -
"You, I apprehend, must be Mr Fenton! Why, young man, have I not had a letter from you yet?"
The gentleman thus addressed, having just walked into the hall, had been in the process to respectfully bow his confirmation, when he halted in the same - mild confusion appearing on his serious young face.
"Madam?"
Her Grace pulled on a glove, seemingly oblivious to his plight.
"I understand that you are a jewel amongst secretaries! And yet, I am being kept waiting. What have you to say for yourself, pray?"
She had raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the unfortunate Mr Fenton, who almost began to doubt his conviction in his own abilities at the undisguised displeasure before him. Had he indeed forgotten -
"You may be easy, Nicholas", a cool, slightly grave voice reassured the bewildered gentleman from the door. "The fault is mine."
"Well?"
The Duke merely lifted an elegant brow.
The old lady ignored this frivolity.
"I have been waiting - waiting, Aidan! - and still you have not come up to scratch!" She directed an accusatory glare at her grandson. "What, pray, can be taking you so long? In my time, it was customary to go down on one knee, if one could not restrain oneself -", she seemed to be in doubt as to the greater merit of the time-honoured tradition - "- and to try and make oneself as agreeable as humanly possible to the designated victim. Surely the general practice cannot have changed so much!"
The Dowager took an invigorating sip of her tea, the fingers of one frail hand tapping insistently on the dark mahogany table.
"Have you asked her?"
A slow, quizzical smile appeared on the handsome face.
"Not this time."
"Not this - " Her Grace availed herself of a sharp intake of breath. Then she began anew, in a voice of pointed strain. "Do you intend to wait until that military Adonis has been before you? Have you really no notion how females are generally wont to react to a prolonged exposure to the flamboyancy of a read coat? Miss Allington, I grant you -" The old lady ignored the faint, incredulous lift of the dark brows - "- may be more sensible than the average member of her sex, but even she might succumb to the effects at one point, if no other plausible means will present itself to her!"
"You may be reassured", the Duke offered with wonderful phlegm. "Miss Allington has no preference for the species."
The old lady narrowed her eyes in deliberation.
"She does not, does she? Am I to understand that you had the circumspection to at least assure yourself of that small morsel of information?"
"You are."
The Dowager regarded her provokingly stoical grandson across the rim of her elegant cup. Then -
"I shall be staying for dinner. Kindly have your cook informed that I am not at all partial to thick sauces."
"Refused you!"
The frail shoulders, after a brief moment of contemplation, slowly but surely, began to shake, one thin hand reaching up so as if to stifle an attack of mirth.
A tray composed of small, round chocolate pastries was subsequently removed from the offender's nearer vicinity and resolutely placed to the farer end of the table.
"Well, I applaud her good sense! It is all very well to kiss the poor girl - but to then have the audacity to propose marriage out of a -" The Dowager favoured her grandson with a highly suggestive roll of her eyes, paired with a mildly exasperated shake of her head - and ruthlessly snatched a chocolaty wonder from his own plate. "I trust, Aldworth, that you will have the sense to adopt the appropriate measures when you next attempt to convince Miss Allington of your enlightenment. I wish to meet my great-grandchild before I die!"
The Duke lifted a speaking brow.
"Yes, well. The line needs to be carried on! Not that I care about such nonsense." Her Grace waved a dismissive hand. Then her mien softened a little, as did the tone of her voice. "I wish you to be happy, Aidan."
Aldworth gently pressed the fingers of the frail hand held out to him across the table, a smile in his voice as he spoke.
"I am."
Judith sat before her vanity; her bare feet peeking out from underneath the confines of her robe, her golden mane caught up in a loose arrangement, a few tendrils falling gently to its sides.
She rested her chin on her knees, thoughtfully regarding her reflection.
She had been such a fool.
But then -
So had he.
Leaning forward so as to blow out the candle, she paused momentarily.
She smiled.
Tomorrow.
Her father having retired to his study after breakfast; Judith, a book in her hand, had sat down in one of the windowsills in the smaller of the drawing rooms, her knees drawn up slightly so as to serve as a support for the literary offering.
Her concentration seemed to have taken to fickleness, or so she observed after another unsuccessful attempt at proceeding beyond a few pages.
She lifted her head from her book and let her gaze wander towards the busyness of the square - her thoughts drifting back to the events of the past summer.
Judith had just returned from a morning ride and had, as had been her habit, been in the process of taking leave of her fastidious mare in the box.
"Yes, tomorrow." She stroked an elegant nose. "If it will not rain."
The horse snorted its agreement to the proposal, its dark head bent in approval. Then -
"No! I promise you, I have no sugar about me." She laughed as her unfazed companion continued its investigation, its nose persistently nudging the hand that was attempting to repel its efforts, the few strains of hair that had escaped their arrangement under her hat not finding themselves spared the interrogation. "Oh, you are quite detestable!"
"Allow me."
Her head turning quickly in surprise at the low, smiling voice; she could only stare as a gloved hand reached out to free her golden tresses from their undignified confinement, at the same time as another offered a compensation of the sweeter kind to the fickle animal.
"Now strive to exhibit some restraint", the gentleman advised the unashamedly blissful mare in authoritative accents. The dark brows lifting, he turned and faced Judith. "If I may be so bold as to advise you, Miss Allington -" The smile still lingered in the normally cool voice - "- never consciously put yourself at such a decided disadvantage!"
Judith laughed.
"I do not like to spoil her." Then she remembered - "Good morning, Your Grace." She curtseyed. "I fear that you will not find my brother at home. He was obliged to go to Town on business."
The Duke appeared quite undisturbed by the communication.
"Then it is fortunate that I have not come to see him. And neither, Miss Allington -" He firmly repulsed another hopeful attempt by the shameless animal, "- am I wishful of an audience with your father."
Judith, who had been on the brink of suggesting the same to him - how odious of him to always be one step ahead of one's own ingenuity! - could only think of one acceptable manner of proceeding.
She adjusted her hat and reached for her riding whip.
"I must return to the house, sir."
"You will. In a moment." The Duke took possession of her hand. "Walk with me."
Judith, resisting the urge to give herself away to mild hysterics at the conflicting emotions that unexpected, and decidedly improper - a happy notion she clung to - touch provoked in her, attempted to free herself from the firm hold; her apparent calmness quite belying the true state of her mind. Really, it was most provocative of him to come now - she had not seen him for more than two weeks!
"Please excuse me, my father is expecting me. I can think of nothing that you should be wishful of saying to me - but will be happy to pass on any message you should wish me to convey to -"
If she had previously thought the simple touch dangerous to her senses, the subsequent attack on the same quite reversed her earlier opinion.
Judith pulled her knees even closer to her chest at the recollection of that day's events, the colour faintly rising to her cheeks at the memory.
Her arms seemed to have developed a will of their own - finding themselves entwined behind a hitherto unfamiliar neck. And even more disturbingly; her left hand had been about to find hold in the -
She attempted to remove it from the vicinity of the dark head - only to find the same caught behind her back, the grip on it so uncompromising so as to make a further concession necessary -
She leaned further into the grey coat, her free hand resting against the elegant fabric, a sigh escaping her.
Reality returned swiftly to the forefront of her mind.
Oh no.
She quickly disengaged herself from the embrace, her cheeks flushing crimson - not daring to raise her face to his.
"Sir, I - I did not mean to -"
Her hand flew to her cheek in distraction, her mind quite agitated. What must he think of her -
"Miss Allington -"
"Owww!"
Aldworth swiftly turned on his heel at the exclamation, his features contorting in fury.
"What the devil -"
"Sir! I beg pardon -" The young man at the receiving end of His Grace's rising temper, who had so clumsily hit his foot against an innocent bystander by way of a bucket, inducing the water in the same to take refuge from its previous confinement across the ground, visibly blanched. He gulped - and instantly took up the fluid's happy notion - taking flight.
"That was Jason."
The Duke turned at the colourless voice, starting towards her.
"Miss Allington -"
Judith forestalled him, meeting his grim expression with maddening calm.
"Our stable hand." She dropped a quick curtsey. "Please excuse me."
She almost ran out of the stable yard, only halting when the door to her chamber had firmly closed behind her. She leaned against it, closing her eyes.
So much for keeping her distance.
She would have laughed at the absurdity of it - had not the full comprehension of her situation dawned on her...
The interview that had followed on the next day - and after a very sleepless night - had proven somewhat strenuous on her resolution.
"I am not asking you to humour me; I am asking you to be my wife."
Judith had to restrain herself from pointing out to him that, under normal circumstances; one might perhaps flatter oneself that the one should, to a not unproportional degree, go with the other. Instead, she betook herself of a more sensible approach.
The timely appliance of reason.
"I am aware of the seriousness of Your Grace's proposal. And not insensible of its honour. But I must -"
"Well?" There was a hint of impatience in the cool voice.
She would not waver in her position. Raising her face slightly -
"I must decline, sir."
Judith shook her head.
And all because of a misunderstanding.
Well - and her conviction that he had not loved her. Not then. And she did not believe that he had. Not consciously, at all events.
She was shaken from her reminiscences by a knock on the door and a servant presenting his person on the threshold.
„Well, I am sure he did not think of it - so I thought I should come and make up for his negligence."
Lord Rupert had the grace to flush a little as soon as the words had come out of his mouth. Straightening, he quickly attempted to rectify the situation.
"That is, I am certain my brother was very sorry for having shot you, but he has not the wits to -" He flushed even further - "I mean, of course he was quite desolate, but -"
"Doubtless though Miss Allington will be grateful for the assurance, I feel I should advise you to not further elaborate on your position at this point", a strained voice suggested from the door.
"They are flowers, Aidan!"
The Duke regarded the impressive botanical offer with faint aversion.
"If it gives you comfort." The dark brows then lifted. "Have you anything else to impart to Miss Allington or does your untimely appearance merely spring from a misapplied sense of chivalry?"
"Well, upon my word -" Recalling his surroundings, the younger man restricted himself to regarding his elder brother with a smouldering eye. "Am I to understand that Your Grace is dismissing me?"
"You are." His Grace did not appear visibly moved by this attempt at dignity. "Try not to dawdle."
Rupert's jaw almost dropped. He opened his mouth to give voice to his indignation when -
"Oh!" The blue eyes widened in sudden realisation. "Do you, I mean -" His gaze flickered towards Judith, who, apparently unconcerned by the proceedings before her, had cast her eyes down to her lap. A wide smile appeared on the boyish face as he regarded the Duke with newly found interest. "Is it what I think -?"
His lordship, his grin even wider, subsequently found himself on the opposite side of the door, his hat and gloves firmly planted into his hands.
The dark eyes had travelled towards the colourful offering once more. Then - a pained note to the level voice -
"Clearly I should not have indulged myself in the hope that my estimable sibling may have been cured of his unprecedented effusiveness."
Judith, experiencing a strange moment of sudden shyness - and scolding herself for such ninny-ish behaviour - smiled as she studied the flamboyant exemplary of botany.
"It was very kind of your brother to think of it."
An elegant brow lifted.
"And most remiss of me?"
It was impossible not to laugh.
"I hope I am not so insensible so as to expect to be showered with gifts, sir."
The Duke smiled.
"A pity." Then - "Well?"
Judith looked up to see a hand held out to herself. Tempted as she was -
"No."
The dark brows rose once more.
"No?"
"Yes. I mean - not now. I wish us to talk before we -"
They lifted to even greater heights.
Judith ignored this frivolity - as well as the sudden warmth in her cheeks. Resolutely, she took to a seat, her hand indicating to a chair.
"Pray do be seated, Your Grace."
The Duke, his gaze momentarily flickering over her, showed himself possessed of great presence of mind - and duly complied with his orders, the merest smile twitching on his lips.
Having effectively put an adequate distance between herself and his person, Judith then felt prepared enough to enter into a sensible conversation with him at last. Well then -
Must he stare at her so -
She glowered at him.
"I wish you will be serious!"
"My apologies", the Duke replied contritely, adopting a graver tone of voice. "What am I expected to be serious about?"
Judith permitted herself a speaking sigh.
"Very well. If you will not be sensible -" She looked up at him, a frank question in her eyes. "Last summer - when you came to see me at Allington -"
"- when I kissed you -", His Grace offered accommodatingly -
"Yes." Well, at least his memory was not deficient. She must take comfort in that, she decided sternly. Then - "Why did you kiss me, sir?"
The mobile brows lifted once more.
"I should have thought it to have been obvious, madam."
Judith sighed.
"It was not. It had never occurred to me that you should be wishful of kissing me. In fact -", she continued severely - "I believe it to be much nearer the truth that it had not occurred to you either."
"You believe wrongly." The Duke regarded her quizzically. "Should it not have?"
"I - no!" Judith strove hard to maintain true to her resolution at the provocation before her. She shot him a quelling look. "You may not have noticed it, Your Grace, but I attempted to keep my distance."
The Duke's expression was a little pained. With a resigned sigh, he rose from his seat.
"Not only, my absurd darling, had I noticed your inspired endeavours -" A pair of elegant gloves was unceremoniously disposed of - "- but they left me entirely unsympathetic. As they do now."
Judith found her inquisitiveness curbed by a repetition of the event that had, initially, led to the very same.
"Is your father at home?"
She smiled into the dark coat. Should she - oh, she could not resist -
And he had not strictly asked whether she should be agreeable to it.
She disengaged herself from his hold and went over to the small table on which the opulent bouquet had found a temporary home. Reaching out to rearrange the more dominating of the showy flowers, her back to him -
"Should you be wishful of seeing my father, sir?"
"I understood it to be the general practice."
"Indeed!" Judith bravely attempted to keep the smile from her voice at the imperious tone. "I myself have but little experience in the matter - but would it not presuppose that a question should have first been put to a person even nearer concerned in the same? If their opinion should be of relevance, of course."
There was a gleam in the dark eyes.
"The recollection of a previous, ill-fated undertaking, madam, inspires in one a vehement disinclination towards the usual conventions."
"Oh dear." Judith sighed, her voice bearing a hint of dejection as she shook her head in a mournful gesture. "That would imply that an uncertainty as to the successful conclusion should still exist. Whatever are we to do?"
His Grace appeared to have reached the limit of his forbearance.
"We, my loved one, will be married." Aldworth had taken possession of her hand, sliding a silver item onto the third finger.
Judith, the smile in her eyes, lifted her hand to his cheek, the delicate stones set on the ring sparkling in the soft morning light.
Catching the hand and pressing a light kiss on it, the Duke then adopted a more commanding manner -
"Now, Miss Allington -"
Judith shook her head.
"Please be reasonable! I cannot marry you in merely a fortnight!"
"Three weeks."
She sighed, her eyes dancing at the minimal concession.
"Very well. If I must."
"You must", a firm voice stated uncompromisingly. "You have tormented me long enough."
She leaned further into the dark coat, hiding her smile in the same.
"I do not see that I have done anything of the kind, Your Grace".
"Do you not? Then, Miss Allington -" The ducal tone left nothing open to deliberation - "I shall take the liberty of informing you that I have developed a strong aversion to a red coat."
Judith looked up into the handsome face, a brow lifting in speaking enquiry.
"I recall, sir, that you were not at all pleased when I indulged myself in similar assumptions."
"Yes", the Duke replied in a tone of reflective mildness. "You were quite impertinent."
"Oh!" Judith eventually disengaged herself from him, her eyes sparkling a little. "I cannot conceive what may have inspired you to believe -" Her tone became a little mulish. "At least there was some validation to my conjectures."
"If you tell me one more time that I may have harboured any intentions in that direction, I will wring your lovely neck", His Grace interrupted her in a strained voice, one hand closing around her wrist and thereby thwarting her attempt at a retreat.
Judith regarded him with a suggestion of a rebuke in her eyes. Must he smile at her in that manner at that precise moment - How was she supposed to concentrate on the subject at hand when he must be so distracting! And also - "You, my loved one, inspired in me not only the wish to beat you for that amazing impudence, but also reduced me to such a state of irate jealousy that I can only wonder at my own forbearance for not having succumbed to the temptation."
And it was certainly not helpful that he must look at her with such an intensity that -
Judith sighed. Clearly, there was no reasoning with him. But that should not surprise her. Well then -
"I had no notion of making you jealous. I did not dream that I could!" Her tone became a little severe upon reflection - "And it is your own fault that you should have felt so if you believe me so fickle!"
She found herself drawn towards the Duke's tall person once more.
"Merely misguided, my love."
She had to quell the laugh that threatened to overrule her indignation at the prosaic suggestion.
"Very well." She permitted herself the luxury of resting her cheek against the most conveniently placed shoulder once more. "But I have only loved you."
A pair of strong arms instantly enfolded her person, and she felt the merest breath of a kiss against the top of her golden mane.
At length, the Duke spoke again; his voice unusually soft.
"I had almost lost you; not only due to my own folly - but at the hands of my unbalanced fool of a sibling." A harshness briefly crossed the noble features. "You may believe that I am not prone to indulging myself in dramatics. I resolved to do anything within my power to win you - whatever your reservations might have been, you were not utterly indifferent to me. You were mine - and I could not let you go again."
Judith felt her throat constricting at the barely repressed emotion in the much loved voice. She knew him to be of a private nature, aloof even - only when she had come to know him better had she seen deeper into the complexity that was his character - autocratic, high-handed and at times outrageously provoking he may be. To know that he loved her - when she had striven to suppress her own feelings for so long -
Of course she had known as much since the previous day, but only now she felt as if the full weight of the past many months had fallen off her shoulders.
But it would be nonsense to cry now.
She peeked up at him, a twinkle in her treacherously bright eyes.
"Being acquainted with my obstinacy, sir, you must have felt quite despaired at some point."
His Grace appeared to be quite phlegmatic in view of this attack on his forbearance - or so the affable tone in his voice would suggest.
"I will admit to having been a little shaken in my optimism, but once you had taken siege of my hand - and thereby signalled to me that you found my presence at your bedside not wholly redundant - my conceit began to overrule a greater part of my despondency."
Judith blinked momentarily at this new information. She had - oh.
"You are quite abominable"; she informed him severely, once she had regained her composure.
"I am", Aldworth agreed with wonderful unconcern. "But how else could I have convinced your obstinate sibling to relinquish his right to me?"
She laughed.
"James can be very stubborn. Did you - no."
The Duke's lips twitched.
"I did."
"Oh. Well -", she continued stubbornly, having permitted herself a moment of reflection, "I do not remember it."
"Then we must consider ourselves fortunate that my memory is less adaptable", His Grace stated irrepressibly. The dark brows lifting - "I apprehend it was my own relative who put it into your beautiful head that I may have had higher designs on the lady?"
Her cheeks adopted a slightly rosier hue.
"Yes. He spoke of it at a ball - and given the source, I had no reason to doubt its veracity. I believed that your brother could not be entirely mistaken on such a subject. You had become my friend by then and once I began to understand my own feelings, I knew I had to distance myself from you in order to protect myself from the pain my folly should only have subjected me to." She shook her head. "I did not know why you chose to kiss me that day - but I knew I could not accept you when you might have wished to marry another. Others may be satisfied with such an arrangement - I could not have been." Her brow creased slightly as it occurred to her that - "I wish I could hit him."
Aldworth tightened his hold on her person once more, the merest flicker of a smile passing his features.
"Gratifying as I must consider the impulse, madam", His Grace remarked inflexibly, "that honour will be mine."
"Well, yes. "Judith laughed, raising an impish brow at him. "But he did not shoot you!"
She instantly regretted her jest as she saw a muscle tense on the handsome face. She reached out to -
The Duke caught her hand and held it to his chest, returning the pressure of her fingers lightly, which caused her to relax into the dark coat once more. Still -
"But why did he do it?"
Aldworth looked down into her frowning face, raising one provocative brow.
"I apprehend that I had the audacity to present myself within her ladyship's line of vision just as my enterprising sibling had determined to shower her daughter with his rather more hopeful intentions."
Judith's eyes began to dance.
"Nonsense."
"He appeared not to think so", the Duke offered philosophically. "I must entertain the hope that you shall not also hold my, er, numerous qualities of person against me."
She merely smiled, shaking her head at his outrageousness.
And all because his brother had been jealous.
The stupid, spoiled boy!
Then she remembered that -
She looked up at him once more, the twinkle in her eye again.
"I recall you saying, sir, that you were not in the habit of proposing to every lady that you may have kissed. When did you realise that you did wish to marry me?"
Aldworth smiled one of his rare, disconcerting smiles. Then -
"When, my inquisitive one, I found myself reduced to the intolerable state of experiencing a pressing desire that any owner of a golden head - which I had the unspeakable misfortune to encounter - should be you."
Miss Allington, pleased with her answer, proceeded to convey to the Duke that she found his reasoning all that was satisfactory.
Aldworth - some years later ....
A pair of deep brown eyes was looking down at a small lap; a curly, dark head bent in thorough contemplation. Perhaps it had not been such a good idea after all -
"Well?"
The little boy looked up at the address, the expressive eyes a little troubled.
"I thought it might fly."
"So I apprehend", came the slightly strained reply. "Why did you think it?"
Lord Cavanley considered the enquiry, cocking his head to the side. Then - with newly found resolution -
"Uncle James told cousin Longwood he would buy his horse when pigs fly."
The Duke regarded his heir in mild trepidation.
"And you considered it to be your duty to assure your uncle's immediate capitulation."
The curly head was instantly shaken in vehement denial.
"No! Cousin Longwood is a ridicul--" He stopped at the sight of a pointedly raised eyebrow. "It was not hurt", the young gentleman offered after a momentary pause, his tone a little contrite.
"Only its pride. Come."
Greatly relieved that such a lenient view should be taken of the matter - and he had taken care to not use a pink bow! - he gratefully sank into his father's embrace. His head resting against a shoulder -
"Papa."
Aldworth looked down into his son's serious face, his features softening.
"Well?"
"When will the baby come?"
The Duke applied an uncompromising finger to the small chin.
"Try to not corrupt your sibling until he - or she - should be able to voice their misgivings."
The dark eyes, so strikingly similar to those of his father's, shone in anticipation. Nestling a little closer, the little boy sighed.
"Mama and I talked to the baby", he informed his father quietly. "I think it likes me. It kicked." Then a thought occurred to him. Raising his questioning eyes to the Duke's face - "Did you talk to me?"
"Yes", Aldworth informed his inquisitive heir gravely, lowering his head. "Mostly at night."
The young lord´s eyes widened.
"Did you not wish to sleep?"
"We did", came the affirmative reply. "Your mother, however, found herself strangely deterred from her noble purpose - and I felt it behoved me to show myself solicitous at the time."
The little boy considered this. Then his face lit up, a slow smile appearing on the thoughtful face.
"It was me!"
"Uncompromisingly so." The Duke smiled into the glowing face. "Go and assure your mother of your repentance."
Lord Cavanley was prompt to comply with the suggestion.
"No, that will be all. Where is my wife?"
"I believe Her Grace is to be found in the conservatory, Your Grace."
Mr Fenton bowed his retreat, only permitting himself a small smile as the door had closed behind him.
The young servant stood back respectfully, a growing number of botanical items in his willing arms, an almost wistful expression on his youthful face.
Had anyone enquired previously, he should have vehemently denied any partiality for spending even the smallest part of his morning in such decidedly ungentlemanly pursuit; but now he should be prompt to revise his earlier opinion.
He would willingly stand his ground and bravely parade all the fruit of the mistress's labouring before him as long as she would smile at him once more.
He permitted himself an almost inaudible sigh, leaning forward a little.
Which was when the calamity occurred.
He swiftly bent to retrieve the exemplary that had so unceremoniously deserted the basket - only for its fellow captives to adopt its happy notion.
Oh God.
His person lowered to the marble floor, he attempted to call them into order.
"Certainly not the red."
Thomas looked up at the imperious tone - and swallowed.
Straightening his person, he made his bow and stammered an inspired, if somewhat ineloquent explanation.
"No, Your Grace, that is -" A gulp - "Her Grace wished, I mean - the flowers - I must -"
"But of course. And yet -" The Duke appeared to be at his most phlegmatic - "- you will now relinquish your duty to me."
"Oh." Thomas appeared a little crestfallen. "I see. I -" He instantly retrieved his circumspection at the barely perceptible hint of a raised eyebrow." "Oh. Of course, Your Grace. I will go. Your Grace." He quickly bowed to Judith, who had turned at her husband´s voice, smiling down at him from her elevated position, and quickly took his person off.
There was a distinctive strain in the ducal voice as His Grace addressed himself to his wife; the evidence of her morning's work reassembled in the basket he held before his person.
"Clearly I have shown myself too liberal in my position. Had I known what disastrous consequences the employment of Johnson's nephew should entail, I should have shown myself less impressionable when faced with his pleadings."
His wife merely added another exemplary to her collection.
"Yes, but then you might have had to bear the tediousness of interviewing a respective number of hopeful successors."
"It should have fallen at Nicholas's door."
Judith bit her lip at her husband´s unmoved tone.
"Of course." She inspected the accumulation in the basket, which had been lowered onto the floor. Then - "Well, I think I need not fear your grandmother's displeasure now. She only appears to have an aversion to orchids. Quite understandably so." She smiled into the unreadable face. "Will you not help me down, sir?"
The Duke held out his hands to his wife - holding her to his tall form before her feet could touch the ground. The expression on his face was somewhat severe.
"Judith -", he began in a stern tone -
She quickly raised a speaking brow.
"I am not an invalid, Aidan."
He said nothing for a moment, and allowed her to regain her balance.
Judith reached up to smooth away some of the sternness on her husband´s face, her eyes smiling.
"We are both well."
Some of the severity left the noble features, a hand placing itself on her growing middle. His Grace was swiftly rewarded with a clear kick for this audacity.
The Duke laughed softly, returning the favour by the gentle pressure of a finger. Then - his brows lifting -
"Merely out of interest, my love - might you be missing a ribbon?"
Judith's brow creased.
"A ribbon?"
Her husband heaved a despondent sigh.
"A ribbon. Of a blue shade." The elegant brows momentarily snapped together. "At least I hope he had that circumspection."
Understanding began to dawn on Judith.
She laughed.
"Oh dear - poor Dominic!"
"You had much rather pity me", her husband informed her quellingly. "I had the unspeakable honour of apologising to the estimable piglet's owner on behalf of my unfazed son and heir - who, or so I have been given to understand -" Judith found herself enfolded by a pair of strong arms - "- considered himself honour-bound to apply himself to the task. Have the goodness to assure me, madam, that our next will be a girl."
Her eyes twinkled responsively.
"I would not wish to disappoint you, of course -" Her own hands had reached up behind his neck as the dark head slowly bent towards her - " - but when I recall your reluctance to dedicate your mind to the inspection of Annabelle's suitors -"
"Be silent."
His Grace, most effectively, put an end to any further reflections on the part of his wife.
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