Deceiving the Duke of Kerrington (Ladies of Deception) (6 page)

Chapter 6

Noelle pulled
her borrowed cloak closely to her body, trying to avoid the chill of the night
air against her skin but finding it hard with the thin shabby cloak over her
equally worn borrowed dress. She tried to remind herself that any amount of
temporary discomfort would be worth it to see Soren again.

She came to a
halt in front of the Madame Cavelle’s milliner shop located on Bond Street. She
was familiar with this particular shop, having frequented it often to purchase
elaborate bonnets to match some of her favorite gowns. She looked at the familiar
red brick façade of the shop before glancing up to see the windows facing the
street on the second story of the building were illuminated and appeared
welcoming. She could see shadows flicker across the panes on occasion and
imagined Soren in the room he was letting from the milliner.  

She looked
around not exactly sure how to go about gaining entrance to the dwelling above
the stairs. She observed the front of the shop, noticing only one entrance, the
main door. She walked around the corner of the shop and saw a small door with a
brass knob. She cautiously turned the handle and was pleased when the door
opened to reveal a narrow staircase leading up to what she hoped would be Soren’s
room.

She gathered her
cloak and skirts in her hands and carefully ascended the stairs in the
darkness. At the top of the landing was another door, presumably the one she
was looking for. She reached her hand out from beneath her cloak and rapped on
the door. She heard some shuffling and footsteps before the door swung open
revealing a surprised Soren.

“Noelle, what a
pleasant surprise!” Soren looked even more handsome than she had remembered
him. He was still wearing his waistcoat and cravat though his tailcoat had been
removed. It felt so good to see him that Noelle momentarily forgot herself and
threw her arms around his neck.

“Oh Soren, it’s
so good to see you.” She felt his strong arms go around her waist, pulling her
close to his warm body and she felt herself shiver in response.

“Darling you’re
freezing, I know it’s highly improper, but you must come in and warm up by the
fire before you catch a cold.”

Noelle laughed
at the absurdity of the situation—going into a gentleman’s home un-chaperoned
while impersonating her lady’s maid was beyond the pale but she was doing it
anyway. She followed him into the small room where a fire was flickering in the
fireplace. He gestured for her to sit in the single chair in the room then went
to stoke the flames to roaring before leaning casually against the mantel,
turning his brilliant green eyes on her.

“My love, I knew
you couldn’t stay away for long, and I can’t say that I mind for I found myself
missing you terribly.”

Noelle was
warmed more fully by his words than by the fire, “Truly?”

“Truly. Now tell
me you missed me too.”

“Oh Soren, I
did. I have thought of little else but you since our last meeting.”

“I confess the
same. But?” He left the question open, sensing there was more to her visit than
just a yearning to see him.

He watched as
her beautiful face took on a look of distress, “Oh I’ve been delivered the most
horrendous news today by my father. He’s arranged for me to wed the Duke of
Kerrington. I knew I had to see you one last time before you set sail and
before I…before I am to wed.”

Soren stood
abnormally still never once breaking eye contact with Noelle as his thoughts
churned in his head. He knew he was being ridiculous to harbor such intense
feelings for this girl he had barely met but the thought of her marrying some
other man made his blood boil with envy. He had a sudden desire to hold her in
his arms and to never let her go. Noelle must have sensed his desire because
before he knew what was happening she was in his arms. He placed a gentle kiss to
her forehead before reaching up and pulling the pins out of her hair, releasing
the braid that had been wound into a bun at the back of her head. He sighed as
he watched the golden waves cascade down and around her shoulders.

When he looked
into her warm amber eyes he saw a longing in them that must’ve mirrored his
own. He reached up and took her lovely face in both of his hands then leaned
forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. They were warm and soft and
completely addicting. Before he knew it he was deepening the kiss and she was
responding eagerly. His heart was beating a frantic rhythm that he was sure she
could feel through the cloak she was still wearing. 

He pulled back
long enough to trail kisses along her cheek and towards her ear before whispering
huskily, “You aren’t going to marry the duke, you’re going to marry me.”

Noelle tensed in
his arms and pulled back slightly so she could look into his face, “What are
you talking about?” He wasn’t sure who was more surprised by his proclamation,
him or her.

He took her
small hands into his much larger ones, “I’m talking about us. I can’t leave you
here to marry someone else when I’m in love with you.” He momentarily pondered
the possibility that he was truly in love with this girl whom he barely knew,
at last concluding that it must’ve been love at first sight.

“Oh Soren I love
you too,” she leaned her head against his hard chest, “but I don’t see how that
could possibly help now. My father has already arranged things with the duke
and he made it perfectly clear that he would not go back on his word. Besides,
you’re a foreigner without a title, father would never agree to such a match
even if he hadn’t already made this arrangement.”

Soren placed
both hands on her shoulders and held her out at arm’s length, “Titles and ranks
don’t matter one whit in America—you can sail to the continent with me and we
can be married there. I already have a successful shipping company and a modest
house in Boston. I believe we could be happy together.”

Noelle’s eyes
widened in surprise, her heart beating excitedly at his proposal—could she
really do it? Thoughts began to formulate in her mind of what consequences
would entail from making such a drastic decision. The first and most obvious
consequence being that she wouldn’t have to marry the arrogant duke, she could
marry the man she truly loved. That alone was almost enough to persuade her to
go along with the outrageous plan. Almost.

But then she
thought of the negative consequences—fleeing the country with an unknown,
common man would bring disgrace and humiliation upon her family. It could
possibly affect Devon’s place in society not to mention how her actions would
greatly affect his ability to make a proper match. Her father would be furious
and feel betrayed by her actions and she dared hope that he might possibly even
be saddened by the absence of his only daughter from his life.

Soren watched as
a mixture of emotions played out on her beautiful face, knowing there was much
more for her to consider than love alone. For him there was nothing to lose and
everything to gain, she would be the one sacrificing everything she knew and
everything she was for him, a simple man with no titles or estates to offer
her. But he was a hard working man who had built his shipping company from the
bottom up and knew how to be successful. He would be able to provide her with
nice things and a fine house and more importantly, with love. His heart was
brimming with the unfamiliar emotion and he knew that she felt it too.

“Oh Soren, as
much as I want to do that I can’t help but think about the damage it would do
to my family’s name. I’m not sure I can be so selfish.”

He had already
anticipated her response and had prepared his own in return, “But Noelle, what
if it didn’t have to be that way? What if you could come away with me and avoid
any negative repercussions for your family? Would you agree to come with me
then?”

“Of course,” she
replied airily, not daring to hope that could be possible.

“I cannot
believe the solution isn’t obvious to you—you’ll just have to convince your
lady’s maid to take your place. If she’s been able to pull it off before, she
can do it again.”

“But this would
be permanent, I had to practically force her to take my place for a few hours,
I know she would never eagerly agree to such a preposterous idea. Her whole
world would change forever.”

“Exactly, and
that’s the part you will use to convince her. What servant wouldn’t jump at the
opportunity to advance their situation in life? She would be a real lady and
would marry into a wealthy, titled family and have a large estate of her own to
run. She would have fine dresses, the likes of which she has never known, and
she would never again have to perform manual labor to earn her keep. It sounds
like a fairytale and she’d be foolish not to agree to such a life.” When he put
it that way, she had to agree, it did seem rather convincing.

Noelle moved to
the chair, suddenly finding herself too weak to stand. The possibilities that
lay before her were overwhelming and she felt slightly faint at the idea of
such immense change. Soren moved to kneel before her, taking her hands once
more into his, “Darling, I can’t promise you that you’re life will be the way
you’ve always known it to be because it won’t. But I can promise you a life
full of adventure; you’ll have a house and lovely dresses and someday children
of your own.” The thought of having children with him made her cheeks flush
with heat, “and you’ll have me, heart and soul forever. That’s all I can offer
you but it’s all that I have.”

            And she realized that it was
all that she wanted. She nodded her head slowly as she began to speak, “Yes,
yes, I’ll go with you. I couldn’t possibly stay here and be content with
letting you leave my life for good.”

            He rewarded her with a smile
that made her insides melt, “I’ll ensure that you never regret your decision.
Now, my ship sails three days from today. I realize that doesn’t give you much
time to convince your maid that she needs to take your place, but it’s all the
time you’ve got. Pack a few things in your valise and meet me here before sunup
on the third day, our ship will set sail at dawn. I’ll take care of all the
other necessary arrangements and we’ll be free to sail forth into our new life
together.”

            Excitement and anticipation
were rapidly taking root in Noelle’s heart for she knew she was making the
right decision, she just fervently prayed that Hope would agree to help her, to
be her salvation.

Chapter 7

Hope spent an
uneventful evening in Noelle’s bedchamber. She had taken her time finishing up
some mending that needed done on a number of Noelle’s dresses before making
sure her room was completely tidied up. After she had finished attending to all
of her chores she decided to indulge in writing. She had been working on a
story with magical creatures in a mystical world, one where animals could talk
and humans could fly as free as the birds in the air. She went to her own small
room and retrieved her stack of parchment along with her quill and ink and made
herself comfortable at Noelle’s desk before being swept away into the wondrous
world she had created.

She must’ve
fallen asleep at the desk because the next thing she remembered was a hand on
her shoulder shaking her awake. She opened her eyes and slowly sat up, confused
for a moment by her strange surroundings. Her neck felt stiff from the awkward
position she had fallen asleep in at the desk. She reached up and wiped away a
smudge of drool that had escaped one corner of her mouth in her sleep before brushing
a lock of hair out of her face, tucking it behind one ear.

“Hope, we need
to talk.” It was Noelle.

“Couldn’t it
have waited until the morning?” Though she was relieved to know that she had
made it back from Soren’s safely, she was slightly annoyed at being awoken in
the middle of a deep slumber.

 “No, this is
important.” Hope knew she was being foolishly optimistic to hope that whatever
it was Noelle was going to say somehow wouldn’t involve her but she knew she
couldn’t be so lucky. She focused her sleepy eyes on Noelle’s face and
reluctantly waited.

“Soren has asked
me to sail with him to America and become his wife.” Hope inhaled sharply, “and
I have agreed. We leave three days from now.”

“Don’t be
irrational milady, you can’t possibly leave your family, your home, your—”

Noelle cut her
off. “I’ve already made up my mind to do so, so please kindly refrain from
trying to convince me otherwise. But I can’t do it without your help, I need
you to become me, to take my place as Lady Noelle.”

“Then I regret
to inform you that you won’t be leaving because I refuse to be a pawn in this
foolhardy plan.”

Noelle had the
gall to appear shocked at her refusal, “You won’t do this for me?”

“I wouldn’t do
it for anybody. Now let’s put this nonsense behind us and after we both get a
good night’s sleep I’m sure it will all seem silly and unwise and you’ll be
thankful that I wouldn’t agree to your plan.”

Much to Hope’s
great annoyance, Noelle jutted out her bottom lip in a pout. And even further
to her horror, her eyes began to water. Hope could not stand a blubbering woman
and wondered if Noelle somehow knew that and was just doing it to try to make
her feel sorry.

“You do realize
that by doing me this great favor you would only be helping yourself? You would
become a lady, no longer having to be a servant. Instead of taking care of
someone, you would be taken care of. You’d have all of my beautiful gowns and
many more over the years, not to mention a life of ease and luxury. And by
marrying the Duke of Kerrington you’d have an honorable and coveted place in
society.”

Drat, she had
forgotten about marrying the duke, which was the worst part of all. “If your
life is as wonderful as all of that then why don’t you stay here and live it
yourself?”

Noelle huffed,
“Because despite having all of that I wouldn’t have the one thing my heart
truly desires—love, true love.”

Hope snorted,
“And after knowing Mister Johannsen for a few days you’re convinced that you
know what true love is? Pardon me for sounding doubtful but I can’t very well
let you run off with a practical stranger and destroy your life as well as the
life of your family. No, I simply won’t allow it.”

“Well good thing
I don’t require your approval. My mind is made up and I will do it with or
without your help. I will be leaving in three days time and either my family
will have to face the scandal that will inevitably break due to my actions or
they can go on with their lives as if nothing untoward has occurred, it’s up to
you.”

Hope felt
angrier in that moment than she had ever felt in her entire life. She could not
believe Noelle would stoop so low as to manipulate her into thinking that the
fate of her family was all on her shoulders. How had it come to this?

Hope quickly
retrieved her writing supplies from the desk before turning towards the door
and calling over her shoulder, “I’m going to bed and I suggest you do the same.
Hopefully a good night’s sleep is all you need and by morning you’ll be more
reasonable.” And with that, she left. She knew she was being bold in her speech
and that she should’ve stayed and helped Noelle ready for bed but she was so
mad at her that she didn’t even care.

Once she was
back in the confines of her own small quarters she quickly put away her stuff
then began pacing back and forth along the length of her room. She knew she
should attempt to go to sleep and pray that when she woke up the next morning it
had all been a bad dream but she knew that with her mind racing the way it was
sleep would be impossible.

Part of her was
scared that Noelle would actually go through with her disastrous plan. Not only
would it bring great shame to her family and cause quite a scandal, not to
mention make her father appear foolish when he had no daughter to present to
the duke, but it would also leave Hope without a job. She would have to attempt
to secure another position with another lady which would be next to impossible
after her current mistress had up and run off to America. She highly doubted
the earl would write her a glowing letter of recommendation after that.

Feeling
hopeless, she eventually sat down on the corner of her bed as she thought about
the ramifications of Noelle’s decision. She thought about the two options that
had been presented to her; the first option would only bring the Earl of
Brattondale and his family great shame and leave Hope jobless. The second
option, though unthinkable to Hope, would leave no one hurting. Noelle could
have her life in America with what she claimed was her true love and her family
could go on living their lives as if nothing had happened, because they would
never know anything had changed. Hope would be the one left in a precarious
position—aware her whole life of the lie she would be forced to live, deceiving
everyone she knew, even her own husband for that’s what Kerrington would be,
her husband. The thought settled uncomfortably upon her.

Of course there
was a third option; the possibility of Noelle deciding to stay in London to
marry the duke herself, but knowing her mistress as she did, she doubted that
would be any option at all. Once Lady Noelle got something into her pretty
little head, it was hard to talk her out of it. She felt so confused, not sure
what she should do and completely terrified either way. She glanced at the
small clock on the table beside her bed and decided that if she hurried she’d
be able to catch the grooms still in the mews settling the horses after the earl
and Devon’s return from the ball.

She quickly
slipped on a cloak, blew out the candle flickering on the mantle of her small
fireplace and snuck out of her room, careful to tread lightly so Noelle
wouldn’t hear as she walked past her door. The last thing she wanted at the
moment was an encounter with her mistress. She had one goal in mind and that
was to go to Shepard’s Bush and discuss the outrageous plan with her mother. If
she was quick she knew she could be there and back before sunrise and no one
would have to know of her absence.

Hope breathed a
sigh of relief as she slipped through the servants entrance largely undetected,
for she was in no mood to talk to anyone at the present. She walked briskly to
the back alley and quickly entered the mews, hoping she’d have no problem
finding Geoffrey, the groom who had often let her borrow one of the horses for
her infrequent visits to her mother. Although Shepard’s Bush was only a few
miles away from the earl’s townhouse in Mayfair, by foot it took her much
longer to get there than she liked and she felt safer being atop a horse where
at least if she encountered something unsavory she could gallop away at much
faster speeds than she could on foot.

Luckily Geoffrey’s
lofty form was easy to spot in his navy blue and yellow livery. He was much
taller than any of the other grooms that were employed by Lord Brattondale and
had a lanky form to match. Hope sauntered over to where he was standing next to
a marvelous looking mare, stroking her coat with one hand as he fed her an
apple with his other.

“Oh Geoffrey,
I’m so glad you’re here tonight.”

Geoffrey turned
in surprise to look at her, smiling the minute his eyes settled on her face,
“Of course miss, where else would I be?”

She couldn’t
help but smile back at him. Although she suspected he was much older than her
twenty-one years, his expressions were youthful and he had an innocence that
made him seem younger. She had always liked him and he had always treated her
with kindness in return.

“I have an
urgent need to see my mother and was wondering if you’d be so kind to allow me
to take Tabitha?” Her eyes briefly flickered to a chestnut gelding standing in
the far stall. Although she wasn’t an expert rider, she could mount and
dismount a horse with some sort of suitability and manage to get herself where
she needed to go.

Geoffrey’s smile
faltered, “Is everything alright with your mother?” Hope was touched by his
concern.

“I believe so,
it has been awhile since I last saw her. I just have an urgent matter to
discuss with her and had to get away while I could. I promise to have Tabitha
back before sunrise so neither one of us gets in trouble.” She flashed him an
encouraging smile, hoping he couldn’t see beyond it to the anxiousness she felt
inside.

“Of course. Let
me just get her saddled up and you will be on your way.”

“Oh thank you
Geoffrey, how can I ever repay you for your kindness?”

With another
boyish smile and a wink he replied, “I’m sure we can figure something out.” It
had been no secret to her that Geoffrey fancied her but she had always just
chalked his mild flirtations up to his easy going personality. Now she wasn’t
so sure and knowing the events that could transpire in the very near future,
she knew that she’d never have a chance to get to know him better as he was
implying.

By the time
Tabitha was saddled, Hope’s thoughts had been pulled back completely into her
present dilemma, preventing her from responding fully to anything Geoffrey was
saying.

He finally
cleared his throat, “If you come over here I’ll help you mount so you can be on
your way, the hour grows late.”

Hope startled,
“My apologies Geoffrey, my mind is a million miles away.”

“I understand.”
He said as he bent to assist her up into the saddle, but she knew he couldn’t
possibly understand something she didn’t fully comprehend herself. She gave him
a quick goodbye and with that she was off.

The ride to the
small village of Shepard’s Bush where her mother lived usually took just under
an hour but because of the darkness of the night she had to go at a slower
pace. She had counted on the fresh air being able to clear her head and help
her to sort through some of her racing thoughts but it didn’t seem to do much
to ease the torrents of emotions that were swirling inside of her.

By the time she
trotted up in front of the small stone cottage she was no closer to knowing
what the solution to her problem would be than she had been when she left. She
slid clumsily off of Tabitha’s back, stumbling slightly as she hit the hard
ground beneath her. She quickly righted herself and went and tied Tabitha to a
post on the side of the cottage that was there for that exact purpose.

            Once the horse was settled
she went and knocked gently on the cottage’s front door. She knew her mother
had probably been in bed for hours by now and she deeply regretted having to
wake her but she knew she couldn’t make a decision without first consulting
with her. When nothing happened after a few moments she knocked once more.
Finally she heard some shuffling and then the click of the lock before the door
was pushed back a few inches and a small light illuminated her mother’s worn
face.

            “Oh!” Matilde exclaimed, “Child,
you startled me. What’s the meaning of this? Is everything well?”

            “Let me in and I’ll explain
my visit.”

            Matilde stood back from the
door as Hope pushed her way in. The first thing she noticed was the cottage was
not much warmer than the outside air had been. She glanced to the fireplace and
saw only a small dying fire in the grate and instantly walked over to add
another log to the fire.

            “No, no,” Matilde waved
frantically, “don’t add that log or it will get too hot in here for me. I find
that I feel better when the temperature drops.”

            Hope looked at her mother
quizzically, “Are you well mama?”

            Matilde glanced down, “Of
course, now, do tell me what brings you here in the middle of the night.”