The Grace of a Duke (25 page)

Chapter 26

Lady Charlotte Meets Miss Wethersby

Back in her bedchamber, Lady Charlotte moved to the window where workman from the west wing restoration project had replaced the broken glass that morning. The hinged panes, clearer than the single pane that had shattered in the explosion, afforded her a view to the east that was bucolic and bright under a cloudless sky. Remembering her ride with Joshua, she tried to find the various landmarks they had passed, her eye finally stopping on the dowager cottage. Expecting to see it sitting quietly amongst a few trees and next to the creek that wound its way through the estate, she was startled to see instead several wagons and people moving about. She found herself wishing she had a quizzing glass and then chided herself – it would be entirely inappropriate to spy on whomever was working at the cottage.

Having completed enough design decisions on a few rooms in the west wing to stay ahead of the work crew, she had taken her leave of the project and come to her room to get a bonnet and pelisse. Given the events of the day before, she wanted time to think and a chance to reflect on what had happened, and she thought a late afternoon walk would allow her to do both.

A brief note to her parents had been dispatched the night before, along with a letter Joshua had written to the Earl of Torrington, informing them of their upcoming nuptials. Despite his assurances that Joshua didn’t expect a dowry in exchange for marrying her, Charlotte still felt as if he was being cheated out of what was rightfully his. Garrett’s most recent note from London confirmed the information that the Earl of Gisborn had provided, but it hinted that he might learn more upon visiting her parents.
That would have happened sometime yesterday,
she thought.

Curious about the work at the cottage, Charlotte donned her bonnet and pelisse and headed out the front door, waving to Gates as she did so. She considered finding a maid to walk with her, but the ground she’d be covering was mostly open and in view from the main house.

The ten minutes it took her to reach the cottage went by quickly as she watched the activity. Her reason for going on the walk was long forgotten when she noticed that, in addition to the three wagons lined up on the flagstones, their horses now hobbled and enjoying the grass alongside the drive, the duke’s coach was parked there, too. Workmen were carrying furniture and crates into the house.
What is going on here?
she wondered, suddenly a bit concerned. When two footmen removed a trunk from the back of the coach, a groom climbed into the seat and set the coach in motion, apparently to take it back to the carriage house. Although she didn’t recognize any of the laborers, they nodded in her direction as they busied themselves with their burdens. When Garrett McElliott appeared on the cottage’s stoop, he noticed her and waved. Charlotte hurried toward him as he stepped down onto the pavers that led to the cottage from the drive. He bowed and took her hand after she curtsied.

“Lady Charlotte,” Garrett said as he brought her hand to his lips and gave her a quick peck. “Are best wishes in order?” he asked as he lowered her hand. There was a carefree attitude about him, his grin making him appear much like he did when Charlotte first met him at a ball.

At least the events of the last few days did not seem to wear on him, Charlotte considered as she blushed in response to his question. “He asked. I said ‘yes,’ of course,” she replied with a broad smile. “We’re to be married this Saturday.”

The estate manager allowed a grin. “Then I am in good company,” he stated. At Charlotte’s confused look, he added, “I asked. She said ‘yes’. And we’ll marry Saturday morning, as well.”

Charlotte blinked. “You’re ... getting married?” she replied, her flushed face brightening. “Is this ... rather sudden?” she wondered, knowing her question was a bit inappropriate. “Pardon me. I didn’t know you were courting anyone.”

Garrett took a deep breath. “Truth be told, I have thought of no one but my Jane for some time now. And I believe it’s time I made her my wife. I could not imagine her with another without ...” He stopped, his face coloring up as he realized to whom he was making his confession.

“Feeling very jealous?” Charlotte finished for him. At his reluctant nod, she added, “I wish you very happy. Joshua must be happy ...
relieved
to know he is not the only one about to be leg shackled. He’ll appreciate the company,” she teased, a brilliant smile appearing.

“Might I make a request of you?” he wondered, a flash of worry suddenly crossing his face.

Charlotte’s eyes widened as she regarded the estate manager. “Why, of course. What is it, Garrett?” she asked, trying hard not to notice the rather tall woman who suddenly appeared in the doorway of the dower house.

“I have not yet told His Grace about my plans to marry ... and to ... occupy the dower house,” he said with a lowered voice, pursing his lips. Color flushed his face, highlighting the embarrassment he felt at having surreptitiously moved into the cottage without so much as a word to Joshua about him even being back at Wisborough Oaks.

A slow smile spread over Charlotte’s face. “And I will not be the one to tell him. But only if you introduce me to the lovely lady whom I see behind you,” she teased, her smile widening as she took in the sight of Jane Wethersby – a tall, willowy blonde wearing a white apron over a blue muslin round gown. The woman, who appeared a bit older than Charlotte, had a tentative smile on her face as she wiped her hands on her apron. But what drew Charlotte’s attention wasn’t the woman’s beauty – she was classically beautiful, Charlotte thought, with her heart-shaped face and large almond eyes, full lips and high cheekbones – but the bruise below the woman’s eye.

“There’s someone I’d like you to meet, Lady Charlotte,” Garrett started to say as he waved toward Jane, his face breaking into a full-blown smile.

“Did you
hit
her?” Charlotte bit out, her anger so sudden it startled even her.

Garrett’s head snapped back as if he’d been the one hit. “What? No, no, of course not,” he replied quickly, his brows furrowing. Overhearing the accusation, Jane gasped and lifted a hand to cover her face. “I would never ...”

“How dare you strike a woman?” Charlotte retorted, interrupting Garret as her fists clenched at her sides. So overcome was she with anger that her vision began to gray at the edges. Never in the time she had known Garrett McElliott would she suspect him of lifting a finger to do harm to a woman!

“He did not hit me, milady,” Jane said, her alarm evident as she hurried to Garrett’s side, her head shaking from side to side. Garrett wrapped an arm around Jane’s waist and pulled her against his side. “Truly,” she added. She curtsied then, the movement made awkward from Garrett having a hold on her. “Milady.”

Charlotte turned her attention back to the woman, her lips compressed into a line as she took in this information and suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment. The difference in their height to hers only magnified how small she felt at that moment. “Oh,” she managed before covering her mouth with a hand for a moment. “I apologize. Mr. McElliott,
please
accept my apology. I don’t know ... why I ... it was horrible of me to think ill of you ...”

In all of her training to be a duchess, nothing could have prepared her for a situation like this. Before being whipped, she probably would not have reacted so, she realized. The feeling of helplessness she’d felt that night was like no other, and she did not wish to experience it again. Nor did she want another woman to, for that matter.

If she’d been nervous at the prospect of meeting the future Duchess of Chichester, Jane was now at a loss to know what to do to help alleviate the lady’s obvious embarrassment. 

Garrett sighed. “Apology accepted, Lady Charlotte.” He paused an awkward moment before adding, “Lady Charlotte, I’d like you to meet Miss Jane Wethersby. Miss Wethersby has agreed to be my wife,” he stated, watching closely as Jane waited for Charlotte to either hold out a hand to shake hers or to nod in acknowledgment.

Charlotte did neither.

She threw her arms around Jane, their height difference forcing Jane to bend down a bit as she let out an “Oh, aye,” and giggled nervously.

“Oh, and where are my manners?” Charlotte asked rhetorically as she stepped back a bit. “It’s so very good to make your acquaintance, Miss Wethersby. I
do
hope we can be friends,” she said as she held out her right hand and shook Jane’s. She couldn’t help but notice that Jane’s fingers were long and slender, their nails manicured to even ovals. A gold band with sapphires adorned her fourth finger.

Jane nodded, a wave of relief washing over her as she decided living near a duke wouldn’t be as intimidating as she’d first thought. Charlotte turned to Garrett. “And just where have you been keeping her?” she asked in a tone that suggested Garrett had been deliberately hiding his fiancée. She reached up to give him a quick hug.

His grin returning, Garrett pulled Jane’s hand into the crook of his elbow. “Miss Wethersby has been living in London. She was a faro banker and a vingt-et-un dealer. His Grace and I played many games at her table these past couple of years,” he explained proudly, not realizing how his words would sound to Charlotte.

“He lost a good deal of money, is what he really means,” Jane put in quickly, a slight Scottish lilt apparent in her voice. “But he’s gettin’ it all back by marrying me,” she added with an arched eyebrow, her teasing making Garrett redden but grin self-consciously. The steady whistle of a boiling teakettle sounded from the cottage. “Oh, that’ll be the water for tea. Will you join us for tea, milady?” she asked then. “We’re a bit late with it today, what with moving in and all.”

Charlotte smiled, deciding she rather liked Garrett’s intended. “Yes, of course. And do call me Charlotte,” she urged as they moved to the cottage. The last of the furniture had been unloaded from two of the wagons and was already placed in the small dower house. Marveling at the quality and craftsmanship of the pieces, Charlotte wondered if they belonged to Garrett or to Jane. An Aubusson carpet, fairly new or, at least, not very worn, covered nearly all the wood planks that made up the front room floor. The velvet settee was finer than any in the main house. A low table made of cherry was placed in front of it, and another cherry side table stood next to a side chair. Accessories had already been unpacked and positioned about the room, as if everything in the room had been designed specifically for the space.

Charlotte noticed a large sheet of foolscap laid out on a Chippendale dining table, a floor plan of the cottage drawn on it. Someone had used a piece of charcoal to draw the pieces of furniture on the floor plan, and now those pieces were all placed to match what was shown on the plan.
Garrett’s work, no doubt,
she realized. She’d been working with drawings just like this one in her work on the main house.

“One would hardly know you just moved in today,” Charlotte commented as she moved to take a seat in an upholstered Chippendale chair. Garrett waited for her to sit before he did so in a wingback chair, his action suggesting he’d sat in that very chair many times before.

“Mr. McElliott is very good at motivating workmen,” Jane said as she brought a tea tray from the kitchen area. She said a silent thanks to Annie for having the foresight to send her off this morning with a tin of Dutch biscuits, several meat pasties, and enough cheese and bread to last as few days. Although she could cook if she had to, she didn’t yet have kitchen staples, food, or utensils. Garrett had said they would take a quick trip to Petworth when they were ready to stock the pantry; given the late hour of the afternoon, she figured they would do so in the morning.

The porcelain tea set was of high quality Wedgwood, Charlotte recognized, and given the expensive furniture that surrounded her, she wondered how the woman could afford such extravagance.

“Bribes do make men work faster,” Garrett acknowledged with a sly grin. “But I was more concerned that they didn’t break anything. Miss Wethersby has some very nice things. It would have been a shame to lose a chair or a crystal goblet because things were packed poorly,” he commented, leaning forward as Jane set down the tray to glide a hand down her arm.

Garrett seemed to find it hard to keep his hands off his fiancée, Charlotte noticed, suppressing the grin she felt coming on at watching him admire Jane. The older woman had removed her apron, and Charlotte thought her tall figure was well suited to the gown she wore. Garrett helped with the service, setting out cups on saucers as Jane poured and adding sugar when Charlotte nodded. “There’s no milk,” he said by way of an apology.

“Sugar will be fine,” Charlotte said with assurance. “The fact that you can even serve tea on your first day in a house is rather amazing, I should think,” she added as she watched three men moving what appeared to be bedroom furniture into a back room. Beautiful bedroom furniture.
And all of it Jane’s?
Garrett had made a fine choice in a wife, even if he found her in a gaming hell. “Your taste in decorating is exquisite,” Charlotte commented as she took the proffered cup from Jane. “Have you been employed in the decorating trade?”

The tall woman smiled but shook her head. “No, but thank you. I tend to ... copy the rooms that I like. I haven’t had the opportunity to visit the homes of the very rich, but my mother was a baron’s daughter, so I grew up in a home with grand furnishings and fabrics and all sorts of frippery,” she said with a wave of her hand.

Charlotte looked to Garrett before she said, “I don’t know if Mr. McElliott has told you, but I have been helping to choose furnishings and frippery for the west wing of the main house.”

Garrett snorted, leaning back in his chair. “Helping?” he repeated in jest. “Lady Charlotte is doing all the choosing, if the duke is to be believed.”

Blushing, Charlotte set down her tea cup. “And I could use some help, if you find yourself wanting to do that sort of thing. After you’re all settled in, of course,” she added, seeing Jane’s expression of disbelief.

“Oh, I would be honored,” Jane answered, her face brightening. “I must admit, I have spent a good deal of my time on the way here wondering what I might do to pass the time while Mr. McElliott is at work on estate matters. I am used to earning my living, you see,” she said, not the least bit ashamed of admitting what some in the
ton
would consider gauche.

“It seems you have done well in your profession,” Charlotte said as she waved a hand to indicate the room in general.

Jane smiled and thanked her. “My boss, Mr. O’Laughlin, was very generous as well as being a father figure these past eight years,” she explained, the slight lift making her voice a bit musical. “But it was time to ... move on,” she stammered then, the tone of her voice changing to sound as if she wasn’t quite sure she had made the right decision in agreeing to come to Wisborough Oaks. Her hand unconsciously went to her bruised face.