The Duke's Defiant Debutante Read online

  Angelica had never been so afraid in all her life. Even when she thought her father had betrothed her to a murderer, she had not been afraid. Even when she realised Reginald Thorne was driving them at breakneck speed to who-knew-where.

  She was so afraid now that she thought it might stop her heart as sure as the damage of rheumatic fever might yet stop Lily's.

  "Stay with me," she said, over and over again, as she pressed Lily's cold hand to her chest. "Stay with me, stay with me."

  She knew Edward was driving as fast as he could. She knew that he would move heaven and earth to keep her sister from harm.

  She only hoped that it would be enough.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The last thing Edward expected when he first arrived in London that spring was that he would be paying calls to his fiancée's household more than a month later, still a single man. Yet here he was, and very far from either the happy groom or reluctant suitor.

  Edward could not deny that he dreaded the reception he would receive at the Stirling house. He did not know whether he was arriving to good news or bad.

  If good, he would be a welcome guest, the hero of the hour.

  If bad...

  He only wished he could not imagine so clearly the pain and misery of the Stirling family if the news were bad. He knew all too well what followed when love was not enough to keep an adored sister and daughter from harm.

  The door was answered promptly by Hinchley, whose face was, as ever, completely unreadable.

  "I am come for news of Miss Stirling," said Edward, unable to wait.

  The butler's brows knitted. "Miss Stirling is not At Home to visitors, Your Grace."

  Edward's knees buckled with relief. "Then she is recovering?"

  The butler sniffed, clearly finding it most irregular that a guest of such distinction should discuss family matters with the staff. "Please follow me to the drawing room, Your Grace. I'm sure a member of the household will be with you directly."

  Edward was sure he would wear a hole through Mrs Stirling's fashionable Axminster carpet, so restlessly did he pace from one end of the drawing room to the other. His fingers fastened around his silver watch so tightly it hurt.

  "Is she well?" he asked, on hearing someone enter the room, before he even turned to see that it was Angelica.

  "She is well," she answered breathlessly, and ran into his arms.

  Edward buried his face in Angelica's thick golden hair, breathing in the scent of it, revelling in its warmth. His entire body relaxed the moment she touched him. He felt as though he could happily drown in her embrace. The world around them had shrunk to no more than the space of his arms around her, and it was enough. More than enough.

  "You are more than I ever deserved," he murmured into her ear. "When I thought I might lose you, I..."

  "Don't speak of it," said Angelica, raising her head and pressing her lips to his. Between kisses, she continued, "We will never speak of it again. We will never think of it again. You saved me – you saved Lily – and it is over."

  He stopped her words with a deep kiss that sent a shock of electricity running through his body. There was something about holding Angelica that was like standing in the middle of a storm, waiting to be struck by lightning. He both embraced the thunder and thought it powerful enough to end him.

  "We must marry without delay," Angelica whispered, as they pulled apart. "I cannot wait to be yours any longer."

  He pressed a finger to her lips. "We will not do anything of the kind. Under no circumstances will I wed you unless your sister is well enough to stand at your side."

  "Oh, Edward," sighed Angelica. Her eyes brightened; he was shocked to see that she was almost crying. "You are too good for me, do you know that? You are so thoughtful where I am rash, so steady where I am reckless! I think refusing to marry me is possibly the most romantic thing you could possibly have done." She blinked the tears away, a little of her usual spark returning. "But I find I must refuse your refusal. Lily will be mortified if we wait any longer on her account. I must ask you – no, I positively demand – that you obtain a special licence so that we may marry here in this house. Lily will be there, sure enough. She can watch from the sofa in perfect comfort."

  "You demand?" Edward repeated, raising an amused eyebrow. Angelica tilted her chin upwards defiantly.

  "I insist!"

  "Then how can I possibly deny you?"

  They kissed without any regard for the fact that they were as yet unwed, nor for the risk of being discovered by any of the servants whose duties might bring them to the drawing room, nor for the looming approach of Mrs Stirling who prudently never left her daughter alone with him for too long. Edward felt every misgiving dissolve under the assault of affection from Angelica's lips. She had made a quick study of the art of love; she had already become an expert at kissing him exactly the way he liked to be kissed. He felt unnaturally weak in places, and strong as a king in certain others.

  When Mrs Stirling appeared, as she inevitably did, she found two flushed and happy lovers sitting on opposite ends of the sofa, making a great display of their perfect innocence. Edward did his best to engage his future mother-in-law in polite chatter, but he was grateful that he had no reputation to maintain as a brilliant conversationalist.

  How could anyone talk of the weather, of the theatre, of each other's health, of anything at all, when Angelica sat nearby, thrilling his very bones with her presence?

  He felt as giddy as a young man in the first throes of love. For the first time, he wore the past ten years as lightly as if they had not hurt him at all. It was a wonder.

  Edward was gladder than he could express that she had refused to postpone their wedding. If Edward could not have Angelica all to himself, and quickly, he was quite certain he'd go mad.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  It was the dress she'd been wearing when they first danced together.

  It wasn't white. It wasn't the pale, modest pastel of a traditional debutante. There was no lace. There were no flowers in her hair.

  The last time she wore her green and gold ballgown, she had no idea that her life was about to change forever. Now, she knew exactly what was going to happen next.

  And she couldn't wait.

  "Are you ready?" Angelica whispered to Edward as she stood at his side. Her hand crept across the space between them to slip into his. It always amazed her that she could feel the warmth of his hand even through their two sets of gloves.

  Edward answered her with a wry look. Angelica almost laughed. Of course he was ready. He was as eager as she was.

  There were no guests at all except the Earl of Lathkill, who had taken a seat opposite Lily and was distracting her from the beauty of the moment by winking expressively. Mr and Mrs Stirling, fortunately, were sitting where they could not see his outrageous flirtation.

  Angelica was glad for Lily. She had missed out on a great deal of flirting. It was a relief in more ways than one to think that she was well enough to start!

  Come to think of it, Angelica had missed out on doing any flirting of her own. She had not had to endure being courted by crowds of young gentlemen sniffing after her father's fortune. She had managed to catch for herself the one man who was entirely indifferent to money.

  With every moment that passed, she was more grateful to whatever strange twist of fate had induced Edward to dance with her the night of her Coming Out ball.

  Angelica had attended a few weddings before – those of cousins and, once, an elderly aunt – and she had always found them the most boring affairs imaginable. She even began to regret that each of her beloved books ended in a happy union. What was wrong with running off to become a pirate, instead? Why shouldn't the heroine embark on a brand new adventure?

  It had never occurred to her that the greatest adventure of all was the one that lay before her now.

  With Edward's hand firmly clasped in hers, she made it through her vows without stumbling over the words. Edward spo
ke so softly that his voice was a low growl at the edge of hearing. He was such a private person, so reserved, that she knew it would almost pain him to put his love for her on public display.

  Then it was over, almost as quickly as it had started. Angelica's heart thudded with sudden nerves. Was that really it? Was he really her husband?

  Edward tilted her face upwards and planted a single, chaste kiss on her cheek. "So the defiant debutante has become the daring Duchess," he murmured, for her ears alone. "I wonder what havoc you will wreak upon your adoring ton, my love?"

  The cheers that rang out in the Stirling's drawing room belied the scarce numbers of guests. Anyone passing by in the street outside would have imagined that there was a great crowd within: a crowd who had just witnessed a miracle.

  As far as Angelica was concerned, that was exactly what had happened. It was miraculous that Edward had chosen her, of all the girls in London. Miraculous that she had been transformed from an awkward girl into his Duchess. Miraculous to be loved, so deeply and so completely. And to think that this was only the beginning!

  She intended to love him as fiercely, as passionately, and as boldly as she could, for the rest of her days.

  Epilogue

  Redhaven Castle, 1820

  Nothing gave Angelica as much pleasure as standing at the huge glass window on the landing at the top of Redhaven Castle's grand stairwell, holding her son in her arms and looking out across her husband's lands.

  "All this belongs to you," she whispered to baby Adam, letting him wind his chubby fingers into her hair. "Your Papa and I are simply keeping it safe for a while. Someday, you'll be the newest of the great Dukes of Redhaven."

  It was a line that stretched back for hundreds of years, and now her blood – Stirling blood, trade fortune blood – was a part of it.

  She hoped her son would grow up as gracious about his own station as her beloved Edward.

  "It's no good standing there looking at the lake," came a cheerful voice behind her. Lily was padding along the corridor in a dressing gown and bare feet. "You must go and let Edward row you across it." She held out her arms for her nephew. "I will take care of this precious little man. We'll have fun together, won't we, Adam?"

  The baby answered with a happy burble. Angelica was glad that her first child was what the nursemaid described as an angel child. He was as cheerful as his father was stern. Most days, he barely seemed to cry.

  "You will be alright with him, won't you?" she said, pressing Lily's hand. "Mrs Granger will be in the nursery if he tires you out."

  "Nonsense!" Lily sniffed, tossing back her head. "As if this young chap could possibly get the better of me! Now go – before I change my mind." She flashed her eyes dramatically.

  Angelica hurried down the stairs, realising she had kept Edward waiting. Well, there was nothing wrong with that, in principle. It did a man good to wait on his wife every now and again.

  "I thought you'd forgotten," Edward smiled, meeting her in the entrance hall with a box of fishing tackle under his arm and a rod in one hand. He took great pride over his sporting equipment, and would not let the servants touch it. "Up at dawn, you promised me. Thank goodness I was wise enough not to believe you."

  "I had to take a few moments to say good morning to Adam," she said, kissing Edward's cheek and taking the tackle box from him so that she could loop her arm through his.

  "Adam rose with the sun, as did I." Edward made his way outside with his usual firm strides, which left Angelica's short legs scurrying a little to keep up. "Can it be that after a whole year away from town, my lovely wife still wants to keep city hours?"

  "I am perfectly at home in the countryside, thank you very much," said Angelica primly. Edward shot her a glance of undisguised admiration. Only when they were thoroughly alone did he look at her that way – he would not even let Lily see how much he truly adored her.

  "The countryside certainly suits you," he said softly. "You are beautiful this morning. The sunlight in your hair... The glow in your cheeks..."

  "Anyone would think you were becoming sentimental, my love."

  "Very well – if you do not wish to be complimented, I will not force you." They lapsed into companionable silence. After a few moments, Angelica tugged his arm.

  "It is not that I do not wish it..."

  "Vanity!"

  "It is only that I do not want you ever to stop." She wrinkled her nose, blinking as a cloud moved and the sun grew brighter. The air was fresh and clean. She had never breathed air as wonderful as the pine-scented air of Redhaven. "Is that truly vain?"

  "You will not trick me into admitting that you have a flaw, Angelica. I am too clever for that."

  "Now see whose pride has got the better of him!"

  They reached the South Lake at a slow, meandering pace, neither one of them in any particular hurry to arrive. The point was not to fish or to row or to wade. Their only purpose was to be together.

  Edward gave a sigh of deep contentment as he arranged his fishing things in the little rowboat and held out a hand to guide Angelica in.

  "I have quite lost my balance since Adam arrived," said Angelica crossly. "I still feel that my body is not quite my own."

  "It will return. You are not yet at your full strength again. Be patient."

  "By the time we get through all his little brothers and sisters, I will be quite worn out with it all," Angelica sighed, settling herself onto the wooden seat in the boat. Edward raised an eyebrow.

  "Will there be truly vast quantities of children, do you predict?"

  She winked as broadly as a fishwife in the market. "I do not see how we are to avoid it."

  Her private-natured husband very nearly blushed, she was sure of it.

  Edward rowed them out into the centre of the lake with smooth, strong strokes. Angelica sat back and enjoyed the sun on her back, the breeze threatening to steal her bonnet, and the sight of her husband's arms with the sleeves pushed up.

  "Are you happy, Edward?" she asked him suddenly. Edward let the oars rest.

  "You sound as if you are not certain."

  "I was just thinking about how different your life used to be. I know you enjoy your solitude. Now I am here, and Lily, and a wailing baby to boot. We have quite turned your existence upside down." Angelica trailed a hand in the water. "I do not know how I would feel if someone came along and upended my life in a similar way."

  Edward was silent for a moment as he considered her question. Just as she was regretting ever having asked, he dipped his own hand into the water and sent a sparkling splash up through the air, splattering her arm.

  "How dare you!" Angelica squeaked. Edward splashed her again. "What are you doing?"

  "I am attempting to douse such dreadful thoughts from your mind with a good, cold bath," he answered, and made his way forwards across the boat on his knees. It started rocking with what Angelica felt was dangerous force.

  "Stop it! You'll tip us in!"

  "I will under no circumstances stop," said Edward, reaching her. His hands came down on either side of her hips, and he brought his face level with hers. Only when she had met his eyes and seen the laughter in them did he kiss her.

  "I am happy," he said. "My life was a lonely one, and, though I would never have admitted it, loneliness did not suit me. This suits me. You suit me. Are we clear?"

  "Crystal," gasped Angelica, rather wishing he would stop talking and kiss her again.

  "I am glad to hear it." Edward took up his fishing rod and began fiddling with the line. "Now, pay close attention."

  "Why, Edward, I thought you brought me out here to seduce me."

  He raised a cool eyebrow. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Angelica. This morning I am going to teach you how to catch a fish."

  Angelica thought about splashing him with a handful of water, but, remembering that he was much more proficient on the water than she was, she thought better of it.

  "Fishing is a gentleman's pastime," she said airily, pretendin
g to turn up her nose. Edward let out a burst of laughter.

  "When have you ever refrained from doing anything, my love, simply because society disapproved?"

  "I married you, certainly. If that was not a shock to society, I don't know what was."

  Edward paused in the middle of choosing a lure to give her that look of green-eyed severity that he knew perfectly well thrilled her to the tips of her toes.

  "And you have loved every moment of it, my Duchess."

  Angelica had to concede the point. "Do you know what? I do believe I have."

  They did not make a typical picture of a Duke and Duchess. Any passer-by would have simply thought they had happened across two young lovers, run away from their chaperones and responsibilities to enjoy a summer's day.

  It was precisely the life Angelica had always wanted. For one glorious morning she forgot her duties, forgot the letters she had to write, the salons she had to attend, the sometimes-dreary business of acting the part of Duchess wherever she went. Who was lucky enough to have exactly what they wanted for every moment of their lives, after all?

  Her life with Edward had more happy moments than sad ones. Moments of blissful, surpassing happiness, no less.

  It was all that she could ask for and more.

  Also by Gemma Blackwood

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  Lady Celia Hartley has a problem. She must find a husband soon or risk being ruined forever. Just as she is beginning to give up hope, William Marsden asks her to dance. Young, handsome, and kind, he seems to be the perfect answer to her prayers. But before he can claim her as his own, they must deal with the consequences when the Earl of Scarcliffe discovers the true nature of his sister's situation...

  This is a short novella intended as a companion read to the Redeeming the Rakes series.