A Duke Under Her Spell: A Historical Regency Romance Novel Read online

  “I loathe the notion of giving up my freedom being imprisoned in such a grand house.”

  “You will get used to it in time. It is not as if it is to be forever.”

  “True,” Marybeth admitted. “I have never known anything else but my grandmother’s croft and the ruins of Blackleigh Castle. As grand as the castle ruins are, they are nothing when compared to Arkley Hall.”

  “That is true to be sure, but it is the people within its walls that make it a home in spite of its imposing opulence. One collects rather a lot of things when one’s family has lived in the same place for hundreds of years.”

  “I am sure,” Marybeth murmured in thought. “The same is true of grandmother’s croft, but in a much less opulent fashion.”

  “How long have your family lived there?” Oliver asked, as if he had never thought about it before that moment.

  “Hundreds of years,” Marybeth answered. “As far as my grandmother knew, her family has always lived there since before the Norman invasion.”

  “So, your family is as old as the Duke’s then, older maybe.”

  “Yes, it would seem so.”

  “I do not know anything about my family past my grandparents. My grandparents were in service. My mother was in service. Now, I am in service.” Oliver shrugged his shoulders as if that was all he needed to know. “My father was a seaman before he died.”

  “I do not know who my father was. My grandmother refused to talk about him, and I was too young to remember my mother or my grandfather. Grandmother was all I ever had, all I ever needed really.” Marybeth shrugged her shoulders in much the same manner as Oliver had done. “’Tis irrelevant in the forest. You do not think it will cause difficulty at the manor house, do you?”

  “The fact that you know not who your father was?”

  “Yes.”

  “As far as I am concerned it means nothing at all, but I know that most of society does not share my views on the subject. It shouldn’t come up, but if it does then you just ignore anything that those busy bodies say. The Duke and Duchess do not countenance gossip within their household and will not allow you to be mistreated for such a thing. If anything happens you just come and find me.”

  Marybeth smiled and squeezed her arms around his torso a bit tighter in gratitude. “Have I told you lately that I love you, Oliver Singer?” she asked her friend, her good humor restored.

  “Not since last week.” She could hear the grin in his voice even though she could not see it from behind him.

  “That is much too long ago,” she proclaimed.

  “Yes, I would have to agree, but now that we will be living so near one another you will be able to tell me every day,” he laughed, pleased with himself as if it had been he who had arranged her stay at Arkley Hall.

  Marybeth laughed at his pleased tone. “With Grandmother gone, you are the only one I have left to say it to,” she sobered at the thought.

  “I am honored, my lady of the forest.” Oliver picked up her hand from his abdomen and bringing it to his lips kissed it. “I love you too, Marybeth. Remember, my friend, you are never alone as long you have me.”

  “Well then you had better live forever, hadn’t you?” Marybeth ordered.

  “But of course,” he answered replacing her hand on his stomach. “What would all the ladies of Arkley Hall do without me?”

  Marybeth chuckled. “Just the ladies of Arkley Hall?”

  “Quite right, quite right. How could I have forgotten all of the other ladies of the county who depend so greatly upon the Singer charm? They would all most certainly be lost without me.”

  “I am sure.” Marybeth leaned her head against his back, soothed by the sound of the horse’s hoof beats as they rode through the forest. She watched the forest pass them by, the leaves a brilliant green in the light, darker green in the shadows. The color reminded her of the Duke’s eyes. She had found them quite comforting, and yet disconcerting at the same time. She closed her eyes and could see him once again in the darkness behind her lids.

  There is something about him, but I cannot quite say what it is.

  She opened her eyes again and the image vanished, replaced by the wilderness she loved so much. She could not fathom being stuck inside of a grand house for months on end.

  Perhaps I will return home twice a week instead of just the once.

  The horse slowed as they approached the croft and Marybeth dismounted, walking into the house to gather all of the things that she might need. Oliver waited outside, allowing the horse to drink from the nearby stream. When she was done packing, she stood at the center of the croft’s main room and turned around in a circle, gazing at the remnants of the life she and her grandmother had once shared together.

  I love you, Grandmother, her heart whispered to the specter of their shared past, then she turned and left the croft. I will return as soon as I am able.

  Chapter 4

  Felix pushed his masterpiece out onto the lawn and walked back and forth, testing the alignment and security of the wheels. The sound of a carriage coming up the drive interrupted his test as he realized that he had completely forgotten the Weatherton’s promise to call. He groaned inwardly at the thought of another tedious visit.

  Perhaps if I could speak with Lady Cordelia alone, she might be a different person. She is certainly not Miss Wright.

  The thought of comparing Lady Cordelia and Miss Wright caught him by surprise. They could not have been more opposite in character and demeanor if they had tried. One golden blonde and snobbish, the other wildly dark and caring. He found himself wishing that Miss Wright were a lady of noble birth. The maid’s words about Miss Wright’s conception flashed through his mind and he wondered if she was correct.

  It is a marvel that such a tragic beginning could beget such a caring soul. He thought of the poor woman, her mother, who had been so violated as to take her own life. He wondered who the rapacious scoundrel was that could have done such a thing to her. Would I could run him through with my blade for his heinous deeds.

  Abandoning the wheeled chair in the grass, Felix walked over to assist Lady Cordelia from the carriage. The Earl climbed down after clapping Felix on the arm as if they were familiars. “Your Grace,” Lady Cordelia curtsied, still holding on to his hand.

  “My Lady,” Felix bowed out of courtesy.

  “Your Grace,” the Earl bowed quickly then stood upright and walked over to examine Felix’s invention. “For your mother, I presume?”

  “Yes,” Felix confirmed, leading his female guest over next to her brother. “I have built a bath chair as well.”

  “You built this?” Lady Cordelia asked, her eyes round with surprise.

  “Yes, I did.”

  “A Duke who works with his hands?” she questioned in disbelief.

  “Yes, I enjoy it quite a bit actually.”

  “How admirable, Your Grace,” the Earl complimented. Placing a hand on his sister’s back, he guided her over to a chair in the side garden murmuring something in her ear that Felix could not hear.

  Felix eyed his creation, hesitant to surrender his previous occupation, but knowing his duty as a host he sighed and went to join his guests. “How was your journey? It is quite convenient that we possess abutting estates, is it not?”

  “Indeed, it is. I was just saying so to Cordelia on the way here.” The Earl sat down beside his sister and crossed his legs one over the other. “Have you given anymore thought to what we discussed upon my last visit?”

  Felix searched his memory for what specific topic the Earl might be talking about. Is he talking about my marrying his sister?

  “Blackleigh Castle, Your Grace, my idea to purchase the land from you to restore it to its former glory?”

  “Oh, yes, of course. No, there is no possible way that I could sell the land. The castle has been in my family for generations and was placed under our care to protect by royal decree. Such a thing cannot be undone without violating the trust that was placed in us even i
f it is with the best of intentions. I am truly sorry if this disappoints you.”

  “No, no, not at all. I simply thought it would be an amusing project. I so enjoyed hearing the stories of the castle when I was a boy.”

  “As did I,” Felix admitted. “A terribly sad tale.”

  “Yes, indeed, the witch of Blackleigh Castle,” the Earl agreed. “How did it go…” his words faded off in question as his eyes took on a faraway look.

  “The fairest of maidens with black raven hair,

  She fled through the forest her feet light as air,

  The Lord in pursuit his treasure to wrest

  From the thieving fair maiden’s breast.

  She ran through the night her safety forsaken

  In the ruins of Blackleigh where refuge is taken

  She hid the treasure in the darkness below

  Climbing the tower, the Lord did follow

  His threat to take her virtue stands

  as a reminder to every man

  for upon him then her curse she did bestow

  the Lord and his progeny her words made low

  ‘No matter the punishment ye may wreak

  Ye will never find the treasure ye seek.’

  And with that the maiden leapt from the tower

  Surrendering her life, but never her power

  For if ye go walking in the forest of Arkley

  Ye might just find the witch of Blackleigh.”

  Felix smiled as shivers ran along his skin just as it had when he was a boy. “A damning tale to be sure.”

  “It is at that.” The Earl nodded in agreement. “I will never forget the look in my grandfather’s eyes when he first told me the tale. It was as if he were lost in the very moment itself. It was told to every generation of my family for as far back as anyone can remember.”

  “Many have come here searching for the treasure, but none have ever found it.”

  “Did you ever look for it, Your Grace?” Lady Cordelia asked, her manner reserved, but her eyes were wide with curiosity. Felix could tell that she was enthralled by the tale.

  “No, I never did.”

  “How could you not? It is within your possession,” the Earl asked indignantly. “Not even as a boy?”

  “Nay, not even then. It was forbidden by my father. He deemed it unsafe, foolish behavior for the heir of Arkley.”

  “And you never disobeyed him?”

  “Nay, never.” Felix could not imagine disobeying his father. He had had far too much respect for the former Duke, as well as a healthy dose of fear for whatever punishment his actions would have warranted. Felix had taken his responsibilities as his father’s heir very seriously from a young age. As his father had died sooner than expected, Felix’s diligence had proven to be wise.

  “I see,” the Earl eyed him doubtfully, but said nothing more on the matter.

  Felix rang for tea and within moments footmen arrived with trays of food and drink. The sound of a horse approaching caused the party to turn towards the forest. Oliver approached with Miss Wright at his back. Felix waved them over and assisted the healer from the horse. “Miss Wright, won’t you join us for tea?”

  “Thank you, Your Grace, but perhaps it would be best if I were to go and settle in first.”

  “Settle in?” Lady Cordelia inquired with an arched brow eyeing the newcomer suspiciously.

  “Yes, Miss Wright has agreed to come and stay with us here at Arkley Hall as a healer for my mother. I am most grateful, Miss Wright.” Felix bowed humbly over her hand.

  “A healer?” Lady Cordelia turned her nose up in disdain.

  “Yes, she is the first to offer hope for the Dowager Duchess’s condition. We are quite pleased to have her here.”

  “And where do you hail from Miss Wright?” Lady Cordelia asked.

  “Arkley Forest,” Miss Wright answered. “My family has had a croft there for many generations.”

  The Earl’s brow raised. “Oh? Wright you say?”

  “Yes, My Lord.”

  “Any relation to the witch, Abigail Wright?”

  “To the healer, Abigail Wright, yes,” Miss Wright corrected. Felix cleared his throat and gave the Earl a warning look. “Did you know my grandmother?”

  “We stumbled across one another in the forest a time or two, yes. A woman of unique character, if I might be so bold in my saying so.”

  “Yes, she was.” Miss Wright’s eyes took on a faraway look as if she were remembering a pleasant moment in the past.

  “I am sorry that I did not get the chance to meet her,” Felix replied sincerely. “I would very much like to have met the woman who taught you your healing skills. I was just about to go and look in on Mother before you arrived. Please, allow me to escort you to your room and then you may return and join us for tea or perhaps you might join me for a chat before dinner this evening.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace.” Miss Wright nodded. Felix offered her his arm and she graciously accepted, allowing him to lead her into the house and up to her room. They stopped just short of the Dowager Duchess’s bedchamber and he opened the door. He motioned for Miss Wright to step inside. The maids had aired the room, lit the fireplace, and provided fresh bed linens.

  “’Tis beautiful,” Miss Wright breathed in awe.

  “This room is kept for my mother’s guests, as you are now, Miss Wright,” Felix smiled at her response to the room. “Please make yourself at home. Do not hesitate to ask the staff for anything that you might need. The house and its grounds are at your disposal. When you are not treating my mother, you are free to come and go as you please.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace. I would like to return to my croft as often as is possible, but I will do so only when it is safe to leave your mother alone. Until we have ascertained whether the treatment is working, I will remain nearby.”

  “I cannot thank you enough for your willingness to aid us in our time of crisis. You cannot imagine the number of physicians we have consulted on the matter, and you are the first to present a possible solution. My uncle has been offering to send practitioners from the East. If you are not able to help, then I will be forced to accept whatever he can manage to send us. I fear he would go to great expense only to receive the same response as all of the doctors who came before them.”

  “I will do my best, but in truth there is no guarantee that my way will work any better than the physicians who came before me,” she warned, placing her belongings on the bed.

  “I will take whatever aid you can offer. The certainty of its efficacy will come with the results or it will not, but either way all one can truly do is try, and to save my mother, I would do anything.”

  “A sentiment I can understand more than most, Your Grace. Could I have saved my grandmother, I would have done so in an instant.”

  “What was it that took her?”

  “Unfortunately, it was the one thing her medicines could not cure, old age. She died quietly in her sleep.”

  “May I express once again how sorry I am for your loss.”

  “It was her time and she was ready. I was not.”

  “We never are when it comes to our parents.”

  “Indeed.” She looked up at him studying his face. “Did I see a wheeled chair out upon the lawn, Your Grace?”

  “Yes, you did. My latest construction.”

  “Might I see it? I am most interested in such things. It would certainly improve your mother’s quality of life, would it not?”

  “That is my hope. Before she fell ill, gardening was my mother’s passion. She loved her roses. Now, she cannot leave her bedchamber. That is no life for anyone. I dream of a way in which she can live her life with minimal restrictions to her mobility. Since my father died, it has been a struggle. Shall we go and see it now?”

  “Yes, thank you, Your Grace. I would like that very much.”

  “Allow me to look in on Mother and then we shall go.”

  “Of course.”

  Leaving the guest room, they b
oth looked in on the Dowager Duchess, but found her sleeping. The two of them walked back outside and over to the wheeled chair. “Might I impose upon you to sit in it for a time,” Felix requested. “I would like to test it fully before placing my mother in it.”

  “Of course. I would be happy to do so.” Miss Wright sat in the chair and allowed herself to be wheeled around the gardens.

  The Earl and Lady Cordelia watched agape at the unorthodox nature of their behavior. “Your Grace?” Lady Cordelia called out in question. “Is all well?”