Deceiving the Duke of Kerrington

  ***

  Hope kept herself occupied in her room most of the day, hoping to avoid the other guests that had begun to arrive and Pierce for as long as possible. She was mad at herself for allowing even a moment of hopefulness. She had been a fool to believe that Pierce was a decent man and that she could ever be more to him than a convenient wife to provide him with his much coveted heir and respectability amongst the ton. If there was any way that she could honorably back out of the engagement she would. In her head she kept cursing herself over and over for ever agreeing to be a pawn in Noelle’s game. In hindsight she wished that she had been brave enough to tell her no and return and live with her mother in Shepard’s Bush. So what if she would never have been able to gain another respectable lady’s maid position, at least she wouldn’t be forced to marry a man she was in love with who just so happened to be in love with another woman.

  And that was the crux of the matter—she had fallen in love with the arrogant Duke of Kerrington. She bolted into an upright position in her bed, shocking even herself with the realization that she had allowed her heart to fall in love with Pierce. How could that have happened? The realization made her angry all over again. She was so foolish. Just when she began another endless round of chastising herself, Esther entered the room.

  “Milady, it’s time to get ready for afternoon tea on the veranda. I’ve been told that most of the guests have arrived and the duchess is eager to introduce you to them.”

  The last thing Hope wanted to do was socialize and put on a happy face, but at least the men were out riding and she wouldn’t have to face Pierce until dinner. “Very well Esther, why don’t you straighten my hair up for me then I’ll go down.”

  Esther eyed her skeptically, “You can’t mean to go down in that dress, milady, it’s all wrinkled.”

  Hope looked down at her skirts and sure enough, they were crumpled beyond repair, “I suppose I ought to change then.” It all seemed like more work than it was worth but she didn’t want to embarrass the duchess by looking anything but proper.

  Esther eyed her mistress suspiciously, not sure what had occurred to alter her mood so drastically since she had readied her this morning—then she had been excited and eager and now she looked sullen and morose. Esther didn’t dare inquire and instead quickly set about her task of getting her ready for tea. She chose a pink dress sprigged with blue flowers with a high waist. The bodice and sleeves were lined with delicate ivory lace, a perfectly feminine dress for afternoon tea. She topped it off with a chip straw bonnet with a cluster of pink roses and blue ribbons on the side. When the despondent Noelle was dressed she looked quite fetching, if only she’d smile and bring the sparkle back to her unique eyes.

  Hope reluctantly made her way to the veranda, spotting Caroline and making a quick dash to her side. She was anxious to avoid running into anyone who might know the real Lady Noelle. She knew it was inevitable but she wasn’t quite sure yet how she’d deal with the encounter. Maybe if she kept her conversation vague and brief she could avoid any awkwardness.

  Caroline reached for her and gave her a quick hug, “My darling, you look fetching, such a beauty. My son is lucky to have found himself such a beautiful wife.” Hope felt her cheeks go red. “Now, the official engagement announcement hasn’t been made until tomorrow’s ball so we’ll have to keep it a secret for one more day, do you think you can manage?”

  She nodded, if the duchess only knew how good she was at keeping secrets. Just then an older lady walked up with two of her daughters in tow. She was plump and her yellow gown did nothing for her sallow complexion, but neither did her pinched expression, which was even more unbecoming.

  “Lady Tolliver! I’m so delighted you and your daughters could make it.” Caroline exclaimed.

  Hope looked at her daughters just then, the first daughter being plump like her mother with plain features and a large, straight nose. She turned to the other daughter and thought she would be sick. Standing on her mother’s left was Eliza. Hope noticed she had changed into a bottle green dress that went well with her coloring and complexion. It was apparent that Eliza was the lucky one in the family and had acquired all of the good looks. She was even more striking up close and with the sunshine gleaming off of her auburn tresses.

  Caroline introduced her then, “Lady Tolliver, this is Lady Noelle Parrish, Lord Brattondale’s daughter. Noelle, Lady Tolliver is one of our neighbors. This is her daughter Alice.” She motioned towards the plain daughter with her fan before gesturing towards Eliza, “and this is Eliza, the recently widowed Lady Norton.”

  Hope had to consciously remind herself not to drop into a curtsey as was her natural inclination. Instead she forced what she knew was a painful smile on her face and murmured, “Pleased to meet you.” She couldn’t miss the look of disdain Eliza gave her and she wondered if she somehow knew that she was betrothed to her beloved Pierce.

  Luckily Lady Tolliver and her daughters saw some other people they knew and took their leave fairly quickly. Hope didn’t know how much longer she could’ve stood being in Eliza’s presence.

  As they left, Caroline placed one gloved hand on her arm, “Are you okay Noelle, you look rather pale, is it the heat? It is particularly warm today.”

  “As a matter of fact, I am feeling ill. Hopefully it’s just the heat for I’d hate to take ill and have to spend the remainder of the party in bed.” Though she spoke the words, she actually realized that she liked the idea of being able to stay up in her bedchamber until the party was over, avoiding both Eliza and Pierce. She mulled the idea around in her head of faking sick so that she could get out of it.

  “Oh no, wouldn’t that be horrid if you had to miss your own engagement ball?”

  “Truly.” She hoped Caroline didn’t pick up on her facetiousness.

  “Well I insist you go rest. I would hate for you to miss anymore of the party than you have too. Maybe if you get out of the sun for awhile and take it easy you will feel well enough to come to dinner tonight.”

  “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind? This is such a lovely tea and I know how much work you have put into it.”

  “Darling, I care about your health more than all of this,” she gestured to their surroundings with one gloved hand.

  “Thank you. Hopefully I’ll see you at dinner.” And with that, Hope turned and left the gathering, certain that she was going to be ill and not sure if she could make herself endure the rest of the weekend.