A Nightingale for the Lonely Duke, page 15
Frederick glared at Honoria, and yet, he could not reply. Whilst he did not trust the woman, nor could he answer her question, for if he were honest with himself, that too, had occurred to him. Of course, he had rationalised it away with some idea that she may have had an English tutor, but had he truly given it the thought it deserved? Yet, he could not believe that Miss Goodwin would have lied to him so plainly.
‘I think we ought to have this discussion at another time, Frederick. Clearly, you cannot answer my question and I do not wish to stand here and observe your mouth gaping open like some dead fish, when I would much rather be enjoying myself in the ballroom. Besides, it is hardly fitting to leave the guests alone.’
She did not wait for his reply and instead, spun on her heel and whisked out of the study in a flurry, leaving Frederick standing there, dumbfounded as to what had just happened. He had not realised that he had been stood with his mouth open, yet, with the shock of her words, his reaction had been automatic.
Now left alone with his thoughts, he attempted to consider Honoria’s words. Even with her question regarding Miss Goodwin’s perfectly spoken English, he did not want to admit what may well be glaringly obvious to any other. It could not be true. Honoria must be mistaken, for Mr Guzman himself has told him what had happened to Miss Goodwin and her family. Why on earth would he lie?
For a long moment, Frederick struggled within himself to try and search for evidence to prove that he was right, and Honoria was wrong and yet, even as he thought back to the conversations with Miss Goodwin, he could hardly think of anything that had been spoken between them, to verify the truth.
Had she truly lied to his face? Had this demur and contained woman tricked him for the entire time she had been in his employ?
Chapter 17
Alina wrung her hands together anxiously as she paced the floor of Duke Griffinstead’s study. With her heart thumping, she awaited his arrival, having been sent for that morning. Mr Stanley had come to her room himself before breakfast, rather than sending one of the other servants as he might ordinarily do and instructed her to go to the Duke’s study before she went to the drawing room and began Rebecca’s lessons. Even Mr Stanley’s expression had appeared far harsher than the usual way in which he addressed her, and his strange behaviour toward her with his clipped tones, had concerned Alina.
By Mr Stanley’s very demeanour, it would appear she was in some sort of trouble and yet, she did not know why. Clearly it had something to do with the things that had been said about her last night at the ball, and yet, she was as confused as ever. Alina had spent much of her time after retiring to bed, wondering how it had all come about.
The evening had started out so well and staying close to Rebecca’s side, Alina could not have been prouder of the way Rebecca had handled dealing with those present. Gone was the silliness of her previous antics, the young and immature girl that she had first encountered when she had arrived. Contained and in a calm manner, she had greeted all those she had met with the decorum befitting the young lady she had blossomed into over the time they had spent together in the previous weeks.
When Alina was asked to dance by a lord whose name she had since forgotten, Alina was concerned at leaving Rebecca’s side, yet it had been Rebecca who had assured her that she was perfectly fine to be left alone for a while. Instead, she had encouraged that Alina should accept the offer of a dance and enjoy herself. The gentleman in question was rather handsome and Alina had gauged, perhaps around her age.
Whilst he acted with manners appropriate for a gentleman, he had hardly hidden his enthusiasm for her company, which had made Alina blush rather under his intense gaze. As the dance had ended, he had mentioned that he perhaps, could have the pleasure of her company again later on in the evening. Alina had nodded, for she hardly wanted to refuse him, it would not have been good etiquette to do so.
No sooner had the handsome lord departed, leaving her feeling full of life and in such merry form, than the Duke himself was suddenly beside her, asking for the next dance. Having not seen him coming, Alina had been taken rather off guard and it had been another moment before she was able to steel herself.
In that state, it had been difficult at first, for she did not quite know what to say. Of course, she could hardly refuse him with all around them observing their actions, and the fact that one did not refuse the offer of a dance with a duke. However, they were both aware that things had been rather distant between them since the night of the opera. Lady Richardson, being at the manor so often, had not helped matters either.
Alina had taken some time to come to terms with the fact that the Duke had paid her such attention when he was betrothed to another. He had been given little time to disclose to her the circumstances in the interval at the opera, but even then, she had not quite let what he had relayed to her, sink in. Her realisation deepened when it became clearly obvious that the Duke was not in love with Lady Richardson. Only when she was able to witness them together around the manor, did the reality of his situation truly make sense.
Though her curiosity felt intense, for she wished to know more about the circumstances, Alina did not wish to show her hand by asking Rebecca. Not only was she a servant and therefore, it was not her place to ask such things, but it hardly set a very good example for Rebecca. One ought not to be seen, snooping around in another’s business, particularly when that business happened to be the upcoming marital affairs of your employer, and when that employer, happened to be the Duke of Griffinstead.
Alina came to conclusions of her own, when she witnessed the type of person Lady Richardson was. Though she had not known the Duke for a very long time, there was an instinctual knowledge that Lady Richardson was not someone he would have chosen to marry, for they could not be more opposite. It was true, in some cases of relationships, that opposites went well together, or so she had heard, but this was not that kind of opposite.
Lady Richardson displayed conceit and snobbery along with treating the servants rather dreadfully, whereas the Duke, from the moment she had walked through the huge door of the manor, had shown that he respected his employees and valued their service. He was a contained man with the highest standard of manners, the same could not be said for the woman who was to become his wife. In that deduction, lay much of Alina’s conclusion and she had grown to feel sorry for the Duke, for it was clear, that this union was not of his desire.
Yet, she could not fully understand how that could be. He was a Duke. How could he be put into such a position where he could not choose? Surely, a man of his power and stature had the choice of how his future would turn out. He had hinted on that evening, that things had changed with regards to their families arranged marriage, and yet, since that evening, nothing appeared to be different in Alina’s eyes.
Lady Richardson had frequented the manor often, troubling her to know about her past, and pressing for answers that Alina had managed to evade, and yet, the Duke had not made any change in his decisions. As far as Alina could see, they were still to be wed.
That was her view until last night, at least. Having accepted his offer to dance, she once more, witnessed the look of affection in his eyes. The last time she had observed it was on the night of the opera, just before Lady Richardson had arrived and interrupted their intimate moment. Whilst at that moment, before all in attendance at the ball, it both concerned her and confused her, she was near powerless in her response.
Between her own feelings for him that had been growing over the weeks of her being in the manor, and the fact that her heart ached for his seemingly undoable plight, she allowed her feelings to show in her eyes, mirroring back to him, his own expression.
She had determined she would hold back, and yet, she could not. Not simply because she did not want to, but she had always been forthright in all her dealings, and if the Duke could find a way to release himself from the bond he had been forced into, she wished him to know that her feelings for him had not changed.
Eventually, once the melody had ended, a strange reality suddenly occurred to Alina, for their dance had been witnessed by whomever was present. Caught in a trance whilst they had been dancing, the spell had suddenly been broken, and her rational mind had taken over her emotions. Had she shown too much of her feelings for the entire room to see? What if her actions had been noted by Lady Richardson herself? Suddenly, she had felt the need to run, and having nodded briefly toward the Duke, removed herself from his person.
Perhaps her actions would relay to those who might have thought they saw something between them, that their eyes had played tricks on them. In any case, it was not appropriate to linger, and Alina had felt, under the circumstances, that the best course of action was to place herself anywhere else in the room, rather than beside the Duke. Apparently, it had appeared that her affections may well have been noticed, and clearly, her swift departure had been rather pointless.
It was not long after that, that things started to go terribly wrong. In the whispers that passed her ears, she heard rumours about herself that she could hardly believe. The words, ‘gold digger’, and ‘manipulator’, were used. She heard snippets of conversations, something about her, ‘deceiving the Duke’, and ‘stealing his affections’. It came to a head in the middle of the dance, when her partner was hardly able to look upon her, and when he did, it was with a glare of scornful derision.
Nothing seemed to make any sense, and yet suddenly, Alina felt a pressing compulsion to escape. She needed to get out. It felt as though all eyes of the room were upon her, and as the embarrassment grew, so did the redness in her cheeks and the cold sweat that had spread across her body. Not able to tolerate the feeling for a second longer, she had not even finished the dance, and had run from the ballroom as though there were some great emergency. Even as she did so, she could still feel the eyes of the room following her as she left.
It was much later in the evening that Rebecca had come to her bedchamber. She had knocked and called out, but Alina had not answered, and with her eyes closed and pretending she had been asleep, she had heard her bedchamber door open.
‘Miss Alina,’ Rebecca had whispered. ‘Miss Alina, are you awake?’
Alina had stayed perfectly still, trying with all her might to keep her eyes closed, but not tight, for no-one slept with their eyes closed tight. For what seemed like an eternity, there was no other sound and Rebecca evidently did not leave immediately. It was probably only a minute later, that Alina heard the creak of the floorboards once more and the door close quietly, even though it had felt much longer. Sighing heavily, Alina had then relaxed.
Perhaps it might have been better to speak to Rebecca at the time, and yet, Alina had simply not had the energy to do so. There was a fear that Rebecca would see right through her, that her feelings for the Duke may well show to Rebecca, though Alina had a small idea that Rebecca already had her suspicions. And yet, Alina could not bear to imagine that Rebecca may feel she had tried to manipulate her brother or tried to deceive him in the reasons for her being at the manor as she heard some of the guests whisper that evening.
Her time there had been to complete a task, and that task had involved helping Rebecca to discover the ways of a young lady. Alina had lost herself in her job and could not deny that her fondness for Rebecca had grown exponentially since her arrival. Imagining that Rebecca could think that her motives were not honest, troubled Alina greatly and she could not bear the idea that the young woman would judge her. Yet, with all the rumours that had danced across the ballroom that evening, what else was the young woman to think?
The study door opened and the Duke strode in, his shoulders pushed back, his posture upright as always. He regarded her as he marched across the room, and rounding his desk, stood still for a moment.
‘Please, Miss Goodwin. Be seated.’ His clipped voice only gave evidence of what Rebecca suspected as he gestured to a chair in front of the desk.
‘Thank you, my lord,’ Alina replied a little nervously.
Waiting for her to sit, he then pulled his own chair behind him and lowered himself into it. A moment passed before he spoke, but Alina remained silent. Clearly by his darkened expression and furrowed brow, he was considering his choice in words, and with his fingers tapping each other, fixed in a sort of steepled fashion, he eventually took a long breath in.
‘I must speak to you on a rather serious matter, Miss Goodwin, and I would appreciate it if you would please use candour in your reply. Information has come to me that has disturbed me greatly, and whilst I struggle to imagine that you could have been dishonest, I have no choice but to challenge you on what I have come to learn.’
His manner was so solemn that it quite terrified Alina. Never before had he spoken to her in such a way, and she could not begin to imagine what more he had heard about her that would put him in such a disposition. Surely, he had not been taken in by the rumours that had spread throughout the ballroom? She tried desperately to control her breathing as her fear near took over her rationale, for even though she knew she had done or said nothing that could be seen as deceitful, the fear of any accusation seemed to take her over.
‘I must ask you, Miss Goodwin, is it true that your father was a wine merchant and that he has left you and your mother destitute?’
‘Yes, my lord. It is.’
‘So, you are not a lady from an aristocratic background?’
‘No, my lord.’
‘Your father did not die fighting in a war?’
‘No, my lord.’ Alina frowned deeply, wondering what on earth was going on. Why was he asking her these ridiculous questions, and where on earth would he have heard such a strange tale?
‘So, it is true then, Miss Goodwin, that you have lied to me from the beginning?’
‘It certainly is not, my lord, for I have never stated such things. In fact, if I recall, I have never told you anything about my own past.’
‘And yet, neither have you denied it.’
‘I do not understand, my lord. What is it that I have not denied?’
‘That your father died in the war and your family escaped from a dastardly regime, leaving you and your mother destitute. Mr Guzman told me all about your past himself, and yet now, you are telling me it is a lie. Perhaps you and Mr Guzman decided that, knowing my own background of service, you would pander to the sympathies I would have toward you and in that way, give you employment.’
‘That is not true, my lord. I cannot know what Mr Guzman told you, for I was not in the room, but I would not do such a thing. If Mr Guzman told you such, he did it of his own prerogative.’
‘I am afraid I find that very hard to believe, Miss Goodwin. I cannot help but wonder, if you did not manipulate him as you have manipulated me. I am well aware of the reputation that Mr Guzman has, and I cannot determine that he would create such a story for the benefit of himself only. However, with your beautiful face and your angelic voice, it would not be difficult to pull at a man’s heart with a sorrowful story. It was only with such a story that I allowed myself to come to the decision of employing you, which was clearly your intent all along.’
Alina, who had been completely stunned by the Duke’s accusations, could no longer listen to his charges against her. He would simply not believe her, no matter what she said, for it was evident in both his demeanour and words, that his mind was made up already. Why Mr Guzman had told the lies that he had, Alina could not know, although, she imagined it was to secure her employment.
Yet, she had not agreed to it, nor had she put him up to it. Yet, Mr Guzman was to be believed before her. It was he who had lied, but she who was getting the blame for somehow manipulating him into doing so. She could not and would not take it any longer. If she were not to be trusted, then she would leave. Alina would not remain employed by a man who thought she was a liar and refused to believe her even when she had told him the plain truth.
Suddenly pushing herself swiftly from her chair, Alina glared at the Duke defiantly. ‘I cannot believe that he could say such a thing, my lord. I do not know what else to say, only that what I have stated is the truth. It is evident that my word is not enough for you, and in that respect, I do not feel that my presence here at the manor is tenable any longer. It is with that acknowledgement that I tender my resignation. I will work whatever notice is required of me, and then I will leave.’
