Three

My Dearest Alexander,

I cannot improve upon these words from Lord Chesterfield: “Pray remember to part with all your friends, acquaintances, and mistresses, if you have any, in such a manner as may make them not only willing but impatient to see you again.”

Your loving Grandmother,

Lady Elder

Susannah sat at the small desk in her bedroom of the leased home, reading over the letter she’d just written to her mother. Several false starts lay crumpled on the floor beside her. She knew her mother would be impatiently waiting to hear that Susannah had made contact with the gentleman who had the pearls. That had happened three days ago, but every time she had attempted to write her mother since then, words had failed her.

At last, she’d been able to complete the letter. Though she didn’t tell her mother everything about the marquis, Susannah felt comfortable telling her mother that Lord Raceworth was easily the most handsome and the most arrogant man she had ever met. She could have added that he was also the most infuriating, stubborn, and confusing man she had ever met, too. Instead, she ended by reassuring her mother that she would obtain the pearls, but it might take longer than she had expected.

Susannah had worded the letter as carefully as possible, not wanting her mother to worry more than she already was. After a lifetime of excellent health, her mother had suddenly taken to her bed and seldom came downstairs any more.

As her mind drifted back to the intriguing marquis, Susannah leaned back in her chair. No, he wasn’t confusing. It was Susannah who was confused by the feelings he’d stirred inside her when she had looked at him and when he’d looked at her. She’d been bemused by how fast her heart beat, how shallow her breath became, and how hot curls of desire had tightened her abdomen and skittered across her breast when he was so close their noses almost touched.

At one point when she was with him, she had thought he was going to kiss her and for one madcap moment she had wanted him to. Thank God he hadn’t, and she had avoided that mistake. She had been so taken with him that day she probably would have let him. What a disaster that would have been.

Susannah squeezed her eyes shut for an instant as she tried to force that dizzying memory from her thoughts. She obviously wasn’t on his mind. It had been three days since she had met the marquis and she hadn’t heard one word from him, but that hadn’t kept her from thinking about him. And she had thought for sure she would have heard something from him by now.

She was trying hard not to be attracted to the man, but so far she hadn’t had much success. Maybe she thought about him so often simply because he hadn’t behaved in the way she had expected.

But too, it was more than that.

The marquis had unleashed an assortment of perplexing sensations in her as well as a muddle of emotions that she had wanted to keep hidden in her past. He was a fascinating man. A desirable man. That should be reason enough for her to find a way to banish him from her thoughts. She wanted to have contact with him only concerning the pearls.

Most of the gentlemen who had approached her since her husband’s death, wanting to win her favor, were in such awe of her being a duchess that she had no interest in them whatsoever. Susannah had vowed to keep it that way, much to Mrs. Princeton’s chagrin, but one visit with Lord Raceworth and already her resolve was weakening.

Susannah sighed and picked up the letter to her mother and read it again. Satisfied that she had worded it to give the best possible scenario for what would surely prove to be a major uphill battle, Susannah folded the two pieces of vellum and laid them aside.

She glanced around the room that would be her bedchamber for the next few weeks. Early afternoon sunlight streamed through the parted draperies of windows that flanked each side of the simple, spool-turned bed. A sky-blue brocade slipper chair, cozy for curling up and reading during the long evenings, stood in one corner, while her many books were stacked neatly on a bookshelf beside it. The dressing table with its lovely aged-lace skirt and dainty oval mirror was old but serviceable. Over the mantel hung a painting of a beautiful brown-haired little girl, laughing happily as a spaniel puppy licked her chin. The one large piece of furniture in the room was the wardrobe, but big as it was it hadn’t held all the clothing her maid had packed for her.

The house wasn’t spacious or extravagant in furnishings, and the grounds and garden were in sad, neglected shape. But the value of this property was not in what it afforded but where it was located. The worth in this house was that only a tall hedge of yew and less than a hundred yards of gardens separated her from Lord Raceworth’s house and the pearls her mother desired.

Susannah could easily have afforded a much more elaborate place to live. Not only had her father been very mindful of her future in arranging the marriage contracts to her advantage, her husband had been very generous to her in his will. Even her husband’s son was kind to her, and she had not wanted for anything since her husband’s death.

While in the hectic city of London, Susannah would miss daily visits with her mother and the quiet life they lived in Chapel Gate. She had little desire to become involved in the busy Society life of the Season. She would stay occupied with needlework and reading. She would also look into the possibility of leasing a pianoforte so she could play in the afternoons as twilight descended on the neighborhood.

But right now, Susannah was daydreaming about a handsome gentleman and wondering why she had agreed to come to London and see this error made right. She had suggested to her mother that their solicitor approach the marquis about the pearls. But her mother had insisted Susannah do it, and she had agreed because she loved her mother and wanted to please her. After Susannah’s father had died, her mother came to live with her. Madeline Parker had been a tremendous source of comfort and company for her these many years. It was the least Susannah could do for her.

Susannah closed her eyes again and envisioned herself back at Chapel Gate with its grand view of lush gardens dotted with hidden nooks, beautiful waterfalls, impressive fountains, and natural vistas. Suddenly, Lord Raceworth was walking beside her as they stepped on cobblestone walkways and threaded their way through a field of sky-blue flowers. They were laughing and holding hands. His face bent closer and closer to hers until…

A knock at her open door brought Susannah out of her daydreaming. She glanced up to see Mrs. Princeton standing in the doorway.

Clearing her throat and her mind of such fanciful notions, Susannah said, “Yes?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you, Duchess, but the Marquis of Raceworth is below stairs in the vestibule. He asked me to give you this.”

A rush of excitement filled Susannah’s chest and it tightened. He’d come just when she was beginning to think she would have to make the next move. Afraid even to speculate on what the note might say, she rose and quickly took the folded paper, and turning away from Mrs. Princeton she opened it. Written in bold black lettering were the words:

Duchess,

I want you to join me for a ride in Hyde Park. If you are otherwise presently entertained, I shall wait in my carriage until you are available to join me.

Race

Susannah gasped in surprise as a new appreciation for the marquis filled her with a sudden, eager anticipation.

She turned and looked at her companion. “What nerve that man has,” she exclaimed in a whispered voice, letting the note flutter to the top of her desk.

“What’s the matter?” Mrs. Princeton asked, her soft brown eyes rounding in concern.

Susannah took a deep, steadying breath, her mind whirling with possibilities. “That man is unbelievably brash.”

“What did he say to you, Your Grace? Has he been horribly rude to you?”

“No, no, Mrs. Princeton, nothing like that. In a most informal manner, the marquis has invited me to go for a ride in Hyde Park with him. No, not invited,” Susannah amended, “it’s more an order.”

Mrs. Princeton’s expression relaxed from concern to almost a smile. “I don’t see that as being brash, Your Grace. It’s perfectly acceptable for a gentleman to ask a lady to go for a ride in the park with him.”

“Of course it is,” Susannah said, trying to tamp down the thrills of joy filling her. “It’s not what he says but how he says it that puts me in a dither. He writes that he understands if I am busy at the moment. He is happy to sit in his carriage and wait until I’m available to go with him.”

The skin around Mrs. Princeton’s eyes crinkled and she laughed softly. But seeing the annoyed expression on Susannah’s face at her mirth, she quickly composed herself.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace, I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”

Susannah smiled. “Don’t be ridiculous, Mrs. Princeton. I know exactly why you find humor in his note. He is treating me exactly the way I treated him a few days ago. I would laugh, too, if I weren’t so provoked by it. I can see that he has decided to play my game and annoy me. And I’m quite sure he thinks he will win in the end.”

The older woman, whom Susannah sometimes treated more like an older sister than a paid companion the past ten years, faced her once more. “Thank you, Your Grace. As you know, I do worry sometimes that I overstep my place.”

“And you know you have no reason to censor your words when you talk to me. Sometimes I need your perspective, whether or not I solicit it, want it, or use it.”

“In that case, I will tell you that I think it is a splendid idea that he wants to take you for a ride in the park, and I think you should go.”

Susannah pursed her lips for a moment and looked at Mrs. Princeton. “Are you thinking of trying to be a matchmaker once again?”

Mrs. Princeton lifted her sharp chin and sniffed. “Absolutely not. You have chided me too many times on that account, and I have promised never to do it again.”

“Good,” Susannah said, but wasn’t sure she believed the woman who had once told her that her greatest sorrow in life was that after her husband died, she never remarried and had children.

Relief washed over Mrs. Princeton’s face, and she asked, “Do you think his invitation means that he is ready to look at the documents you have?”

Susannah folded her arms across her chest and drummed her fingers on her arms. “I seriously doubt it. I think he simply wants to let me know that he can play my game as well as I can. The problem is that this is truly not a game with me. The pearls rightfully belong to my mother, and I’m determined not to leave London without them. Unfortunately, rather than simply enlightening Lord Raceworth to the truth as I had hoped, I only amused him.”

“I’m sure that is not the case,” Mrs. Princeton argued as she brushed aside a tight curl of hair that kept falling across her forehead.

“I’m sure it is,” Susannah corrected her. “I should have known that in London the title dowager duchess would not carry the enormous prestige and intimidation it does in smaller villages like Chapel Glade. I miscalculated that point, and I’m going to have to rethink some things.”

“In that case, a ride in the park with him will not be so bad.”

That’s the problem. It wouldn’t be bad at all.

“But you know I didn’t come to London to be drawn into Polite Society with all its rigid rules and fierce machinations. I have done that and have no desire to get caught up in it again.”

Mrs. Princeton rubbed the palms of her hands down the sides of her black dress. “It’s just a ride in Hyde Park, Your Grace.”

“In any other town or village, perhaps. Not so in London. It is more than that. The park is a place where the elite of Society gather to praise themselves and ridicule everyone else. Polite Society and the ton are nothing but organized madness.”

“And you must live on the fringe of that madness for a time, but don’t fret, Your Grace. I believe in the end you will convince Lord Raceworth to do the right thing by your family and return the pearls.”

Susannah remained quiet and thoughtful, letting her companion’s words sink in.

“Does your silence mean I should tell the marquis you are unavailable and ask him to make an appointment to come back at another time?”

Those fluttery butterfly feelings started in her chest again. Why did just the possibility of seeing him thrill her so?

Susannah looked at her companion and smiled. “Absolutely not. I’m going to look at this as an opportunity to have Lord Raceworth examine the documents I have. I shall take them with me.”

She walked over to one of the windows flanking the bed and looked out. From the second floor window, she could see the entire back of the marquis’s house and his expertly tended lawn. She must have stared at his house a hundred times since she had moved in a week ago. Occasionally, she had been tempted to sneak over in the late afternoon and smell the delicate petals of the fabulous pink roses that were the masterpiece of his exceptional garden, but of course she hadn’t dared invade his privacy.

The grounds of her leased house were in great need of care, with weeds, flowers, and shrubs growing haphazardly wild. Perhaps she would hire someone to make them lovely for her, and yes, she would get a pianoforte, even if she had to buy one. Playing music at the end of the day had always soothed her, even during her most difficult times. Since it appeared she could be in London for quite some time, she might as well make the house and grounds as pleasing as possible.

Lord Raceworth had asked her for a ride in the park, and she would go, but only because her mother was ill and wanting to reclaim the Talbot pearls for the family before she died. Susannah must keep that uppermost in her mind and forget that thrill of anticipation that curled low in her abdomen.

Feeling more confident, she turned back to Mrs. Princeton. “I realize now that I was naive to think the marquis would simply look at the documents, authenticate them, and give me the pearls so I can be on my way.”

Mrs. Princeton agreed with a nod and said, “So what are you going to do, Your Grace?”

“Whatever I have to,” Susannah answered. “I realize now that mother asked me to do this, I should have insisted that our solicitor handle it. No doubt the marquis wouldn’t be playing games with a man. He would have accepted the documents to read, examined them carefully, and made an intelligent decision.”

“You can still turn this over to a solicitor, can’t you?”

Could she?

No matter her frustration, Susannah had found pleasure in sparring with the marquis. He was charming and challenging, and for the first time since she was eighteen, she was drawn to a man. She had enjoyed matching wits with him. She hadn’t wanted to be captivated by him, but she was. She hated like Hades to admit that to herself, and she would never admit it to anyone else.

“He would probably respect a man more than a woman,” she said to Mrs. Princeton.

“That is probable.”

“But no one can argue our rightful claim to the pearls as efficiently as I can because I’m more passionate about having them returned to my family.”

Mrs. Princeton nodded. “You are your best ally.”

“I will accept his invitation and go for a ride in the park with him.”

Mrs. Princeton folded her hands together in front of her. Looking quite satisfied, she said, “I suppose you will, but there is one other good thing about this, Your Grace.”

“I can’t think what that might be.”

“Lord Raceworth is a handsome man and not an old or ugly one.”

Susannah laughed. “You are right about that, Mrs. Princeton, but I’m not so sure that is a good thing for me.”

“Of course it is. You are still a young and beautiful woman. You need to be interested in a dashing young man like the marquis. You need to remarry and have children.”

“This is not a conversation I want to have with you today, Mrs. Princeton.”

She took a step back and said, “My apologies, Your Grace.”

“Accepted. Now go tell Lord Raceworth that I will be down in an hour. Make sure you give him a cup of tea with a sprig of mint in it, and whatever kind of tart or sweet cake you have in the kitchen.”

“An hour, Your Grace?” her companion questioned.

“Yes. He will understand that it’s the same amount of time he kept me waiting when I was at his house and in far less generous surroundings. If he’s going to play my game, he is going to find out that he must use my rules.”