Page 10 of Moonstone Angel
And yet, not when she had actually done something wrong. She still could not get over how forgiving he was about suitable drinks for himself. “Your Grace, you could have paid someone to fight in your stead. Why did you not come home after your grandfather died and you stepped into the title?”
He shrugged. “It is very hard to leave when those who have braved the battlefield at your side for years are still out there facing peril. I’m not sure I can explain it. I know my life would have been far more comfortable back in England, but I did not have the heart to leave behind these men who had become like brothers to me.”
He poured a glass of cider for himself as their meal was finishing. “Now, I need answers from you. How did you come to be my grandmother’s companion? You seem to have a comfortable home here. Why did you leave it for London?”
She contemplated hiding the truth from him, but even her aunt was resurrecting her broken betrothal. It would be a matter of a day or two before he heard the gossip which was too juicy to pass up. Moonstone Landing was a quiet village, and herfaux paswas the most exciting thing that had happened here in years.
He needed to learn the true story from her first. “I came to London because of a broken betrothal.”
His eyes rounded in obvious surprise, those silver orbs suddenly intent on her. “What happened?”
She put a hand to her cheek as though this mere action would prevent her face from turning red with embarrassment. “My parents died when I was sixteen.”
“I’m sorry.”
She was surprised by how sincere he sounded.
Well, he wasn’t a bad sort, just arrogant.
“Thank you. My Aunt Lettie and Uncle Joseph took over care of me. I inherited this house from my parents, but my aunt and uncle moved in here with me because I was too young to live by myself. It was only meant to be temporary…and it was, for they have their own apartment above the tavern. But the view is quite nice here, and it is a lovely cottage.”
She shook her head. “But I digress. It wasn’t long before a squire’s son from the neighboring village took an interest in me. He was a very nice young man, and everyone encouraged me to marry him.”
She glanced at the duke, waiting for him to say something.
He merely sipped his cider, his gaze fixed on her.
“I did not handle the matter of our betrothal very well. I accepted him, but almost immediately regretted it. I did not love him. Oh, I know most people scoff at the notion of love. But it was important to me. It still is.”
“What did you do?”
“Everyone was so happy about the upcoming wedding, I could not find the strength to disappoint them. But as the day drew closer, this feeling ofwrongnessgrew inside me. The morning the ceremony was to take place, I stood in the rectory and that feeling hit me again…like a roof collapsing atop my head. I could not walk through that door into the chapel. I told Harlan that I would not marry him.”
“Let me guess,” he said with a soft groan, “your Harlan did not take it well.”
“Can you blame him? What I did was awful. I should have told him months earlier, but I could not muster the courage. He rode off in a temper, and no one saw him for days. The rumor then started that he had broken it off with me. I did not refute it. After all, what I did was cruel, and he deserved to be left with a little dignity.”
She glanced at the duke but could not tell what he was thinking.
He took another sip. “How does he feel about you now?”
“Relieved we did not go through with the ceremony, I expect. He is happily married. But after that broken betrothal, my aunt and uncle decided I ought to go away to London for a little while. Another uncle of mine is a barrister there, and I stayed with him and his wife. That is how I met your grandmother.”
Duchess Anne smiled at her. “We met in Hyde Park one day and got to chatting. We had such a lovely time, didn’t we Cara?”
She nodded. “We started meeting daily after that, weather permitting. When I did not see your grandmother for several days, I grew concerned and called on her at her home in Ridley Square. I know it wasn’t proper form at all, but those were beautiful days, and she should have been in the park. I was afraid she had fallen ill.”
“Which I had,” Duchess Anne interjected. “Cara asked what she could do for me. No one in the family had bothered to come around to see me or so much as send a note asking after my health. Cara’s visit was just what I needed. Coincidentally, I had just received a letter from you, my dearest. So, I asked her to read it to me.”
He frowned. “Really? A stranger? I might have written something sensitive.”
Cara tried not to glower at him, but she was never much good at hiding her feelings. “I never would betray a confidence.”
“Indeed, not,” Duchess Anne intoned. “When you get to be my age, you develop a good sense of people. I knew Cara was trustworthy the moment I met her. When poor Dierdre could no longer serve as my companion, I asked Cara if she would consider the position.”
“I readily accepted. I’d stayed long enough with my aunt and uncle and knew it was either return to Moonstone Landing or take on the role of companion to your grandmother. I was not ready to return home.”
“We’ve had fun together, haven’t we, Cara dear?”
