“Don’t look so happy, or your husband will call me out.” Grant laughed softly. “He’s looking at us, wondering what I’m telling you.”

  “Oh, fie!” She waved her fan. “Peter is just happy to be here. We don’t have a country home so whenever we get the chance to visit friends and relatives, he takes full advantage. Don’t mind him at all.”

  “He should be very proud to have such an industrious wife.”

  Eugenia threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, My Lord. You will be the death of me. Now, I need to leave you alone so that the matronly mamas don’t think I’m commandeering all your attention when they want their daughters to be the next Duchess of Herefordshire.”

  “Not a chance,” Grant thought. He was merely being polite to his guests because he felt that they were great hypocrites. When he was blind and starving, none of them had bothered to come and check on him, or even find out if he was still alive. Now that the estate had been restored, as well as his eyesight, he was in high demand. He was glad that Cecil took care of his social calendar, turning down numerous invitations. Grant just wasn’t ready to go and play nice at other people’s houses. At least in his own house, he could control what went on.

  Many families had made offers for him to court their daughters and he was surprised at how blatant some of the invitations were. Where had they all been in the months that he had languished in hunger and thirst, loneliness and abandonment? Only one woman had been by his side in his time of need, had fed him from her own resources and taught him how to forgive his brother. She was the only woman who would sit in the Wellington residence as duchess, and it was time for him to go and find her.

  11

  An Important Visitor

  “My dear child, I’m glad to see you taking tea at last. The tears have also faded.” Edith smiled at Alana. They were enjoying a cup of tea in the early afternoon.

  “Thank you again for finding me that job in Worcester. Mrs Maude writes that I should report in two weeks’ time.”

  “Alana…” Edith touched her niece’s hand – “you are doing the right thing.”

  Alana nodded. “I know that, Aunt Eddie.”

  “One day, all will be well.” Edith twisted her lips. Just as she was about to say something else, they heard hoof beats coming their way. It sounded like only one horse and they looked at each other. They weren’t expecting anyone.

  A short while later there was a light knock at the front door. “Come in,” Edith called.

  The door was pushed open and Alana nearly fell off her chair. Grant walked into the living room and suddenly it was too small to contain them all. She felt like she was about to have palpitations. “Breathe Alana, breathe,” she said to herself.

  Edith saw her niece’s face and thought she was about to pass out.

  Grant wanted to fly across the room and scoop Alana into his arms, especially when he saw how white her face had turned the moment he’d stepped into the house.

  “Good afternoon, ladies,” he said quietly.

  The two women scrambled to their feet and curtsied. “Your Grace,” they said in unison.

  “Please sit down.” He indicated and then laughed. “I’m sorry, I’ve gotten so used to hosting people in my hours that the habits are spilling over.”

  Edith realized that her niece wouldn’t be saying anything for a while. The poor child had it really bad for the Duke. “We’re glad that you are well, Your Grace,” she said.

  “It feels good to be able to see again, even though I have to use eyeglasses for the rest of my life. But I can see, and it’s all thanks to your lovely niece.” He wriggled his nose to adjust his glasses.

  “Me?” Alana stared at Grant in disbelief. “What did I do?”

  “You came and changed my life! You took care of me and you found my mother’s missing jewels.”

  “It was only a matter of time before someone found them.”

  “Yes, and stole them from me.” He came closer to her and took her hands. “Alana, you gave me back my life and for that I will be forever grateful.”

  Alana didn’t want The Duke to be grateful; she wanted his love. She needed him to say that he loved her and wanted her by his side forever. She tried to pull her hands away but he held fast. “I only did what anyone else would have done.”

  Grant shook his head then took off his eyeglasses and put them in his pocket. He raised his hands and cupped her face, and it was as though there wasn’t anyone else in the room with them. “You’re a kind and loving woman, Alana. Two months spent taking care of someone who has nothing to offer you and is wholly dependent on you, without getting tired or irritated by him when he couldn’t do the simplest things – that calls for a person with a very pure heart indeed.”

  “Grant….”

  “Sh!” He put a finger over her lips. “In the days when I was in hospital recovering after the surgery, do you know the prayer I made day and night?”

  She shook her head.

  “I prayed that the Lord would allow me even limited sight, just so I could behold the face of the woman who was my angel when I was ready to give up. I thought about you so much but I didn’t know what you looked like, and so I prayed that, even if it was just for a moment, the Lord would let me see you.”

  Alana didn’t say a word. He released her and turned to Edith. “My visit here was actually to see you, Miss Carrington.”

  “Yes, My Lord?”

  “Over the years, and I am thirty-three years old, I have been to many places, met very many people, but in all honesty I want to say that I have never met someone who took my heart away like your niece has. Even before I saw her, I fell in love with her. That’s the reason I’ve come to ask you for Alana’s hand in marriage. Aunt Edith – may I call you that?”

  At her nod he went on. “Will you allow me to court Alana and marry her?”

  The two women stared at Grant and he smiled at them. Finally Edith recovered, “My Lord, you are a duke and we are common people. In our lineage there isn’t even a drop of royal or noble blood – not even ten generations back.” She shook her head. “Nobility and commoners just don’t mix.”

  “When I joined the army, there wasn’t anything like nobility and commoners. Bullets and cannon balls don’t differentiate. Death doesn’t come to one and leave the other. We’re all human beings. That’s what matters. To me, you and Alana are the most noble people I have ever met. You shared your subsistence with me even when I couldn’t pay you back – when I didn’t even have a hope of repaying your kindness. That, to me, is noble.”

  Edith nodded slightly. “What you say is true, Your Grace. The thing is, for decades I’ve lived on this earth and the one thing I know is that when a nobleman decides to marry a common girl, they draw a lot of talk. You won’t be accepted to so many houses because you’ve married beneath you, My Lord.”

  “Aunt Edith, when I was injured, I was in hospital for three months in London. When the physicians realized that I couldn’t pay them what they needed to restore my sight, I was discharged. It was Horatio, our family solicitor, who tried to help me in every way he could. The family business is what made up almost eighty percent of his portfolio, and when that went down, Horatio was left in dire straits. He tried to build up as much as he could, and he was the only one who didn’t turn his back on me. Nobody would invite a blind man to their social functions, especially a destitute one. The nobility you talk about turned their backs on me and only began paying attention to me again when they heard that Mother’s jewels had been found and sold for an astronomical amount, which once again put me in the league of the wealthy.”

  “My Lord, there are many young women who are worthy of being duchesses. My niece is a simple girl who isn’t schooled in the things of gentry.”

  “Neither am I. As the second son, all I was taught was basic etiquette and in war there isn’t time for niceties. It was rough living for me for close to twelve years and so that isn’t an excuse. Those young women you mention – it’s true I have received numerous offers, and from ladies with very large dowries.” He turned back to Alana and took her hands. “Only one woman has my heart, however. She may be a common girl, but to my heart she is Queen. She was my friend for two months when everyone else abandoned me, and she took care of me like someone would their heart’s treasure. Alana, do you love me as much as I love you?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. Alana thought she was dreaming and wished someone would pinch her so she would wake up.

  “Please don’t cry, unless they’re tears of joy.” He wiped them away with a gentle hand. “You have my heart, my darling. Forever. Of my mother’s jewels, I’m sure you noticed that I kept two back.” He reached into his pocket. “This is one of them.” He slipped a beautiful golden ring with two diamonds on it onto her third finger. “I had it fixed in London after I was well, and I am glad that it fits. It’s a twin set, and the other will join this one when we stand before the minister to declare our wedding vows. Will you marry me, Alana Carrington?”

  “Yes, Your Grace, I will marry you.”

  The wedding between The Most Noble the Duke of Herefordshire and commoner Alana Carrington was the talk of the county. Those who spoke against it kept away, mocking and showing their disdain with noses turned up, not that The Duke cared at all. He had his beautiful bride beside him and Alana glowed.

  The duchy was slowly recovering from years of neglect and abuse. Its tenants, old and new (for Grant had sought out all the men he had served with, all who were in need, and gave them new homes) turned out in large numbers to celebrate and show their support for the man they greatly respected.

  A few old friends came from London, and though some left soon after the wedding, whispering that they couldn’t imagine sitting at the same table with country riff-raff, some others remained, Lady Eugenia among them.

  She was quite delighted with Alana and promised that whenever The Duke and Duchess were ready to come into society in London, she would usher them in, and anyone who thought she should do otherwise could push off.

  Grant held his new bride in his arms, not caring who was watching, and he kissed her forehead. “My darling, are you happy?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, “but I’m sad that I’ve caused people to turn away from you.”

  “Nothing new in that area.” He smiled down at her. “You are my life, we have Aunt Eddie, and my men and the other tenants. You are all the special people in my life. If anyone wants to draw closer to me, they are welcome. If not, I have no problem with that. Nobody can change how much I love you, Alana – so very much.”

  “I love you, Grant.”

  It only remains to be said that they lived happily ever after.

  I hope you enjoyed The Blind Duke, if you did please feel free to get in touch and let me know, or just say ‘hi!’. I can be contacted at books@pureread.com and will always reply.

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  Also, if you enjoyed this sumptuous short read I am certain you will also love, The Embittered Earl.

  When Lord Richard Trenton is summoned to the side of his dying wife, he is certain of what the servants only suspect: the child she is birthing is not his own. Never one to shirk duty, Lord Trenton hires a nanny for the little girl, but the baby’s presence causes him such pain that he banishes her and her nanny, Edith, to the nursery.

  Edith, familiar with the horror of abandonment, gives the baby all her love and care. Little does she know that Lord Trenton sees it all.

  When Lord Trenton is summoned to London on business, Edith overhears a conversation and learns the baby girl is in danger from one of her blood relatives. How will Edith get the baby safely away? Where will she go? And will Lord Trenton follow them?

  Read The Embittered Earl Now On Kindle Unlimited or Just $0.99

  12

  BONUS CHAPTER - THE EMBITTERED EARL

  CHAPTER 1 - The Unfaithful Wife

  Lord Richard Trenton, the Earl of Essex arrived at his town house quite late. It was going on ten before his carriage pulled up to the front door of his impressive mansion on Downing Street, a structure that owed its architecture in part to Carlton House, the Prince Regent’s stately town home.

  A restoration architect by profession, Richard loved the work he did. Restoring dilapidated buildings to their former glory not only brought him money, but fame as well. A number of European aristocrats had already commissioned him to work on their country homes. It should have brought a smile to his face but on this particular evening all he felt was rage, humiliation, and a little bit of heartbreak.

  Leaving the carriage in the capable hands of his driver, he took the steps two at a time. At the top he found Harold, his butler, who greeted him respectfully, his demeanor as stiff as usual. Richard never took it for granted that he had very loyal servants, and so he smiled at Harold.

  “Sorry to keep you way past your bedtime, Harold.”

  “My Lord, think nothing of it.” Harold bowed stiffly. He was almost sixty years old and suffered from a terrible case of arthritis, but it had never crossed Richard’s mind to retire him from his work. He would wait until the man himself retired on grounds of his health. Richard went out of his way to get Harold, and indeed all his servants, the best medical care, because his father had often told him that when servants were happy and well looked-after, they were loyal for life.

  “I already dinned with Princy, so please tell Cook that I will only take some tea,” said Richard, making for his study. It was a chilly evening and the fire was roaring away. Richard sat on the velvet chaise longue that his mother had loved. His parents were both dead and being an only child meant that he was left all alone, save for his employees.

  Sometimes he felt as though he had missed out on a lot of things because of being an only child, but then he would watch the intrigues that went on in many of the families of his social peers and he would then appreciate the fact that he didn’t have anyone to squabble with over his parents’ inheritance – for Richard Trenton I had been very wealthy indeed. The family’s rise to aristocracy had come about when his father had been instrumental in securing Britain’s interests in India.

  Having gone to India as the aide de camp of a senior military officer, Richard Trenton I had quickly realized that India offered vast riches to the shrewd man. He had taken advantage and cast his lot in with a fledgling spice company run by his good friend Watson Channing. At the time, many of his contemporaries were chasing after the wealth to be gained from exporting iron and steel back home, while others concentrated on textiles. Not so Richard Trenton I. Pay check after pay check went into purchasing more and more stock in the spice company and finally when it folded and his friend returned to England in disgrace, Richard took over.

  Because of his kind treatment of the Indian workers and servants at the military base in Pune, Maharashtra, where he served, Richard soon found out where his company could get the best spices and he began sending them in the courier bags back to England. He had left behind a young wife who was pregnant and it would be three years before he saw his first and only child. What began as some small bags quickly turned into large shipments and by the time young Richard was eighteen, his father’s company controlled most of the spice trade between India and England, and most kitchens in the United Kingdom and Europe used his spices.

  Richard and his mother joined their father in Pune after Richard Snr was discharged from service due to an injury, and that was where the young man became interested in the beautiful architectural structures of India. When Napoleon began his campaign to take over the world, Richard Snr took his wife and son back home to Britain and rejoined the army under the Duke of Wellington. When the war ended, all those who served under the Duke received titles and medals of honor for their exemplary service and thus plain Richard Trenton I became the Lord Richard Trenton I, Earl of Essex.

  When he died two years later, the title naturally passed to his son. The current earl sold his father’s interests in India to concentrate on his own professional pursuits, with the result that he was now one of the wealthiest men in Britain.

  The Prince Regent had selected Richard to be one of his restoration architects and elevated him to the position of one of his top advisers. Much as Richard enjoyed his conversations with the Prince, he often felt like an outsider among the circle of men who spent their time at Carlton House. For one, Richard rarely took strong drink, and it was often said that he behaved like a Puritan. His mother’s words to him, which he quoted from time to time whenever he felt the urge to indulge himself, were taken from the Biblical book of Proverbs.

  “Give not thy strength to women, oh my son, Richard. Nor give your ways to that which destroys kings. It is not for kings, oh Richard – it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.”

  Richard looked up when Harold opened the door to usher in Cook, a buxom and cheerful woman in her mid-forties. Hettie was Harold’s niece.

  “Hettie, I’m sorry to keep you out of your bed this late. Many apologies.”

  “Sir, ’tis no bother to your servant.” She placed the tray, on which was a beautiful teapot – one of his mother’s – a cup, and some dainty sandwiches, on the glass-topped table in front of his seat. “If Sir will not be wanting anything, I’ll leave now.”

  She curtsied and he smiled at her efforts. “Thank you, Hettie. That will be all for now. Good night. And take your uncle with you. He looks ready to drop.”

 

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