Falling for the forbidde.., p.16
Falling for the Forbidden Duke, page 16
With much belching of steam and smoke, the train came to a halt inside Edinburgh’s bustling Waverley Station. Georgina looked out of the window at the crowds of passengers rushing hither and thither, at the porters racing by dragging trolleys laden with bags, cases and trunks. Even from inside the compartment, the sound of whistles, shouting from the station staff, and chatter from the passengers assaulted her ears.
The Duke helped her step onto the platform and took her arm as people rushed by them. Georgina looked around the grand building, which was a temple to this modern form of travel, and couldn’t help but marvel at its magnificence. But the Duke was less awed, quickly retrieved their bags and hurried her out to the waiting line of hansom cabs, where drivers hustled for the passing patrons’ attention.
‘I could find a hotel first, so you have a chance to freshen up from the journey,’ he said as he helped her into a cab.
‘No, I want to try and find Olivia as quickly as possible. Can we please go straight to Dr Campbell’s parents’ home?’
He gave the driver the address and they set out, driving through narrow, winding cobbled streets. The city was just as enchanting as the station had been. Shrouded in mist from lightly falling rain, brown stone buildings towered above them, while the castle dominated the skyline and appeared to cast a protective eye on the citizens below.
They drove away from the town centre to the more modern area of respectable middle-class terraced houses.
If it weren’t for the seriousness of their visit, or their need to quickly find Olivia, Georgina was sure she would enjoy exploring this city with its romantic, almost mystical aura.
But they were on a serious mission, and Georgina needed to remember that at all times. The cab stopped in front of a stone terraced house, identical to all the others in the street, except for its brightly painted red door.
They walked up the steps, pulled the bell and waited.
‘It will be all right,’ the Duke assured her once again.
Georgina hoped he was right, but knew her agitated state would not settle until she had confirmation that Olivia was safe and her life was not ruined.
A maid opened the door, her smile showing her dimples, and gave a quick bob.
The Duke handed her his visiting card, which the maid scanned, then looked at him aghast. It was apparent that dukes did not usually pay visits to this household.
‘Would you please inform Mr and Mrs Campbell that Luther Rosemont, the Duke of Southbridge, and Miss Georgina Daglish wish to visit?’
‘Yes, of course, Your Grace,’ the maid said, stepping back but still staring in awe at the Duke, while rubbing her finger along the embossed crest on the top of his calling card.
‘Please wait here and I’ll inform the master,’ she said, suddenly remembering herself and rushing off, leaving them in the hallway.
‘I just hope we’re not too late,’ Georgina muttered to herself, pacing backwards and forwards to try and exercise away her anxiety.
The door opened. Georgina stopped pacing and turned in expectation. It wasn’t the maid, but Dr Campbell. Instead of his looking ashamed or shocked, as Georgina would have expected, his expression was quizzical.
‘Your Grace?’ he asked, his voice a question.
‘I’m accompanying Miss Daglish and we are hoping to find Lady Olivia. Is she here?’
He smiled. ‘You mean my wife, and yes, she is.’
‘Oh, no,’ Georgina gasped, taking the Duke’s arm in support.
The door opened again and Olivia emerged, wearing a beaming smile. ‘I didn’t believe it when the maid told me, but you really are here. Georgina, Your Grace, I know I told you not to follow me, but I’m so happy you’re here. Please join us in the parlour. We’re just sharing a wee dram with my new in-laws.’ She giggled and placed her arm through Dr Campbell’s. He smiled down at her as if she had said the most amusing thing it was possible to say.
They were married. She was too late. ‘When did you marry?’ Georgina asked, her voice strangled.
‘First thing this morning.’
If they had only married this morning, that hopefully meant the marriage had not been consummated. There might still be time to have the marriage quietly annulled and save Olivia’s future.
‘Olivia, may we have a quiet word? In private.’
‘Oh, yes, if you insist, but not until you’ve toasted my marriage. I am now Mrs Dr Campbell,’ Olivia said, laughing as if she had made a particularly funny joke.
‘I believe you will remain Lady Olivia, no matter what your change in status,’ the Duke said, and Georgina frowned at him. It hardly mattered, and now was not the time to get distracted by such things as titles.
‘No, I don’t want that. Mrs Campbell will suit me just fine.’
‘Please, Olivia, can we talk?’ Georgina said, her voice pleading.
‘Oh, if you insist. Will it be all right if we go into the kitchen?’ she asked Dr Campbell.
‘Of course it will, my love. This house is as much your home now as it is mine,’ Dr Campbell said, smiling at his bride.
Before anyone could say anything else, Georgina took Olivia’s arm and led her down the corridor.
* * *
The door shut behind them and the two men were left alone in the corridor. Luther was unsure what he was supposed to say or do. This situation had nothing to do with him. Both Duncan and Lady Olivia were free to make their own choices in life and did not need his approval, but he did not like to see Miss Daglish upset, and she quite clearly was. Hopefully, her talk with Lady Olivia would assuage all her worries.
‘I suppose you’ve come to reprimand me,’ Duncan finally said. ‘But you’re wasting your time and your breath. I love Olivia. She is my wife now and no matter what you say or do it will make no difference.’
Luther was about to interrupt, to tell him that it was not his place to approve or disapprove, but Duncan held up his hand to halt his words.
‘If you no longer want me to be your doctor or to care for your family and tenants, then so be it. If you wish I’ll arrange for another doctor to take over my practice and I will find another elsewhere. All that matters is that Olivia and I are together.’ He stared at Luther as if to signal that he would not be bullied, not even by a duke.
‘I have no intention of reprimanding you, and you must certainly decide for yourself where you wish to practise. I’m merely here because Miss Daglish was worried about her...’ he paused, then decided there was no point in any more pretence ‘...worried about her half-sister.’
Duncan nodded; obviously Lady Olivia had informed him of her relationship to Miss Daglish.
‘I see.’
The two men remained standing in the hallway, as if no longer sure what to say to each other now that there was to be no reprimand.
‘Your wife mentioned something about a wee dram,’ Luther said to break the silence.
Duncan laughed. ‘That she did. Olivia is already becoming a Scotswoman and she’s only been in the country just over a day.’ He indicated a nearby door.
‘How did you marry so quickly?’ Luther asked as he opened the door to the parlour.
‘I sent ahead for a special licence. That was Olivia’s idea. She said her mother was due to return to Rosemont Estate and she wanted to get married immediately before her mother could stop it. That’s why we came up to Edinburgh. I’m still a citizen of this city so could get an immediate licence. Anyway, come and meet my parents and have that promised drink.’
They entered the parlour. Mr and Mrs Campbell rose from their wing-back chairs beside the fire, matching expressions of concern etched on their faces.
‘May I present Luther Rosemont, the Duke of Southbridge?’
Mrs Campbell curtseyed while Mr Campbell bowed.
‘I believe we all have a marriage to toast,’ Luther said.
‘Aye, that we do,’ Mr Campbell said, his face relaxing. He moved to the sideboard and poured Luther a generous glass of Scotch and they all raised their glasses.
‘To the happy couple,’ Mr Campbell said. ‘May they grow old together with happiness and riches.’
‘And have a house full of bonny wee bairns,’ Mrs Campbell added.
They all drank, and a warmth flooded through Luther, one not caused by the fire in the small room, or by the liquor now coursing through his veins. This was a happy scene. Duncan Campbell and Lady Olivia were obviously in love. His parents had welcomed their new daughter-in-law into their home with warmth and affection. As a daughter, the prestige of the family did not rest on Lady Olivia’s shoulders. Her eldest brother would have to marry out of duty, but Lady Olivia had the luxury of marrying for love, and she quite obviously had done so. He just hoped that Miss Daglish could also see what was so obvious to him.
* * *
Georgina had so much she wanted to say that she hardly knew how to begin. Instead, she paced beside the coal range, which was still sending out its warmth into the small kitchen. Olivia sat at the wooden table, looking like a contented cat who had just consumed a bowl of cream.
‘Did you do this to punish me?’ Georgina finally said, her constricted throat making her voice almost a whisper. She moved towards the table. ‘If you did, then I am deeply sorry. More sorry than you could ever know.’
Olivia shook her head slowly, her brows drawn together. ‘What on earth are you talking about?’
Georgina took a seat and reached out across the table to Olivia. ‘Did you hear about what happened between me and the Duke? Did Molly say something? Is that why you ran off with the doctor? Because you were angry?’
Olivia’s lips moved slowly into a smile. ‘You? The Duke? This sounds like it’s going to be an interesting tale. Please, do tell.’
Georgina sat up straighter and withdrew her hand. ‘If you didn’t know about us, then why did you run off? Why have you gone through with this sham of a marriage?’ She leant forward once more and lowered her voice. ‘It hasn’t been consummated yet, has it?’ She hoped and prayed that Olivia would say no.
‘You are the nosy one, aren’t you?’ Olivia said with a laugh. ‘No, Duncan insisted we wait until our wedding night. Unfortunately, he’s rather moral, which so far seems to be his only failing.’
‘Thank goodness. It’s not too late. You can still get out of this marriage.’
‘Why would I want to do that?’
Georgina looked around the sparsely furnished kitchen. At the scrubbed wooden dresser with its stack of pots and pans, the blackened coal range and the small table surrounded by a simple set of straight-backed wooden chairs. It was tidy and cheerful, but far from the luxurious surroundings of Olivia’s home. ‘This is not what you were born for.’
Olivia shrugged. ‘I know what I was born for. To marry a man of my mother’s choosing. A man who would elevate her position in society, just as she did for her family when she married my father.’ She gave a resigned sigh. ‘Father never loved my mother. We all know that. He loved your mother. And I think that is why he always loved you best of all his children, because you were the daughter born out of love, not out of duty.’
Georgina stared at her sister, struck dumb by the words coming out of her mouth.
‘I always wanted to marry, to have my own home and children,’ Olivia continued. ‘But I don’t want a man to marry me simply because I am from the right family with the right breeding. And I certainly don’t want a man who has another woman in his life, one he really wants to be with, the way Father did. I want to be married to a man I love and who loves me. And now I am and I don’t care what anyone else thinks.’ She crossed her arms in defiance, but her belligerence was undermined when that contented smile once again crept onto her lips.
‘You never said anything about this before. I didn’t realise you knew who my mother was. And how could you possibly think the Earl loved me more than you?’
‘Until you joined the household, I hardly saw my father. He was always away, on business, Mother used to say. Those so-called business trips stopped when you arrived. It was then that I realised that he had been visiting his other family.’
‘Is that why you’re doing this?’ It was all starting to make sense. ‘Have you married an inappropriate man to get revenge on your father for having a...’ once again she lowered her voice ‘...a mistress?’
Olivia laughed and shook her head. ‘Perhaps my father is to blame, but only because he unintentionally taught me that I never want to be the woman a man marries because of what their families and Society expect. I want to be the woman a man marries because he wants her and loves her.’
‘But you might have fallen in love with the Duke and he with you. You didn’t even give it a chance.’ Georgina placed her hands on her stomach to try and ease the pain suddenly assaulting her.
‘No, I couldn’t, because I fell in love with Duncan.’
‘But you’ve only known him for a few weeks. How can you possibly know that you are in love with him?’
Olivia laughed, as if Georgina’s questions were a merry jest.
‘Oh, Georgina.’ Olivia reached forward and took her hands. ‘I feel as if I’ve known Duncan all my life. The moment I first saw him I knew he was the man I wanted to marry. It was the strangest thing.’
An image of the Duke entered Georgina’s mind, of how he had looked when she saw him on that first day as she emerged from the carriage. It wasn’t so much a picture as a memory of a feeling, of something significant happening that she knew was going to change her life.
‘That’s nonsense,’ she said, as much to push away that lingering memory as in reaction to what Olivia was saying.
‘No, believe me, it is not.’ Olivia sighed. ‘I’m sorry that I worried you, but we had to act quickly before Mother returned. Now I’m married she won’t be able to do anything about it. Oh, please be happy for me, Georgina.’
Georgina stared at her smiling sister, unsure what to think.
Olivia squeezed her hand. ‘I’m in love with a man who loves me. I’m happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.’
She certainly looked happy. The happiest Georgina had ever seen her.
‘I know I’ve gone against everyone’s expectations, but I don’t care. I’ve done what I want, and have chosen the life I want, not the one that others had mapped out for me.’
Georgina knew she was defeated and was now unsure what battle she was actually fighting. Wasn’t that exactly what she wanted for herself? To follow her own path?
‘If you are happy, Olivia, then yes, I am happy for you.’
‘Good.’ Olivia released her hand and narrowed her eyes in question, still smiling. ‘Now, what were you saying about you and the Duke? What did you think Molly had told me, something that had caused me to run off with Duncan?’
Georgina braced herself for what she was about to say. It was not going to be an easy conversation but one she had to have. ‘I’m afraid I have a confession to make. I did something terrible and I need to beg for your forgiveness.’
Olivia blinked in confusion. ‘I doubt you could ever do anything so terrible that it would require begging or need my forgiveness.’
Georgina drew in a long, slow breath to try and give herself courage. ‘I behaved inappropriately with the Duke.’
Olivia’s eyes grew wide, then she covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. ‘Oh, Georgina, don’t look so ashamed. What happened? Did you fall into his arms? Did he sweep you off your feet?’ She lowered her voice. ‘Did he ravish you?’
‘This isn’t funny, Olivia, and you don’t understand what I’m telling you and why. It happened before I knew you had fallen in love with Dr Campbell. You were supposed to be courting the Duke, hopefully marrying him.’ Georgina gulped in some air, suddenly feeling breathless. ‘I knew all that and yet I still allowed him to...no, that’s unfair. I can’t blame the Duke. I encouraged him. I wanted him to kiss me.’
Olivia bit her bottom lip, and to Georgina’s mortification she seemed to be stifling another laugh. Then she leant forward and took hold of Georgina’s hands. ‘I’m sorry. I can see you’re upset, and I shouldn’t be making light of what happened. But you have done nothing that needs my forgiveness, so stop worrying. I more than anyone know what it’s like to lose your head and your heart to the wrong man. I was supposed to fall in love with a duke, not a country doctor, but the heart does what it wants to, regardless of what other people and your head tell you.’
Georgina blinked away her tears. ‘You are so gracious. I don’t deserve a friend as good as you.’
‘Yes, you do. Now, when are the Duke and you to wed? I assume he proposed after he kissed you.’
‘What? No. It wasn’t like that. It wasn’t like you and Dr Campbell. We’re not in love and we certainly don’t want to marry. It was just something we did without thinking. It shouldn’t have happened and it meant nothing. If I hadn’t felt that I had betrayed you I would have forgotten about it immediately.’
Olivia raised her eyebrows. ‘Are you sure? After all, I’m the impetuous one, not you.’
Georgina shook her head, as if shaking off the very idea that the kiss could have meant anything to either her or the Duke.
‘Do you not want to marry the Duke?’
‘No. Of course not. And even if I wanted to, which I don’t, the Duke needs to marry a respectable woman from his own class, not a...well, you know what I am.’
Olivia started to object, but Georgina cut in. ‘When I discovered that you had run off with Dr Campbell I thought that I had ruined your chances of making a good marriage. I will not let that one foolish kiss ruin the Duke’s chances of making a good marriage as well.’
‘A marriage to you would be a good marriage.’
‘It doesn’t matter, as I do not want to marry anyone, ever.’
