A Fiery Love for the Reluctant Duchess: A Clean & Sweet Regency Historical Romance Read online

  A long pause held, in which the Duke of Sandon considered the extent of the merchant’s request. Yes, this was a man who was unafraid to ask for whatever he desired. To have a duke dine with him, to have a duke marry his daughter. It took a very special sort of man to ask for these things and the Duke of Sandon could not help but respect him for it.

  “To be clear, Mr. Caulfield, allow me to first tell you that I greatly respect your mettle,” he said with genuine alacrity. “I have never heard of such a request. Please understand that I mean no condescension when I say this, but your request is not one that occurs between our differing stations. Again, I understand the harshness of that and please know that I mean no insult by it.”

  “Understood,” Mr. Caulfield replied, accepting the truth of it.

  “But the fact that you are willing to make such a request anyway shows me how diligently you serve your family, Mr. Caulfield. I am reminded that you are a unique man, to be certain. And I must also tell you that I did, of course, notice the beauty of your daughters.

  “While I think they thought very little of me, I could not, of course, help notice them. I do not know if it would be an adequate match. I do not know if either of them would have any desire at all to be my wife or if I should be happy to marry among your daughters. However, I also am well aware that I must marry soon if I’m to appease my mother and those around me urging me to find a wife.”

  “Is that so, Your Grace?” Mr. Caulfield prodded.

  “Indeed, Mr. Caulfield, it is so. And with that being so, I commit that I will take your proposal into consideration. I do believe the match would benefit us both.

  “I am in need of a wife and you are in need of a husband for your eldest daughter. So, if you believe that it would be a decent match, Mr. Caulfield…I consent to asking you for Miss Thea Caulfield’s hand in marriage.”

  As the look of sheer awe fell upon Mr. Caulfield’s face, the Duke of Sandon felt a sinking sensation in his gut. The sensation of an unwise commitment that would have been better left undecided.

  Chapter 5

  “Thea, my dear, come speak with your mother and I,” called her father.

  “I shall tell you the rest later, but you mustn’t leave before I finish!” Thea instructed Delia who was laying sprawled out on the bed listening intently to Thea’s story. Thea was explaining about a conversation she’d had with a bookshop keeper earlier in the day.

  Thea made her way to the door as Delia agreed to wait before going out to post her letter to another potential employer.

  Out of the bedroom and to her father’s small study, Thea was surprised to find her parents both in such a serious attitude. She worried suddenly that something grave had happened to one of her brothers or even Georgette.

  “Papa?” she asked, before looking then to her mother.

  “Sit down, my girl,” her father instructed.

  Thea did as she was told, but her wide green eyes continued to bounce between her parents.

  “Thea, my dear, how has your week been?” her father began. Thea became suspicious, unsure what this line of questioning had to do with the blank faces both her parents held.

  “It was…the same as always, Papa. Why? What is all of this about? Mother?” she asked.

  Her mother turned away, seemingly aware that Thea would not like whatever was to come of this conversation.

  “Was it really a week like any other, Thea? Was there nothing different about it?” her father prodded.

  Thea realized exactly where this conversation was heading. He was trying to gauge her feelings about the duke. For what reason? Why would her father even ask her what she thought of…

  And then, all at once, Thea realized.

  She would go to work for the duke. Her father was asking about her feelings and her parents had impressed upon the duke about their daughters’ work ethic at the dinner. Of course! How could she have been such a fool? Here, she and Delia were thinking their parents to be blind enough to consider themselves worthy of a duke for a husband to their daughter when, in reality, they were considering their daughter worthy of becoming his housekeeper.

  In a mixture of insult and relief, and utterly not wanting to go, Thea replied, “Well, Papa, you know I should like best to stay here with you. To look after you and keep you company. But I also know that the family must be supported and I am to be a part of that.”

  Mr. Caulfield seemed to light up at this response, as did his wife who turned back to Thea, appraising her with appreciation.

  “So, you consent?” her father asked.

  Thea’s eyes filled with tears. “I do not wish to be parted from you, Papa…”

  She tried to finish her sentence, to give her willingness, but she could only choke on her unexpected sobs. Mr. Caulfield came around the desk and drew her into his arms while her mother rested a hand on her shoulder.

  “We wish for nothing such as being parted from you, my darling, but this is best for our family and, truly, you will come to see in time that it is best for you,” he assured her.

  “I know, Papa. And that is why I agree. I will work for the duke if that is what you wish,” she finally managed to say.

  The air in the room stilled and Thea felt her mother’s hand draw back quickly. Her father pulled away and looked at her with stern confusion.

  “Work?” he asked uncertainly.

  Thea blinked away her tears and looked between her two parents.

  “Well, yes, isn’t that what we are speaking of? You wish for me to go and work for the duke as a housekeeper,” she stated.

  “I fear, Thea, that you have misunderstood our intentions,” Mr. Caulfield said cautiously.

  “Then what could you possibly mean, Papa? First, Delia and I thought you and mother wanted one of us to marry the duke but that is an impossibility. It must be that you wish for me to be employed by him,” she reasoned.

  “Oh dear…” her mother said, rushing from the room. “This is a conversation best had between father and daughter.”

  Thea watched her mother exit before turning her eyes back to her father who still had one arm around her.

  “My dear, Thea, you and your sister were correct the first time around. It is my desire that you should marry the Duke of Sandon,” her father explained.

  Another feeling settled in Thea. It was frustration.

  Why would her parents bother to call her in here to discuss something so unrealistic as this? Why were they even trying to consider it? Was it fair of them to raise their own hopes when it could never happen?

  “Papa, I ask you to be reasonable. You know as well as I that a nobleman cannot marry a commoner like me. It simply isn’t done. Please, Papa, do not get Mother’s hopes up so,” she begged, speaking to her father as if he were an unreasonable child. It felt wrong, patronizing to speak to him thus, but she could not understand her father’s words. Why would he think that the duke would ever agree to this?

  “Thea, you do not understand me. It is already settled. This is not a mere hope or nonsensical dream. This is an agreement which I have made with the duke himself. He has promised to allow this, to make it happen. He has assured me that he will have you for his wife,” her father explained.

  Thea stared blankly at her father before a spurt of incredulous laughter escaped her lips.

  “Papa. You mean to tell me that you are being honest? That the Duke of Sandon has consented to marry me? That I am to be the wife of a nobleman for whom I feel nothing but pity for his arrogance and meaningless life?” she asked forthrightly.

  “Meaningless? Thea, what a terrible thing to say!” her father insisted.

  “Papa, do not make me do this!” she begged.

  “You must, my dear. I promise you that you will be glad for it one day. The duke will bring you a great fortune. You will be taken care of, looked after. You will want for nothing,” her father insisted.

  “I shall want for you! I shall want for this life where I am your daughter and I am free! I shall
want for the simplicity of our circumstances, where I am not paraded before fashionable society as a thing to behold. Please, Papa, please! Do not make me marry him,” she continued to plead.

  “I am sorry, Thea. I do this out of love for you and nothing else. I do this because I know it is what is best for you. I do believe that in time you will come to see that the duke is a good man. He was willing to marry well beneath his station because he deems you worthy of that,” her father added.

  “I’m sorry, Papa. I cannot stand this!” Thea cried.

  Running from the room, she heard her father’s voice as it called after her, while her mother rushed to follow her footsteps. But soon Thea was out of the house and through the small gate that protected their garden. She made her way onto the street and continued at her pace, however exhausted she was becoming.

  Soon, Thea had made it to the other end of the crowded little town where her dear friend Miss Margaret Davidson lived.

  Thea knocked on the door and Margaret’s mother, Mrs. Davidson, opened.

  “Thea, good heavens! What is it?” she said.

  “Forgive me, Mrs. Davidson, but is Margaret home? I must speak with her at once,” Thea insisted.

  “Of course, but is everything alright?” she asked before immediately calling, “Margaret!”

  “Yes, Mrs. Davidson. I simply need to speak with Margaret urgently,” Thea said again.

  Coming down the stairs, Margaret appeared in her pale pink dress with her hair in golden ringlets. She had a petite face that framed around an upturned nose giving her a slightly piggish appearance.

  “Mother, what’s it- oh goodness, Thea, are you sweating?” Margaret laughed as if in horror.

  “Margaret, please, come speak with me,” she begged.

  Margaret’s face mirrored her mother’s with equal concern and anxiety.

  Thea grasped Margaret’s arm and pulled her out the door.

  “Good heavens, Thea!” Margaret said, sounding just like her mother.

  “Listen to what I have to say before you find yourself annoyed at me for urging you outside,” Thea scolded.

  “Alright, but don’t keep me out here for long. The sun will cause me to freckle,” Margaret complained.

  “Margaret, have you heard of the Duke of Sandon?” Thea asked.

  “Sandon? I don’t know. Oh wait, is he the one who just built a new home on that piece of land that cost more than our entire town makes in a year?” Margaret asked.

  Thea rolled her eyes. “The very same.”

  “What of him?” Margaret asked.

  “You’ll not believe me. But I promise you it is the truth. The direst, most awful truth!” Thea exclaimed.

  “Out with it then, Thea! None of these theatrics. Just tell me what on earth is so dire?” Margaret demanded.

  “I’m to be married to him…” Thea spoke flatly, suddenly frozen in place with her eyes locked on the blue sky fading into darkness in the west.

  By the sudden silence, she sensed that Margaret was dumbfounded or disbelieving.

  “Come on now, Thea. This is not the sort of joke that will elicit a laugh from me,” she warned.

  “If only it were a joke. But Margaret, it is the truth. My parents have already promised me to him. And I cannot for the life of me understand why he accepted,” Thea said with a quiet sob.

  “I’ve not seen you in a week, Thea. I heard a nobleman came to town days ago to meet with some family. I had no idea that it was yours and would come to such a resolution” Margaret said, concerned.

  “I don’t know. Perhaps I was ashamed. Ashamed that my father should let a man like that see our home. Ashamed that our neighbors might consider us to be the sort that seek wealth through connection. Ashamed that my father might desire me to marry a man so high above our station and embarrass himself when that great man refused.

  “And yet, for some strange and unfathomable reason, the duke accepted. He actually desired my hand, Margaret. Or maybe not desired, but saw some benefit in it. And what benefit could he possibly gain? Does he think he will be perceived as having acted upon some charity?” Thea wondered aloud.

  “Thea, this is an incredible thing that has happened to you,” Margaret pointed out, seeming to not conceive how it was difficult for Thea.

  “Incredible? Margaret, he is arrogant. He looks down on us. Would you wish to be married to a man who looked down upon your family and your circumstances? I don’t know what to do. I do not think I can marry him. I have to run away. Will you help me? Please?” Thea begged.

  “Are you mad? Help you run away?” Margaret replied in surprise.

  “Of course! I know it won’t be easy, but it is possible. Delia has been waiting here for an offer as a governess, but what if I go out on my own? What if I make my way and journey until I find some employment? Perhaps even as a housekeeper. I could do it. You know I could. I just need your help to arrange my transportation,” Thea urged.

  “Thea-”

  “Please!” she pleaded desperately.

  “Thea,” Margaret said calmly. “Breathe. You ought not to stress yourself like this. I understand that you are upset. You’re quite right. I shouldn’t like to marry a man who looked down on me or my family either. But this is an amazing thing that has happened to you.

  “You have an opportunity here. And you would be a fool to turn it down. It is time you consider marriage. It is time you consider what it would mean to your family and for your own future,” Margaret said reasonably.

  Thea could not deny the truth of her friend’s words. She had little choice in the matter. There was nothing more that could be done to prevent what had already been arranged.

  Thea would have to marry the Duke of Sandon.

  Chapter 6

  “You seem in a different mood today, Son,” the Duke of Sandon’s mother noted as she sipped her sherry in the parlor.

  “Indeed, Mother, I am,” the Duke of Sandon replied. “Did I tell you that we have finalized the majority of the furnishings for the new home?”

  “No, you did not. I suppose I’m unlikely to ever be invited over for a visit,” she said woundedly.

  “Of course you shall, Mother. But you do keep insisting that I must take a wife and I should like her to have a home of her own making rather than one made by my mother,” he reminded her.

  “Oh, poppycock. It is well known by now that you shall take no wife. You continue to tease me so, assuring me that the season is coming and you will find a wife then. I do not trust you anymore, Son. If you were going to find a wife, you would have by now. All the eligible young ladies have off and married. I know of none of our rank who have a daughter coming into society this season,” she complained.

  The Duke of Sandon smirked to himself, delighted that she was already worked up.

  “Then surely, Mother, you will not believe me when I tell you that I have made an advance? That I have spoken to and made arrangements with a gentleman to marry his daughter and make her my wife?” he teased.

  His mother set the sherry on the table beside her cushioned chair.

  “Do not tease me so, Son. You know I do not take kindly to it,” she warned.

  “I am not teasing you, Mother. It is true. I have asked the young woman’s father and he has approved. We are to be married, although there are still a great many details to discuss,” he added.

  “Oh my goodness,” his mother said, clutching at her chest as if she might keel over there and then. “Do you mean to tell me it is true then? You are finally intending to marry?”

  “Indeed, Mother. I am soon to marry,” the Duke of Sandon confirmed, thinking about the beautiful but otherwise unimpressive Miss Caulfield.

  “Oh dear! Do tell me about her. What sort of young woman is she? Beautiful, I expect. And her father, who is he? Someone from the club? Or one of your gentleman’s societies?” she prodded.

  “Oh no, Mother, nothing of the sort,” he said casually.

  “Nothing of the sort?” she asked in be
wilderment. “What do you mean by that? What does ‘nothing of the sort’ mean?”

  “It means that I did not meet him at any gentleman’s club or society,” the Duke of Sandon replied, drawing out the confession until his mother was already at her wits’ end.

  This would be worth every agonizing moment. No matter how he longed to see her shock and horror, the Duke of Sandon was frustrated beyond the telling of it and wanted her to rage at his spitefulness.

  A sense of shame flooded the Duke of Sandon’s breast. He had made this decision to wound his mother and might end up paying the consequences, or worse, forcing Miss Caulfield and her family to suffer as a result. But he could not bear his mother’s nagging any longer.