For the Heart of a Roguish Duke by Harriet Caves

Chapter Four

Scarlet walked into the study just before the hour of three. When she had heard the Duke was back from his tour, she was certainly surprised. She also questioned why he was at Daisy’s ball at all. They did not know each other as he had not been in England for the past few years and hardly spent any time at Bentley.

She wondered what he looked like now. She had only seen him when they were children, and now he was a man. Would he have the same kind eyes and demeanor his father had, or would he be a stern duke? Things would certainly be quite different she expected, now that he was back.

I do hope he will take to me kindly and still allow me to live here. I know I have no such rights for I was a Ward to his father. Why should he take the responsibility to be my Guardian?

She peeked outside the study, but there was no sign of the Duke as of yet. Sliding her fingers along the oak desk, she reached the very worn, leather chair where the late Duke used to sit every night working on his papers. She sat down, feeling his absence greatly.

Business papers were neatly stacked in a pile on the late Duke’s desk. She smiled at the memory of her Guardian reading a book one late night, with the candle flickering which was soon to die. She had just organized the study and he had nudged it.

She came in at the correct time and stopped it all from toppling over on the candle. She learned her lesson and never would she allow a candle to be so near again. She had lit another candle for him that night and moved the papers away. He was too preoccupied to notice she had arrived until then.

“I didn’t realize you were here, My Dear,” he said, a little startled at first.

“Isn’t it time for bed, Your Grace?” she asked. “You do look awfully fatigued.”

“I will go soon. You worry too much, just like my wife did,” he gave a slow smile. He yawned. “Go along now. You should be in bed at this late hour, Scarlet.”

“And so should you, Your Grace. I will not leave until you have put down the quill, closed the ink bottle and the file.”

Scarlet was adamant. She knew her Guardian would listen to her. She also knew that he had always wanted a daughter because the housekeeper told her. It was one of the reasons why he was affectionate toward her. He could never refuse her.

The Duke was a kind man and he understood very early in Scarlet’s education that she indeed was a quite a bright girl. He had decided to give her the task to organize his papers, bills, and other such matters. He did not care that she would have access to his business files, which to some aristocrats would be very private indeed.

Scarlet was six-and-ten when he asked for her assistance. He had called her into his study one dreary morning. She remembered it well, because the day turned from plain gray to angry, thick black clouds of heavy rain. Some pink tones added to the color of the clouds.

“Your Grace, have I done something wrong?” she asked.

“No, My Dear, quite the opposite. I have had good reports from your governess. You are becoming quite a clever student, and she couldn’t have been more pleased with your efforts,” said the Duke. “You make my son look weak in comparison.”

“I do apologize, Your Grace. I will make certain I do not do as well as he.”

The Duke laughed out loud, his body shaking. He was a man of medium height and body, with striking eyes. One would say he was handsome. After his wife’s death, he wasn’t interested in remarrying. He didn’t want to forget her, he said once.

“Your Grace?”

“I apologize too. I laughed because I cannot see Alexander doing as well as he could. He may go to University, but I wonder if he would excel there. I won’t talk about him now, not when he is not here. It would be unfair.”

“Do you miss him?” Scarlet asked. She couldn’t remember a moment when they talked to each other except when necessary.

“I admit I do, indeed. Even with the troubles he gives me, I do wish he were here. We do not spend much time together as a father and a son should. That is my fault, of course. Anyway, I called you here for a reason. Scarlet, I want you to work with me.”

“How do you mean?”

“I am not a very organized man. My wife used to manage my papers and files for me, she would label them and other such work. She was the one who held my Dukedom up and kept it running. I am just the man in front.

“And now since her demise, my work has suffered. I understand you are a girl with a good education, you will be able to do this. Would you do it, Scarlet? Would you be the daughter I never had, the daughter my wife would be proud of, and carry on with what she did for me?”

Scarlet was stunned, and tears had pricked her eyes. “I wish I had a father like you, and I am honored that you would consider me for such an important job. I accept.”

“Splendid!”

And so, from that day, Scarlet would come in when the Duke was away. She would tidy up and mark every file. When he would come home, she would show and explain where everything was, she would also remind him of his commitments.

“Scarlet, I would like it if you didn’t mention our agreement to anyone, especially Alexander. Let it be our secret.”

The last time the Duke had been in here was the night before the accident. He was preparing for some interviews in London and the papers were ready for him to take. Only he was called to see his brother on an urgent matter the following morning, and he left quickly.

“Scarlet, I am away to see my brother. I won’t be long. Please inform the butler to have the driver ready for my return and we shall leave straight away,” the Duke said. He stopped then and looked at Scarlet strangely.

“I don’t know why, but I feel I owe you my happiness. You mean a lot to me, Scarlet, more like a daughter than a Ward. I only wish I could say that to Alexander. Sometimes I regret sending him away, it did break his mother’s heart and I have missed him too. Perhaps I have been harsh to him over time, but it was only for his good.” A shadow of regret passed over the Duke’s face.

“Won’t you call him back now?” Scarlet asked.

“Yes, I will. I will write to him when I reach London. I will ask him to come home straight away.”

Only that time didn’t come. The Duke’s carriage came into contact with another carriage. He was traveling up a high hill quite rapidly. The driver didn’t see the other carriage coming toward them. The driver swerved but the carriage overturned and was thrown down the hill, and into the river below. The Duke and the driver both died.

Scarlet sniffed. It was a dreadful thing to happen.

A knock on the door made Scarlet look up, leaving her confused for a few seconds. She became quite still as she gazed into the same blue eyes she had seen the night before. The man looked quite disheveled as if he had not slept all night and he seemed to be drunk.

“It is you,” said Scarlet.

“Yes, I suppose it is me,” said the man. “Are you not the one in the library?”

“I am,” said Scarlet. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he said. “This is my Manor after all.”

“Your Manor? I do not believe it. It the Manor of His Grace, the Duke of Bentley, Alexander Hargreave, my Guardian. Are you not just a guest who happened to stumble into the library?”

Alexander laughed, “I was a guest who may not be invited personally, but I decided to come anyway. I may be correct now that I think about it, are you not Miss Snow?”

“I am, then you are—”

“I am the Duke of Bentley. I am Alexander.”

Scarlet’s eyes widened in embarrassment. Last night’s frolicking with the Duke, as unknown as it was then, was still vivid in her mind. She should not have allowed it.

“I must apologize what happened between us, it will not happen again.” She couldn’t look at him.

“I must apologize for that also. If I was aware who you were, then it would not have occurred… I can’t believe it is you,” he said as he looked at her properly from head to toe.

And I can’t believe how handsome you have become.

“I shouldn’t have kissed you last night, it was woefully wrong of me. But look at you now. I cannot express my joy in witnessing your beauty, Miss Snow. I believe the last time I saw you was when you were not so tall, and still a girl. When did the duckling turn into a swan?”

Scarlet turned a shade redder. “Oh, you do flatter me. I wouldn’t call myself a beauty and I believe you just being kind.”

“Not at all, I know a beauty when I see a beauty. You must take my word for it.”

Scarlet was at a loss of words. He thinks I am beautiful. I didn’t expect that. I also think he is handsome, and very much so.

“But why are you in my father’s study?” he asked.

“I am to meet the Solicitor as are you. I regret to say but your dress is not fit for presentation. Should I call the valet?”

Alexander looked down at his attire. “I believe you are correct.” The clock struck three then, and the butler knocked on the door. “But I have no time to change now.”

“Mr. Johns,” the butler announced.

The Solicitor bowed. “Your Grace. I am pleased you could make the reading today. I wanted to get the affairs in order quite quickly.” He also acknowledged Scarlet.

“I am pleased to meet you, Mr. Johns. This is Miss Snow, but I believe you already know each other? Should we begin the reading of my father’s will?” asked Alexander.

“Yes, certainly. Before I begin, I would like to express my sincere condolences of the Duke’s death. It was most unfortunate, and he will be missed.”

Scarlet looked at Alexander’s face. He showed no sorrow or grief. In fact, he seemed to be quite cold in expressing any emotion, which she found bizarre. “Thank you,” Alexander simply said. “My father was a good man.”

“His Grace was a wonderful man, Mr. Johns. As you know, I am his Ward and have been under his care since my birth. It is with great sorrow I will have to carry this grief from henceforth,” said Scarlet.

“I didn’t know you were a Ward of my father, I assumed he had taken on an orphan,” Alexander gave her a look of surprise.

“Well, let’s get down to the Will, shall we?” Mr. Johns said. “May I sit down, Your Grace?”

Alexander directed the Solicitor to his father’s chair and found two more. When everyone was settled, Mr. Johns pulled out the Will from a large envelope and placed it on the desk. He then proceeded to take out his glasses from the pocket of his jacket and put them on.

He read out the formal part regarding the Estate that now was the property of Alexander Hargreave, the new Duke of Bentley. He explained the proceedings of the Estate and the trade his father owned.

“And now I will discuss the matter of Miss Snow, and your duties you must perform in regard to her previous status when His Grace was alive,” the Solicitor went on.

“What kind of duties?” asked Alexander.

“According to your father’s decisions, you are to keep Miss Snow as a Ward in this Manor, therefore you must provide for her all the living necessities that she is entitled to. The details are in a separate document. In addition, there are some rules he has evoked and that must be adhered to.”

The Solicitor paused and looked at Scarlet and Alexander. “I hope everything is clear thus so far?”

“Yes,” Alexander confirmed. “Do proceed.”

“Very well. You, Your Grace, Duke of Bentley, must marry by the end of the Season. If you fail to do so, you lose your mother’s Estates to Miss Snow. In addition, you must also ensure that Miss Snow marries well. Are there any questions?”

“I have to ensure that I marry by the end of the Season and Miss Snow marries well,” Alexander repeated. “Those are the conditions he has put forward?”

“It is what is written in the Will,” the Solicitor said.

I don’t believe this! How can Father put such limitations on my life? I do not like this, and I will not agree!” Alexander’s eyes were livid with rage. “This is wrong!”

“I’m afraid it is non-negotiable,” Mr. Johns said calmly. “These were the terms your father had written in his Will, and it has to be that way. Do you have any further questions?”

“Isn’t there a way the Will can be void? What if I cannot find the Ward a suitable husband or what if it takes me time to find wife? Father could not be thinking correctly in assuming I could find someone so quickly.”

“I am not ‘the Ward’, I am Miss Scarlet,” Scarlet snapped. “Besides, you cannot escape this. It is the law.”

“She is absolutely correct,” said Mr. Johns. “The Will is absolute and was signed in front of me by your father, Your Grace. Now, if it is all right, I will take my leave.”

When the Solicitor had left, Alexander stood up from his chair, and paced the floor with his arms behind his back. He stopped and gave a look of anger and blame at Scarlet. “You do understand this is all your fault,” he scowled.

“Why is this my fault?” Scarlet glared at him.

“I do not care to have a Ward, and neither do I want that responsibility.” Alexander stopped talking and seemed to try to control his emotions. “The fact that you are to receive my mother’s Estates if I don’t marry until the end of this Season, is absurd, ludicrous even. I will not tolerate it. I didn’t know Father would stoop so low as to put a clause in his Will. I am his only son, and he has no other heir. How could he do this?”

“Your father was a kind man, and he is only looking out for me. Please do refrain from being angry at him. It would do if you could respect him as much as I do. I will not hear another sour word about your father.”

As Scarlet spoke, she trembled inside with fury. She hated to hear such words about her former Guardian, and she could not bear it.

“Father always liked you, he favored you over me. He couldn’t see my goodness and he would chastise me, calling me a failure in education. Well, I showed him. I graduated with a first-class degree from University, but he was still unsatisfied. Mama was the only one who really appreciated me and loved me.”

“Your father loved you too. He told me too, just before he was leaving the Manor to see your uncle. But he had the accident, he was planning to write to you when he reached London, Your Grace.”

“I do not believe you, and why should I? Father showed me no affection in my adolescent years, why would he change now?”

Alexander breathed hard, he was fighting a demon inside his mind, Scarlet could feel it. She felt pity too. She had not seen the former Duke as Alexander had described it. Would a father really be so horrible as that? She did doubt it.

“I don’t have the answer to that, and I am sorry to hear that is how you feel,” Scarlet said to break the awkwardness.

“It doesn’t matter now. It is what it is. I suggest you prepare if we are to attend balls and other social events together. I will be searching for a wife, as you will a husband upon my approval. I can’t have you marry someone not doing well.” There was a bitterness in his tone.

Scarlet didn’t like that. Why should it be upon his approval if the man was wealthy enough?

“I disagree, and I hope you will forgive me for that,” she said. “I will choose a man who will love me, and I will not need anyone’s approval, Your Grace. But to relieve you of your duties for me, I shall search for a man who will be able to provide me a home, food, and clothes. Even a few luxuries. I will not marry a man who will leave me destitute. I hope that meets your approval.” Scarlet held her head high.

Alexander looked at her in wonder for a moment. “Quite so,” Alexander said, and then walked out.

Scarlet felt he had wanted to say something more to her, but something was stopping him. She wondered if he really did resent his father’s attention to her over his own son. But she would never know now. What a strange man His Grace is. He is nothing like his father.