The Duke's Love (5 page)

“
That would be lovely.
Yes
, your
Grace
,
we
would love to
have you escort my daughter and myself to the
theater
.
Will you
meet us there
,
or shall we ride together?” She asked.

“
If it is acceptable to you,
I will meet you there,
and
we can
sit
in my box.” Jake felt like
such
a fraud.
He
could think of nothing he wanted less, than to
escort them anywhere
,
and
provide
even more people
with fodder for
gossip
.
Now, he just wished he could thrust the invitation back in his mouth and pretend it never happened.
What was he thinking? He needed to plan and look around, not jump for the first female he saw, especially a female that clearly harbor
ed
no feelings for him.

“
If I may
,
I think I will join you
, B
rother. I have
no prior engagements, so I am at loose ends,
and
you know how
I do love plays
,
”
Jordan
said
with a gleam in his eyes
.

Jake raised an eyebrow of questioning at
Jordan
and wondered what he was
up to, since
his brother
hated going out in polite society.

“
Of course, Brother, do
what
pleases
you. There will be plenty of room
,
”
h
e said.

“
Splendid, then we
will see you later
,
”
Jordan
said as Sarah walked away
,
without a backward glance
,
leaving her mother with the goodbye formalities. With a few more pleasant exchanges, they went their separate ways.

“What game are you playing
?
” Jake demanded.

“
Whatever do you
mean;
c
an’t I spend time with my long lost brother?”
Jordan
joked. Jake
felt a little guilty for questioning his brother’s
motives.
After all, it
had been a long time since they had really spent time together. Of course,
Jordan
would want to get some of that time back.
Now, all of his
thoughts turned to getting through the evening ahead.

Sarah Fairchild
walked away from the Duke
of Ashbury
wondering why he had invited her to the theater.
Had he forgotten what happened?
She
certainly
remembered
,
as if she could ever forget.

She
was in her first season when the
Duke
sought her out,
and
she instantly became a success because of his attentions. Sarah loved the attention lavished on her afterwards. Men who
had
never noticed her
before
were calling. She received flowers and had dozens of callers. Life was perfect. She had her pick of men, whom would have offered for her had she shown them any attention
, but a
ll her attention was on
him,
the
Duke
.

His Grace
had courted her for a while
,
and she had hopes of an offer
,
but those were lost when his
Grace
decided they would not suit after all. He let her down easy
,
but she knew the real reason. Everyone knew the reason, which made the blow much worse. Lady Ana Carmichael caught his attention, along with every other person of the ton.

She had no way of knowing her status would change overnight once he lost his interest. No one wanted to escort her anywhere and most of the calls and visits stopped. Sarah had always blamed Ana.

The
Duke
of Ashbury and Lady Ana Carmichael was everyone’s favorite couple. The two defied tradition and hardly left one another’s company.
They were
everywhere she went and Sarah was disgusted and angry about it. She had always wanted to get back at the injustice that was done to her and to her family, albeit indirectly. She became a little nobody and it happened in her first season. The two seasons that followed were no better, with no offers or any hope of any. Her pride and reputation were damaged. She was damaged goods in the eyes of the ton. She had no hope for the future.

It did not hel
p when the Duke
disappeared for two long years.
The
papers
had
speculated on the broken engagement
, and she had
hoped he
would come to see the error of his ways and come back to her
,
but it never happened. This was her fourth season
,
and she saw no luck
of
capturing a husband
this year
, either
.
Therefore, when the Duke
issued the invitation, she
was extremely surprised
. In fact,
she could honestly say she was thrilled.
R
umors
were
flying around
that
the only reason the
Duke
returned was to marry and secure an heir.

“How dare you treat his
Grace
so disrespectfully
!” Her mother screeched as she walked into the room. Sarah rolled her eyes at the over
ly
dramatic scene her mother displayed.

“How am I supposed to treat him
, M
other? He is the reason I am in this predicament
,
” She replied evenly. She watched as her mother opened and then close
d
her mouth, finding nothing to say in return.

“It would
be to your
benefit
to show a little politeness
to him. He needs a wife and you would be a
Duchess
, then everything you ever wanted would be yours
,
”
h
er mother finally said.

Sarah thought
about that for a moment
. It was true. Having the title would gain her instant access to her dreams. It would certainly be worth the sacrifice. She would reign over the ton as his
wife and the
Duchess. Nobody would
ever again
give her sly looks and whisper
s
behind their fans at her. She could buy and live anywhere she wanted. She could get back at all the other men
who
never came and rescued her. Yes, it was worth it. Sarah decided she would play nice for now, at least until the
y were married. Afterwards, he
would be stuck with her
,
no matter what.
Smiling
as she went to get ready for the evening
, she
suddenly thought about Lady Ana Carmichael
,
who was still unmarried
,
and who would probably be at the theater as she often was.

She wondered how the Duke
would act when he saw Lady Ana Carmichael for the first time
since his
absence. She had no idea what happened to end the engagement
,
but she did not want to chance anything happening a second time. She needed
to form
a plan
,
just in case. She could not afford to go through another season without an offer of marriage. She went into her dressing room and came out dancing in anticipation of the night ahead.

Viscount
Gregory Langley studied the wom
a
n sitting across from him. They were in her father's study, sitting beside the window, playing
chess
. Lady Eliza Bainbridge was a beautiful young lady. Like him, she liked her independence. Maybe this was why
she and
Ana had become such good friends over the years. However, they were different in several ways. Ana liked the theater, outdoors, going for walks in the park, gardening,
reading,
and being in the country.
Ana
was what he considered a mouse
.
She
was
someone quiet and reserve
d
, but strong and willful when needed.

Whereas
,
Eliza wanted adventure and thr
ill
.
A quiet life was not for her.
He usually provided some of th
at
entertainment for her. Greg
ory
could not count the number of horse races she had won, the number of poker games she beat him at or the number of chess matches they played, as they were doing now. Although he
did
let her win, he also gave
her
a good game
.
She
,
however
,
would never know his secrets of letting her win. 

“D
id
you know
that
the
Duke
of
Ashbury
h
as returned?” Greg
ory
asked her
,
keeping his focus on the game. 

“Yes
,
I heard from Ana, she sent me a note this morning
,
”
s
he replied as she moved a chess piece, effectively killing a pawn.

“I overheard he is going to the theater tonight, should I tell her?” Greg
ory
asked
,
as he decided his next move.

“No. I would let her be surprised. Ana needs to face the past
,
” s
he said.

“Are you coming tonight?” He always invited her to their outings
,
but she would
probably
die of boredom if she went along.

“Are you hoping to find someone suitable for your quest?” She smiled knowingly.

“Finding a wife is troublesome business, one would think it would be easy
,
”
h
e stated.

“It would be easy if you weren’t so picky
.
You know the ton would love to see
you and
Ana marry
,
”
s
he said.

Greg
ory
looked at Eliza.
Obviously, she
did not know the full extent of Ana and his relationship and history. He was lucky Ana was even his friend.
Now, she was
like a sister to him. He loved her like a sister, which was a shame when he once thought about marrying her. Eliza
,
on the other hand, would make him a good wife
,
but she was not looking for a husband
,
so she was off his
list of
candidate
s
. Looking at her staring down onto the board, he would give all his money to know what was going through her mind
after
her last statement.

Not that he had a problem with finding women. The women he associated with were
just
not
what he wanted in a wife. “Checkmate
!
” Eliza said with triumph. Greg
ory
looked down at the game board. Of course, she had won.

“I need to get ready
,
dear
,
”
h
e sighed. Greg
ory
wished Eliza would accompany him to at least some
of his social engagements
.

“Have lots of fun
,
”
s
he said cheekily.

"By the way,
just so you know,
I
want someone more like you for a
wife." He found his words rewarding as she sat there speechless. “What are your plans for the evening?” He stared down at her, changing the subject.