Yours sincerely,
Christopher Grant, Duke of Huntington.
After sealing the letter, Christopher rang for his valet. The man entered promptly, a look of concern etched on his features.
“Take this to Lady Frances Cooper at Ramsbury Manor immediately. Make sure it is given directly into hers or her maid’s hands,” Christopher instructed, his tone leaving no room for error.
“Yes, Your Grace,” the valet replied, taking the letter with a nod.
As he watched him leave, Christopher considered the repercussions of calling her to his estate at this hour. But there was no going back now.
Something had to be done for the twins. He could not bear to see them hurt like this for long.
CHAPTER5
Frances sat by the window of her room, her thoughts turbulent despite the quiet hour. Her day had been filled with the exhausting parade of suitors her mother had enthusiastically presented, each encounter leaving her more drained than the last. Of course, Albina Cooper had taken the dinner as an opportunity to introduce her to gentlemen whom she had little interest in.
One suitor after another had paraded in front of her, each one insufferable than the last. They had all seemed perfectly agreeable on the surface—well-dressed, polite, and interested in her—but none had sparked even the faintest flicker of genuine interest.
With each forced conversation, Frances felt her spirits sink a little more, her smiles becoming more strained.
Dinner had been the culmination of this exhausting charade. Albina had used the occasion to showcase Frances to a select group of eligible gentlemen, her eyes alight with the prospect of potential matches. Frances had played her part dutifully, but her heart wasn’t in it. She had felt like a puppet, her strings pulled by her mother’s aspirations.
And then there was also her meeting with Christopher. Frances did not know what to make of this new connection that she had found with him.
What would her involvement in the twins’ life look like? She was not sure what she was getting herself into, but for the sake of Lydia and the promise that she had made to her, she was willing to dive in headfirst.
It was a scary thing, though. The uncertainty. She had so easily told Christopher something that she had thought she would take to the grave.
The thought unsettled her. Was it her desperation that made her confess? Or was it something about his person that made the process so easy?
Whatever it was, it was too late now to backtrack.
She hoped that he would keep her secret. If Albina were to discover her involvement with Lydia’s departure, she would never hear the end of it.
As she looked out her window, a figure moving swiftly across the lawn caught her eye. Her curiosity piqued, she watched as the figure approached the manor, clearly heading for the servants’ entrance. A few minutes later, her maid, Anna, entered the room, an envelope in hand.
“A letter for you, My Lady,” Anna said, her voice low. “It’s marked as urgent, from the Duke of Huntington.”
Frances’s heart skipped a beat. She took the envelope, her fingers trembling slightly as she broke the seal. The message inside was clear, and she did not waste time reading it a second time.
“Anna, fetch my cloak, please.”
“My Lady, at this hour?” The maid stared back at her, stunned.
“It is urgent, and I must leave right away. It must be discreet.”
The maid did not question her further and brought her cloak straight away.
“Make sure no one ones about my departure,” Frances instructed.
She was taking a large risk sneaking out of the manor at this hour. If she were discovered, her reputation would suffer greatly. But if the children needed her, then there was no doubt about what she needed to do.
She slipped away into the darkness of the night, the carriage sent by the Duke already waiting for her outside. The journey to Huntington Manor was quick, for the roads were empty at such a late hour.
But as the estate drew nearer, doubts began to creep into Frances’s mind. What if she were discovered? What if someone saw her and reported her presence to her mother? The consequences would be severe, the scandal unimaginable. Albina would never forgive her, and the family’s reputation would be irrevocably tarnished.
But then Frances reminded herself of Lydia.
