But at that moment the driver ordered his horses to speed up, and the team and carriage clattered over a bridge too narrow to accommodate both his horse and the vehicle. Robert pulled back on the reins to let it pass as the lady leaned out the window and waved.
When she smiled it felt as though the sun had ventured out from the clouds and showered the forest with light. She was the loveliest creature he had ever seen, and those eyes…
Jeremy had once said that when he first met his wife he lost all interest in anyone else. Internally, Robert had dismissed the romantic notion of love at first sight. Jeremy had been in the market for a wife and Molly’s attributes were flawless. Nevertheless, Robert had been happy for his friend. The Lady Molly Todd was known for her generous spirit and quiet nature, and Robert had speculated that the two would make an amiable pair. His speculation had proven correct.
He had told his friend that he wasn’t looking for love. That statement was truer now than it had ever been. He did not have time to look for love. He was the Duke of Conclarton. He must marry a woman of impeccable breeding and character and set up a nursery.
The lady in green waved again as the carriage crossed the bridge and, reaching the other side, sped away on the road beneath a canopy of trees. Her unexpected gesture and smile stole his breath, and for a moment he believed he was incapable of drawing another.
“Love at first sight,” he said aloud.
Jeremy drew his horse alongside Robert’s, a grin plastered on his face. “The Lady in Green has made the skeptical Duke of Conclarton a believer in love. Extraordinary.” When Robert shot him a murderous stare, Jeremy laughed softly and shook his head as they continued over the bridge. “What did the lady say to you?”
“She mentioned that she hadn’t realized there was another man on the road and offered to give me blunt as well. The Lady is from the Colonies—er, the United States,” he corrected.
Robert tucked the coin purse into an inside pocket, feeling its weight press against his heart. “You did not tell me she was beautiful,” he said as they headed under the trees in the same direction the carriage had traveled. “She wasn’t beautiful,” he amended. “She was more.”
Jeremy eyed his friend. “Ah, so that is how it is. We have known each other since we were both in leading strings, and I have never seen you react this way to a woman before. Yes, she is a tempting armful, to be sure. But the ladies you have been acquainted with in the past were lovely, as well.”
“The lady in the carriage is…different.”
“Different,” Jeremy said as though measuring the meaning of the word. “It has been my experience that when it comes to women, being different is more powerful than being beautiful.”
“That is nonsense. Besides, I will never see the lady again.”
As they rounded a bend in the road, Conclarton Castle came into view near the White Cliffs of Dover, an enduring symbol of power against all odds. It had endured centuries of battle and political intrigue. Closer inspection would expose its flaws, but from a distance it rose like a beacon of strength and beauty. Light bloomed from the windows, torches flickered from the turrets in the winter wind, and music rode the breeze, announcing a ball or some sort of soiree was in progress.
“It has been over nine months since your father and brother’s deaths,” Jeremy said breaking the silence. “I assume your mother will hold a ball during the Christmas Season to end the mourning period, and I wager that half thetonwill be in attendance. They will want to meet the new Duke of Conclarton.”
Robert ducked under a low-hanging branch and winced. He had not shared his misgivings with Jeremy regarding the title. But Robert suspected his old friend knew. They were as close as brothers. “I agree. My mother has always said this is her favorite time of year and Christmas her most cherished celebration.”
“You mentioned your father’s solicitor said your family wasn’t the only one in the area concerned about their family’s dwindling assets. Is it possible your mother will invite wealthy heirs and heiresses from the former Colonies—for example, the United States—with the purpose of helping your family as well as others find suitably rich wives and husbands for their sons and daughters? If the Lady in Green is headed toward your estate, which I believe she is, it is my opinion she will have more than one suitor vying for her attention.”
Robert gritted his teeth. “Bloody hell.”
Chapter Three
Robert and Jeremy had parted ways, Jeremy to his estate and Robert to his. But Robert wished Jeremy had stayed, at least long enough that he might have asked Jeremy why the condition of the road leading to Conclarton Castle was worse than Robert remembered. Or was he just not remembering correctly?
His commanding officers had said it was normal, when surrounded by cannon fire and bullets, to embellish memories or mask realities in gold and glitter. That way they helped a man get through the blood and death on a battlefield.
Perhaps the roads had always been thus, and he had ignored their condition as beneath his worry. He had been an arrogant, indulgent fool in those days before his commission. God willing, he hoped he had changed.
He was the second of three sons, and his parents were insistent even then that, as a man of means, he should forsake the single life and choose a suitable woman from theton. He knew going to war merely delayed the inevitable, but he had thought he would have more time. His mother reminded him in her letter that his time had run out. He was to marry his brother’s betrothed. It had been his brother’s dying wish.
He reached into his saddlebags for the miniature his mother had sent to the solicitor to give to him. Lady Elizabeth Montgomery was described by his mother as a true Incomparable—slender, graceful, well spoken, and educated to the standards needed as the wife of a duke. Her blonde hair looked almost white against the black mourning dress she wore and framed an oval face. His mother had mentioned that his brother and Elizabeth had loved each other. How, then, could Lady Elizabeth consider marriage so soon? Had anyone bothered to ask her?
He returned the miniature to his saddlebags and led Trinity over the drawbridge and through the open gates. Carriages of every size and shape crammed the courtyard. Footmen, wearing powdered wigs and dressed in the Conclarton colors of red and gold, bustled about helping guests descend from their carriages. Robert did not recognize any that resembled the vehicle in which the Lady in Green had been riding. Evidently, she had not been bound for Conclarton Castle after all.
He dismissed the sudden twinge of disappointment as the result of a long journey.
“Who goes there?” A man, gray at the temples, wearing a formal butler’s jacket embroidered with the Conclarton crest, approached with the stride and authority of an admiral. Like the footmen, he wore a black armband out of respect for Robert’s father and brother.
“State your purpose, sir, or I will be forced to have you arrested.”
Robert smiled at the man who had been more father and friend than butler to him. “Winfield, it is I, Robert.”
“Is that really you, Your Grace? We had heard troubling news…” His lips stiffened and he bowed again. “A mistake, of course. I did not recognize you. The beard and long hair and your clothes… You look older, and broader in the shoulder. More man than boy. Your mother will be pleased you are home at last and order the cook to prepare all your favorite meals.” Winfield cleared his throat. “I am most pleased to see you. My apologies again for not recognizing you at once. It was inexcusable.”
