Historical Hearts Romance Collection Read online

  The Duke looked at Selina, this brunette woman, for the first time properly now and raised an eyebrow.

  But she was far from being finished, “I have really enjoyed performing for you, Miss Lavender but I must say I have no interest dancing with a person as horrible and boring such as this. Now, if you may excuse me, I must go,” Selina announced and walked away from the two of them.

  In her mind, Selina was not being so much as rude but just a little blunt – it was how she had always conducted herself. In fact, it was her brutal honesty that landed her the title of being a hoyden amongst her mother’s friends. But Selina thought the Duke was being quite improper to Miss Lavender and did not want to participate in a dance with him.

  Miss Lavender laughed off Selina’s outrage as her being a passionate young woman but the Duke’s eyes remained fixated upon her retreating figure. While on the one hand, he was pleased that he did not have to dance with her but on the other, this was quite an unlikely occurrence.

  Usually, women jumped at the opportunity to dance with him and he would be the one to deny them but this proved to be the contrary. In fact, he even found himself being a little offended by this, even though Miss Lavender assured him that Selina was just passionate and cared about her craft of performance more so than propriety.

  Selina had walked off and now stood with the man with the posh accent that greeted her as soon as she entered the building. He introduced himself as Mr. Williams and informed Selina that he was usually the person who took care of Miss Lavender’s party arrangements.

  “Well, I must say you do put up quite the show,” she said to Mr. Williams, who in turn just dismissed her remarks with a modest wave of the hand.

  “Ah, hardly – the heart and the soul of it all belongs to Miss Lavender – truly a remarkable lady,” he said, “Your performance today was splendid – in fact, Miss Lavender told me to expressly book you for all her future events – if you might be so inclined that is.”

  “Of course!” Selina nearly shouted but then quickly regained herself as she realized she had let her excitement show too early, “I mean, yes that would be quite agreeable to me,” she said more calmly.

  Mr. Williams chuckled, “Very well, I am sure she will be quite pleased to hear that.”

  Just then, two gentlemen and a lady crossed by them and caught Selina’s eye. It was not that Selina was one to judge based upon material items such as clothing but she could not help but notice the duo was quite oddly dressed for an occasion such as this.

  The man was donned in a bright purple suit while the woman fashioned a rather large garland on her head that did not consist so much of flowers as it did of dried up branches.

  “Mr. Williams,” Selina started, “if you do not mind me asking, who are those people?” she said, stealthily pointing towards the trio.

  Mr. Williams let out a chuckle, “Ah – well that is the Byrne family – they are new in town and you know Miss Lavender – never missing out on an opportunity to socialize – she invited them over to the ball this evening; even though hardly anyone knows much about them,” he said, also eyeing them himself.

  Selina stared at their general direction for a few moments, opened her mouth but then closed it back up again almost immediately. But Mr. Williams had already caught gist of what she was thinking.

  “Ah I understand, Miss Selina,” he said, “They are quite an odd bunch. In fact, I warned Miss Lavender against inviting strangers – such peculiar ones, at that, - to her intimate gathering,” he explained.

  Selina nodded her head and bit down her lip, she did not want to pass judgmental opinions but just being around them gave her an odd feeling in her stomach. Still, she pushed it away at once and regarded it to be none of her business.

  The Byrne family, it turned out, indeed did not know anyone in the room as they walked from one end of the room to the other. But something in their eyes said that they were not here without purpose as Lucinda Byrne, the woman, adjusted her dress and nearly choked out the water she had been drinking as her eyes locked onto the person they had been searching for.

  “Oswald!” she said to her older brother in the purple suit by giving him a rough nudge in the stomach, “Oswald, you buffoon. Listen to me!” she pressed.

  “What is it, sister dear?” he replied rather sarcastically, scratching the side of his head.

  “I think I see him,” Lucinda replied, a smirk now playing out across her feline-like features.

  “Where?” Oswald did an entire double take at the word and his sister then pointed a slender finger towards the corner of the room.

  And there, at the end of her thin finger, stood the Duke.

  Oswald’s expression mirrored his sister’s in the triumphant expression of satisfaction, “Indeed, we have found him after all.”

  --

  The ball finally ended and Selina found herself walking along the cobble stoned path on the outside to try and find a way for her to get back home. She felt bad that she stayed longer than she had told her maid but at the same time, she was glad because Miss Lavender had been nothing but sweet to her and it would have been rude if she were to just upfront leave without notice.

  However, before she could get too far, she felt her name being called out from behind her. Promptly, she turned around but in the dusk of the night, she could not accurately tell who it was. It wasn’t until the person got closer that she realized it was no one other than the Duke.

  “Miss Selina,” he called out to her, “Are you waiting for your carriage?” he asked her.

  Selina nodded half-heartedly, “Well, yes,” she said but a moment of her hesitation told the Duke what she was hiding.

  “You plan on walking, don’t you?” he said, seeing right through her efforts of concealment.

  She nearly let out a huff, “Yes and I do not see anything wrong with that,” she said and started to walk away in the other direction.

  She did not want any more of his condescending remarks about her situation. The Duke watched her walk away from him for the second time that night but this time he ran after her.

  “Come,” he insisted but sounded nonchalant at the same time, “A young lady such as yourself should not compromise herself of the danger of walking home. I shall drop you to your domicile. Come, my carriage is parked right around there,” he said and indeed a large carriage awaited them.

  Selina felt her resolve weakening as she thought of the comfort of being transported in a moving vehicle. Despite her dislike of the Duke and his mannerisms, she found herself agreeing and stepped into his carriage.

  Selina hoped the carriage ride would pass in silence and he would ignore her existence but clearly, the Duke was in a chatty mood.

  “So, your performance at the piano seemed to be quite a hit with the guests of the evening,” he said, trying to start a conversation. This woman evoked an odd curiosity in him and this was why he had offered to give her a ride.

  She nodded, “I would say thank you but I cannot forget your remark about you not having any interest in these balls and the entertainment they have to offer,” she replied.

  “Ah, clearly you are quite sensitive if you thought that to be an insult on your part,” he said, “I was of course only expressing an opinion, as were you when you agreed not to dance with me.”

  Selina raised an eyebrow at him, “Come on now, do not act as though you were so keen on participating in the first place,” she said and this caused a chuckle to erupt from the Duke’s throat.

  “Ah – you do withhold your reputation quite well, might I say Miss Selina,” he remarked whilst mid chuckle.

  “What reputation is this that you speak of?” Selina replied quickly.

  “Do not be so mad – it is human nature to be curious and after you stormed off on us, I had an itch and inquired a little about you from my fellow party goers,” he told her, “Mr. Nott’s daughter, are you not? You left home. That is quite a bold move on the part of a single woman.”

  Seli
na nearly rolled her eyes, “I am doing exactly fine on my own, thank you for your concern.”

  “I never said that you were not,” he smirked back – this strange and yet bold woman was fascinating him at the moment, even though her snarky replies did annoy him. “You are a passionate pianist, I understand?”

  “You understand correctly.”

  “Well, may I ask, why must that pertain to you leaving your house? I see Mr. and Mrs. Nott at these gatherings sometimes – though, I must say I do try to avoid going to them as much as I can – but I do not see why they would have a problem with their daughter performing at them?” he asked.

  “May I ask to what these questions tend?” Selina fired back – she did not want to tell him about her forced engagement and decided it would be best to just divert the topic, “I was under the impression you did not want to speak to anyone at the ball earlier.”

  “Oh and were you observing me, then?” he said, sounding amused.

  “Perhaps,” Selina replied biting down her tongue, “from a distance. But only to observe how rude you were being to those women who tried to talk to you. I was actually surprised when you were remotely decent with Miss Lavender!”

  He chuckled yet again, “Well you see I have to be, she’s my aunt,” he admitted, “either way, women do not interest me that much. You can say I am rather done with them.”

  “That is quite a cynical attitude to have at your age, Duke,” she said, raising her eyebrows.

  “Perhaps, but I consider myself to be far more matured for my age,” he said, “besides I do not care for women who obviously only harangue me to get access to my money.”

  Selina scoffed, “Please! How pompous,” she exclaimed, “not every person thinks money is the most important thing in the world.”

  “Oh – does that mean you do these piano performances free of charge then?” he shot back.

  Selina felt the anger rising in her veins, “That is quite a judgmental thing of you to say,” she said, “I do it because it is my passion.”

  “Aunt Lavender was quite adamant about your being passionate,” he added as if he were recalling her words now.

  Selina had had enough though. “This is where I get off now,” she announced, “Poor Jemma must be worried sick at my being late,” she said as an afterthought with a hint of worry.

  “Well then it seems you have me to thank for the carriage ride,” the Duke said smugly, “and Jemma is your sister?”

  “Not that it concerns you in any way, but no. Jemma is my maid,” she said, but then added, “To think of it – perhaps she is the closest thing to a sister I will ever have and I am wasting my time here with you making her worry. Good day, sir!” she said and then stepped right out the carriage.

  The Duke stared off after her. There was something about this woman – that both infuriated him and amused him.

  --

  Sunlight bathed the dining room of Miss Lavender Shaw’s living room as she crossed out her legs in front of her, sipping lightly on her glass of sherry.

  Duke Joshua had made a stop by her residence for the day and Miss Lavender was now telling him about her plans of the grand family gathering that was happening towards the end of the week.

  “I am quite excited for the whole affair, really,” she told her nephew, the Duke, “It’s going to be grand! Even your uncle Thomas is arriving from Berkshire,” she announced sounded thoroughly delighted.

  Joshua gave her a noncommittal shrug of the shoulder, “Aunt Lavender, has your appetite for throwing these lavish parties not yet been whetted? I mean – the amount of money you spend on them must be enough to feed a whole small town for months!”

  Miss Lavender narrowed her eyes at her nephew, “Now do not go all philanthropic on me – you do know I also help out in the community whichever way I can. Besides, such frugality does not sound fair coming from the mouth of the Duke – how many tens of thousands of pounds was your annual income last year?” she fired back in her usual innocuous way.

  The Duke shook his head in resignation, knowing full well that it was no use to argue with his Aunt as she could be quite persistent. “Fair well, I am sure you have the entire thing planned out already. And by you, I mean, Mr. Williams,” he teased the elder woman.

  “Stop it, you,” she retaliated, “Besides – I like to think I was behind the discovery of the most successful feature of my last ball.”

  “Oh really? What feature was that, dear Aunt?” The statement had evoked the curiosity of the Duke.

  “Selina Nott, of course!” Miss Lavender replied as though it was already blatantly obvious, “Her singing and piano performance received so many compliments,” she continued, seeming proud by her discovery.

  The Duke’s lips straightened into a tight line, “Oh, her,” he said, broodingly.

  He was suddenly reminded of Selina and how unusual she had been, mostly in her behavior with him. He was not going to lie to himself – he had thought about her more than a few times since their last and only encounter but each time, it was more of a curious whim than anything. Truth was, he was not accustomed to meeting such bold yet driven women around his community. And that was both fascinating and irksome – as he recalled just how unpleasant she had been towards him.

  “Yes, her,” Miss Lavender repeated smugly, “I have also invited her forward to perform at the family gathering but this time I want the attention to be just on her. I feel she has great talent and I want to give her as much exposure as I can manage. In fact, I especially want your uncle Thomas to hear her perform – he has many connections in the music and performing arts industry,” she continued.

  The Duke appreciated his Aunt’s attempts to help out a young budding talent but at the same time, he was thinking about how they would probably have to face each other again.

  “Surely, Aunt, you must be aware of her backstory, I believe,” he said to Miss Lavender, “About how she left her house to pursue these dreams.”

  “Oh I do not pay attention to any gossip surrounding the people I work with,” she disregarded him with a wave of the hand, “But even if such is the case, good on her. I personally happen to know Mrs. Nott her mother – we have spoken a few times – and good on her parenting if she managed to raise a talented woman such as Selina.”

  The Duke realized his aunt would not stop singing praises of this girl who had suddenly been thrust into his life so he, instead, decided to swiftly change the topic. But just because they were no longer speaking of Selina did not mean that she was not still lingering in his mind.

  Chapter 3

  It was the morning of the day when Selina Nott was going to perform at the family gathering of Miss Lavender. She sat in front of her vanity and steadily stared on to her expression. She saw the woman she had known herself to look like for the past 21 years of her life staring back at her but now, she also saw the progress that she had achieved ever since moving out on her own.

  She knew that moving away had opened up a whole assortment of opportunities for her that would otherwise have not been possible if she had stayed and gotten married off – she did not aspire for marriage much like most of her age mates and instead wanted to make a career of her own, built on her passions.

  Suddenly, her train of thought was interrupted as there was a steady knock on her door.

  “Come in, Jemma,” she called out and moments later she saw the woman walk in with a cup in her hands.

  “I brought you some warm water and honey,” Jemma said to her, “For your performance today.”

  “Thank you, Jemma, please leave it at the table,” Selina instructed her, “and come please sit down.”

  Selina had meant it when she said that Jemma was more like a sister to her. In a world now where she felt more alone than ever without the support of her family, she felt as though Jemma had really pulled through and had a large hand in keeping her sane and company throughout these three months.

  “I wish I could come see you perform, Miss,” Jemma sai
d.

  “Me, too,” Selina replied, “Oh Jemma! I am so very excited! And nervous. This could be huge for me.”

  “I hear Duke Joshua is going to be there,” Jemma said biting down her lip.

  “Yes,” Selina replied suspiciously, “Where have you been receiving this information?”

  “Well – he is quite famous around town and I happen to hear about him from the other maids from other households,” Jemma admitted.

  This caused Selina to raise an eyebrow, “What have you been hearing?” she probed.

  “Oh they do not know much about him,” Jemma sighed, “aside from the fact that he is quite the handsome fellow. Oh – they all do have such admirations for him,” Jemma gushed.

  This caused Selina to smile a little – she had witnessed this first hand as the woman at the ball threw their selves at the Duke but he paid them no attention.

  “He is quite popular with the ladies, come to think of it,” she said, more to herself than anyone else.

  “Oh Miss Selina! I do so wish I could come to this party this you,” Jemma sighed once again.

  “I promise you Jemma, once I make it big, I will take you everywhere with me,” Selina promised, “To me, you are family.”

  --

  The family gathering was a quaint affair in terms of the amount of people invited in the repertoire of Miss Lavender but it was by no means any less extravagant. Selina had arrived ahead of time and was marveling at the grand piano Miss Lavender had especially brought in for her to play on when she noticed another presence creeping up behind her.

  “May I help you?” she said as she realized the person who had been lurking behind her had been no one other than the respected Duke himself.

  The Duke shook his head, “No I merely came to observe here, if you please,” he said briefly without offering any other explanation.

  “Observe what, Duke? The party has not even begun,” Selina replied back.

  “Of course no – it is not the party that I am interested in. Much more, my object of fascination lies in what goes on behind the curtain – I merely came here to watch you practice,” he said casually.