Page 35 of My Secret Duke

T he first opportunity Olivia had to speak with Ivo was the supper dance the next evening. They had a house full of guests, and Olivia was charged with seeing that the food on the tables did not run out. She couldn’t imagine an army demolishing what was laid upon the groaning tables, but she did her duty until she was able to slip away. She had not seen Ivo since their night at the Longhursts’, and while she was looking forward to it, she was also dreading the awkwardness of it.

What did you say to a man who had lain with you and pleasured you? A man you had fallen in love with, seemingly against your will and your better judgment?

She discovered, when Ivo came to ask her to dance, that you made polite chitchat.

“Your mother must be pleased,” Ivo said, looking about at the crowd.

“They’re probably only here in case there’s another scandal.”

He laughed, but he was watching her, his green eyes mapping her features. He was thinking of their night together, and Olivia looked away, aware that her cheeks had heated and were probably bright red.

“Olivia,” he whispered, “there’s no need to be embarrassed. Not with me. I think you are perfect.”

It was sweet. She looked back, and this time, she met his gaze. He looked as if he wanted to kiss her, and at the same time hold her fast in his arms, safe from the world. Her hand trembled in his, but instead of saying the things she wanted to, she blurted out, “Is it time for another dare?”

He frowned, and there was a moment of silence as they continued to dance. Perhaps he wasn’t going to answer. A glance across the room showed Justina and Roberta staring at her meaningfully, as if willing her to speak the words that were burning the tip of her tongue.

I love you, Ivo.

“Ivo…”

“Olivia,” he began, “there is something I want to ask you. Not a dare, exactly, but it could be if you prefer. Although you may consider it far too colossal to be considered a… Well.” He laughed awkwardly. By now, the music had stopped, and they were standing in the middle of the room staring at one another.

“What is it?” she asked. Excitement burst like fireworks inside her. Was he going to declare himself? It felt as if he was. Please, please, let it be so.

His throat moved as he swallowed. “I know you said you could not consider me as a suitor, and I respect that. I understand. But lately, I have felt as if you might have changed your… That is, although you said no that time, I want to ask you again because I…”

As his words tailed off, she almost groaned aloud with frustration.

The words burst out of her. “Ivo, you’re right. I did say no, but things were very different then. Now I… I think I…”

He must have read something in her face, because his own lit up, and he leaned down as if he might kiss her, right here in the midst of the guests, with her family’s eyes upon them. “I love you,” he whispered. “So much, Olivia. I dare you to marry me.”

It was a marvelous moment and typically Ivo. To ask her here and now. Her lips trembled as she smiled, her eyes filling with emotion. She wanted to scream “Yes,” but it seemed worthy of more than that. She needed to choose her words.

But before she could speak, there was a scuffle at the door. Distracted, Ivo turned his head to look in the direction of the sounds, which were getting louder.

Olivia followed his gaze. She saw Humber, an expression on his face she hadn’t seen since the night the prince’s horse went missing. Behind him were several men in uniform. One of them was Freddie Hart.

Humber raised his voice above the music. “Gentlemen. This is inexcusable. If you would wait outside, I will fetch His Grace, and you can discuss the matter with—”

He was ignored. One of the soldiers brushed rudely past him, and Freddie followed. The music, which had been about to start again, came to a discordant stop, and everyone had turned to stare.

“We are here for the Duke of Northam,” the soldier said in ringing tones. “Apologies if this is inconvenient, but we are on official business.”

Beside her, Ivo had frozen. His gaze was on the uninvited guests, and he looked as shocked as everyone else. He had been holding her hand, and now his grip tightened almost to the point of pain before he abruptly released her.

“Ivo?” she breathed.

Gabriel was insisting in a gruff voice, “What is going on here? Freddie?”

Freddie bowed to the assembled guests, a regretful expression on his face. “Apologies, Your Grace,” he said to his friend in a strangely formal manner. “I have been seconded to the Customs Office, and I am here at the behest of Lieutenant Harrison.” He nodded to the officer beside him. “He and his men are revenue officers stationed in Kent.”

Something unspoken passed between the two men. They had known each other since childhood, and Gabriel trusted Freddie with his life. But that didn’t explain what was going on.

Lieutenant Harrison spoke up, loud and determined. “We are here to take Northam in for questioning.”

Somewhere among the guests, Ivo’s mother cried out, while there were gasps of surprise and demands to know what was happening. Olivia’s head swung back to Ivo. “What is happening? Ivo?”

His gaze came to rest on her face, reading her distress and concern, but instead of explaining, she saw him make the decision not to tell her. “Nothing to worry about,” he said in that infuriating way that men did when they thought they were being protective. Then he patted her hand in a brotherly fashion, and walked away. She might have followed him, she was angry enough to, but Charles suddenly appeared, and he prevented her by taking her arm in a firm grasp.

“You will only make it worse,” he said with an apologetic grimace. “Freddie is there, and he will take care that nothing occurs that is outside the law.”

“But what is happening?” Olivia looked for Ivo, who had now reached the soldiers. Justina slipped an arm about her waist, but even her calming presence did not help.

“Your Grace,” the lieutenant’s voice rose, easily heard above the chatter. “You are to come with us to answer charges under the Customs Act.”

“What charges?” Gabriel challenged, looking from the soldiers to Ivo. “This is ridiculous! You are interrupting a private gathering for God’s sake!”

“Bringing contraband into England. Smuggling.” Lieutenant Harrison answered with a self-righteous look on his face. He reminded Olivia of a man at the end of a very good meal.

The murmur throughout the room rose to a roar as Ivo was surrounded by the soldiers and led from the ballroom. Crying out, the Dowager Duchess of Northam tried to reach him, but her daughters held her back, just as Charles had held Olivia back.

Olivia was shocked—Ivo arrested for smuggling?—and yet now that the moment of his arrest had passed, she was not as shocked as she should be. If anyone was going to be involved in such a risky venture, then it would be Ivo. He had even told her that Whitmont was an area famous for its smugglers, and that his family had been there for centuries. Of course they would be involved in smuggling.

Charles had followed the arrest party outside but soon returned. He went straight to Gabriel, and the two men conferred in quiet, serious tones.

“How dare they!” That was Ivo’s mother, her daughters on either side of her, all looking anxious. “Someone must do something. Immediately!” She glared about her, as if expecting some knight in shining armor to step up and volunteer his services.

Gabriel would know what to do. Olivia hurried over to him, joined by Justina, who wanted to know what Charles had heard from Freddie. When Charles turned to her sister, there was such a look of tenderness in his eyes… Olivia knew then that what was between them was more than an infatuation. They were a couple.

“Freddie says he can help a little,” Charles explained, “although he has a position to maintain. The important thing is he’s on the spot to make sure none of the revenue men overstep.”

Gabriel frowned. “Do you think they will?”

Charles shrugged. “I hope not, but Harrison seems to have a grudge against Northam.”

Gabriel considered this before adding, “Arnott might be able to help.” That was when he noticed Olivia’s presence, and his frown deepened. “I think the ladies should carry on with the dance. We should behave as if we have no doubt whatsoever of Northam’s innocence, and that this is just an annoying mistake, which will soon be rectified.”

Olivia opened her mouth, but Adelina, who was standing behind her, spoke first. “It is a mistake. He is innocent.” She desperately searched their faces. “Isn’t he?”

Gabriel responded reassuringly. “We’ll do our best to see your brother released as soon as possible, and with the least amount of gossip.” He looked about at the guests, who were agog with excitement, and his expression turned resigned when he met Felicia’s outraged stare. “I’m sorry your send-off has turned into a circus.”

After her mother’s actions during Justina’s coming-out ball, Olivia thought tonight was probably well deserved. All the same, there would be talk. She waited for the usual rush of dismay, that this was yet another nail in the coffin of her family’s endeavor to be respectable. Another scandal that would sweep them back to seclusion at Grantham. But instead, to her surprise, the full force of it did not come. Even the uncomfortable vision of a cartoon of Ivo being dragged away only made her slightly uncomfortable. She would not allow strangers to rule her life, not anymore.

It was because she loved Ivo. He had been about to ask her to marry him! Yes, he might have broken the law, and Olivia might think him a reckless fool to have risked so much for a few bottles of brandy and a lace handkerchief. But she would wait until he was home, safe, before she told him that. Smuggling was not something she knew a great deal about, so she could not know how deeply he was involved. Could she marry a smuggler? Would he agree to stop if she asked him? She thought he would, but if there were decisions to be made, they would make them together.

Humber was lurking in the background, and Gabriel instructed him to fetch Mr. Arnott and inform him of the situation with the Duke of Northam. Humber pushed his way through the guests, who sounded like a hive of angry bees.

“We will soon sort this out,” Olivia’s brother said. Did he look at her a little longer, as if he knew…?

“I think Felicia has had her send-off.” The dowager had arrived to join them. “And a memorable one it was too.” Her dark eyes flashed. “Olivia, a word.” She headed toward her favorite sitting room.

Olivia wanted to make some excuse. This was definitely not the time for a confrontation with her formidable grandmother, but when was the right time?

As soon as the door was closed, the dowager began to speak. “Viscount Carey has proposed to the Fletcher girl. You remember? The wallflower. Northam danced with her not so long ago. It seems he prefers a mouse for a wife.”

She looked disgusted, and Olivia sat down beside her on the sofa. “I am surprised,” she admitted. “We seemed to be getting on well.”

“You didn’t give him enough encouragement. Such a pity about Prince Nikolai,” she mused. “I have tried to keep in touch, but lately, he has not responded to my messages. He has distanced himself from us, and I don’t blame him. It is a great pity though.” She smoothed the sleeves of her gown rather viciously. “I did my best to prepare the ground for you.”

Olivia knew the time had come to be honest with her grandmother. She knew if she wasn’t, there would be another suitor trotted out before she could draw breath. “I didn’t want to marry the prince, and he certainly didn’t want to marry me. We are too dissimilar, and I could never live up to his standards. I’m sorry, Grandmama. I know such a match would have meant a great deal to you and the family.”

The dowager looked at her coldly, and Olivia awaited a tongue-lashing about ingratitude, but then the elderly woman sighed. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. “You are probably right,” she admitted reluctantly. Her eyes opened again, and she seemed to be staring into the past. “His father was just the same. High in the instep and thoroughly dislikable. Niki was brought up by his grandfather, and I had hoped he would take after him. Such a delightful man. But unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be the case.”

“You knew his grandfather?” Olivia prompted curiously. She remembered the scandalous things Felicia had said, and wondered if there was any truth in them.

The dowager’s dark eyes fastened on her, and she hesitated, but then seemed to decide why not ? “Yes, I knew him well. You may find this shocking, but I was in love with Nikolai’s grandfather. We had an affair.” She waved a hand to stop Olivia replying, not that she could have. She was too surprised to say a word.

“You see, I was very unhappy at the time. My husband was more interested in his mistresses than me, and I already had my son, Harry, so I decided to seek my pleasures elsewhere. I even considered divorce. Niki’s grandfather said he would take me to his country if I ran away with him. He painted a lovely picture of us together in his castle, with the fire roaring and the snow falling outside. I found it all very… tempting.”

As the dowager reminisced, she looked younger and less tired. Knowing the difficult life she had had with her husband and then Harry, Olivia wondered why she had not left Grantham behind and run off with her true love. She almost asked the question, but her grandmother anticipated it.

“In the end, I decided I could not abandon my life, not after I had worked so hard to become the Duchess of Grantham. I had my son to consider too. I knew my husband would have been furious with me and would have taken steps to ensure I could never return. Did I really want to leave Harry in the hands of a disinterested father and possibly never see him again?” She smiled faintly. “You see, Olivia, when I married, I married the life of a duchess. It was my life. So I stayed and let go of my dreams.”

Olivia imagined that turbulent time in her grandmother’s life. “Did you ever regret your choice?” she asked quietly.

The dowager smiled. “Not at all. I am not one for regrets. I have lived my life as I chose, and he married someone far more suitable. It was a momentary madness that would probably have fizzled out and left us with no way of escape. Now I shudder to think of having been trapped in that castle.”

Olivia had felt the same when Nikolai described it to her. She took a deep breath. “I admire you so much, Grandmama. And I have tried to be like you, to be guided by you. I thought that was what I needed to do. My—my destiny!” She smiled, and her grandmother nodded for her to continue. “But no matter how hard I try… It’s as if something perverse inside me refuses to follow directions.”

The dowager eyed her consideringly. “You are more like Harry than I thought. He was always headstrong. If there was a right way and a wrong way, he would always choose the wrong. I tried to counsel him, but he would never listen to me.”

Did Olivia want to be more like her father? She wasn’t even sure that was true. She could not imagine marrying one person and then forgetting about it and marrying another. And she would never squander a fortune on her own pleasures and leave her family in penury.

“Never mind the past,” the dowager said, seeing Olivia’s distraction. “Let’s look to the future.” She held out her hands, and Olivia went down on her knees at the old woman’s side. Cold fingers wrapped around hers and squeezed reassuringly. “I expected too much of you. I thought you would take over the reins of Grantham when I am gone. You are a good girl, Olivia. You have looked after your sisters and shone when it counted, but you will go your own way when it comes to marriage.” Her lips twitched. “Perhaps one of the others will be the one to shoulder the burden of the Ashton family?”

It was a relief to hear it. Olivia bit her tongue to keep from sharing her thoughts for her future. Her grandmother was being very generous, but she did not think her generosity would stretch to the Duke of Northam.

The dowager spoke again, in an affectionate tone of voice. “Whatever you do, I know you will do it in a way that makes me proud.”

The praise was unexpected, and perhaps undeserved. Olivia felt her eyes well up with tears. Was her grandmother really setting aside the ambitions she had for her eldest granddaughter? Or perhaps she was just tired of fighting to turn her ramshackle family into something they refused to be.

When the dowager spoke again, she had shaken off her sentimental mood. “I will be returning to Grantham tomorrow.”

The silence between them lasted a long time. Her grandmother’s fingers relaxed in hers, and when Olivia looked up, she realized the dowager had fallen asleep with a smile on her lips.