Page 28 of The Captain’s Valentine (The “Other” Trents #3)

For the longest time, Harrison and Perdita sat in Hyde Park. They did not just discuss her current situation, but family, journeys, Westbrook House, and several topics until she was ready to return home.

That was one of the things that he loved about her. They could talk for hours about nearly anything. They also did not always agree, and it was in those disagreements and respectful arguing, when she listened to him and he listened to her, that he was pulled closer to her. She was not only a friend but would make an excellent partner, a wonderful wife and a desirable bedmate.

He wanted her in his life, in his home and in his bed. Except, his biggest fear was that Her Grace would never approve of him and that when he returned from Barbados that Perdita would be betrothed to a gentleman of Her Grace’s choosing.

He was confident that Perdita would not allow such to happen, unless she fell in love with someone whom she spent more than three weeks coming to know.

Harrison’s stomach tightened.

What if that very thing happened while he was away? Did he dare leave and risk losing her?

Did he even have a choice?

He hated that he had had to leave her yesterday afternoon and wondered how her evening had gone and if she had been able to sleep. He’d noticed slight bruising beneath her eyes yesterday, not that he made mention of the fact, but no doubt rest had been difficult these past few days.

He wanted to call on her this morning, but it was not proper and would have raised more questions than he was willing to answer. So, instead, he came to his ship to prepare for the upcoming voyage, with every intention of calling on Perdita this afternoon to escort her to the tea with Her Grace.

“You and Cara are close.”

Harrison looked up from his books to find the Duke of Clare at the entry to his cabin.

“How did you get on my ship?”

“I stated that I had business with the captain. My title allows me entrance to many places.”

He would need to speak to his men. He didn’t care if the king wished to board the ship, Harrison needed to be told first.

“How may I be of service, Your Grace?”

“You used to call me Conor.”

“We were children at Eton, shared lodgings. You are now a duke.”

“True, but I miss those simpler times.”

Without being asked, Clare stepped further into the cabin and took a chair near Harrison.

“What is your relationship with Cara, Harry?”

“Miss Perdita and I are close friends.”

He would not tell Clare anything more. If he was going to approach any brother and ask to court Perdita, it would be Demetrius, or even her uncle. Despite being her true brother, and a duke, and likely the authority to make such decisions, it was more respectful to Perdita to approach those who had been raised with her.

“It is more than that. I can tell by the way you look at her.”

“We are friends,”

he said again.

“Then you have no objection to my mother arranging introductions with appropriate bachelors.”

“I am not the one you should ask. Perdita may have an opinion, as it is her life.”

“She cannot begin to understand or appreciate everything that we can offer and how her life can change. She describes a modest upbringing, but in truth, the vicar was poor and without the benefactor of another duke, the sons would not have attended Eton, let alone university.”

His friend had once been more introspective and thoughtful, even considerate of others. Had becoming a duke changed him in that he assumed everyone would want what he has and were unable to appreciate that there were other options outside his narrow view of Society?

“Do not make the same mistake as your mother, Clare.”

“What would that be?”

“She has told Perdita what is best for her, yet neither one of you have attempted to ask her want she wants, or even come to know her, or ask why Westbrook House is so important?”

“It is not any longer.”

“It is!”

he shouted. “Just because it is something you see as beneath you or anyone in your family, it is extremely important to Perdita and any attempts to try and change her or not giving any consideration to what she may want, or even give her blasted time to become accustomed to her new circumstances, will only push her further away. Tread lightly Clare or you will never get the sister back that you lost long ago.”

He cleared his throat and stood. “I have my answer.”

“What is that?”

“You are in love with Cara.”

“I am concerned with her best interest, not what suits you.”

Clare studied him for a moment. “Will you be joining us for tea today?”

“She has asked me to accompany her.”

“Very good.”

He turned and strode for the entrance to the cabin then paused. “I will think on what you said, Harry.”

“I will see you this afternoon.”

Perdita hated that she had let Her Grace anger her yesterday and she was determined to be pleasant, but still firm if that woman attempted to change her.

Thank goodness Harrison was beside her again because this was not a tea she wanted to attend without a friend.

“Cara, I am so happy you returned,”

Cadla greeted her.

It was still odd staring at a face so like her own. Maybe it would not be so peculiar if she had looked at it every day of her life.

“Captain Trent, it is a pleasure to see you again as well.”

She ushered them into the parlor near the front of the mansion instead of the back drawing room as yesterday. This was smaller, more intimate and comfortable and decorated in lavender and white and it did not give Perdita the foreboding sense that she was about to meet the queen. There was also nobody else in the room.

Had Her Grace decided not to take tea with them today, or His Grace?

“I do so want to get to know you Cara,”

Cadla said as she settled onto the settee.

She understood why this family addressed her as Cara, but it was still so unfamiliar to her ear and she wanted to look about to see who was being spoken to even though she knew that it was her.

“I would like to come to know you as well,”

Perdita ewpliws. “How is Oliver now that he has been returned?”

Cadla immediately brightened as tears reflected in her blue eyes. “Wonderful. He and his brother are back to playing together as if he had not been separated for nearly a month.”

“I am happy to hear it.”

“I am to understand that he became attached to you at Westbrook House.”

“It was immediate,”

Harrison answered. “When he heard Miss Perd…Lady Cara’s voice he turned toward her and held out his arms.”

“But he also knew that I was not you,”

Perdita quickly assured her. “There were questions in his eyes, but I looked and sounded familiar enough that he preferred me to everyone else.”

“I am just grateful that you found him, Captain Trent. I could not imagine spending my life wondering what happened to my son, the way my parents always wondered what became of Cara.”

Her smile faltered. “Our father died without ever knowing, just as my sons will never know their father, but I can share stories and I will tell you about Father.”

A pang of sadness struck Perdita’s heart. What had her father been like? Was he friendlier, or was he as superior as his wife because he was a duke? “I am very sorry for you loss,”

Perdita offered with all sincerity. She knew too well how hard it was to lose a loved one.

“What is important is that my daughter had the good sense to provide the heir and the spare before it was too late and the title went to a younger brother.”

Perdita drew in a breath at her mother’s voice. Even Cadla’s smile froze to one of politeness that Perdita had witnessed in Society too often.

“I miss my husband and my home,”

Cadla offered a little more quietly.

Perhaps Calda did not like her mother’s influence any more than Perdita did.

“Yes, well, I do not think it proper for you to reside there without a proper companion and protection.”

Her Grace took a seat in the chair at the end of the long table that sat between Perdita and Cadla.

“There are plenty of servants and as I am a widow with young children, I am not in need of a companion. They are for doddering old women.”

“They are to offer advice and friendship,”

Her Grace argued.

“I promise that if I begin to feel lonely, I will hire one.”

Goodness! Cadla was not one to be cowed by her mother, which gave Perdita encouragement that she wouldn’t be forced to do anything that she did not wish.

“I have made arrangements with the modiste to have the three of us fitted for gowns tomorrow.”

“I do not need a new gown,”

Perdita insisted. “My wardrobe is sufficient.”

“I am certain that it is not,”

Her Grace insisted as a footman placed a tea service in the center of the table. “If nothing else, you must have a proper and elegant gown for the ball when we present you.”

Perdita tried not to bristle at the instruction and slowly drew a breath in through her slightly parted lips. It was a ball and a new gown, not an arranged marriage.

The greatest victory is that which requires no battle. Except, this was not the type of war to which Sun Tzu referred. Still, it stood to reason that she would approach any discussion with Her Grace with the same attitude and if there was going to be a disagreement, Perdita would need to pick which battles that she would fight because it would be impossible to win them all.

“When is the ball, mother?”

Calda asked.

“In a sennight. That is when we will make the announcement, though I am certain rumors are probably already making their way around London.”

She then looked to Perdita.

“I have heard nothing, nor do I speak of my circumstances to anyone.”

“Not even your employers?”

Her Grace asked.

“They are aware; however, they do not gossip.”

The duchess chuckled. “Everyone gossips, Cara. Have you spent so much time sheltered in the country in a vicar’s home and at Westbrook House and not enough in ballrooms not to notice?”

“I am aware that those in Society take great pleasure in talking about others. However, not everyone engages.

“Perhaps you are correct.”

Her Grace lifted the cup of tea to her lips and sipped.

At least this visit seemed to be going better than yesterday, yet she was still not fully at ease.

But she did have a sennight to get used to the idea of a ball.

Except, Harrison would be gone before then. She had hoped to have him by her side.

“I assume the Valentines will be invited.”

If they were not, then she would not be present either.

“Felding and his wife, obviously,”

her mother answered. “They are titled.”

She then frowned. “I am to understand that a sister married the Duke of Roxbury.”

“Yes, but they are no longer in Town.

“A sister married a former military captain, correct?”

“He sold his commission before they began their courtship,”

Perdita answered.

“Yet, he is the great nephew of the duke of Danby and his father was an earl.

“Yes.”

“While your sisters have done well for themselves and elevated their rank in Society, the Valentine brothers, however…”

Perdita felt her irritation grow because if Her Grace thought to insult her family, she was not certain that she would not march right out of the mansion. “My brothers—who I was raised with, you mean.”

“Yes, of course….”

The hesitation spoke louder than her words and Perdita was convinced that if she had not asked, her brothers would not have been on the guest list, which irritated Perdita to the depths of her soul. Her Grace needed to understand that they were far more important to her than any ball or even her.

“They were a large part of your life. Of course, they will be invited, along with your aunt and uncle.”

At least she would have family by her side during what would most likely be a very difficult night.

“I will thank them for the care they have given to you as you return to my home.”

Perdita never agreed to live here.

She understood why it was expected of her, but she was also old enough to make her own decisions.

“We shall see, Your Grace,”

she murmured, which earned her a narrowing of eyes and pursed lips from the woman who had given birth to her.

“Your place is with us, Cara,”

she finally said.

“I am also no longer on leading strings,”

she reminded the woman.

“You will see, in time, that it is far more beneficial to be under my guidance than where you were raised.”

“I was quite blessed to be raised by Vicar Grant and his wife. They were lovely people and loved me as if I were their own.”

“Yes, but what they provided were barely adequate.”

“Perhaps by your standards, but not for us.”

Her Grace frowned.

“We had all that we needed and were secure and happy.”

“You were poor,”

she returned in disgust.

“Wealth does not bring happiness, Your Grace, and I can assure you, we were happy.”

“I understand you captain a merchant ship, Captain Trent.”

Cadla interrupted the exchange between the duchess and Perdita. “It must be terribly exciting.”

Perdita could only assume that she did so only to keep Perdita from walking out of the parlor. Thankfully, it did bring an end to the tension and the remainder of the tea was spent with Harrison describing his voyages, what cargo he carried and when he was due to sail again. Still Perdita was grateful when it came time to leave and experienced the weight lifting from her being the moment she stepped from the mansion.

This did not bode well for any future relationship she might have with her mother.