Chapter 1
Edward Carlisle yawned as he left his carriage, and walked the short distance to the front door of his late father's townhouse in Belgravia, which had been opened for him by the butler.
After greeting Jenkins he gave him his hat, and made his way into the drawing room where he knew that his mother would be waiting for him.
It was late, almost eight o'clock, and he assumed that for once she wouldn't object if he didn't change for dinner.
After a laborious day managing his business affairs, he was quite fatigued and eagerly anticipated a tranquil supper before retiring early to his chamber.
Thankful that despite it still being part of the London season, it would be just the two of them this evening.
Not a more formal occasion when they would be receiving guests.
Cynthia, the Duchess of Carlfield, was clearly delighted to see her son and she put her embroidery onto the table next to her as soon as he came into the drawing room.
Edward kissed her cheek affectionately, before pouring himself a brandy.
Seeing how tired he looked, she decided not to reveal the distressing news she had received earlier until later on.
When she asked Ned, as she had called him since he was a boy, he admitted that he hadn't had a lot of time during the day to stop and eat.
So he was delighted to agree to them having dinner, without delay.
He drank the brandy quickly, and held out his arm to escort the Duchess into the dining room, after she had rang the bell to tell Jenkins that they were ready for dinner to be served.
When a hearty soup had been enjoyed by them both, the bowls cleared away and the main course served, Cynthia couldn't wait any longer. "In truth, Ned, I must impart some disheartening tidings," she uttered, struggling to hold back her tears.
The Duke looked up immediately from his plate of roast beef, potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding.
Clearly alarmed after his father's death from an unexpected illness nine years ago, and to whom he had been very close, he tended to fear the worst when his mother became upset.
Fortunately, this didn't happen very often.
Despite Cynthia Carlisle being almost in her seventh decade and her hair turning grey, he still thought of her as a strong and capable woman.
Realising however, especially after how suddenly his father had passed away, that this could change at any time.
"I hope you aren't ill, Mama," he said, anxiously.
"No, fret not, Ned. I am quite well, thank you.
It is Ruth, my companion, who has caused my distress.
She tendered her resignation this morning, and I am at a loss as to how to proceed without her.
She was used to my way of doing things, almost like one of the family, and I shall miss her terribly.
She was very upset when she had to tell me she would be leaving.
Her mother has been taken ill. Naturally she wished to go home as soon as possible to care for her, and her younger siblings. "
Edward sighed, inwardly. His mother was understandably very upset.
Ruth had been with her for six years, and this couldn’t have come at a worse time.
They were due to leave London in the next three days for his country seat in Yorkshire, to spend the remainder of the summer there.
He had been looking forward to walking through the grounds of his estate again, and the gardens.
However the possibility of him being able to enter into a highly lucrative business deal with an acquaintance of his, Lord Watson, had recently come to light.
So that it looked as if he would have to travel to France instead, to discuss the details with him, and meet the other gentlemen with whom his Lordship and him would be trading.
Not wishing to cause his mother any further distress or worry, he stood up immediately, with the intention of going to her.
Only after she had assured him with great determination that she was indeed well, and commanded him to be seated forthwith to finish his dinner, did he relent.
The matter had only been a momentary shock, nothing more.
Assured of his mother's well-being, Edward resumed his utensils and spoke hastily, "Fret not, Mama. If I must journey to France, I shall ensure your company is not forsaken."
I shall make some enquiries tomorrow morning about finding a new lady’s companion for you, to replace Ruth. If it isn't possible to get someone suitable then I shall put off going to Paris for the time being."
"Edward, despite you continually ignoring my opinion that you work far too hard when you don't need to, I can still understand the importance of you entering into an agreement with Lord Watson.
From what you told me earlier, it would be extremely advantageous for you to be able to trade in France.
Especially after all the trouble there has been the last few years with Napoleon, and his dreadful war.
I am assuming that it would be highly beneficial for you to have a friend like Lord Watson who has already established business connections there. "
Edward smiled, and tried to make light of the situation without confirming that what his mother had said was right.
He would cancel his trip if need be, and he surely would also make the enquiries for a replacement companion himself.
Even though one of the servants could easily do this on his behalf he wasn't prepared to take any chances that it wouldn't be done to his high standard when it came to looking after his family.
Furthermore, he was fully aware what the loss of Ruth must mean to his mother.
Cynthia Carlisle was still an independent woman, but the older she had become the less she liked change.
Especially after his father's death, Ruth had grown accustomed to the way she liked things to be done.
He had often felt relieved that he could leave her in such capable hands when he did need to travel on business.
The Duchess of Carlfield still hosted numerous social soirees, and other events, when they were at the family's country seat.
It gave her a lot of pleasure, and, he surmised, a certain amount of pride.
She had relied heavily on Ruth to help her with these events, and he wasn't prepared to contemplate the thought of her cancelling them because he hadn't found a replacement.
Absolutely not! This definitely wasn't a task he could delegate to a servant.
Although how he would find someone suitable in such a short space of time he didn't know.
Assuming it would be a miracle, if he did.
Meanwhile, even though the Duchess felt much better, now that Ned was at home, she was still reeling from the news.
Irrespective of how upset she felt, she had still reacted to Ruth's resignation in her usual sensible manner.
Quickly considering the practicalities of what needed to be done, to help the woman who had turned into a friend.
At the same time obviously wishing that this hadn't happened.
Poor Ruth had been distraught, clearly torn between the two women, but Cynthia had insisted that she must go to her mother.
Fully intending to ask Edward to continue paying her servant's wages for as long as she needed the money.
She also instructed Jenkins to get one of the footmen to accompany Ruth back to Yorkshire.
Making sure he was told to carry her bags, and arrange for the rest of her belongings to be sent to her.
Both Ruth and her had cried, and hugged each other.
Ignoring Ruth's insistence that it was improper for the Duchess to do this, Cynthia had replied in her usual matter of fact way that she was speaking complete nonsense, and held her even tighter until she stopped trembling, ignoring the social impropriety of what she was doing.
She also gave Ruth her favourite shawl for the journey, and insisted that she had to keep it, which brought a fresh round of tears to her companion's eyes.
After Cynthia had told all of this to Edward over their fresh fruit and ice cream, he wasn't in the least surprised that his mother had done it. In a time when many would not have acted so, she did.
She deserved having someone good and kind to help her.
Making him even more determined than before, to find the perfect replacement for Ruth.
While Cynthia wished that Ned would also let her help him, he was always the perfect gentleman.
Impressing upon her that he was no longer a boy, and it was his duty now to care for her, which had equally made her feel very proud of him.
He always tried to appear strong, however tired he might be or unhappy within himself.
The reasons for which he hadn't always shared with her, although she had her own thoughts on what might be troubling him, and why she sometimes caught him brooding.
As Edward carried on eating, he was thinking quickly.
Wondering what the alternative might be, if he couldn't find a lady's companion at short notice.
The Duchess wouldn't of course be entirely alone in Yorkshire.
She would have the servants there. Not all of them travelled to London to spend the season at his townhouse, and they had mostly been with the family for years.
Undoubtedly, he trusted Jenkins implicitly, along with his land steward, Tindle.
There was also mama's ladies' maid, Florence.
He often heard them laughing about something or another when he passed the door of his mother's bedchamber. All of them loved her as much as he did, so he shouldn’t feel that any harm could come to her.
Nevertheless now that Papa had gone, it was his duty to see that she had every comfort in life.
Again, following his father's example, the servants were also well cared for.
Edward made sure personally that their wages were more than enough to cover all of their needs, so that they could in turn take good care of their own families.
As far as he was concerned there was little point in being rich unless you could help others, especially those less fortunate.
His mother shared this sentiment in the events she organised to raise charitable funds, also in the way she treated others.
So much so that his duchy continued to thrive, and there was a part of him which did regret not spending as much time there as he would have liked to.
However, Yorkshire held a lot of memories for Edward Carlisle which he still wasn't entirely comfortable with.
He glanced at the Duchess who was cutting the food on her plate into dainty morsels, before popping them one at a time into her mouth.
He couldn't help smiling. Despite her elegant appearance, she could be equally formidable when the occasion demanded it.
Fiercely defending an injustice, and riding a horse in her younger days like no other woman he had seen.
His father had loved her dearly, and he assumed, from a place deep within his heart.
Edward sighed, for what might have been.
He still missed Papa's deep and reassuring voice at times like this when life seemed overwhelming.
Also Joey, his best friend, who had been the Duke of Westling.
Neither of them should have died when they did, but he had gradually learned to accept that death was a part of life.
Whilst despite Mama's spirit remaining strong, he could also see a frailer side to her now, which hadn't been noticeable before.
Edward knew that it would have given her so much pleasure if he had been able to fill their large house and Yorkshire estate with grandchildren, and for him to have had a wife she could have sat with, treating her as a daughter.
Edward sighed more deeply to himself. Making a proposal before now had crossed his mind.
He knew that he was considered to be highly eligible by the mamas who followed his every move when he attended a ball, but which he chose to ignore.
It seemed to him that unless a marriage had love as its foundation it was a sham, and he wasn't prepared to treat his spouse in that way.
She deserved to be loved by him properly.
From the little he knew of women, this should be deeply, and passionately.
Although he had at one time been prepared to try to do this, he soon realised that he wouldn't have been able to unless he was truly in love.
Irrespective of his mother's wishes, that was a moral decision he wished every day that he hadn't had to make.
"I will find you a new companion, Mama!" Edward said, repeating his earlier words, to stop her from worrying that she might not be able to cope without Ruth's help. Also to appease his own guilty conscience, and belief that he had failed her in not marrying sooner.