Thomas and George returned home after their stay in London. They had finalized the deals with Mr. Hargrove and Lady Alderman and had at least some of their funds. However, they had not been able to secure the final thirty percent of the funding they needed, as neither of Mr. Hargrove’s contacts had been interested. There was still more work to be done. But George was certain his father would now be able to come through with the funding for his part of the investment.

Upon returning home, Thomas’s first visit was with his Grandmamma. She was seated by the fire in her sitting room picking with a needle to undo some embroidery gone wrong.

“Thomas, how nice to see you. I thought I heard your carriage return late last night.”

Thomas took the chair opposite his grandmother. “Yes, we were later than expected. We took too long at dinner at an inn along the way that had a particularly good roast beef and a most excellent wine cellar.”

“And was your trip successful?” she asked as she adjusted her spectacles to get at a troublesome thread.

“It was. On several fronts. We have raised almost all of our investment goal and… you will be pleased to hear this… I had several delightful visits with Lady Alderman… from the ball… and who has also become one of our investors.” He gave his Grandmamma a big smile and sat back in his chair with his hands behind his head.

She looked over at him after that bit of news. “Really? Miss Alderman? Hmm. And was it purely business or were there other considerations?”

“A bit of both, you will be happy to hear. And I met her mother, and she was most encouraging in a way her daughter had too much grace to reveal.”

Thomas leaned forward for emphasis. “In excess of forty thousand—a year.”

Grandmamma gasped. “A year? Oh, Thomas.” She placed her embroidery on her lap and gave Thomas her full attention.

“But…” Thomas added, “the money may be of less importance now that our new business looks to be up and running very soon. And I have every expectation that we shall be greatly successful.”

“But you like this Lady Alderman, yes?”

“Prunella. Yes. She is most charming and seems to have an engaging life of her own. She is not one of those empty-headed young heiresses whose only interests are the newest fashions and the latest gossip.”

“You must invite her and her family for a visit to Pemberton.”

“I already have. But her father is deceased, so it would be just her mother and perhaps her younger sister.”

Grandmamma beamed. “I am so proud of you Thomas. You have stepped up and have taken your ducal responsibility.”

Thomas was pleased his Grandmamma was pleased, but he still had a nagging thought in the back of his mind. As lovely as Prunella was, she was not Jenny. What was it about this most inappropriate young lady that intrigued him so? But fortunately, he would have his hands full in the upcoming weeks, throwing himself into the new business, and perhaps, as he became engaged in the new work, his thoughts of Miss Jenny would begin to recede from his mind. He could only hope.

George was so happy to be home and could not wait to see Helena as soon as possible. They were still not able to meet openly, so he sent notes arranging for another meeting at Aunt Rosemary’s.

He rushed up the steps and into her house, not even taking the time to tie his horse. He burst into the sitting room and stopped dead in his tracks. Besides Helena and Aunt Rosemary—Ralph, Helena’s father stood scowling by the fireplace.

“Oh…” was all he could say in his surprise.

Helena rushed over and threw her arms around him. But he instinctively pulled away under the glare of her father.

But it was Rosemary who was the first to speak, sitting in her chair with her hands folded on top of her walking stick. “George, so happy to see you. Did you have a pleasant trip to London?”

George could not believe she would be asking him this in such a casual manner with her angry-looking brother standing behind her.

“Father knows,” Helena whispered to George, as she took his arm and turned so that both of them were facing her father.

“I figured that out myself,” he whispered back. “Are we about to be executed?”

Helena laughed lightly.

It was Aunt who spoke next. “I know you must be surprised, George,” she said. “But I felt this ridiculous family standoff needed to end.” She looked at her brother, but he said nothing, and his gruff expression did not soften either. “While you were in London I went to dear Ralph and told him everything. All about your sincere affections and your determination to marry. I also told him that I had bestowed a living upon Helena and that if he wanted to remain a part of your lives he needed to forgive and forget.” She added, “You need to stop being a bully, Ralph, and reconcile with your daughter and her soon to be husband, I said to him.”

“Father, what do you have to say?” Helena asked.

“Hmm. It looks like I have no financial hold over you anymore. What can I do? It seems I must allow this marriage.”

“But can you do it with an open heart?” Rosemary asked. “You will only make yourself miserable if you do not.”

“Hmm. I cannot say… Perhaps in time. However, I have no choice but to accept the marriage. Do not ask more of me.”

“Oh, Papa…” Helena said as she went over to her father and gave him a hug, which he did not return.

Aunt Rosemary got up from her chair and went over to her brother and gave him a rap on the shoulder with her stick. “Behave yourself, Ralph, give your dear daughter a hug, or, I swear, I will beat you senseless myself.”

Ralph brought his arms up and hugged Helena, but it was not a welcoming hug.

Aunt Rosemary sighed. “I guess you two will need to give the old man time—stubborn old beast.”

Helena turned and rushed back to George who was still in a state of shock.

“Now we can set a date to get married,” she said grabbing hold of him and leaning into him as she bent her right leg behind her in her joy. “I want us to start looking for a house as soon as possible. And remember the little cottage I spoke to you about before… it is still available. Can we go look at it this afternoon?”

George extricated himself from her grasp and said, “One step at a time dearest. Thomas and I have just come back from London with a large part of our investment. We need to go in the next few days to buy the horses we need. Can we please take our time and plan this together at a more leisurely pace?”

Helena pouted. “Oh, Georgie, are you sure you even want to marry me?”

He shook his head at her so obvious attempt to manipulate him. “You know I do. And we shall, but it takes time to make plans, and I must take into account that I need to provide us with an income.”

She sighed. “Oh, very well. But when you come back from buying your stupid horses, promise me we will look at the cottage.”

Now he sighed. “Oh, very well.”

Thomas was out riding his own horse. The trainer said he should not ride the racers. They needed special handling and it could confuse them if they were ridden for anything other than training or racing.

He and George were to leave the day after tomorrow to pick up the new horses. Thomas was very excited and pleased to see his dream becoming a reality. They were to leave for Shropshire and would return with the two horses in a wagon specifically outfitted for transporting horses, which they also purchased from the owners of the racers.

Part of what Thomas wanted to accomplish by his ride, was to examine all the fences around the fields where they were going to let the horses graze. But as he was riding the fence line, his mind kept drifting to Jenny. It was driving him crazy. He had just met, perhaps the perfect woman to be the Duchess of Pemberton, but he could not banish his thoughts of the humble baker woman.

He must… he must erase her from his heart and mind. He must. But somehow, he found himself riding toward Chatsworth. He knew where he was going but not why, and he could not seem to help himself from going there.

Of course, he could make an excuse that he wanted some of her delicious pastries, but he knew that was only an excuse and it was not the real reason for his visit.

He entered the town square and headed toward the bakery, but halfway there, he turned the horse and headed back out of town, but at the edge of the square the horse stopped. Did he stop it? He did not know, but somehow the horse turned and headed toward the bakery and stopped in front. Thomas sat in the saddle for a moment, desperate to spur the horse and return home, but instead he dismounted, tied the horse, and went inside the shop.

The young boy at the counter, seeing Thomas, said without Thomas asking, “I will get her, Your Grace.” And soon Jenny came from the back, once again, covered in flour and burst forth with her engaging smile.

“Your Grace, this is a surprise. More teacakes? Tarts? A fruit or custard pie? Or have you tried my Papa’s meat pies yet? He makes a very fine wild pheasant pie you are certain to like.”

Thomas wanted to speak—intended to speak—but could not seem to open his mouth, frozen as he was by her penetrating eyes and smile.

Finally, he blurted out, “Miss Jenny, I might purchase something in a moment, but I was wondering if you might take a break and stroll the square with me for a moment. I should very much like to speak with you privately.”

“I could spare a few moments,” she said, removing her apron and running her hands through her hair, shaking out as much flour as she could. It was a fairly sunny day for late autumn and she needed only a shawl which she picked up from behind the counter.

“I am ready,” she said, and they left the shop.

They were both silent for a moment or two, then Jenny said, “I so much enjoyed the ball, Your Grace, although I have to admit I felt a little out of place with all those fine ladies and gentlemen so well dressed and dancing their merry jigs.”

Thomas laughed and felt a little more relaxed. “You danced a fine jig yourself, Miss Jenny. I certainly enjoyed my dances with you.”

“If it had not been for Helena giving me dance lessons before the ball, I would have been like a Saturday night drunk wobbling and weaving down the street.”

Then it suddenly struck Thomas why he had really come to see Jenny, and he fell silent, shaken by the realization.

Jenny turned to him when he did not speak for a moment and asked, “What did you wish to speak to me about?”

Thomas was deeply pained—it showed on his face, and he could see that Jenny noticed this.

“Miss Jenny… there have been moments when we have been together… that I felt, and I believe you did too… a closeness… a sympathy.” He looked to gauge her reaction. She smiled shyly and very sweetly.

“I cannot deny that,” she said almost breathlessly.

“And while it has warmed my heart, you must understand that there can be nothing between us.” This was causing him great pain as he could see this was hurting her as much as it was him. “And I need to tell you that I met a lady at the ball… Lady Prunella Alderman… and we have been seeing each other. It is too early to say courting… but I expect it will come to that in time.”

“Oh…” was all Jenny could say. “Of course, I understand.”

But it appeared to Thomas that she did not. He stopped walking and turned to face her. “Please, Miss Jenny, even though I have great regard for your person and your talent, you must understand that I am not in a position to offer you anything other than my regard and friendship.”

Jenny’s face had turned a chalky white. “I expected nothing else,” she said with great effort.

Thomas could not help himself, and tears appeared in his eyes. “I wish to the bottom of my heart that it could be otherwise, but it cannot be, and I hope you can understand and forgive me.”

She looked at him, stricken, by his damning words and started to turn away. But Thomas could not help himself and he grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her to him, and kissed her as he had kissed no other woman before. She responded to him with the same intensity that he had shown her. It seemed that the kiss would go on forever, but it was Jenny who finally pulled away. She just stared at him in utter dismay and turned and ran back to the shop, holding her apron up to her face.

Thomas was too devastated to move. His heart was breaking but there was no remedy. From now on it must be all about Prunella. He must think, dream, desire only her. Miss Jenny must be banished to his past.

He finally went to retrieve his horse, but he did not go into the shop to purchase any baked goods.