Chapter One

"I hardly think that you need to worry, my dear."

Edmund smiled to himself as he watched his mother pat Dinah's arm reassuringly while they were in the carriage.

"There are going to be many gentlemen present, all eager to make your acquaintance. The only trouble will be that you will, thereafter, have to choose only one to court!"

"My mother is quite right," Edmund told his cousin, firmly. "You will find an exceptional husband very soon, I am sure."

Dinah smiled though Edmund could still see concern written in her eyes. "You are both very kind in taking me to London for the Season," she said, softly. "If only my brother had returned from his Great Adventure, then I might now be under his care rather than being forced upon you!"

"Nonsense," Edmund told her as his mother smiled warmly. "We are both delighted at this arrangement, I must say. Besides, I have a requirement to make my way to London this Season and it is no trouble to take you with me."

"Indeed." His mother shot Edmund a glance though Edmund only smiled back at her, despite the curl of doubt in his stomach. Upon his father's death, Edmund had been informed that, within the will, there was a strong desire from his father that Edmund wed a Lady Vivianne, daughter of the Marquess of Kent who had been his father's friend for decades. It had not been a directive, however, had not been absolutely required of him but all the same, Edmund felt the pressure of it upon his shoulders. Whether the young lady herself knew that this was hoped for between his family and hers, he did not know but hearing that she would be present in London and making her debut, he had chosen to make his way to London simply to meet with her. There might, thereafter, come a discussion with her father or mayhap, Lord Kent would speak to him about such an engagement, Edmund did not know. All the same, when he had informed his mother of this, though she had seemed pleased he could tell that there was an uncertainty about it all as well… which was just as he himself felt. Edmund had always expected to decide for himself which young lady he was to wed but now, in many ways, it felt as though that choice had been taken away from him.

"You will be present with me, yes?" Dinah glanced from Edmund to his mother before looking back to him again, a clear nervousness trembling through her voice though she tried to hide it with a smile. "I confess that I fear that society will find me to be a failure in some way and I shall be beyond mortified!"

The Duchess smiled and patted Dinah's hand. "Have no fear, I shall be present at every moment and I will make certain that my son does the same. That is half the reason I am coming to London!" she continued, a twinkle in her eye and a note of teasing in her voice. "It is to make certain that my son does not hide himself away from society as I fear he might wish to do!"

Edmund chuckled, though he caught the gleam in his mother's eyes, knowing all too well that his mother truly did fear that he might hide himself from society despite the fact that he had spoken about Lady Vivianne on many an occasion. Clearly, his mother knew him better than Edmund had anticipated. "Mother, given that both of us are now responsible for Dinah, I hardly think that you can have any fears as regards my absence from society. I will do all that I can and all that I must, I assure you."

His mother tilted her head, the edge of her lip curving upwards. "That is good to hear from you. Does that mean that you shall do all that you must with your own responsibilities and considerations also?"

Before Edmund could answer, Dinah's eyes rounded and she leaned forward in her seat. "Goodness, dear cousin, are you in pursuit of a suitable match as well? I should never have presumed to come to London knowing that you were to seek such a prospect, too! I feel myself quite embarrassed now, I confess it."

"No, no, please do not," Edmund reassured her, quickly. "There is no need for concern. Yes, I am to be considering it but I am not to take it with any great seriousness, I assure you. There is no great urgency on my part."

"Except that you must produce the heir," came his mother's quick response, though Dinah looked away as Edmund's mother spoke, her gaze going to the window rather than looking back at him. "Your father and I only ever produced daughters after you, and that means that you alone can carry on the title to your sons, should you be blessed with them. That does require a wife, does it not?"

"I suppose that it does, yes," Edmund answered, mildly, "but I have a good many other things preoccupying me, do I not? While I will consider it – as I have already told you – I must also consider whether this year and at this time would be best. Part of me fears that to take a bride at this time would not be fair on the lady herself, for I would have no time to devote to her and would struggle to bring her any sort of happiness." That did not mean, of course, that Edmund would ignore Lady Vivianne and refuse to even consider her. It might be that, after becoming acquainted, he would thereafter decide if he would engage himself to her the following Season rather than this year. However, he would ensure to communicate his intentions to her and ascertain that her father would find such an arrangement agreeable. Edmund told himself repeatedly that he wanted to have a little more time for freedom to pursue his own interests, to make and to create and to test and yet, in considering that, he recognized that it might very well be an excuse. The truth was, in his heart, he did not want to marry.

His mother clicked her tongue in obvious disapproval, pulling Edmund away from his own thoughts.. "While you are most considerate, my son, I can assure you that a wife can find herself contented in many things, none of which involve a husband. Her duty is to provide you with children. Your duty is to provide for your wife and any subsequent children, as well as to care for the estate."

Edmund caught the way that his cousin frowned and felt his own brows drop low. He did not want his mother to give the impression to Dinah that the only thing that was required of her was to produce the children her husband required for that would make her view the gentlemen of London in a very different way from how they truly were. He frowned, wondering if he ought to say anything more. After all, the only thing he had talked about with his mother as regarded Lady Vivianne was his intention to acquaint himself with her and yet, perhaps in his mother's mind, the courtship and engagement were already set. "I am not certain I would be contented with a match that is only for convenience," he began, seeing his mother's brows knit together. "Whomever I marry, I should like to know them well, to find their company enjoyable and to look forward to being with them. To have a wife who is almost a stranger to me is not an idea that I feel at all comfortable with and certainly would not delight in."

"Nor would I, I do not think," Dinah interjected, though she spoke quietly as if afraid of what the Duchess' reaction would be. "I do not want to make a match simply for the sake of making it. I should like to find a husband that truly cares for me."

Edmund smiled warmly, in what he hoped was an encouraging manner. "I quite understand." he said, as his mother's eyes flashed.

"Though that caring can come after your acquaintance and subsequent companionship," the Duchess put in, a heavy emphasis in her words as she looked long at Edmund though, after a moment when he did not respond, she simply shrugged to herself and then smiled at Dinah. "Of course you must find a gentleman who cares for you. You must make whatever match you wish, Dinah. Neither my mother nor I will force that upon you."

"No, indeed not," his mother said, a good amount of fervency in each word. "I would not have you think that you would ever be forced into any match you did not desire. I would not be as cruel-hearted as that."

Dinah smiled, relief evident. "That is good for me to hear, I am glad to know you both understand."

"Of course we do." The Duchess reached and took Dinah's hand, squeezing her fingers for a moment. "Goodness, I am looking forward to the Season!" She laughed and the faint tension which had been in the carriage for only a few seconds quickly dissipated. "It is almost as though I am a debutante, all over again!"

Edmund smiled and turned his gaze to the window, letting the two ladies talk about the London Season, of society and what Lady Dinah might expect. His own thoughts roved around the Season also, reminding himself that he was there solely for Dinah's benefit and not for his own purposes – purposes which would have pulled him away from society and into his own company instead.

There is still so much I must learn.

A memory came to him and he let it catch a hold of him as his mother and Dinah continued to talk. It was a pleasant memory, one where he and his uncle had been discussing all manner of things, where they had been talking together in his uncle's study and, even though he had only been a young man at the time, he had understood a great deal of what his uncle had spoken of. His uncle, the Earl of Fullerton – who had been Dinah's father also – had always been thinking of ways to improve the situation either at his estate or for his tenants and he had done it by either inventing new things or trying out experiments, simply to see what might work. They had been talking about the difficulty they faced at present with the rains causing floods in the field and his uncle had shown him detailed drawings of his plans to stop that from happening in the future.

Edmund smiled to himself as he recalled those drawings, remembering very clearly just how astonished he had been at the invention his uncle had come up with, something which had combined both a defense against the floods and what had appeared to be multiple metal troughs with which to carry away the water to a nearby reservoir. He had found it terribly interesting, had studied it over and over again as his uncle had described all that he would have to do in order to make it work… and that had been the very moment that the Duke of Wrexham had walked in.

A frown replaced Edmund's smile as he remembered his father's expression darkening as he had taken in all that had been going on. There had been a weight in his father's expression that Edmund had not seen before, almost an anger which he had recoiled from – and which his uncle had seen also. There had come a terse conversation, one where Edmund's father had thrown up his hands, demanded that his foolish brother stop his inventions and, thereafter, had demanded that Edmund step away from all that his uncle was showing him. ‘ You are mad!' the Duke had shouted, while Edmund had watched his uncle hang his head, as though he were suddenly ashamed. ‘You spend your time inventing ridiculous things, experimenting with all manner of things and, in doing so, neglect society and fail to protect your reputation. You are nothing but a fool, Fullerton and the sooner you realise that, the better it shall be for all of us.'

Wincing, Edmund rubbed one hand over his eyes, feeling a grittiness there. That memory had started off pleasantly enough but had ended in sadness and frustration, for Edmund had longed to spend more time with his uncle and had been ashamed of hearing all that his father had shouted at him. He himself had not believed a word of it, of course, had never once thought that his uncle was a madman. Instead, he had been pleased to see all that his uncle had invented, had even tried to tell his father that the troughs and the defenses which his uncle had built had , in fact, done all that he had intended – but his father had not listened.

That had not put Edmund off such things, however. Instead, he had begun his own inventions, looking into natural philosophy and hiding all that he engaged in from his father so that the Duke would not know of it. Once his father had died, however, such a thing did not have to be hidden any longer and Edmund had thrown himself into it… much to his mother's chagrin.

"Do not think that you will be able to continue your experiments in London, my dear," he heard his mother say, looking back at her and pulling himself out of his own thoughts. "You must concentrate on society and on Dinah… and on your own considerations!"

Edmund managed a smile. "I do not need much other than a desk, parchment and ink in order to continue with my inventions and considerations," he said, making his mother wince. "I shall not pretend that I will not do any, Mother, for that would be an untruth and I have no intention of lying to you. However, I can assure you that I will be devoted to Dinah's come out and her progress into society. I shall also give time to my own requirements though whether anything shall come from that, I do not know."

His mother only sighed and tutted lightly but Edmund did not respond to this, knowing within himself that he would continue on with his study regardless of what his mother and even his cousin might think while, at the same time, doing all that Dinah needed from him and making his introductions to Lady Vivianne. His experiments and inventions were much too important to him and, even if they looked down upon him or claimed that he was a fool for pursuing such things, Edmund was determined. Natural philosophy had become his passion and he was not about to hide from it now, especially after he had spent years doing so.

"Goodness, the heavens have truly opened!"

"Hmm?" Edmund looked out of the window, only for his eyes to flare wide in astonishment as he realized just how heavily it was raining. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he had not noticed the change in the weather.

"I am sure we will be quite all right," he murmured, as his mother shared an anxious glance with Dinah. "The roads have not seen a lot of rain given that it is so close to summer and I am sure that all will be well."

"Of course it shall be," Dinah murmured, though her voice was soft and quiet now. "It will not take too long for us to reach the inn, will it?"

Edmund shook his head. "I do not think it will be too much longer before we get there." With a quick calculation, he grimaced. "Actually, now that I think about it, it will be almost early evening by the time we arrive there. So mayhap a little longer than I had first anticipated."

His mother clasped her hands in her lap, worrying her lip just a little. Edmund tried to smile to calm her, knowing that the heavy rain and the muddy road was a concern to her. It was to him also but he prayed that the rain would soon stop, the road would not grow muddy and sticky and they would be given safe travel to the inn.

***

"Oh!" The Duchess grabbed Edmund's hand as a heavy clunk brought the carriage to a stop. "What is that?"

"I do not know, Mother," Edmund answered, calmly. "Let me go and see what it is that has brought us to a stop and I will be able to return to you with an answer."

"It is so dark and so wild!" Dinah exclaimed, as the Duchess clung to Edmund's hand, refusing to let him quit the carriage. "It is as though the summer has forgotten about us entirely!"

Edmund tried to pull his hand away from his mother's, though he struggled to do so given how tightly she grasped it. "Mother, I will be quite all right. It is only a thunderstorm." He saw her eyes widen – for it was not as dark as she had proclaimed it to be – and felt his heart soften with sympathy. It was clear that his mother was afraid, scared of what might be, of what could happen to him if he stepped out into the storm and he could not blame her for that. His own father had been lost in a storm, found in a field with his horse already back at the stables and had never recovered. Evidently, his mother was afraid that the same would happen to him.

"I will be quite all right. All I am doing is stepping out so that I can speak with the driver," Edmund assured her, managing to pull his hand away. "I will not be a moment."

Opening the door, he held it tightly so that the wind would not yank it out of his hand. Stepping out, he winced against the wind and the rain as he closed the door again, and walked over to where his driver and footman were standing together.

"What has happened?"

"Oh, Your Grace!" The driver turned quickly, his hair already dripping wet such was the storm. "Forgive us. There is a problem with the wheel and I don't think that we can keep going without damaging it severely."

"What is it?"

Gesturing to the back wheel, the driver shrugged. "This wheel is stuck so deep into the mud, I am not certain how we can get it out easily and if I have the horses pull it, there is a chance that it could crack. To my eyes – though I can see nothing but mud – there could be something else there holding the wheel back."

Edmund turned and walked to the back of the carriage, feeling dampness sink through his clothing already. Heedless to the rain and the mud, he bent down and looked at the wheel, a heavy frown falling over his expression. The wheel was half hidden, buried in mud which was now not only that but also a quick forming puddle. He could put his hand into it and try to see what else was there, but that would leave him covered in dirt and wet and, until he had his mother and cousin safely at the inn, he would not do that. With a long breath, he got to his feet and came back to his driver. "Tell me, how far are we from the inn?"

The driver looked around. "I would say less than half a mile."

"Then my mother and cousin can walk there," Edmund said, firmly. "You, Benton, you will take them both there and stand guard over them. Do you understand?"

His footman nodded, pushing his thick, dark hair out of his eyes though it was now in dark strands around his face. "Yes, Your Grace."

Edmund nodded and then turned to his driver. "I will help you with the wheel."

The driver and the footman exchanged a look and Edmund could tell at once what both were thinking – but which neither of them said aloud for they would never dare to question a Duke. He let himself smile, despite the rain and the whipping wind around them. No doubt most Dukes and gentlemen of high title would have gone to the inn and left their servants to make sure that all was well and that the issue was resolved without involving them in any way – but that was not Edmund's way. If there was a problem, then he wanted to be involved in solving it and this certainly, was a problem.

"I will speak with them now," Edmund stated, gesturing to the carriage door. "Be ready. My mother will need to be well cared for when you make it to the inn. She will not only need to be warm and dry soon after her arrival but she will also need to be reassured that I will be quite all right. Whether that comes from you or from Lady Dinah, she will need it. Do you understand?"

The footman nodded and with a nod of his own, Edmund made his way back to the carriage door, pulling it open and informing his mother and cousin of what had happened and what they would have to do now. As expected, his mother made a great deal of protest but Edmund stood firm.

"This is what I enjoy, Mother, and what I am well used to doing," he said, as his mother closed her eyes tightly, as if to hide him from her view. "I can solve this problem and have the carriage at the inn very soon."

"Then can we not sit in the carriage?" his mother asked, gesturing to the weather outside, weather which was still battering Edmund furiously. "Why must we resign ourselves to a half a mile walk when we could simply sit here until it is dry?"

"Because the carriage must have as little weight as possible," Dinah interrupted, before Edmund could say anything. "Is that right?"

Edmund nodded. "Yes, my dear cousin, that is quite correct. I will have to have the footman carry one or two smaller pieces of luggage also, and the rest might have to be placed at the side of the road until I have the wheel free." He looked back to his mother. "I am sorry that this is inconvenient but it must be done."

His mother leaned forward in her seat and touched his hand, her face drawn. "Are you sure this is what must be?"

Edmund nodded. "It is."

"And I cannot convince you to leave this to your driver and footman to resolve?"

"I am afraid you cannot," Edmund answered, as gently as he could. "You know that I am going to be wherever the problem is, Mother. Now, pull your bonnet as tight as you can and step out of the carriage. The footman will take you to the inn and you can wait for me there."

With a sigh – though much to Edmund's relief – both she and Dinah did as he asked, tying their bonnet ribbons and thereafter, getting up out of their seat. With a few more encouraging words, Edmund urged them along the path, watching as the footman led the way before turning back to the driver.

"Now, let us get to the wheel," he said, rubbing his hands together and grinning, despite the atrocious weather, the wet seeping into his clothing and the clap of thunder overheard. "Somehow, we will find a solution. I am determined to do it."