Moth Among Butterflies

CHAPTER XIV

"Douglas?" Cavendish asked. The sky was dyed velvet as dusk begins in the horizon. Philip, Miss Emma Carlisle, and his mother sat in the duke's study, conversing over a certain freckled lady in biscuits, tea (for the women), and wine (for men). All this while Esther still slept in the comfort of the guest room. "Who is this Douglas?" he continued.

"A ruffian, Your Grace." Philip answered.

"A ruffian!" Cavendiah repeated in incredulity.

"Esther told us"- Miss Carlisle interposed- "that he was the same one who had you at gunpoint when you first met. 'The drunkard ruffian' dear sister says."

This was a queer turn of events indeed! "How in the world did this happen?!" Cavendish asked the three, brows crossed.

"Well, dear," his mother began, "we were equally as bewildered as you were. Her arrival was a day ago, and upon the mention of her name to Miss Carlisle and Philip, they were in histerics! But we decided she must take a rest first. She looked utterly tired, but she insisted on seeing you."

"Me?" the duke asked in disbelief.

"Yes, dear. If we hadn't told her of your whereabouts at that time, she would not stop insisting your audience!" his mother continued.

"Why look for me? Why not her sister? Could she have known that Miss Emma Carlisle currently visits Bellsover?"

"You see, Your Grace," Miss Carlisle began, "My sister said that she was in Liverpool at that time."

"Liverpool?! If only she had known I was there!"

"Yes, Your Grace." Philip said. "Douglas was at Liverpool at that time. When Esther laid her eyes on him, she beseeched for his help- that she wishes if he may bring her here to your home."

"How did she get to Liverpool?"

"From Dublin, Your Grace." the stable hand answered.

This was utterly perplexing! How did Esther set foot at such a foreign place? "Whatever did she do there?!"

"The earl arranged it, Your Grace." Miss Carlisle interjected. "Esther told us about that fateful night, three days before the ball. The earl informed her that he had found out about her escapades to town two months prior. The source he mentiontioned not. So he deviced a plan to finally…'be rid' of her."

Cavendish casted her a terrified gaze, and held his breath to control unwanted reactions, and the lady went on.

"Esther froze in fear upon the words, but the earl meant not to take her life away. (The duke was able to breath a little.) He said that would be 'too messy' and that he 'wouldn't want authorities investigating'. He is after all an earl. It would be a huge downfall of reputation." Angry tears began to fall from Miss Carlisle's eyes. "That night, he dragged Esther to her room and locked her there. Before dawn, she was put in a carriage that traveled towards Liverpool. The earl did not put her out of his sight, so escaping was difficult. From Liverpool, they traveled to Dublin where they met a certain man called Liam Flannagan."

Philip stroked the back of Miss Carlisle as she began to cry, so he decided to finish the horrible account. "The man is a free-trader, Your Grace."

"What?! By Jove!" The duke exclaimed, standing up from his chair before massaging his forehead with one hand while the other was pressed on his waist in a ball of fist. His face was achromic with the agitation and anger that he felt. How could he sell her, his own daughter?! Smuggle her?! She was already deprived of society! How could a father be so heartless to this point?!

"Esther planned to eacape from there, but the earl stayed within the district awaiting the shipping of the slaves to the Indies. He wanted to make sure that she was far from England." Philip balled his free hand to a fist in indignation. "But Esther was kind to this Flannagan, and the man took pity on her enough to ask Esther of her situation. The man was greatly scandalized! Being a father of three women, he pitied the silent Esther and decided to help her back to England with only enough money to Liverpool, a small bread, and a little water. And upon her arrival at Liverpool, she found Douglas who then brought her here."

"Fate was good to her." his mother complimented while every single soul in the room agreed in silence.

The Duke of Devonshire, after a month of sleepless nights, was finally able to have a good one the night before. Though the thought of the earl's actions put him in the pools of negativity, it is still Esther's return that he should be thinking about. The duke overlooked the lush green fields outside the window of his room. As his arms leaned on the glass, his thoughts inclined in another direction as well.

What now? Does he send them back to Northamptonshire? He doubts their merciless father even care. And Miss Emma Carlisle mind so less of her reputation now that she has Philip. But the earl. He cares so much about Emma's matrimony. And if he brings her back without the motive of marriage, she would definitely suffer the consequences. Who knows what he might do to the lady!

She needs to be married to a gentleman then. But she will have no one but Philip. Then Philip must be turned into a gentleman…But how? The duke closed his eyes in deep thought. A long reckoning. And when he finally opened it, he smiled to himself. This one is solved.

And then there's Esther. The duke's heart skipped one beat. Of course. That is the simplest thing. An offer has to be made soon.