Dukes by the Dozen

by Grace Burrowes

  He had heard about her brother’s ravenous hunger. In fact, many of the man’s close friends teased him about it. And he wanted her to be herself with him. In this family, being a duke was not a distinction that made others stand on ceremony. “You might have a point.”

  “Come. I shall make it up to you by fixing you a plate.” She drew him to the table. “What do you like most?”

  She smiled happily at him, and for some reason his eyes saw only her lips. What did he want most? Other than her? With an effort, he dragged his gaze to the food. “I am quite partial to beef and cheddar.”

  He held out a chair for her, and once she had taken her seat, she busied herself piling slices of rare beef and two huge chunks of cheddar cheese on a plate, then added bread and strawberries before handing it to him. “There.”

  Kendal doubted any gentleman had ever served her, and that was a great pity. He took a plate. “What would you like?”

  Her turquoise eyes widened, and a look of wonder appeared on her face. “Me?”

  He nodded. “I did tell you that I am yours to command.”

  “So you did.” For a moment, she looked at him as if he were the strangest creature she had ever met, then her eyes twinkled enchantingly. And his breath caught in his chest. “I would like some ham, cheddar cheese, and strawberries.” She lowered her thick lashes. “I am very partial to strawberries.”

  He’d never given the fruit much thought. His gardener forced them, and, therefore, they were available whenever Kendal liked. “As am I. I especially like them in tarts.”

  “Mmmm.” She sighed. “Strawberry tarts are lovely. I used to think our cook made the best ones, but my aunt’s cook does something special to them, and I like her tarts even better.”

  He wished he could take her to his estate in Kent and let her eat all the berries she wanted. But now he needed to work out a way to be invited to dinner at her aunt’s house. They must have a property in the area. He had to spend more time with her. “I would love to taste them sometime.”

  She daintily cut a bit of ham and ate it. “I shall ask her to invite you.”

  Kendal made a sandwich of some of his beef and cheddar. “Do you see any mustard?”

  “Oh, yes.” She plucked a small earthenware container from her other side. “Here it is.”

  Taking the jar, he dipped in a spoon and spread the mustard on his beef. “How long will you be here?”

  “At least until the beginning of July.” Her forehead creased, and Kendal wanted to smooth the lines away. “Then I do not know what will happen.” She took another piece of meat and chewed thoughtfully, then shook her head. “What do you think of the birth of Princess Alexandrina?”

  “I hope she lives.” The royal family had had a great deal of bad luck when it came to legitimate children.

  Lady Thalia’s brows puckered. “I do as well. I hope there are others.”

  “That would be a good thing for all of us.” He cut a piece of beef. “I am concerned about the unrest around the country.”

  “I agree.” She eyed the strawberries, but stabbed another piece of ham with her fork. She was very disciplined for a younger lady. “The accounts are not comforting. There is too much poverty and hunger. The Corn Laws were a mistake. Reform must be passed or there is going to be a lot of trouble.”

  That she knew about the plight of the poor was surprising. That she supported reform pleased him to no end. “You are well informed.”

  She gave him a small smile. “Despite how close I have been kept, I am allowed to read. Once my father is done with the papers, they are sent to my mother’s rooms. She and I review them, and we discuss the events. I have a great deal of time to think as well.”

  “What does your father think of that?” Kendal could not imagine her father would approve.

  “I do not believe he knows. Or is interested in knowing. His apartments are on the other side of the castle.”

  The noise of the others in the parlor became a low drone, like the buzzing of bees, as Kendal gazed at Lady Thalia and decided he had to get to know her much, much better indeed.

  Chapter 3

  Thalia was happy and terrified at the same time. She and Kendal were in the middle of her family talking as if they were the only two people in the room, and everyone had been letting let them do it. Her mother was in a deep conversation with the duchess, and her brother and sisters and their spouses were playing with the children. No one was paying any attention to her and Kendal at all.

  “Do you ever dream of traveling?” he asked.

  She dreamed of everything, and right now this man was making her want to dream of even more. “I dream of being able to visit my other brothers and their wives . . . well, except that I do not know if I would like to cross the ocean. Frank, my second-eldest brother, lives in America with his wife and her family.”

  Kendal leaned forward excitedly. “Did you know a steamship is crossing the ocean as we speak? It might even have made port by now.” His eyes gazed off into the distance. “Someday ships will cross in a matter of days as opposed to weeks.”

  That would be wonderful. “If that happens, I shall visit.” One of the servants brought tea, and she poured him a cup. “Milk and sugar?”

  “A bit of both, please.” She handed him the cup, and he took a drink. “Excellent. Thank you.”

  “Do you have brothers and sisters?” Suddenly it was important to know everything about him.

  “I have two older sisters. They are both married with their own lives and children.” He grinned. “My oldest nephew is a year older than I am and married last year.”

  “Who is he?” She might not have met anyone, but she had practically memorized Debrett’s. And she might have read about the wedding in the paper.

  “The Marquis of Quorndon.”

  “I read about it. Did he not wed about the same time as Earl Elliott?”

  “Yes.” Kendal grinned again. He seemed like a very good-natured gentleman. “As a matter of fact, it was Elliott’s wife who introduced Quorndon to his wife.”

  She tried not to feel jealous over the freedom other ladies had. “That was nice of her.”

  “My aunt certainly thinks so. She had almost given up hope that he’d find the right match.” Kendal ate the rest of his beef and moved on to the cheese.

  Thalia still had more food than she should have on her plate. They had been talking so much, she’d forgotten to eat. They sat in comfortable silence while they devoted themselves to their plates. Then she picked up a strawberry, bit into it, and quickly brought up a finger to stop the juice from running down her chin. Kendal eyes caught hers, making her breath falter.

  Goodness. It was much too soon to react this way to a gentleman. Or she thought it was. But what if it was not? Both her sisters had fallen in love in a matter of a few weeks. Could it happen even sooner?

  “Thalia.” His voice was a harsh whisper. “Take my serviette.”

  Such a simple thing, a napkin, and she had her own. But he’d called her by her name. She should tell him it was too soon, that she had not given him permission. Yet the way her name sounded on his lips made her want him to continue. “Thank you.”

  “We should go back the house now.” Her aunt’s voice filled the room, ending Thalia’s discussion with Kendal. “You will all want to rest before this evening’s activities.”

  “What is going on tonight?” he asked.

  “There is to be dancing in the village, and everyone will stay up until it is dark.” Or that is what she had been told. “I have never been to something like this.”

  He took her hand. “Dance with me tonight.”

  “Yes.” She had also never been asked to dance. “I would be delighted.”

  “Kendal,” the Duchess of Hull said, “you are invited to stay for the festivities.”

  Thalia held her breath as she waited for him to answer. Fortunately, it did not take long.

  “Thank you, Your Grace. I will take you up on your kind o
ffer. If you do not mind, my lady?” He glanced at her as if truly asking for her permission.

  She wanted him to call her by her name again, but the rest of her family was listening. So much was happening at once, Thalia was almost overwhelmed. Yet this was what she wanted. “I have no objection at all.”

  Kendal’s silver gaze remained on her. “Thank you.” Then he bowed to Thalia’s aunt.

  “Thank you. I’d like that very much.”

  “You will have to spend the night here,” the Duchess of Hull. “It is too dangerous to cross the river after dark. As soon as I return, I shall send your valet across with a change of clothing.”

  Thalia could feel the movement around them, but it was as if they were in their own space that no one could violate . . . until little Giffard, Meg and Hawksworth’s son, toddled against her leg and grabbed onto it. “What have we here?”

  The nine-month-old baby gazed up at her with his mother’s blue eyes.

  “I have him.” Meg scooped Giffard up, and wrinkled her nose as she looked at Thalia’s gown. “I’m afraid he got his sticky hands on your gown.”

  “I’m sure it is nothing my maid cannot remedy.” The wrinkles his hands had left might be harder to repair. “I would like to spend more time with him before we leave.”

  “That can be arranged.” Meg cuddled the boy, who was already bouncing to be put down. “But you might want to wear an apron or an old gown. He always seems to be into something dirty.”

  “There are no nursemaids?” Kendal seemed struck by the idea.

  “They do have them, and nurses for the babies, but my family all think children benefit from being with their parents. I think it was Meg and Hawksworth who started it.”

  Kendal held out his arm, and she tucked her hand in the crook. “When I marry and have children, I shall do the same.”

  Kendal could not help but to focus on Thalia . . . Lady Thalia . . . for a few moments. Surprisingly, he could see her holding a baby. Perhaps one with silvery blonde hair and gray eyes or dark hair and turquoise-blue eyes. Some mix between the two of them. Their child. “Yes. I believe that is an excellent idea.”

  He escorted her to the waiting coaches, feeling guilty for deserting his hostess. He should go back across the river with the Duchess of Hull and return later. But he’d been given leave to depart with Thalia’s family, and that was what he wished to do. Still, he should make the gesture. “Duchess.” Three heads turned his way, and they laughed as he flushed. “Her Grace of Hull.”

  “I think we knew which one of us you meant,” she said. “The reactions were out of habit.”

  “I do not like to abandon you.” That was the most he could say without causing Thalia to think he did not wish to stay with her.

  The duchess fluttered her fingers. “Think nothing of it. The only ones who will be upset are some of the house party’s young ladies. However, it is clear to me that none of them interest you.”

  That struck him. She was absolutely right. None of the ladies had caught his attention at all. Most were pretty, one was even an accredited beauty, all were dressed in the height of fashion, but none of them were Thalia. Thalia who had shyly flirted with him, if one could even call it that. Who was not impressed that he was a duke, but was overjoyed that he had placed strawberries on her plate, and had helped her select items to buy. He hoped she would forget about his loan to her.

  He bowed. “Thank you.”

  “It is my pleasure.” She stepped up into her coach. “Have a wonderful time.”

  “I shall.” He knew without a doubt he would.

  Kendal and Thalia were put in the coach with her mother and aunt. They made small talk about how fine the weather had been during the past week after the extreme cold in May.

  “All the blossoms fell off the trees at Somerset,” Thalia said. “I cannot imagine the rest of Northern England fared much better.”

  It was amazing that she cared so much about the effects of the cold. Many young ladies would not care. She would be even better informed once she was let out into the world, and it would be a sight to behold. Kendal wanted to be there. He wanted to be the one to show her what the rest of England and parts of the Continent held. “At least the south was not badly affected.”

  “That is a good thing.” She pressed her lips together and gave her head a little shake. “Yet will the south be able to feed the entire country?”

  It was a good question. He only wished he had an answer. “I don’t know. I will ensure that my tenants have what they need, and neighboring farms as well.”

  Thalia’s smile lit a part of his heart he’d thought had died after he lost Lillian, making him want to remain with her as long as he could. He’d never felt like this about another lady. Certainly not his wife. “I knew you would be responsible and kind.”

  Kendal wanted to take her hand and kiss each finger. It didn’t even matter that she was wearing gloves. But they were in a coach with her mother and aunt.

  “I think it is commendable of you, Kendal,” her aunt said. “We shall behave in the same manner. It is reprehensible that others will not.” The duchess turned to Thalia’s mother, who seemed to say very little. “You will forgive me for saying so, but that is the only good I can see in Somerset. He will, at least, take care of his holdings, including his tenants. I should not say so to you, but it is my belief that the dukedom is the only thing he cares about.”

  To Kendal’s surprise, Thalia jumped into the conversation. “You might very well be right, Aunt, but you are also correct that you should not criticize him to Mama.”

  “Yes, my dear.” The duchess’s lips twisted ruefully. “I shall say no more.”

  The talk turned to gossip about things that had occurred during the recent Season, and again Thalia surprised him with her knowledge about people he knew she had never met.

  It was not until they had traveled the short distance to the Melbrough estate that he had a chance to ask her. “How do you know so much?”

  “Mama receives letters from practically everyone, and I am allowed to read most of them.”

  When she tucked her hand in the crook of his arm, the feeling that she belonged next to him made him want to carry her off.

  “We can either go inside or take the side path and walk around the gardens,” she said.

  Pandemonium reigned as the other coaches arrived and the rest of her family filled the front. “If you are allowed, I would love to see the gardens.”

  “I shall ask.” She looked at the crowd of people and found who she was looking for. “Mama, may I show Kendal the gardens?”

  “Yes.” Her mother nodded absently. “But stay within view of the house.”

  It wasn’t until they had strolled around the corner of the building that he realized how large it was. “I was afraid I would add to an already crowded house, but I can see I was wrong.” Built in an “I” shape, the building was of a deep-sand-colored stone stretching four floors high, topped by attics and underpinned with cellars.

  “Yes, there is plenty of room. I like that it does not have a wall surrounding the property.”

  Kendal had to think about that for a moment. Very few great houses were walled in now. Only a few of the older castles, like . . . Somerset. He’d traveled by once with his guardian, but they had stopped only long enough to admire the centuries-old castle that had been maintained as if it would be needed to protect the family from a battle again, complete with a curtain wall, drawbridge and moat.

  He felt the need to reassure her. “None of my properties have walls surrounding them.”

  Thalia smiled brightly. “That is good to know.”

  They reached old-fashioned, Tudor-style gardens with low boxwood hedges surrounding squares and triangles of flowers now overflowing with blooms. “This is wonderfully kept.”

  “My aunt particularly likes the gardens here. She says it is her favorite of their holdings.”

  They found a bench in clear view of the south side of the house.
No doubt a maid or footman had been posted to watch them. Taking out a handkerchief, he swept it over the already clean wooden bench. “Tell me about your family.”

  “There are quite a lot of us.” She grinned. “You already know my older sisters and Hawksworth, and I told you about Frank, the second-eldest, who is in America. Quartus married the Duchess of Wharton earlier this year. They should be here by tomorrow. Sextus is in Russia at our embassy. Quintus is in the army and Octavius is in the navy. I have seen him only a few times. He left when he was ten and rarely comes home. Septimius was to have been in the clergy, but is now a secretary to Lord Stanstead and would like to run for Parliament someday. Nonus is studying law. One of my brothers died before I was born. Then there are Decimus and William, the twins, who are at Eton. The youngest, Mary, is twelve.” Thalia plucked a daisy growing next to the bench. “What about your family?”

  Kendal’s family was not nearly as large as hers. “I have two older sisters. After that, several children did not survive, and then I was born.” If he was serious about her, and he was, it was time to talk to her about what few people knew. “I was married shortly after I reached my majority.” He slid her a look, but she was merely waiting for him to continue. “I had been betrothed before I was in leading strings, and the marriage was supposed to have happened when I was twenty, but my guardian would not allow it.”

  Her finger came up, covering her pink lips. “That is quite young for a gentleman.”

  “Yes, but not unheard of.” He watched her slowly denude the daisy. “We were not well-suited. My father had arranged the match, and I did not think I could honorably disclaim it. After all, she had been raised to believe she would be the Duchess of Kendal. We did our duty”—as much as he wished it had been otherwise, that was all it was to both of them—“and she was soon with child. A little girl named Lillian.”

  “That is a beautiful name.”

  “It suited her. Unfortunately, she caught a fever and died.” He would have left it at that, but Thalia stared at him intently.