To Defy a Duke: Dangerous Dukes Vol 1

by Wendy Soliman

  ‘I think damage to your head was more extensive than you realise,’ she said with asperity. ‘Perhaps Lord Shelton’s physician should bleed you instead of him.’

  He laughed, the intimate mood was broken, and they covered the remaining short distance to the house in silence.

  ‘Here we are,’ he said, opening a side door that lead into a vast entrance vestibule with a chequered floor and a stunning candelabra overhead.

  The butler appeared out of nowhere, as butlers were wont to do.

  ‘Your grace?’

  ‘Archer.’

  The butler looked askance at Athena, clearly anxious to know how she could possibly have business with the master of the house when she was supposed to be helping Lady Susan. The duke showed no indication to satisfy his curiosity. The relaxed, teasing Eli was gone, and in his place was the imperial duke, used to doing as he wished without recourse to anyone. The alternation was quite remarkable, reminding Athena of the chasm that separated them, if any reminder were necessary.

  ‘Is Lord Shelton is his rooms, Archer?’

  ‘Yes, your grace, I believe he is.’

  ‘Come,’ he said softly, taking Athena’s elbow and leading her to a grand sweeping staircase, wide enough for four people to ascend it side by side.

  There was a magnificent gallery at the top of the stairs, lined with portraits, presumably Eli’s ancestors. Athena would have liked to pause and examine them, but Eli’s fast pace didn’t slow. She imagined he wanted her out of sight as soon as possible, which made her wonder why he hadn’t brought her up the back stairs. The answer to that question soon became obvious. Maids and footmen paused in their duties to defer to Eli, and then flattened themselves against the walls so as not to hinder his progress. So used to them scattering before him was he that he didn’t seem to notice them. The duke escorting an unknown—albeit very lowly dressed lady—through the body of the house would not excite undue comment because they would assume she had a legitimate reason for being there. Bringing her in through the servants’ entrance would engender endless gossip and speculation.

  ‘Here we are.’

  Eli paused before a door in what appeared to be the main wing of the house and entered without knocking.

  ‘Eli, is that you?’

  Athena walked through the door Eli held open for her, and then stood back as he called out to his brother, feeling like the intruder she was. The first thing that struck her was the oppressive heat. She was in a large sitting room, with a roaring fire blazing up the chimney, all the windows firmly closed. There was a cloying smell in the room she associated with ill-health. There was an open door at one end of the room, which presumably led to Lord Shelton’s bedroom.

  How could Eli be sure his brother was in a fit state to receive a stranger, she wondered. The idea he might not be didn’t appear to have occurred to the duke. He strode into the room, his irritated expression far from convincing. Even Athena, who didn’t know him well, could detect the concern he was trying to conceal.

  ‘Are you still lazing about in that damned chair, Harry?’ he asked, shaking his head in a poor display of disapproval. ‘Anyone would think there was no work to be done around these parts.’

  ‘You know me, Eli. I never miss an opportunity to shirk.’

  Athena stood at Eli’s shoulder, examining the gentleman who had just spoken. Even these few words caused a dry cough to rattle through his body. He appeared to be almost as tall as Eli, with a similar shock of thick black hair and piercing, intelligent eyes. His body, what she could see of it, was far thinner than the duke’s and, in spite of the overwarm room, his face was deathly pale. A thick blanket was tucked over his legs, and covered half his chest. He must have been sweltering.

  ‘I’ve brought a lady to meet you.’ Eli reached for Athena’s arm and brought her farther forward. ‘This is Mrs Defoe. Mrs Defoe, may I present my brother, Lord Shelton.’

  Athena curtsied and then took Lord Shelton’s outstretched hand. His eyes lit up with interest as he examined her, and a speaking look passed between the brothers.

  ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Defoe. Please excuse me if I don’t get up. This cough, you understand.’

  ‘I understand completely, Lord Shelton. Don’t give it another thought.’

  ‘That’s why Mrs Defoe is here, Harry. She has extensive knowledge of herbs, and I thought she might be able to help you.’

  ‘I’m sure she can help me no end.’ Lord Shelton’s eyes continued to sparkle, but his words stalled as he again coughed. Athena tried not to frown, but knew things were very bad for this engaging young man. ‘Not sure about the herbs, though.’

  ‘Nonsense. The damned quack mother keeps sending for does you no good.’

  ‘That’s true enough.’ Lord Shelton sent Athena such a gleaming smile, so like his brother’s, that she couldn’t help responding. ‘Will you take a seat, Mrs Defoe? Parker, some refreshments for my visitors.’

  A man Athena hadn’t previously noticed extracted himself from behind Lord Shelton’s chair and rang the bell.

  ‘Mrs Defoe treated this,’ Eli said, pointing at his bandaged head.

  ‘Did she indeed? I won’t ask how she happened to be on hand to do so, but it’s all over the house that your wound is healing at breakneck speed. Even I got to hear of it, stuck away in here.’ Lord Shelton sent his brother a teasing grin. ‘How come you fell from Byron, anyway, Eli? The brute doesn’t usually get the better of you.’

  Eli snorted. ‘You obviously haven’t been drinking with Franklin or Johnson recently, or you wouldn’t ask such a damned fool question.’

  ‘Franklin?’ Athena canted her head and elevated one brow at the duke. ‘I had not thought you quite so lacking in imagination as all that.’

  ‘I wasn’t myself.’

  ‘No, I don’t suppose you were.’

  She was openly laughing at him, something which she suspected not many people dared to do. Well, she had no reason to curry favour. Besides, had he not just told her he enjoyed being treated like a normal person? Lord Shelton looked bemused by the exchange, but Athena didn’t think it was her place to enlighten him.

  ‘I haven’t been drinking with anyone recently,’ he said, sounding rather aggrieved. ‘However, those two have skulls even thicker than yours, Eli. If you tried to keep pace with them, I suppose you can be excused for losing your balance.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Eli said, his lips twitching. ‘However, thanks to Mrs Defoe’s skill and quick thinking, no lasting damage was done. I’m a convert to her herbal cures.’

  ‘So am I,’ Lord Shelton replied, with another engaging smile for Athena. ‘And I haven’t even tried them yet.’

  ‘I’m lending Mrs Defoe to you only so that she can treat your malady,’ the duke said in a castigating tone.

  ‘Just a moment, your grace.’ Athena fixed him to a lofty glance. ‘I’m hardly yours to loan. You make me sound like an item of merchandise.’

  Lord Shelton’s man visibly stiffened at Athena’s tone of address. Lord Shelton, on the other hand, guffawed, which made him cough.

  ‘Good for you, Mrs Defoe,’ he said, when he recovered himself. ‘Do not, on any account, allow him to bully you.’

  ‘Oh, I can assure you, Lord Shelton. I do not.’

  ‘She speaks the truth,’ Eli said with a rueful smile, and Lord Shelton found that amusing, too.

  A maid appeared with a tea tray, her eyes widening when she observed Athena. Lord Shelton’s man poured, and passed around the cups. Then he withdrew a respectful distance, presumably listening intently to their conversation, details of which would be all over the servants’ hall within the hour.

  ‘His grace tells me you’ve been plagued with weak lungs for some years, Lord Shelton,’ Athena said with quiet sympathy. ‘Has nothing the doctors recommended helped you?’

  ‘Not really. Sea air is all right, if the weather’s fine. But, of course, most of the time it isn’t, not in this country, and the damp seems to ma
ke it worse.’

  ‘It has been recommended that Harry goes to live in warmer climes,’ Eli said. ‘But none of us are keen on that idea. Not even Harry himself.’

  ‘It might be a temporary cure, Lord Shelton, but in my opinion it’s necessary to treat the underlying cause of your ailment.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘Inflammation of the lung.’ She frowned. ‘Do you feel the cold, Lord Shelton?’

  ‘No, I’m insufferably warm, but the doctor insists that I remain trussed up like a turkey. Draughts, apparently, could be my undoing.’ Athena shook her head. ‘You disagree with that assessment, Mrs Defoe?’

  ‘There’s such a thing as being too warm. Forgive me, but the air in this room is stale. Provided you are suitably attired, I think you would benefit from opening the windows for a while during daylight hours, and airing the room.’

  Parker cleared his throat. Athena glanced at him and could see he violently disagreed. He opened his mouth, presumably caught sight of Eli’s warning frown, and as quickly shut it again.

  ‘Mrs Defoe,’ Lord Shelton said with feeling. ‘You can have no idea how ardently I yearn for fresh air.’

  ‘The windows, Parker,’ Eli barked. ‘Open them. Get rid of the damned blanket that’s near suffocating Lord Shelton, and get some fresh air into this room.’

  ‘As your grace wishes.’

  Parker walked towards the windows, his spine rigid with disapproval. Out of Eli’s sphere of vision, he turned to bestow a suspicious glare upon Athena. She had met this type of prejudice towards her methods more times than she could count, and ignored him.

  ‘I feel better already,’ Lord Shelton said when the blanket was removed and a soft breeze filtered through the open windows.

  ‘I am very glad to hear it.’ Athena smiled at him. ‘Presumably you have a well-stocked stillroom here at Winsdale Park.’

  ‘Is our stillroom well-stocked, Parker?’ the duke asked.

  ‘Indeed, your grace. It’s my understanding that it contains herbs from all over the world.’

  Athena’s fingers were already itching to sort through them. ‘Well then, with your permission, Lord Shelton, I shall make free use of it. If the herbs I require are there, I can make an inhalation which I’m fairly sure will bring you immediate relief.’

  ‘If you can do that, Mrs Defoe, then I shall do whatever is necessary to steal you away from Eli. He definitely doesn’t deserve you.’

  Athena laughed. ‘Then if someone could show me the way.’

  The bell was rung and the same maid escorted Athena through a maze of corridors, until they reached a cool stillroom in the bowels of the house.

  ‘Here we are, madam,’ the maid said. ‘Can I help you at all?’

  ‘No, but watch carefully what I do. If it works, it will need to be repeated. Don’t leave me. I shall never find my way back to Lord Shelton’s room on my own.’

  The walls of the stillroom were lined with shelves loaded with glass bottles, all neatly labelled. It would have been an apothecary’s delight. Even Athena was unsure where some of them had originated. She disciplined herself not to get side-tracked and, to her delight, found all the ingredients necessary to aid Lord Shelton’s recovery, principally thyme, coltsfoot, rosemary, and comfrey. Lavender and jasmine joined the mix as she placed an exact measure of each into a bowl and passed it to the maid.

  ‘What is your name?’ she asked.

  ‘Bertha, ma’am. I am head parlour maid here.’

  ‘You seem very young for such a responsible position.’

  Bertha’s round face broke out into a wide smile. ‘I worked my way up from scullery maid,’ she said with pride.

  ‘And do you enjoy your work?’

  ‘Oh yes. The family are ever so good to us.’

  She wouldn’t have expected Bertha to denigrate her employers in front of a stranger, but her glowing testament said much about the way the Shelton family treated their servants. Having met three of the four siblings and found them all charming, Athena easily believed it. But the duchess? She who insisted upon her younger son being bled and forced the heir to marry a woman he hardly knew. Athena shuddered, deciding to reserve judgement about that lady’s character, hoping their paths would never cross.

  ‘This needs to be taken to the kitchen, Bertha,’ Athena said. ‘Add half a bowl of water and crush the mixture over a hot flame. Stir it well, until it becomes thick in consistency, then bring it straight to Lord Shelton’s room before it cools.’

  Bertha nodded. ‘Very good, madam. I shall take you back first, then attend to this myself.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  Now she wasn’t in the duke’s company, Athena was conscious of maids and footmen staring at her with open curiosity. She was well aware her best gown was woefully inadequate, and no one in this establishment would mistake her for a lady. She held her head high and ignored the interest her presence created as she was conducted back to his lordship’s room.

  Unlike Eli, she didn’t feel she could simply walk in unannounced. She tapped on the door, which was opened for her by Parker. Eli stood when he saw her, sending her a warm smile. So, too, did Lord Shelton, although he didn’t stand.

  ‘Your stillroom is truly remarkable,’ she said with enthusiasm. ‘An inhalation is being boiled up for you in the kitchen, Lord Shelton, and should be here directly.’

  ‘Do you really think it will work?’ he asked, cautious optimism in his tone.

  Athena offered him a reassuring smile. ‘I have every expectation of it doing so, but I must stress it won’t be a cure. You will never be rid of this affliction. I might be able to ease the symptoms, enabling you to be more active than you are at present, but the weakness will always be there. As you have already discovered for yourself, damp weather, over-exertion, and all manner of other circumstances could cause a recurrence.’

  ‘A respite is more than I dared hope for an hour ago.’ He flashed another mischievous smile. ‘I am quite determined to dance at my brother’s betrothal and wish him and his bride joy, you see.’

  Eli shot him a sour look, and said nothing, which made Lord Shelton laugh.

  ‘I’m sure you will be able to dance within the week,’ Athena assured him.

  ‘Dancing is one thing. It would be too much to hope for some help with my duties from my baby brother, I suppose,’ Eli complained.

  ‘Oh, absolutely.’ Lord Shelton shared a complicit smile with Athena. ‘Work is quite out of the question, I’m sure. Is it not, Mrs Defoe? Minor situations can cause a recurrence, and work is certainly not minor.’

  Eli rolled his eyes. ‘How would you know?’

  Athena could sense the anxiety beneath Eli’s teasing tone, and truly hoped she lived up to their expectations. She was about to find out since Bertha had returned with the boiled herbs. Athena tested the consistency and declared herself satisfied with the result.

  ‘Well done, Bertha, this is exactly right.’ The maid beamed. ‘Now, Mr Parker, be so kind as to move a small table directly in front of his lordship.’

  Once the table was in place, Athena placed the steaming bowl on it and the aroma of jasmine, mingled with lavender, filled the room. Lord Shelton looked anxious.

  ‘What am I to do, Mrs Defoe? Drink it?’

  Athena laughed. ‘No, Lord Shelton. I wouldn’t wish that upon you.’

  ‘Then you are indeed an angel.’ He grimaced. ‘If you could only see what some of the quacks have expected me to ingest.’

  ‘This is not nearly so intrusive. Now, if you would kindly lean your face as close to the bowl as you can manage without burning yourself?’ He did so, and Athena placed the towel she had asked Bertha to bring with her over his bowed head. He completely disappeared from view, and there was little space for the steam to escape. ‘Breathe as deeply and evenly as you can, Lord Shelton.’

  Athena was conscious of Eli and Mr Parker looking on anxiously.

  ‘Don’t look so concerned, your grace. The worst that can happen
is it will make no difference at all.’

  ‘I can smell jasmine and lavender. What else is in there?’

  ‘You have coltsfoot in your stillroom,’ she said reverently. ‘It’s very rare, so we were fortunate in that respect. It has been used by the ancient Egyptians to treat such maladies for millennia.’

  ‘If I may ask a question, ma’am?’ Mr Parker said, scepticism mingling with the deference in his tone.

  ‘By all means.’

  ‘If this comfrey is such a magical cure, why have none of the doctors who have attended his lordship suggested its use before now?’

  ‘Because they are narrow-minded fools,’ Eli answered for her, expressing himself more forcibly than she would have done, but essentially saying the same thing.

  ‘Quite,’ Athena agreed, meeting the duke’s gaze and holding it for a second too long.

  ‘How long must he keep doing this?’ Eli asked.

  ‘Until the mixture cools.’ She sent him a questioning look. ‘Have you noticed anything unusual since Lord Shelton started inhaling?’

  ‘No, what?’

  ‘He hasn’t coughed at all.’

  Eli’s gaze flitted between his brother and Athena. ‘Well I’ll be damned!’

  ‘Very likely,’ Athena replied with a wry smile. ‘Right, that ought to be enough.’ She removed the towel from Lord Shelton’s head and he looked up at her, red in the face, but smiling. ‘How do you feel?’

  ‘Do you know, I think it did some good.’ His smile was broad and infectious. ‘Who would have thought it?’

  ‘I would have,’ Eli said, grinning also.

  ‘Your breathing is certainly less laboured, Lord Shelton,’ Athena said. ‘But don’t get carried away. These things take time. I have given Bertha precise instructions on how the infusion should be made up. If the quantities are wrong it will be less effective. His lordship should inhale twice a day for four days, Mr Parker.’

  ‘Can’t I take it as often as I feel the need?’ Lord Shelton asked.

  ‘No, long term some of the herbs will do more harm than good.’