“Leave off, you incorrigible flirt!” laughed Kate, with only a half-hearted attempt to push him off her as the door to the study opened. She looked up, half expecting the butler or another of the family servants, but the man who stood in the doorway was both an intimate and a stranger all at once.
“Lexborough,” she breathed, barely able to say his name. Her husband, however, did not acknowledge her directly, his eyes sliding instead to Arthur.
“Would you mind explaining, my dear brother, why you are alone in this study and kissing my wife?”
Two
“Good God, man, is it really you?”
The first words from his little brother were not the ones that Alex Weatherly, 5th Duke of Lexborough, had expected to hear upon their reunion, but then, he equally had not expected some damned fop with shirt points that reached his cheekbones, a riotous head of curls that looked like they had been tousled to within an inch of their life, and what looked suspiciously like a lavender waistcoat.
“Apparently so,” he replied, looking his brother up and down.
He’d also somehow forgotten that Arthur was no longer a lanky 14-year-old who was yet to grow into his own skin, or that his brother was so close in age to Alex’s own wife.
A wife that looked as though her world had ended.
“When did you get back? Why didn’t you let us know you were arriving?” said Arthur, crossing the room toward him, his face a wreath of smiles. “Lord, won’t Mother and Helena be shocked to see you!”
Alex started as his brother went to hug him – only to stop at the last moment. His smile faded as the silence grew between them; grew as Alex realised he knew nothing at all about the dandy in front of him.
“It was a last moment decision,” said Alex, with enough truth not to feel guilty. “And yes, I expected you would all be surprised.”
“Yes. Well. We are. At least I am. Kate, did you know? No, that’s a silly question – of course you didn’t,” said Arthur.
“It is good to learn that you are in her confidence,” said Alex, and almost winced at his own tone of voice.
“Arthur has been a great source of support for me,” said Kate, her voice soft.
She had made no move toward him, Alex noted.
Not that he blamed her.
Damn, but none of this was going the way he had planned.
“Same back at you, Katie,” said his brother, all grins once again. “You’ve pulled me out of enough scrapes over the years!”
“Has she, indeed?”
Arthur coloured up suddenly, looking between Alex and Kate with his mouth opening and closing like a fish.
“What your brother means, Lexborough, is that the two of us have been thick as thieves these past ten years, and more than once I have had to rescue him from vicious pugs, matchmaking mamas, and even the occasional pigeon.”
Alex blinked at her odd statement, but Arthur seemed amused by it.
“You’re a wretch, Katie!”
“And you’re in the way, Arthur!” she said with a sigh belied by her smile. “I know you have missed your brother very much, but pray allow me ten minutes with my husband!”
“Oh of course!” said Arthur, brightening up as he turned back to face Alex. “You must be wishing me at Jericho! Tell you what, I’ll go and fetch back Mother and Helena – they’d never forgive me otherwise. I’ll stall them for half an hour, shall I? Yes, that’s what I’ll do. Capital to have you back, Alex. We… we shall catch up tomorrow, perhaps?”
Alex met his younger brother’s uncertain gaze and saw the fourteen-year-old puppy he’d left behind all those years before. He relaxed enough to grip Arthur on the shoulder and smile. “I look forward to it immensely, old chap.”
“Capital!” said Arthur, rewarding him with a smile so broad it could only be genuine before he practically scampered out of the room.
Alex shook his head, a reluctant smile pulling at his own lips. “Some things never change.”
“And yet they do at quite the same time,” said Kate, bringing him back to the present.
Back to his father’s study, which looked and smelled exactly the same as it always had.
Back to Kate, who could not be more different to the girl he had abandoned hours after they had been wed.
“You’ve grown,” was all he could think of to say. She smiled, but it did not reach her eyes.
“Yes, Duncan says I turned into a regular Amazon. I doubt it was meant as a compliment, but one can never tell with my brother.”
“Yes – he is the Earl now, isn’t he?”
Kate inclined her head. “Yes, from about three months after you left. Father did not make it through the winter – but you know that.”
“Of course,” he said quietly, not knowing how else to respond. The old Earl’s ill health was the only reason he’d allowed himself to be coerced into marrying a girl from the schoolroom – a father’s desperation to see his daughter wed. His own father’s desperation to grant his best friend’s dying wish.
There was another long silence. Kate suddenly gave herself a little shake and drew a deep breath, as though preparing herself for an unpleasant task. Her smile, however, was that of a society hostess as she walked toward him, her arms outstretched.
“I am so sorry, Lexborough, for the poor welcome,” she said – and he noted that she continued to refer to him by his title, not his given name. “I had no notion you were considering returning to us, otherwise I would have ensured some better arrangements. I trust the servants are taking your things up to your room?”
He took her gloved hands in his, kissing the air just above her fingers.
“Yes, but I brought little with me; my valet is following with the majority of my things in the next few days.”
“No doubt you wanted to rush home and see your family,” she replied, although something about her tone made him suspect she excluded herself from that group. “I trust you are well? How was Italy? Has the dig proven successful?”
She went to pull away, but he found himself holding her hands just that little bit tighter. Kate was not the small girl he remembered, but a tall, beautiful woman who no longer had to look up to meet his gaze.
“I am very well, thank you, and both Italy and the excavation were running smoothly when I left. In fact, we made some interesting discoveries that-” he paused, then shook his head. “No matter, it would undoubtedly bore you senseless if I start running over a lot of things that you know nothing about!”
He thought she scowled for a moment, but the expression was gone so quickly that he could not be certain it had ever truly been there.
“Undoubtedly,” she repeated with a smile. “As I’m sure you would be just as bored to hear about all of the things I do in my spare time.”
He smiled in return. “All fribbles and furbelows I should guess. I’m afraid I know nothing of the latest fashions, so would be a poor audience for your thoughts on the cut of a dress, or an embroidery pattern.”
“Yes, it seems we have very little in common,” Kate replied, pulling her hands away with a gentle tug that compelled him to let her go.
Alex frowned, the conversation straying far from his intended path. “I hope we are not complete strangers, Kate; I would like to think I have come to know you through your letters.”
She flashed a bemused smile as she settled herself down into the old leather armchair with an ease that suggested she regularly curled up in it.
In a chair that he had never seen anyone but his father occupy.
“Yes, I did send you rather a lot of letters, didn’t I? I do hope you didn’t mind too much, considering how busy you must have been. I appreciated your notes when they arrived, of course.”
He winced as the shaft struck home. “Angry at me, Kate?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Good Heavens, no! I have had so much to keep me busy over the years that I have no notion as to how I should have fitted a husband into my schedule. Of course, now that you are home I shall
endeavour to make some room in my calendar. Speaking of which, we must have an event of some sort to celebrate your return home. A ball, perhaps – the Ton will be desperate to see the long-lost Duke back in the fold!”
“Good Lord,” he said with a shudder, “It is almost enough to make me run back to the Continent!”
“It is only to be expected,” she said with a smile that bordered on condescending. “We shall have to come up with a theme, of course.”
“My mother will come up with something I’m sure,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “It is her role, after all.”
There was a brief pause before Kate answered him. “Yes. Of course.”
There was a long, awkward silence. Kate gazed at him with an expression he could not read, but her regard made him feel like a lanky schoolboy asked to explain why he had committed a prank rather than a Duke a few months shy of his thirtieth year.
“You must be wondering why I decided to come home,” he said, to break the silence more than anything.
“It is your right to come and go as you please, Lexborough. I would not presume to demand an explanation of you.”
“You are my wife, after all,” he replied, trying to stand tall before her unwavering gaze. “I should at the very least keep you informed of my whereabouts.”
“It would have been more convenient if you had,” she said, with a nod of agreement.
He blinked, wrong-footed by her response once again. He had the uncomfortable suspicion that she was mocking him, but found it hard to believe that the naïve country girl he had left behind could have grown into a society dame.
“Well, the truth is I’m not sure how long I shall be remaining in England, as it all depends on the purchase of some land.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, nothing to worry your head over – I expect I can conclude it with the steward easily enough.”
“Forgive my ignorance, but doesn’t Hopkins usually sort all of your land transactions for you?”
Alex found it hard to contain his surprise. “I did not think you would know much about my man of business, although I suppose you must have met him when he comes to meet with Mother.”
“I have had the pleasure of talking with him many a time,” she replied, “including when you asked him to purchase that piece of marshland to the east of Darlington Park. He was quite unhappy about that, let me tell you.”
“Poured his woes into your ears, did he? Well after mother insisted he go through with the purchase he settled down – and it is a long-term investment, I assure you.”
“Your mother insisted?” she said, looking surprised.
“Yes, were you not aware of that? He sent me a rather terse note saying ‘the Duchess has informed me that I must, as always, acquiesce to your request on this matter.’ I nearly died laughing when I read it, for from her own letters I would never have guessed her opinion held such sway with him!”
“I suspect your mother would be quite shocked to learn that as well,” said Kate, shaking her head.
“I thought it best for all of your comfort that I conclude this particular transaction myself. The land in question – well, I shall not ruin the surprise, for it may all come to nothing after all.”
He couldn’t read the expression on her face – and wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted to see, even if he could. He was still struggling with the realisation that his wife was no longer a young girl barely out of the schoolroom, but rather this attractive, well-dressed woman before him.
“Do you intend to remain in London, or do you head off immediately to view this land of yours?” she inquired, her tone suggesting that she cared little either way.
For some reason, that rankled.
“If it does not trouble you too much I may remain for a short while, just to renew some old friendships, you understand,” he replied.
Her gaze narrowed, something between anger and hurt.
“I understand perfectly. Do let me know if you wish to entertain, won’t you? I would hate for us to be double booked with something important,” she said, finishing on a bored sigh.
“I am sure that my mother can take care of such arrangements, so you need not feel compelled to put yourself out for my consideration,” he snapped back.
Kate rolled her eyes. “One thing neither of us can be accused of, Lexborough, is having any consideration for the other.”
Her words hit like barbed shafts, and he found himself bereft of any response. Before he had any chance of putting his thoughts in order, however, a commotion from the hallway drew their attention. The door to the study flew open, and a strikingly pretty young girl raced toward him, Arthur a few steps behind.
“Alex, I knew you would come home!” his sister cried out as he caught her in his arms. “Now you are back everything will be put to rights, and we can be happy again!”
He laughed, unable to resist rubbing the top of her head and mussing up her hair. She squeaked in protest but did not let go of his arm.
“Hello, brat,” he said with a grin. “Look at you, all dressed up like a regular out-and-outer!”
“Didn’t Kate tell you, I’m all the crack in London,” she replied with a dismissive shrug. “Of course, I am not always dressed quite as fashionably as I would choose for myself, but then-”
“Hush, Helena,” said his mother as she entered the study, looking almost precisely the same as she had the day Alex had left, “your brother hardly cares for such things as the vagaries of female fashions.”
“Mother is right, as always,” Alex replied, disentangling himself from his sister’s embrace. “She should always be listened to.”
“I do, but the problem is that Mama tends to listen to – ouch!” Helena squawked in pain as their brother grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the side.
“Quiet, you little harpy,” muttered Arthur with more aggression than Alex thought necessary. “Can’t you see Mother wants to greet Alex for herself?”
Helena looked positively mulish for a moment, but one glance at their mother seemed to soften her.
“I… I’m so sorry, Alex, Mama. I’ve just missed him terribly.”
“As have I,” said their mother, her words wounding more than Alex could have ever thought. She approached him with her arms outstretched, her smile warm and her eyes damp with unshed tears.
“Hello,” was all he could think of to say as they embraced. She held tightly to him for a very long time.
“You stayed away too long,” she replied, without anger or accusation.
“I’m sorry,” he replied, knowing in his heart that it didn’t come close enough to what he truly needed to say to her.
She pulled away, gave a decided sniff, and then smiled at him. “We will have to have a celebration to mark your return, darling. It is not every day that a long-lost Duke returns to the Ton; what do you think, Kate, should we have a ball, or something more intimate?”
His wife smiled and looked down at her lap. “I have no notion; what do you think would be best?”
Alex noted the look of bafflement on his mother’s face, but it was Helena who answered.
“A ball! Oh, we must have a ball! Please, Mama! It would be beyond everything!”
His mother looked troubled, but Kate just smiled blandly, offering no comment.
“I suppose a Ball would be nice,” she said, looking at Alex with something approaching a frown. “Would you enjoy that, do you think?”
“Not in the least,” he replied with a cheerful grin, “but I expected my return to the Ton would involve such events. No doubt Helena and Kate will have fun, which is what matters.”
Helena screamed out her excitement, launching herself at him once again. “I knew we would be happy when you came back – and I was right!”
“My exaltation knows no bounds,” said Kate, her expression once again marked by decided ennui. “Now if you will all excuse me, I must go and check on the preparations for Lexborough’s rooms. We cannot have him uncomfor
table on his first night home, now can we?”
Alex looked over the top of his sister’s head, trying to filter out her excited chatter as he reached out one hand toward Kate, but she swept past him and disappeared out of the study without another word.
Three
Lady Eugenia Pulford, the youngest daughter of the Marquess of Flamborough, forced herself to put a smile on her face as she watched Lady Helena skip down the steps of her home and toward the carriage. The younger girl was dressed in a cream gown with a geranium-red spencer, and a darling little capote cap trimmed with ribbons and strawberries that looked glorious against the stray black curls that had escaped confinement.
“Eugenia, you will never guess my news!” announced Helena loudly as she clambered up into the barouche with the grace of a puppy.
Eugenia had to force her mouth shut to prevent herself from reminding Helena to use the correct form of address. With any other individual, regardless of their peerage, she was insistent on being called Lady Eugenia even in the most casual of settings.
Unfortunately, Helena was the daughter of a Duke and thus outranked her, and as nothing on God’s green earth could bring Eugenia to address the spoiled girl as Lady Helena, no matter how correct it was to do so, she forced herself to swallow her spleen and merely smiled.
“Then I shall not try,” she replied as lightly as she could.
Helena stuck out a bottom lip. “Well, that’s no fun!”
Eugenia decided not to respond to this and instead ordered her coachman to drive them to Hyde Park. Being seen during the Fashionable Hour was not something that Eugenia was willing to miss, and although Helena’s company might grate on her nerves, she had to admit that the girl drew lots of approving attention that could only add to her own consequence.
“Are you not even in the least bit curious?” asked Helena, obviously disgruntled.
“No, for I know you well enough to be sure that you will tell me your news eventually.”
Helena looked surprised at this barb but then began to laugh. “You’re bamming me again, aren’t you? Arthur always says I am a prattle-box, but I cannot help wanting to share marvellous news, now can I?”
The Rebel Wife: Book Four in the Regency Romps Series Page 2
