The Duke of Morewether’s Secret

by Amylynn Bright

  “No. What are you doing in my room? It’s quite rude.”

  Lucy’s face fell. “Oh.” She bit her lip and tears pooled in her eyes. “I’ll go.”

  “No, please don’t cry. I’m sorry.” Honest to God, he couldn’t take one more female being disappointed in him. “Stay right there.” Ritual be damned. He moved to his dressing room and relieved himself and splashed water on his face. “Ring the bell,” he called to her.

  His valet entered with a pot of coffee and an array of biscuits. At least one person respected the ritual.

  “Send up some tea for Lucy.” He told the man as he accepted a cup filled to the brim with glorious black salvation.

  “What is that?” she pointed to his cup.

  “Coffee. From Turkey.” He singed his lip.

  “I’ll have that.”

  He eyed the girl over his cup. He sincerely doubted even a mother as outrageous as Veronica gave her child coffee. “I don’t think so.”

  “I love coffee.” She seemed confident on the matter.

  But then, what the hell did he know about what kind of mother Veronica was. He shrugged and handed her his cup. “Be careful; it’s hot.”

  She took him at his word and blew on the liquid before putting her lips to the brim. One small sip and the girl’s attitude changed. The coffee was ejected most violently, spit spraying over the carpet.

  Lucy stuck out her tongue, her face a mask of repulsion. “That’s awful.”

  Christian laughed and his head almost popped off his neck. “Now do you want some tea?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Have a biscuit. It’ll kill the taste.”

  The valet handed over a headache powder then left to fetch the tea and probably someone to clean the carpet.

  “These are yummy.” She was making her way through the chocolate biscuits rather handily.

  He grabbed several before they were gone, then sat on the edge of his bed, munching and watching, trying to figure out this child. “Where is Miss Honeysett?”

  Lucy shrugged and avoided his gaze.

  “If you had to guess …”

  She glanced up then her eyes darted away. “Perhaps the conservatory?”

  He stood and refilled his coffee cup. “Don’t you think she’s wondering about you?”

  “Probably.”

  “I suspect.” Christian thought of the new governess who was likely frantic after having lost her charge in only a matter of hours.

  “She’d never think to look for me here, though. Smart, yes?”

  It was. As annoying as it was finding her here, he did have to admit it was inspired. “Hiding from her is a bit cruel, don’t you think?”

  “You know what’s cruel? Her making me learn needlepoint. That’s what she wanted to do today. What’s the point of that?”

  “That’s what she’s to do. Educate you with the knowledge you need to know.”

  The look she shot him was overflowing with skepticism. “I need to know needlepoint? What for? That seems stupid, and I’m not a stupid girl.”

  It seemed she definitely wasn’t a stupid girl. A surge of pride in his abilities to procreate left him feeling warm. “I’ve hired the governess to see to it you know what a lady needs to know.” Not an actress. His daughter would not live life so low. He made the decision on the spot. He hadn’t originally intended Miss Honeysett make an actual lady out of his girl, but now he desired it fervently “When you go to the country with Miss Honeysett she will see you begin your education in the womanly arts.”

  “But I don’t want to go to the country.” She stuck out her lip again. “I want to go to school.”

  “And you shall. My head hurts, and I don’t want an argument.”

  He had his valet return his smart daughter to Miss Honeysett, who he understood was nearly apoplectic over her disappearance.

  Over the course of the week after Thea ran away, Christian convinced the captain of the Starlight Seeker, a merchant ship, to accept him for passage to Athens. The ship did not normally allow for passengers, but when the duke was persuasive, he was very persuasive. The accommodations would be considerably less than what he was used to and far from what his wife enjoyed on the Persephone, but the boat was leaving sooner than the next ship that would sail. A trip over land was not to be considered. The amount of time it would take to travel cross county — well he might as well give up on his wife. Time was of the essence.

  Once the passage had been agreed upon, Christian spent his time fretting. He avoided White’s or Tattersalls or any of the other places his acquaintances frequented. It seemed the entire society of all London was aware of his fleeing wife. Mercifully, most people didn’t know the cause of the estrangement, but that didn’t prevent speculation. Amazingly, none of the gossip even got close to the actual reason, but then again, Christian wasn’t exactly sure of the reason himself.

  He assumed Veronica’s appearance on her wedding day was more than Thea had bargained for when marrying a former rogue.

  For former was definitely what he was. Their motivations were unclear, but several of his mistresses had come calling after the news came out, offering their services yet again. He hadn’t considered the possibility for even an instant. Surely that earned him some points in the marriage battle, but there was no one around to award them to him.

  He mentioned his thoughts to Anna, his mother, and his sister when they cornered him in his study.

  “Surely you don’t expect your wife to give you credit for not entertaining other women?” Anna said the words with disbelief. His sister merely stared at him with knitted brows.

  “Of course not.” But he did.

  “Oh, Christian,” his mother intoned with a disappointed look.

  Anna tossed her head and tsked at him, walking away with her arms crossed over her chest.

  “I really adore Thea,” Francesca laid her hand on his arm.

  His mother tilted her head to the side. “We all do.”

  “As do I, obviously,” he told her. “Where are you going with this?”

  Francesca sighed. “I don’t know. This is a sticky situation.”

  Something he was obviously aware of. “I’m leaving in a matter of days to fetch her home. I’ll figure it out.” He tried to sound much more confident than he felt.

  Anna sat on the sofa with a huff. “I love you as much as I’d love an actual brother of my own, so I trust you’ll take this in the spirit in which it’s intended. I don’t have as much hope of that as you do.”

  Christian bowed as ironically as a duke was able, low and with an extensive arm flourish. “Thank you so very much. You’re the epitome of graciousness.”

  “Children.” his mother chided. She was forever running intermediary. “Let’s not waste time quarreling.”

  Anna rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t have any idea what’s going on here.”

  “How is that possible? For God’s sake, she’s my wife. It was my wedding and my marriage. Of course I know what’s going on.”

  The mean little sprite smirked at him. “It was your wedding and your marriage and your ex-lover and your child.”

  Francesca rubbed her forehead. His mother paced.

  “Your point?” Was it too early to start drinking?

  Anna straightened her spine. She loved being the center of attention. Her lectures made Christian want to scream. “Do you have any inkling why Thea left?”

  “She would never speak to me.”

  Francesca tilted her head and gave him a pitying look. “Thomas told me you sat out there for two days. That’s very romantic.”

  He pursed his lips. “Well, that didn’t score me any points in the battle either.”

  Anna waved her hands furiously. “I know why Thea left. Do you want to know?”

  Drinking was definitely in order. Christian turned towards the sideboard. He didn’t need to plead for Anna’s insight. She’d tell him regardless of his wishes.

  “It’s your child.”

/>   “More than the actress?” Francesca asked.

  “Well, she certainly didn’t help.”

  Christian took a long drink and watched them discuss his disaster of a life.

  “You know how she feels about her brothers. How could you keep a child secret from her?” Anna stood and marched herself at him.

  “It’s appalling,” his mother chastised. “Your father would have been so disappointed.”

  “I don’t need to answer to any one of you.” He launched into his own attack.

  Francesca nodded. “Of course not. Still, very poorly done. I can’t believe you never said a word to any of us about this.”

  He straightened to his full height and tucked one hand into his pocket, assuming his most cavalier attitude. “I dare say, the three of you would be astounded by the number of things I don’t disclose to you about my sexual conquests.”

  A chorus of gasps filled the room. Good. It served them right.

  He barreled on, fueled by the righteous fury that had consumed him since Thea left. “Veronica and I have been apart for years. We weren’t even together when Lucy was born. Thea left that morning before I had a chance to explain, and she never gave me the chance before she ran away.” He paused for a dramatic breath. “But what’s even worse is that all of you are willing to think the worst of me. It never occurred to you that there may be more to the story than what you think?”

  His mother reached for him. “I don’t want to know about your affairs, but it would be reasonable for you to tell someone, anyone, about something so monumental.”

  “And yet, I think my wife needs to hear my story before any one of you does.” He looked to each of the women in turn. They each seemed properly contrite. Francesca wouldn’t even look at him. “Lucy is my daughter. That is a fact. I expect each of you to take my concerns about my child into account from this point forward.”

  Anna spoke in a subdued voice. “Thea’s father refused to recognize his bastard sons, and since his death, she has been working relentlessly to make amends for his treatment.”

  “Of course. I assisted her in clearing their way for school.” He’d thought his wife was unfailingly altruistic to use her inheritance to fund her half-brothers’ educations when the boys’ own father didn’t bother.

  Francesca leaned forward. “She does understand no member of the peerage recognizes children conceived on the wrong side of the blanket, doesn’t she?”

  Christian contemplated his sister’s question. Maybe Thea knew that in theory. Obviously her father had never done such a thing. “I have every intention of recognizing Lucy.”

  His mother’s expression softened, the worry gone to be replaced by the suggestion of a smile. “I’m sure you’ll do what’s best.”

  Anna pushed herself away from the sofa and came towards him. “I do want you to succeed in winning Thea back. I really do.” She patted him on the arm.

  “Me, too. My advice to you,” Francesca told him with a kiss on the opposite cheek, “is to listen to her carefully and agree to whatever she says.”

  He suspected that was the best advice he was ever going to get in this war.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Lucy swung the door closed and waited until she heard the soft snick of the catch engaging before she let go of the handle. Watching her father sleep again did not hold any appeal. So what to do with herself now?

  She wandered down the long hall, aimless. She’d already investigated all the bedrooms on that floor and not found much of interest. Actually, she’d not been in the Dowager’s suite. Those rooms intimidated her. She slipped down the back stairs so she could avoid the tenacious Miss Honeysett if she was looking for her. On the next floor she wandered through the gallery.

  She’d heard that galleries in great houses had portraits of ancestors, but that this one did not. Miss Honeysett had told her that the paintings on these walls were by old masters. Lucy really liked the one by the chap called Rembrandt. The face of the man in the picture looked like Cedric Gill from the butcher shop in her old neighborhood. The painting by the man called Titian made her giggle every time she looked at it. There were naked babies flying all over the thing. It was really very silly.

  When she arrived at the one by Rubens, she sat on the floor and gazed at it. This one was her favorite. The enormous canvas depicted a village fair with bright colors and deep browns and greens. She was reminded of a fair she had gone to once with the theater troupe. There had been dancing and food booths where her mother had allowed her sugared fruit. The artist’s vision was so vivid, Lucy almost smelled the grass and crowds. As much as she loved meeting her father and the rest of his family — her family — the picture made her sad and a little bit lonely for her theater friends. This huge townhouse was too quiet.

  She climbed to her feet and wandered back towards the big staircase. That’s how she thought about it. She measured it yesterday and she was certain six people could walk abreast the entire way. Five if one of them was fat like Rose, the wardrobe mistress.

  Peeking around the corner, she didn’t see Miss Honeysett in the foyer. Her governess wanted to paint today. Lucy shuddered. No one was in the foyer, which was unusual. There was always a maid or the butler or housekeeper milling around. She counted to ten and still no one appeared. Dare she? She counted again, to twenty this time and put the word hippopotamus between each number. When there was still no one there she figured it must be destiny. The poets were always talking about destiny. She hadn’t really understood what they meant before, but this must be what they were talking about.

  She approached the banister and swiped her hand along the varnished surface. Biting her lip, she swung her leg over the top and pulled herself up until she was straddling the wood. She lay on her stomach and clutched the railing. A quick look over her shoulder, and she let go. The high polish on the oak and the cotton of her dress allowed for no friction and she veritably sailed down the entire length, following the curve until she arrived at the end and flew across the room landing hard on the carpet.

  “Ow!” Her chin smarted and that was the pain she focused on until she realized there was blood in her mouth. Panic welled in her chest. Where could she spit it out?

  “Don’t you dare spit in my vase.” The dowager duchess pronounced the word with a strange “a,” sounding upper crust.

  Lucy tried her best not to cry because then the blood would come out of her mouth and ruin the pretty dress her father bought her. She hiccupped instead, but that made the blood come out anyway.

  Her grandmother strode towards her with a handkerchief in her hand. “Here,” she said as she tucked the material under Lucy’s chin, catching the blood as it dribbled out. “Open and let me see.”

  The old lady frightened her. Her grandmother was pretty, for someone so old, and dressed fancy all the time. She’d never been mean to Lucy necessarily, but she hadn’t been especially nice either, not like the lady her father had married. Still, it didn’t seem like she would tolerate any misbehavior, so Lucy opened her mouth so she could look inside.

  “Oh, you bit your tongue, is all. It’s not bad. You’ll heal. Maybe a glass of milk will help and it’ll wash away the taste of blood.” Her grandmother released her chin and strode to the nearest of the bell pulls, yanking hard. When one of the maids immediately hustled into the room, a glass of milk was requested along with a pot of tea to be taken to her morning room.

  “It’th thore,” Lucy told her when the woman turned back around to face her.

  “I imagine it is.” Cautious eyes looked her up and down and Lucy felt properly inspected by the time the woman’s eyes returned to meet hers. “You shouldn’t be sliding down the banister, you know. It’s not proper.”

  Lucy cast her gaze to the carpet. “I’m thorry. I won’t do it again.” It would not do to annoy the old lady. After all, she was her grandmother and Lucy was not so young and naïve to realize her position in the house, and in her father’s life, was tenuous.

  The
woman stepped closer. “Besides, you know where you went wrong, don’t you?”

  Lucy flashed her eyes back to the old woman, and for the first time since meeting her grandmother, there was a look in the woman’s eyes that was something more than annoyance. “Umm,” Lucy stammered. “I gueth not.”

  “You were going too fast there at the bottom. You need to control your speed with your legs. If you squeeze the wood between your thighs you’re able to control your descent much better.”

  Lucy gawked at her, mouth hanging open and surprise rendering her mute.

  Then her grandmother smiled and her green eyes twinkled. “You don’t believe me?”

  Before Lucy could respond, the woman took her by the elbow and moved her back up the stairs. Her grip was gentle as she directed her back into the family’s apartments, and into the woman’s own bedroom suite. They took a right turn and, instead of going into her bedroom, they entered a pale yellow sitting room.

  The windows were draped in sheer white fabric letting in the soft morning light. The furniture was covered in flowery material, yellow and pink and blue. There were books piled around various tables and a giant basket full of sewing things. The biggest, fattest orange cat Lucy had ever seen lay on the floor in the middle of a long sunbeam, basking in the warmth. The tea and milk had arrived before them and had been placed on the table in front of the sofa. The servants moved fast in this house.

  “Sit,” her grandmother told her.

  Lucy wanted to touch the cat. His thick fur nearly screamed to be stroked, but she did what the woman bid her. She took the glass when it was offered and swallowed a big gulp. Already her mouth felt better. “You were right.”

  “That nasty taste is gone?”

  Lucy nodded and looked back at the cat. He’d sensed their presence and rolled over onto his back, all four feet in the air, and raised his drowsy head to inspect the intruders. He eyed Lucy with an interested feline gaze then turned back over and rose to his feet. His belly nearly grazed the floor as he waddled over to where they sat.

  “That absurd animal is Ferdinand.”