A Duke She Can't Refuse
Page 16
She had not long left when Anthea poked her head nervously around the drawing room door. “Was that Lady Shrewsbury?” she asked, in a horrified stage whisper. “What did she want?”
“Only to deliver a wedding present.” Daisy held up the vase, which Anthea glanced at without noting anything of significance.
“Oh, thank goodness! I thought she’d come for me.” Anthea slipped all the way through the door and leaned on it to keep it closed. “I suppose you’d better both know that I have recently rejected a proposal.”
“From Lord Shrewsbury?” Daisy covered her mouth to hide a smile. “Well, I can’t say I blame you.”
Anthea winced. “If only Lord Shrewsbury were the only problem…” She shook her head. “No! I’ve confessed all I’m willing to. Only, you may want to avoid Lord Wetherton in future. That’s all.”
Alexander was opening his mouth to interrogate her further when a second knock sounded at the door. Mr Wilton appeared once more and opened it to reveal not only Lord and Lady Peyton, but Ralph and Jemima, too.
“Later,” Alexander whispered sternly to Anthea.
“Never!” she responded, with a cheerful grin.
Anyone would have thought that Daisy had been gone on a trip to the Americas rather than a short stay in Cornwall. Lady Peyton and Jemima showered her with kisses, each vying with the other to be the first to hear about the adventures of her honeymoon. Alexander surrendered Daisy to their attentions with a wry grin, shaking Lord Peyton’s hand and letting Ralph slap him on the back.
They all retired to the drawing room, where Selina was presiding over a laden table and Isobel was sitting at her harp. It was a very merry party indeed.
“I have some news for you,” said Ralph, speaking around a ham sandwich. Jemima gave him a stern look, and he swallowed the rest of his mouthful before continuing. “I thought I’d look in on Mr Kettleburn’s trial for you. A very fair ruling, I thought. He escaped the noose, but faces deportation.”
“Exactly what he deserves,” said Alexander. Ralph frowned.
“I must say I was surprised to find that you left your affairs in the hands of his associates, Loxwell. Wouldn’t it be better to make a clean start elsewhere?”
“Not at all. I spoke to the other lawyers at the firm, and I am satisfied that Kettleburn acted alone. He had many employees who risked losing their livelihoods after his arrest, particularly in light of the debts he had run up.”
“He must have been truly desperate to go to such measures,” said Daisy.
“It seems he was in a dire position. But that is no excuse.” Alexander’s jaw tightened briefly. His eyes met Daisy’s, dark with a memory that she could guess involved the barrel of a pistol pressed into a red riding coat.
“That makes it all the more admirable that you have chosen to keep employing his partners,” she said, laying her hand on Alexander’s knee.
“Your name will certainly go a long way toward repairing their fortunes,” said Ralph. “Speaking of repairs, the work at Peyton’s house is finished. At last.” A flicker of pain crossed his face. Lord and Lady Peyton had remained at Morton House while their house was uninhabitable and their European voyage was postponed for Daisy’s wedding. The unexpected extra weeks with his mother had evidently taken their toll. “I believe Mr Turner visited the house every day to see that it was all carried out properly.”
“That was good of him,” said Daisy. “I hope he has invested the rest of his money wisely. He risked such a lot to get it.”
“I put him in touch with a few good fellows,” said Lord Peyton. “I’m sure the boy will do well.”
“Daisy, put that vase down and have something to eat,” said Lady Peyton, with motherly lack of deference that was refreshing after two long weeks of being called Your Grace and bowed to at every turn. Lady Peyton leaned in, the jewels of her necklace all rattling together, and added in what she must have believed to be a whisper: “With any luck, you are already eating for two!”
Daisy jumped to her feet as though scalded and took the vase to the mantelpiece. She was not fast enough to miss the look of polite horror that froze on her husband’s face.
Neither did she miss the brief, knowing glance that passed between Ralph and Jemima. Daisy paused for a moment, pretending to adjust the vase’s position as she watched them in the mirror hanging over the fireplace. Ralph bent to whisper something in his wife’s ear, and Jemima responded with a smile that told Daisy all she needed to know.
“Would anyone else care for another sandwich?” she asked, keen that nobody else should notice their private moment.
By the time the guests made their leave, the sun was sinking low in the sky. Daisy stood at the drawing room window, watching their carriages trundle away down the drive.
Alexander stood behind her, one hand resting lightly on the small of her back. “I have often thought it must be strange for ladies, leaving their own families and joining another. I’m sure that a little homesickness is quite normal.”
Daisy turned back to him. The servants had lit the candles, and Alexander’s face was chiselled out to perfection by the play of flickering light and shadow. “I’ll admit that it feels strange, but I am not homesick. I thought I would be, but…” She put her hand in his. “My home is where you are. It’s as simple as that.”
Alexander lifted her chin with a finger and placed a single, soft kiss on her lips. “This house never felt like a true home before now. But with you here, where you belong, I feel everything is falling into place.”
Daisy smiled. “I would prepare myself for some more changes, if I were you.” She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked up at him with a wicked light in her eyes. “Now that you are taken care of, it’s high time your sisters found their matches.”
Alexander swallowed heavily. “I can only hope they manage it all with less trouble than we had.”
“Oh, I’m sure they will,” said Daisy, not meaning a word of it. “I don’t predict any trouble at all.”
Alexander gave a rueful grimace, and Daisy could not resist any longer. She caught him by the collar and pulled his face toward hers for another delectable kiss.
THE END
In his haste to find a marriage of convenience, an arrogant baron proposes to his sworn enemy…
Discover Ralph and Jemima’s unexpected love story in The Baron’s Inconvenient Bride.
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Lady Celia Hartley has a problem. She must find a husband soon or risk being ruined forever.
Just as she is beginning to give up hope, William Marsden asks her to dance. Young, handsome, and kind, he seems to be the perfect answer to her prayers.
But before he can claim her as his own, they must deal with the consequences when the Earl of Scarcliffe discovers the true nature of his sister's situation...
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