The Duke: A Standalone Royal Billionaire Novel

by Laurence, Selena

  I gasp, a hand over my open mouth. “Seriously?”

  He smiles again then. “Yes. It’s over, Katherine. The inheritance is mine, the bad apples will be tossed, and the company will survive.”

  I throw my arms around his neck and give him a smacking kiss on the cheek. “That’s fantastic!” I cry, even as a tiny little niggle starts in my chest. It’s over, Katherine. What does that mean, exactly? The legal battle? The trip to London? The marriage? Because I realize with a burst of certainty I’ve never felt before in my life that I don’t want this marriage to end. I don’t want to say goodbye to Win. I don’t want to lose the new friends I’ve made here in London. I want it all. The man, the home, the Foundation. I want to be the Duchess of Surrey.

  Winston gives me a peck on the forehead before he stands and goes to the bar cart in the corner of the room. He continues talking as he pours himself a drink.

  “Things are going to be very busy now. I’ve closed the office until the police can come in and start seizing evidence. I’ll have to inform the family what’s happened and reassure everyone that the company is still more than solvent.” He pauses and looks at me over his shoulder. “We can get you a flight home as early as tomorrow afternoon, if you’d like. They’ve had a contractor filling in with the DJ work at the arena, but everyone was clear it was temporary, so you’re free to start back up whenever you’re ready.”

  I blink at him, my heart racing, because I think he just gave me the royal brushoff—after weeks of sleeping in the same bed every night, going to work together, eating three meals a day with one another.

  I reach forward to the coffee table and mute the stupid show about the stupid royal family. My heart is racing and I feel nauseous. “I can’t leave until we present the Foundation proposal,” I tell him. “I promised Deirdra we’d do it together.”

  His back is to me as he adds an ice cube to the tumbler, but I see the moment he freezes. Every muscle just…stops. Like someone flipped a switch. Then he takes a deep breath and faces me again.

  “Kat. I’m so sorry,” he begins, and I know, in that instant, that Winston Cauldwell, Duke of Surrey, is about to break my heart. “We’re going to have to shut down the Foundation.”

  I feel the burn behind my eyes, and everything in front of me goes sort of hazy. “What?”

  He looks at me sympathetically. Like you would at a child whose favorite toy just broke.

  “We need to replace the funds that were embezzled in order to bring the company’s assets back to a healthy level. The Foundation is the fastest and best way to do that. In a few years, when we’ve recovered, we can look into starting a new Foundation. But for now, we’ll have to forego philanthropy. I’m sure you can understand that?”

  It’s phrased as a question, but it’s obvious the decision has already been made. And I’m gutted. All my work will be tossed in the garbage. But really, it shouldn’t seem so shocking, because he’s just told me I’m disposable, as well. You can fly home as early as tomorrow. I swear I can hear the crack as my heart begins to split.

  A few weeks ago, I would have lashed out, but for some reason, in what might be the most painful moment of my life, when all the new things I’ve just learned to love are being jerked out of my grasp, I don’t get mad. I become the Duchess.

  “Yes,” I say slowly as I stand. “I understand.” Wallis weaves around my ankles, purring and rubbing his head against me. “I’m happy that everything is going to work out.”

  He nods, seeming distracted by his drink that he’s gazing into.

  “I’m sorry,” I say, ever so politely. “I have a headache. I think I’m just going to take some Advil and go to bed.”

  That gets his attention as his gaze darts up to mine. “Katherine,” he says softly.

  I give him the best smile I can muster. “No, really, it’s fine. I’m sure I’ll feel better in the morning. Good night.” Then, I don’t give him a chance to answer, just walk into my room and shut the door. I hear the TV turn off and Winston retreat to his own room. Then, I fall onto the bed and break down.

  * * *

  The next morning, I have Deena tell Winston that I’m going to stay home because I still don’t feel well. He knocks lightly on my door to ask how I am, but I don’t answer, letting him think I’m asleep. I can’t face him. I can’t look into his eyes knowing that the last few weeks didn’t mean anything to him when they meant everything to me.

  I really have no one to blame but myself. In all those moments together, he never once mentioned a future beyond the divorce we’d already agreed to. He didn’t say he wanted to renegotiate our contract, he didn’t tell me he loved me. It was my fault. I forgot our arrangement. I ignored the warning signs. I let myself fall into stupid, useless, painful love.

  But where Winston doesn’t seem to care enough to bust down my door and demand what’s wrong, Deena is more than willing to. She bustles into the room, opening curtains and chattering away. My tear-swollen eyes rebel at all that sunshine.

  “Good Morning, Your Grace,” she says in her brusque Scottish accent. “I’ve brought your breakfast.”

  She sets a tray down on the nightstand and motions for me to sit up. Then she arranges my pillows so I can lean against the headboard. “There you are,” she says, before pouring a cup of tea, adding milk just like I’ve come to love, then handing it to me.

  “Now, tell me what hurts?” she asks, hands on her sturdy hips. “If you lie in bed all morning, people might think you’re expecting the next Duke.”

  My eyes widen in horror. “No! I mean, of course not. We’re smarter than…We always…” I trail off, my cheeks heating as I duck my head to take a sip of the tea.

  “Well, if it’s not morning sickness, then what’s the fuss about?” she demands. “It came on awful sudden.”

  I bristle, because really, what business is it of hers? I’m allowed to be sick if I want.

  “I have a headache,” I snap.

  She raises one eyebrow. “Do you now?”

  I glare at her and she softens.

  “His Grace left the house in a mood this morning. It was almost like he used to be before you came along.”

  I snort into my tea cup. As if I have any influence over his mood. You can fly home as soon as tomorrow his voice echoes in my head.

  “Well, you should probably get used to it because I’ll be leaving right away,” I tell her, a plan finally gelling in my head. “I need to get back to Chicago.”

  Her brow furrows. “And His Grace won’t be going with you?” she asks.

  “No. He has business here. I have things I need to get back to in Chicago.” Like finding a new job and letting Darnell lecture me on how stupid I’ve been.

  This all seems to take the wind out of Deena’s sails. “Oh,” she says quietly. “I had no idea.”

  I want to tell her not to feel too bad, I had no idea, either, until the last ten hours.

  Instead, I smile sadly. “It’s fine. Really. This is how it was supposed to work. It just took a few weeks longer because of the dispute over the will. Now that’s over, we can all go back to normal.”

  She nods. “If you’re sure, Your Grace.”

  “I am.”

  “Will you be needing your bags packed, then?” I must imagine the swipe she takes at her eye before she turns to the door.

  “I can pack my own,” I tell her. It’s time to get back to who I really am. This was all a fantasy, and my heart can’t afford to live here anymore. “But thank you.”

  “Of course,” she says. Then, she opens the door, but before she leaves the room I hear her softly say, “You’ll be missed more than you know.” Then, she’s gone.

  42

  Winston

  I’ve spent my morning in meetings with accountants, police, government officials, finance staff, tech staff, and human resources staff. I finally find myself alone in my office at four in the afternoon and realize I haven’t had a bite to eat all damn day. But then, my assistant calls to le
t me know that Deirdra has arrived for the meeting I scheduled with her.

  Dammit. I’m exhausted and starved, and now I have to tell her I’m eliminating her position.

  “Send her in,” I say with a sigh before replacing the phone in its cradle.

  “Come have a seat,” I tell her as she enters the office with a tentative smile. “I bet you’re wondering what the hell is going on?”

  She sits facing my desk and nods. “After the office closed yesterday, and then we were told we couldn’t come back in today, the rumors are flying.”

  “I’ll be putting out a company-wide communication after you leave, explaining what’s happened,” I tell her. “But here’s your personalized version.” I explain the embezzlement, and that an investigation has begun. Luckily, the police are going to take what they need over the next three days, two of which are the weekend, so on Monday, everyone can resume their jobs.

  She sighs when I reach the end of the story. “I’m so sorry this happened. But I’m very glad you were able to discover it.”

  Then, I brace myself for what comes next. “Deirdra, I’m very sorry to have to give you the rest of this news. Because of the stolen funds, the company’s assets aren’t what we thought. We’re not insolvent, but we’re not as comfortable as we’d like, either. Albert has looked at various options for recouping our losses, and the simplest and easiest is, unfortunately, not without pain for all of us here.”

  I see her skin pale, her mouth a grim line. She knows what’s coming.

  “You’re going to shut down the Foundation?”

  I nod. “There really isn’t another way, unless we spend years fixing this.”

  “Does your wife know about this?” she asks.

  “Yes. I told Katherine last night.”

  “And is she still speaking to you?” Her voice is sharp, and her pale skin has become pink with outrage.

  “I’m not sure I know what you mean?”

  “You know exactly what I mean,” she snaps. “Do you have any idea how much of her heart and soul she’s put into the proposal for next year’s funding?”

  Before I can respond, she continues. “Never once, in all my years of working for non-profits, have I seen such personal devotion to a project. Her Grace spent hours and hours on this, and beyond that, she was thoughtful. She personally researched and developed every single detail of this proposal. This isn’t some generic attempt to hand out money to feel-good projects, she cares—more than you obviously can see—about every single aspect of what this Foundation does.”

  I try not to sound angry, but really, I had no idea Deirdra had such a penchant for drama. “I have no doubt Katherine was very diligent about the proposal, but I’m also sure she understands that this is about the greater good—”

  “Whose greater good?” Deirdra challenges. “Yours? The company’s? You want a quick and easy way to tell the employees and your family that everything’s been fixed. But you have no idea what you’re giving up by taking the easy way out.”

  I blink at her because I don’t think anyone, except possibly Kat herself, has ever spoken to me like this.

  She stands. “I can have another job in a few days, Your Grace—” She pronounces the title with disdain. “I’m very good at what I do. But before you go pilfering the Foundation funds for a quick-fix to your problems, I suggest you open the Foundation drive and take a look at the upcoming year’s funding proposal. It’s labeled as such. You can’t miss it.”

  Even as incensed as I am about her attitude, after Deidra’s gone, I do as she’s suggested. I click on the file, then I read what my wife has done with her time here in London.

  43

  Kat

  It only takes me a few hours to get all my things packed, reserve a flight back to Chicago, and call Darnell to tell him I’m coming home. In the middle of it all, I also have to find out the rules about bringing a kitten on board the plane and whether Wallis is allowed to be an American. I discover that since he’s English, and not Guatemalan, they’ll let him in, so I send one of the gardening staff out to buy him a crate. He’ll be allowed to ride in the space under the seat in front of me onboard the plane. Deena knows of a little concoction with chamomile that will make him sleepy, too, so he won’t be so scared.

  “Are you sure about this, Your Grace?” she asks as she doses him with an eyedropper. He tries to spit it all out, but she’s a lot bigger and meaner than Wallis. She’s also not talking just about my kitten, which, for the record, I am absolutely sure about. There is no way I’d leave Wallis here alone. He and I are a team now. Where I go, he goes.

  Unfortunately, what Deena really means is, am I sure about leaving the Duke?

  I want to tell her that I am. I want to say that it’s not tearing my poor heart in two. But it is, and I know that a piece of me will always be here in London. In this house, in the Duke’s offices, and most of all, in Winston’s tight, insensitive fist. He’ll never realize it, but I will. I’ll know he has that piece of my heart in his hand. All I can hope is that someday he understands what I gave up for him, and he appreciates it. It’s obvious he doesn’t love me, and that’s not his fault, you can’t make someone love you. But I do hope, someday, he knows that I loved him. You should always be thankful that someone loved you. It’s a gift that deserves to be acknowledged.

  I say goodbye to Deena and Samuel, and I’m surprised at how hard it is. Deena sniffles through the whole thing, and Samuel fusses about Wallis.

  “I’ve placed a harness on him, Your Grace,” he tells me as he puts his fingers through the bar of the cage and pets Wallis’s head. “And the leash is in this side pocket.” He shows me the space built into the crate where a leash is neatly rolled and stored. “You need to make sure to put that on him before allowing him out. It would be a disaster if he were to get lost in an airport.”

  I nod in agreement.

  “I’ve also included beef flavored cat treats in the box inside the crate. He much prefers those to the chicken flavored we tried last week.”

  I feel the sting of tears coming on as I realize that all this time I took it for granted someone was buying Wallis’ food and filling his bowls. I didn’t really wonder who was doing it, or how they were choosing his kitty kibble. But now I see that it was Samuel. And he cares. He’s attached. As am I. It’s not only Winston I’ve fallen in love with, it’s the whole damn household.

  “Be good for Her Grace, Master Wallis,” Samuel tells him through the bars.

  “Please let us know how you’re getting on, Your Grace,” Deena says as she gives me a quick hug. “We’ll be praying for you to come back soon.”

  She knows that won’t happen, but we both pretend it’s possible as I hug her back, then thank them for everything they’ve done for me.

  By four p.m., Wallis and I are packed up in the back of the Rolls. Murdoch climbs in and smiles sadly at me in the rearview mirror. “The airport, then, ma’am?” he asks.

  “Yes, please.”

  We set off, but a few minutes later, he speaks up. “I’ve been driving for the Duke of Surrey since I was twenty-five,” he tells me. “The current Duke was only about twelve, then.”

  “Did you drive him to Eton when he was in school there?” I ask.

  “I did.” He pauses, obviously considering how to word what he wants to say next. “His Grace had a very lonely childhood. In all the years I drove him to and from Eton, the airport, the train stations and a pub or two, no one ever came along to see him off. No one helped him on move-in days or picked him up at the end of term.”

  I nod as I watch London inching by outside the windows. If only Winston had been taught how to love. Maybe he could have loved me? Or maybe it wouldn’t have made any difference.

  “I’m sorry his family was kind of awful,” I say honestly.

  “I would never speak ill of my employers,” Murdoch continues. “But it’s difficult not to feel mistakes were made in raising His Grace.”

  I nod, and we’re both
silent for a few minutes, then Murdoch speaks again. “In all those years of driving him, though, never once did His Grace forget to thank me, or to inquire after my health. Even as a very young man, dragging mates along with him, boisterous boys that they were, he was always considerate.” He looks at me in the rearview mirror again. “I think that says a lot about his character.”

  “I’m glad he’s a good employer,” I answer, my chest aching. I know Murdoch is right. Winston is a good boss. I didn’t see that when I knew him in Chicago. I think we wanted to see the worst in each other, and so we did. But I’ve come to know the other side of Winston now. He’s not a bad man. He’s just not the man I need him to be—one who loves me as much as I love him.

  When we arrive at the airport, Murdoch has a porter take all of my bags and check them, leaving me with just my purse and Wallis in his carrier.

  “Are you sure you’ll be all right, Your Grace?” he asks as we stand on the sidewalk amid the chaos of Heathrow.

  I work to give him a totally confident smile, but I’m discovering that sassy, willful Kat has gone underground for a while. So instead, I lean in and hug him. “I’m going to be fine, Murdoch. Thank you for everything.”

  He tips his hat to me and waits while I walk inside the airport. I hold Wallis’ crate close as I maneuver through the crowds. “It’s just you and me now,” I whisper to him. “We’re on our own.”

  44

  Winston

  An hour after opening the proposal that Kat and Deirdra worked up, I sit staring at my computer screen, feeling like the truly abysmal human being I am.

  In a few short weeks, Katherine has spent more time and energy getting to know me, showing she cares about me, and working to honor me, than any person who’s ever been in my life.