The Duke She Wished For Page 5

  “Your Grace!” she exclaimed. “My apologies. I was, that is, I was just…”

  “Picking flowers from my garden?” he asked, his face serious but his eyes laughing.

  “Yes, I…well, that is…”

  “They would look lovely on you,” he said, “Pick as many as you like.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace,” she said. She turned to reenter the house when she could not stop herself from asking, “Did you sleep well, Your Grace?”

  “I did,” he replied with a look of question. “And you?”

  “Yes, thank you,” as she hurried around him, back through this house, feeling his gaze boring into her back.

  What a stupid thing to ask him, she thought to herself. What did it matter to her what he did with his nights? So the reformed rake was not reformed. Of course she found him attractive. So did every other female that laid eyes on him. At least, in her case, she knew better than to imagine anything further than a few exchanges of words. She rolled her eyes at herself and let her thoughts go as she prepared for brunch.

  Dragon Woman was a better title for Lady Hester, Tabitha mused as she sat across the table from the woman herself and her preening, sharp-eyed daughter, Lady Sabine. Tabitha had to catch herself from showing any reaction to Sabine, who she recognized immediately as the woman leaving the duke’s room the night before. She hoped for Lady Gemma’s sake that Sabine did not end up in the family.

  The introduction had been brief. Thankfully Alexander had not wanted to interact with the duo any more than Tabitha had, but even in those few moments, Tabitha had been overwhelmed by the air of haughtiness and disdain the two carried themselves with. It was almost oppressive and she was grateful for the chance to take her seat and sip her tea—anything to put as much space and household items between them and herself.

  Beside her, Alexander had struck up a conversation with an older gentleman whose name Tabitha had promptly forgotten, leaving her without a distraction and in the direct line of sight of Lady Hester. The woman was good looking, to be sure, but with the heavy application of powder and lip coloring, it was clear that she was trying desperately to hang on to the bloom of her youth instead of embracing the graceful aging a life well lived gave women like Lady Gemma.

  Hester Banon had graying hair that was poorly masked by dark powder that had congealed at her roots. Her flinty eyes were gray as they danced from person to person seated at the table like a dagger while they all waited for Lady Gemma and her son Lord Nicholas.

  Tabitha winced at the memory of her grand introduction to the Duke of Stowe and their interaction this morning. What an amazing presence she must have come across as, skulking in dark corners and carrying around all manner of twigs and foliage from the outdoors.

  “Chin up, cousin,” Alexander said beside her. “Our hosts have arrived.”

  When Lady Gemma and Lord Nicholas entered the dining room, everyone stood and waited for Lady Gemma to take her seat a few spaces beside Tabitha. Lord Nicholas, it turned out, took the seat directly beside her and she had a moment of panic in which she considered asking Alexander to switch with her. Granted, there would be no way to do such a thing without causing a scene, but the very presence of the imperious, scowling yet handsome man beside her was making her rethink her decision to be here at all.

  A few more hours, she reminded herself. Just a few more hours and she could return to her own life, where the villains were well known and obvious to her. In present company, it seemed one could never be quite certain who was friend and who was foe.

  “And where did you say you were from, Miss Kenmore?”

  Lady Hester wasted no time as soon as her hosts were present to start looking for the weakest victim in the crowd. Well, Tabitha was a lot of things, but she was not a victim. Her years with her stepmother had taught her that.

  “I did not say, actually, Lady Hester,” Tabitha replied with a sweet smile before turning her attention to a dish of vegetables Alexander was attempting to serve her. She didn’t miss the gasp of shock that the woman let out at being dismissed like that. However, she had no recourse because Tabitha’s attention was no longer on her and she might appear desperate if she kept poking for information. Instead her conversation turned to Lord Nicholas.

  “Did you have a good time on the Continent, Lord Nicholas?” She batted her eyelashes and clumps of makeup powder drifted down to the tablecloth. It was all Tabitha could do not to make a face.

  “Yes,” he said before piercing a piece of meat with a fork and stuffing it in his mouth. Tabitha waited for him to elaborate, but he obviously didn’t feel the need to. Suppressing a smile, she concentrated on her own food.

  “Dear Gemma,” Lady Hester said with a cluck of her tongue. “What an extraordinary ornament in your hair. It is quite lovely.”

  The conversation paused as the diners glanced at the very comb that Tabitha had constructed earlier in the morning. It had turned out quite pretty and in the dowager duchess’ reddish brown hair, the blooms were striking.

  “Thank you, Hester,” the duchess replied kindly, but Tabitha saw the strain in the corners of her eyes.

  “But,” Lady Hester continued, knowing she had the table’s attention where she wanted it. “Those are not primrose blossoms, are they?”

  She chuckled at her own private joke, though most of the table wasn’t following.

  “Primroses, they say, represent folly,” Hester continued to laugh. “What a silly thing to put on your head, do you not say?”

  Tabitha watched the color drain from Lady Gemma’s face at the insult and didn’t miss the tightening of Lord Nicholas’ jaw.

  “Actually, Lady Hester,” Tabitha blurted out without thinking it through entirely. She did not really want to be in the woman’s crosshairs any more than she already was but the old bat was just being mean. And this was, essentially, her reason to be here. “I believe those are a very rare blossom from the golden snowdrop. Which, as you obviously would know, symbolize a rebirth and a reawakening after a time of dormancy.”

  The allusion to coming out of a time of mourning had not been lost on Tabitha when she selected the flowers earlier and if this baroness thought she knew flowers better than a milliner’s daughter did, she was sorely mistaken.

  Lady Gemma’s face brightened and the smile she gave Tabitha warmed her all the way to her toes. Why anybody, Dragon Woman and her dragon spawn included, would want to hurt her in any way was beyond Tabitha.

  Beside her, she watched Nicholas’ hands flex at his side, as though he were struggling to control his temper. His jaw ticked and flexed and his chest rose and fell as he looked at the women across the table from him. Tabitha didn’t know what to make of it given what she had seen last night.

  Lady Hester protested a bit too loudly at being incorrect and begged Lady Gemma’s forgiveness with a little too much effort—all as fake as her heavily made up face. Tabitha also didn’t miss the icy glare Lady Sabine gave her from the corner of her frosty blue eyes.

  Tabitha did her best to keep her smile hidden as she sipped at her soup.

  “Well played, cousin,” Alexander whispered beside her with a nudge of his elbow in her side. “Well played, indeed.”

  She chanced a glance at Nicholas and found him to be watching her with sudden fascination, as though she were the only person in the room. She smiled lamely and turned back to her soup.

  Brunch ended without further incidence and Alexander walked Tabitha back to her rooms.

  “Lady Hester and Sabine seem very fond of you,” Alexander said with a grin as he looked down at her. “Their disdain means you are doing your job well.”

  “Ha,” she scoffed. “I will never understand people like them. How bringing others down makes one feel at an advantage, I will never know. Alexander, you said Lord Nicholas was not interested in Sabine…”

  “Yes?” he said, looking down at her quizzically. “Why would you think that he is?”

  “Well, last night, I was returning to my
chambers and I—” she paused. “Never mind. It is none of my business.”

  “No, please, continue, I insist.”

  “I- I happened to see Sabine leaving his bedchamber. I do not mean to be a gossip but I feel that protecting Lady Gemma would mean keeping someone like that from her family. Please, Alexander, do not say anything.”

  Alexander surprised her by laughing.

  “There is nothing to fear, Tabitha,” he said. “Nick told me of her foray into his rooms last night. It seems the ‘Lady’ Sabine is trying any recourse she has to force Nick into marriage. He politely declined her invitation and asked her to be on her way.”

  “Oh,” said Tabitha, embarrassed that she had even brought up the topic and yet feeling relieved at Alexander’s revelation. “That is fortunate, I suppose.”

  “Yes, cousin,” he said with an interested glance at her. “I suppose it is.”

  9

  Before she knew it, Tabitha was preparing herself for the tea being held in the afternoon. Lorna had finished a new, looser hairstyle for Tabitha after she had finished sending up the dress and ensemble Lady Gemma would need for the tea.

  Tabitha’s borrowed tea dress was simple and lacked any adornments save for one ribbon tied beneath her breastbone. The pale pink of the silk matched a ribbon that Lorna had threaded through her hair and the slippers on her feet.

  With a sigh, she fell back on her bed and mused that, for once, she missed the regular schedule and autonomy she seemed to have in her workshop. Sure, the hours were long and the work was hard, but at least there were no serpents around each corner looking to take a bite at her each time she let her guard down.

  The tea was served in a large room that featured floor-to-ceiling windows as well as open access to the gardens. Though considered light because it was only four in the afternoon, the food was considerable and exquisite.

  Alexander found her downstairs as she rounded the last step and offered her his arm.

  “Smashing work earlier, Tabitha,” he said with a wink and her cheeks warmed at his informal use of her name. She liked Alexander. In the short hours that she had known him, she found him to be warm and genuine and most importantly, legitimately concerned for the people he cared about.

  “Thank you,” she said, her eyes scanning the hall as they walked down toward the solarium. “What a nasty bit of business that woman is to say such a thing.”

  Alexander nodded.

  “Quite right. I was not expecting the claws to come out quite so quickly,” he said as they rounded the corner and entered the room. On the far side, she immediately noticed Nicholas, and the fact that Lady Sabine had already attached herself to his elbow. “Seems they are doubling their efforts, are they not? Remember, Tabitha—stay sharp and keep up.”

  She did not quite have enough time to ask him what he meant before she noted Lady Gemma sitting in a lounge across the way, cornered by Lady Banon.

  “Excuse me a moment, Alexander,” she said. “It seems I am required once again.”

  She released his arm and walked across the room.

  “Lady Gemma,” she said, offering a small curtsy, completely ignoring Lady Hester. “How lovely you look this afternoon.”

  She took a seat beside Lady Gemma and engaged her in conversation, leaving Lady Hester huffing beside them. Eventually she disengaged and walked away.

  “Thank you, my dear,” said Lady Gemma. “I was finding that conversation rather trying. I must say you happened upon me at a rather opportune moment.”

  As one of Lady Gemma’s friends joined in the conversation, Alexander returned and offered Tabitha his arm once again.

  “I say, cousin, you are doing a splendid job,” he said as he shuttled her across the room to the duke, who was as trapped as Lady Gemma had been, with Sabine now draped across his arm. “Now, you must properly meet my true cousin.”

  “Nick,” Alexander said with a grin as they approached. “Imagine seeing you here.”

  Nicholas smirked and Tabitha watched as Sabine’s eyes danced between the men. It was obvious she didn’t like Alexander and the feeling was mutual, so when he offered her his arm she visibly blanched.

  “Walk with me a moment, Lady Sabine?” he asked. “I have a few questions about your father’s estate down south and I know he would appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me.”

  With no out, Sabine huffed for a moment when she had to withdraw her claws from Nicholas’ arm and leave with Alexander.

  Tabitha was happy to see her go but then realized she had been left with Nicholas. Eyes dancing to the sides for an exit, she realized she was stuck.

  “Are most young ladies horticulture experts?”

  The question was blunt and forced her eyes up to his, as this was his way apparently.

  “What would I know of most ladies?” She replied, smiling sweetly. “I only know about myself and I happen to be a fan of flowers and their meanings.”

  He regarded her, making her want to fidget with the ribbon of her dress and she had to force herself to keep her hands still.

  “You have no problem speaking your mind, do you?” He asked, a smile tugging on his lips.

  Without meaning to, Tabitha scoffed.

  “You think I have spoken my mind?” She laughed. “There is more to my mind than snowdrops and primroses, I assure you. I was merely answering your question, Lord Nicholas.”

  “Nick will do,” he said, interrupting her. “You are obviously important to my cousin, so I insist on you calling me Nick.”

  She most certainly would not, but still, she smiled politely at the insistence.

  “Would it be so bad if a lady spoke her mind once in awhile?” She asked quietly when the silence stretched too long. She knew she was supposed to remark about the weather or the food, but quite honestly, both topics were boring and she would not be among these people for long, nor rather cared what they thought of her.

  “No, it would not,” he said just as quietly. “It is just so rare I hardly know what to make of it.”

  Tabitha drew in a breath and did her best to hold it in. It didn’t last long.

  “Then perhaps it is the company you keep,” was out of her lips before she could stop it. She closed her eyes and prayed to be swallowed up by the ground at that instant. Why was she being so flippant with this man? This duke? Perhaps it was his own bluntness that allowed her to feel she could do so in return.

  “Present company excluded of course, right?”

  Tabitha’s eyes snapped to his and she was shocked at the smile on his face and the amusement in his eyes.

  “Did you enjoy France?”

  She had to move the conversation into shallow waters where she knew how to swim. With this man’s mercurial moods, she didn’t know how to handle the sudden shift from brooding to…was it flirting?

  Clearly, she was imagining things and needed to get Alexander back here as quickly as possible.

  “Mostly,” Nicholas replied, his eyes scanning. “Did you?”

  His eyes were on her again, attempting to read her. Right. This is what she had been preparing for. She had been to France once with her father long ago and she figured drawing on a few dim memories were better than outright lying in her attempt to sound believable.

  “It was lovely,” she said truthfully. “But it has so many memories attached to it that it is difficult to separate the place from the feelings.”

  “I understand what you mean,” Nicholas said, his eyes flicking from hers to the garden outside where his mother was now speaking to an older gentleman in a navy uniform.

  She really needed Alexander to return and he had completely disappeared. This small talk with the duke was getting tedious and the need to constantly lie and protect her story was not much fun.

  “It has been wonderful talking to…” she began but he cut her off by offering his arm.

  “Walk with me in the garden a moment?” His voice was quiet but his eyes were outside.

  Unsure of what to d
o, she accepted his arm and allowed him to lead her through the doorways outside. It was a pleasant afternoon and people milled around different parts of the garden with one another. Tabitha had no idea where he was leading her. She had assumed he wanted to be close to his mother but he walked in a different direction. She watched his eyes flick back to the room where they’d just been and she saw Lady Hester, who had reappeared. Her eyes were firmly on the two of them and Tabitha could feel the flames firing out of them.

  Was he hiding from the Dragon Woman? Was it really so hard to put someone in their place?

  “Is there a reason we are out here?” Tabitha asked after they’d stood quietly for a few minutes, Nicholas sipping from his flute.

  “I find you refreshing, Miss Kenmore,” he said abruptly. “I find myself seeking your company today and I am not quite sure why. I do not quite know what to make of you. Quiet one moment, asserting your thoughts and opinions the next. I do not know who you are, and I feel like you are keeping something from the world. You are guarded. Why?”

  It was as though the air stood still as he held her gaze. To break the spell, she took a sip of her drink.

  “I am not guarded—at least not any more than you or anybody else I have met,” she said, trying to be cryptic and honest at the same time. It was a dizzying dance and she worried that soon she’d have a misstep.

  “Who are you?”

  Her eyes shot to his, assuming the entire charade was up. Would she get into any sort of trouble? Would Mrs. McEwan? Their intentions were noble, Tabitha reminded herself. She probably wouldn’t get into too much trouble as long as her stepmother remained in the dark. Surely, she could find her way out of this situation cleanly and quickly.

  “Tabitha,” she said, again sticking close to the truth. “Who are you?”

  It brought forth a genuine smile from him that surprised and dazzled her, and made her stomach flutter.

  “Nicholas,” he replied with a grin. “I hate being bored. I love the sea. I think marzipan is atrocious and being around all these strangers makes me anxious.”