Accidentally Compromising the Duke (11 page)

Edmond swept inside the forecourt, and without waiting for the horse to fully stop, launched himself from its back. With a gasp she stepped forward. Was he mad? He could have broken his neck.

He tugged off his black hat and thrust fingers roughly through his hair, which was damp from the scattering of raindrops. After a few slaps to his thigh muscles with the hat, he fairly prowled towards her. A very large and powerful dog raced from beside the lake to greet Edmond who sank to his knees to tousle the dog’s head in greeting.
Good heavens
. The dog seemed like a mix between a wolfhound, a Mastiff…and, well, the very devil himself. She had never see a dog so large, but his presence certainly wrought miracles. The duke was
smiling
. Edmond absently stroked its ears, and she swore the fearsome creature actually purred.

Edmond stood and came over.

“Adeline,” the duke greeted, his gray eyes hooded.

She dipped into a shallow curtsy. “Edmond.”

“This is Maximus, my companion.”

Adeline was transfixed.

She stepped close and touched the dog’s nose lightly. “Hello, Maximus, I am quite delighted to meet you.”

He woofed at his name and his head lolled to the side.

A fleeting smile touched Edmond’s lips. He held his hand out to her, and she gratefully clasped his arm. They strolled over to the line of servants and the housekeeper stepped forward, smiles wreathing her kind face. If Adel was not mistaken actual tears were glistening in her warm brown eyes.

“Your Graces,” she said as she dropped into a deep curtsy.

“May I present my wife, Adeline, the Duchess of Wolverton,” he intoned with his voice fairly bland.

What had she expected? Pride at presenting his new wife? He’d only married her because she had forced his hand. He had initially wanted the much more ravishing and well connected Lady Evelyn.

The housekeeper, Mrs. Fields was a portly, attractive woman. She took over the introductions of the staff and the names blurred together. After they had all curtsied or bowed to her and their lord, Edmond turned to the figures in the distance.

“Come,” he said.

He started walking toward the lawns, and Adel stepped with him trying to bury her ire at his highhandedness. “Are you asking me to accompany you on a stroll, Your Grace?”

His lips twitched. “Would you do me the honor of walking with me? I would have you meet my daughters.”

Oh
. “I would very much like that.” She was to meet Lady Rosa and Lady Sarah now. Raw nerves shimmered in Adel’s stomach. What if they hated her as she’d hated her father’s new wife? Should she insist on freshening first? They had departed the last inn hours ago, and she was a little crumpled. When she’d risen this morning, Adel had ensured she attired herself smartly. She had on a walking dress of pale blue with black stripes, a dark blue pelisse and a plumed bonnet. They strolled in silence along the pathway, and with each step her nervousness grew. “Do Lady Sarah and Rosa know you have married?”

“No.”

Adel jerked to a halt, and he glanced down.

“I…I…cannot credit you would not have alerted them.”

“I would not have told my children such news in a letter.”

Adel recalled how stunned and distressed she had been when her father had suddenly announced he was engaged. Her throat tightened. “Did… Has their mother been long gone?”

The muscle underneath the tip of her fingers tensed and a chill blasted from the duke.

“I only asked because my father presented Lady Margaret to me as his intended only thirteen months after Mamma died. It was very hard for me to love her. In fact, I fairly resented him such happiness, while I was still mourning for my mother. I would hate for your daughters to endure such a similar heartache.”

She had not forgotten Edmond had said no questions about his deceased wife, but surely he would understand why she would inquire in this instance.

“It has been almost three years.”

Oh.
“I see.” She gave him a tremulous smile. “Well, let’s proceed.”

They continued on, the wind doing its best to tug the bonnet from her head. With one hand clasped on her head to keep the dratted thing in place, and the other holding onto the duke, they made their way across the expanse of lawn. One of the young girls glimpsed them, and Adel smiled at the sheer joy that suffused her face. Adel expected her to race across the lawn, but she waited with hardly a fidget, the joy on her face replaced with cautious happiness.

The laughter and the shrieks died down as they approached, and two very delightful girls separated from the others and stepped forward. Based on their heights, Adel could guess who Rosa was, and who Sarah was. Both girls had fiery red hair and sweetly rounded cheeks. Their eyes were a replica of their father’s—even the cool reserve in their hidden depths was similar in manner.

The taller girl stepped forward as they stopped and curtseyed. “Father, welcome back,” she said with a smile.

Edmond released Adel’s arm and crouched. She found it odd, he did not hug his children nor did they seem inclined to do so. “Lady Rosa, happy birthday.”

A charming smile wreathed her face.
Oh, she is a beauty
.

“Thank you, Father.”

Curious eyes shifted to Adel, but Rosa asked no questions.

Edmond tugged his other daughter close, and then he rose, and prodded them forward. He stood behind them and rested a hand on each of their shoulders.

“Girls, I would like you to meet Adeline, my new duchess of Wolverton.”

Rosa gasped, her eyes widening. “You’re married, Father?”

“I am.”

Rosa dipped into an elegant curtsy, her manners already ladylike. “Your Grace,” she said, her voice a mere whisper.

“Hello,” Lady Sarah said with a shy, but very sweet smile. “Are you to be my new mother?”

Adel’s heart was pounding like a hammer in her chest. She sank to her knees in the grass, uncaring that the stains would ruin one of her better gowns. “Hello, Lady Rosa, Lady Sarah, I am delighted to make your acquaintances.” With a smile at Sarah, Adel continued, “If it is your wish, I would love to be your friend and new mother. However I am quite happy to be your friend until you say otherwise.”

“It is our wish,” Rosa said, wariness evident in her posture.

Adel frowned and Lady Rosa expounded. “It is our wish for you be our new mother. I think that is why father married you. He asked me what I would want for my birthday…and I said a mother.” Awe was evident in her voice, and when she looked up at her father, tears were glistening on her lashes.

“Thank you, Father.”

Adel swallowed. She was a birthday gift. A very foolish and convenient one. The duke really had not cared about her reputation; he’d just needed an urgent wife. Any lady would have certainly worked for him, because this icy distance that fairly simmered, warning her to keep away, this cool regard was not because of her being passably pretty, with no money or connection… This was simply
him
, and whatever thoughts that went on behind those beautiful but distressingly empty eyes.

…

Two hours later, Adel climbed the stairs behind the housekeeper. Mrs. Fields’ voice rattled with animation, but Adel felt too brittle to pay her any mind. Lady Rosa had been having a tea party with their neighbor the Earl of Sheffield’s three daughters and their governess. The duke had taken his seat on the blanket and Adel had joined. Edmond had sat in a chilling aloof silence, content to watch his girls play and…well, he watched
her
. It was awkward and Adel had vacillated between tears and laughter. Rosa and Sarah were so tentative with her, touching her every so often, and then staring as if she were an exotic creature. That was how Adel had felt…like she had been on display. The dratted man had hardly said a word.

The girls were now preparing for supper, and Adel desperately wanted a bath and at least an hour of rest before she must face it again. The duke had actually called for another horse and ridden away without saying anything really. She tried not to let his distance crush her. They had only been married a day after all.

“With the short notice, Your Grace, this was the best we could do under the circumstances,” Mrs. Fields said apologetically as they stopped.

Adel frowned when the housekeeper opened the door to an elegant and well-appointed room. The best she could do? The chamber was well-suited to a lady. The walls were decorated with wallpaper upon which trellises of leaves climbed over a straw-colored background. The furniture and draperies were in a pale green patterned with the same straw color. The room was far larger than the bedroom she had formerly dwelled in at home and it had its own dressing room decorated in the same paper. “This is wonderful, thank you.”

Pleasure lit the woman eyes. “I will ask the duke what I am to do about the duchess’s chambers when he gets in.”

Adel froze. “These are not the duchess’s rooms?”

“No, Your Grace.”

Her heartbeat quickened. “Why am I not in the duchess’s quarters?”

Mrs. Fields appeared flustered. “I received no orders to clean the chambers, Your Grace. The missive the duke sent only said to prepare a chamber.”

“I am certain he meant the duchess’ apartment, Mrs. Fields,” Adel said kindly. “I would have you direct the maids to deposit my luggage there and call for a bath.”

The housekeeper’s wariness grew even more pronounced. “The rooms are not ready for you, Your Ladyship.”

Mrs. Fields refused to meet Adel’s eyes and sudden curiosity burned through her.

“Take me to the rooms.”

With a firm nod and flattened lips, Mrs. Fields continued along the corridor. They turned left and walked a few paces down before they stopped at a door. A bunch of keys jangled, and Mrs. Fields twisted one in the ornate brass door and it swung opened.

She stepped back and allowed Adel to enter. She walked in and faltered. Everything in the chamber was covered in white sheets. Cobwebs draped from the ceilings and the dust was so much, the windows that covered half of the left wall seemed covered in cinder. Adel was unable to credit what she was seeing. “Good Heavens, when last was the duchess’s chambers aired and cleaned?”

“Almost three years ago, Your Grace.”

She turned incredulous eyes to Mrs. Fields. “Are you saying no one has entered the rooms since the death of the last duchess?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Adel was at loss for words. “Are the duke’s rooms connected to here?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

She frowned. Were they not to have normal marital relations? She was not sure how higher lords and ladies coexisted, but her mother and father’s chambers had been connected, and it was even the same now with Papa and Lady Margaret. “I see.”

“Get out.”

The chilling command cracked through the room like a whip, causing Adel to jerk. She spun around and faced the door where Edmond hovered in the doorway behind Mrs. Fields. Not hovered, more like he stood frozen, the harsh lines of his face more pronounced, his eyes glittering with cold fury. Adel buried the trepidation stirring inside and gave the housekeeper an encouraging smile. The poor woman looked ready to collapse.

“You may go, Mrs. Fields.”

She bobbed her head, gave them a quick curtsy, and hurried away. Adel calmly exited and gently closed the door. “Please do not be irritated with Mrs. Fields. I asked to see the duchess’s chambers.”

He stared, his gray eyes growing more distant by the second. He appeared so…intimidating was the word that came to mind, but she would not display any anxiety. They were married, for better or worse, and she was resolved to make their situation as happy as possible. “Forgive me for intruding, I was but startled when I learned I had not been put in the duchess’s chambers. Mrs. Fields was unsure if she should have the rooms cleaned and aired.”

Edmond smiled tightly. “These chambers are to remain closed. See that you remember.”

The words stung quite harshly.

With a sharp nod, he spun and walked down the hall with clipped strides.

Chapter Twelve

After the earlier debacle Edmond disappeared. She had spent the rest of the day unpacking and shoring up her courage for dinner. The lady’s maid she had been assigned, Meg, was appalled at Adel unpacking her trunks. She had chuckled. Living with her father, they only had one upstairs maid, and Lady Margaret had monopolized her time. Adel had learned to do much on her own, and she relished the small acts of independence. Simply placing her few dresses in the armoire was soothing, and had helped to quiet the jangle of nerves.

She made her way to the elegantly appointed dining hall to a wonderful supper of watercress soup, game pie, lamb cutlets, chicken Italienne, mushroom fritters, roast beef, baked pike, artichoke hearts followed by rose water flavored ice cream, jellies in a pretty shape, fruit compote, and Genoese cake.

Conversation with Edmond was stilted and her nerves pounded through her as she fretted about whether tonight he would consummate their vows. She had eaten as quickly as possible, then excused herself and hurried to her chamber. Then she bathed in scented rose petal water and brushed her hair with hundreds of strokes, before bundling into one of her very old and frayed white cotton nightgowns.

Perched on the edge of the well-padded mattress, Adel bit into the soft of her lower lip, her anxiety mounting as she watched the door. She had sent a note with Meg to the duke after it occurred to her that he would not know where her chambers were. That had been over fifteen minutes past.

The minutes crept away and with a sigh she went over to the wide windows that took up an entire wall of her chamber. The stars and the moon bathed the land in an ethereal glow. The gardens were brilliantly landscaped into rolling lawns dotted with oak, elm, cypress and willow trees, a topiary garden, and even a gazebo which was covered by beautiful flowering vines. Adel had never seen a view more beautiful.

She would explore it tomorrow after properly spending some time with her new daughters. She frowned, biting deep into her bottom lip. She would have to tread with care. Lady Margaret had not been very welcoming when Adel met her for the first time. In fact her father’s new wife had always taken on an air of mild annoyance whenever Adel was about. She felt nothing of the sort when she thought of speaking with Sarah and Rosa tomorrow, but they had seemed so reserved today.