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“The sorry thing is that there would be any doubt in your mind that he does.” She kissed his cheek again, a gesture that felt comforting and natural to him, then rose and began tidying up the kitchen.
“In all of today’s tumult, I’ll bet you forgot to fire Stenson and also forgot that our new butler started.”
“Sterling.” The earl nodded. “I did forget. Have we counted the silver to make sure my choice was worthy? And yes, I have yet to speak to Stenson.”
“Send him back to the mansion, then,” A
“He’s probably told you to call him by name.” A
“He is much like your papa,” A
“A good description. He was a grown man, though, before he could even speak clearly among strangers.”
“Lord Val told me of the stutter,” A
“A
A
She closed her eyes, trying to brace herself against his request and against her own raging desire to grant it. Not now, she thought desperately. Not now, when they hadn’t even discussed that investigator and the urgent need for her to flee.
“I will behave,” the earl said, dropping her wrist. “I’m too damned tired to really… Well, maybe not too tired, but too…” He fell silent and frowned. “It is an unreasonable request and poorly timed. Forget I asked.”
A
“I’ve offended you,” he said. “I just want… Will you be here in the morning?”
He hadn’t wanted to put that question into words, A
“I will be here,” A
He just nodded and took the rag from her, wiping up the table while A
He waited until A
When they gained his room, the sense of domestic peace came with them. A
He is the way he is because he cares, and maybe in this, he and his father can finally find some common ground.
When he wrung out the wet cloth and straightened, A
“Your night rail, madam?” He held out a hand. “It is too hot for all that extra, A
“So you’ve said,” she replied, pulling the nightgown over her head and handing it to him. “Did you lock the door?”
“Ye gods.” He padded through the dark and took care of the lock, blew out the candle, then climbed in beside her.
“I ca
“I could say the same thing.” The earl punched his pillow. “It would have different significance. Sorry.” He was apologizing for yanking inadvertently on her pillow, but A
A
“I’ll meet with His Grace,” the earl said. “Deliver Stenson his orders, probably call on Maggie, and try to toss enough work at Tolliver so we don’t get behind.”
A
“Instead of seeing if my father is still alive?” The earl’s frown was evident even in the darkness, but A
“If he passes in the night you will receive word immediately. Lord Val will see to it. You enjoy your rides tremendously,” she went on. “Some days, I think it’s the only time you permit yourself to do what you please and not what you ought. And Pericles will not be around forever.”
“Using my horse’s welfare, A
“And your brothers need to see that though the duke may be failing, the earl is not; nor is the earl spending every waking minute in anticipation of his father’s demise. The earl is too sturdy to capitulate to anxiety like that and too well inured to his responsibilities. Death befalls us, and while it is sad, the duke has lived a very long and good life. Though he will be mourned, his passing will be in the natural order of things, as will the earl’s, when the time comes.”
He sighed and considered her point.
I love you, he thought, because you are honest with me and because you are willing to speak the truth to me when others might seek to curry favor instead. I love you because you are in this bed with me, not trying to conceive the much-awaited next generation of Windhams, but just holding my hand.
“I’ll go riding.”
“Good.” A
She wrestled him then into the position she deemed best suited to his slumbers, leaving him lying in her arms, his face resting against her shoulder. She stroked his back in the same easy rhythm he often gave her, and A
I will be here when you waken, she thought, but for how much longer, I do not know.
The investigator sent north had precipitated the need the leave, and now, when the duke lay so ill, any temptation to confide in the earl was put to rest. He needed to be looking to his own and not to the troubles brought to him by his housekeeper.
A
The days and nights that followed saw shifts in the routine of the earl’s household. His morning ride with his brothers, a casual habit earlier, became standard. Stenson’s departure brought a sense of relief to everyone, and Sterling, a quiet older gentleman recommended by no less than the Duke of Quimbey, brought order among the footmen.