The bells of a distant clocktower rang out. Kendra smiled up at the Duke. “The wedding was perfect.”
He returned her smile. “It was. Good evening.” He settled back in his seat as the coachman put up the steps and closed the door, then the carriage rolled down the street, quickly swallowed up by the ghostly fog that had drifted in an hour ago.
Alec drew Kendra’s hand through the crook of his elbow and ushered her up the flagstone path to the distinguished brick mansion. The bells stopped—ten o’clock.
“Normally, the staff would line up to greet their new mistress,” Alec told her as they approached the glossy black door, illuminated by two gas lamps on each side.
“That sounds tiring. I hope they don’t do it every day.”
Alec grinned. “They won’t even do it tonight, as most of my staff is still at Alcott Park. We were supposed to stay here only one night before beginning our honeymoon there.”
Kendra tilted her head to look up at Alec when they paused on the stoop. Keeping her gaze locked on his, she slid her hand down his arm in a slow caress until their fingers laced together.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” she whispered. “As long as I’m with you.”
“I don’t mind postponing our honeymoon—with one caveat.”
The gleam in his eyes quickened her blood and made the breath evaporate from her lungs. She kept her eyes locked on his as he lowered his head. His warm breath feathered her lips, making them tingle, an instant before his mouth covered hers. Heat invaded her, melting her bones. Hands still linked, she pressed herself against him, gave herself up to him.
The hours of viewing death and speculating about the worst sort of humanity vanished like wisps of smoke. The night suddenly hummed with magic.
Kendra was breathless, her ears buzzing, by the time Alec broke off the kiss. He raised his head, his green eyes nearly black.
“The caveat,” he whispered huskily.
Kendra barely heard him over the thrumming of her heart. “What is it?”
“Our honeymoon can wait.” His mouth curled in a slow, sexy smile. “But I must insist on ahoneymoon night.”
Keeping her gaze locked on his, Kendra loosened his cravat, then raised herself on her toes to brush her lips against his ear. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, my lord.”
She didn’t take her eyes off Alec as they entered the house, failing to notice the road to the park—and the shadowy figure watching them from the trees.
Chapter 11
The next morning, Kendra sat in front of the vanity dresser while Molly styled her hair and cheerfully recounted household gossip. Telling the lady of the manor what was happening belowstairs was one of the duties of a lady’s maid, and Molly took it seriously. Kendra learned that there were only four servants residing at 25 Bedford Square: Mr. Wakely, the butler; Mrs. Simmons, the cook; the head footman, Hugh (Molly said his name with a soft sigh); and the downstairs maid, Hannah, who was London-born and -bred. Until recently, Molly had lived her entire sixteen years within the confines of Aldridge Village.
“Mr. Wakely is a bit stiff-rumped, but likeable enough.” Molly lowered her voice to a confidential whisper. “Oi think ’e’s afraid of Mrs. Danbury, even though a butler outranks an ’ousekeeper.”
Kendra couldn’t blame the man. The Duke’s housekeeper was formidable woman. Given their unexpected stay in London, the Duke had loaned Mrs. Danbury to assist in organizing Alec’s household until the rest of the staff arrived.God help them.
“They’re a bit afraid of ye too,” Molly added as she tucked artificial flowers into Kendra’s intricate braid.
“Me?Why are they afraid of me?”
Molly gave her a strange look. “’Cause they’ve never ’ad a mistress afore. If ye’re displeased with them, ye can ’ave ’is lordship sack ’em.”
“I’m not going to fire anyone.”
“Aye, well, they don’t know that, do they?” Molly grinned. “Oi reckon ye’ll be a bit of a surprise for them—in more ways than one.”
A soft knock at the door drew their attention. Molly finished pinning the last flower bud to Kendra’s hair, then went to the door and opened it a crack. Kendra heard a murmured exchange.
The maid closed the door and returned to announce, “The Duke ’as arrived. ’E’ll be in the mornin’ room, ’aving breakfast.”
Five minutes later, Kendra found the Duke standing in front of the long buffet, lifting one of the silver domes to inspect the scrambled eggs, stewed tomatoes, mushrooms, and slabs of ham. “Good morning, my dear,” he said when he noticed her. His blue eyes twinkled. “Normally, I wouldn’t presume to call on you so early, but given the circumstance, I didn’t think you’d mind. Do you?”
“Not at all.” She picked up a plate as Wakely came through the door with a silver pot of tea.
