'Get changed and then come to my study.'
His valet stripped him off and handed him a towel. He was finding it difficult to coordinate, he was no longer bosky but not quite sober either. He would probably feel better if he ate something, but his stomach was turning somersaults and the thought of food nauseated him.
He cared not what he was wearing, he was eager speak to his brothers and prayed that they could come up with a solution to this catastrophe of his own making.
When he told them what he had thought, what he had overheard, if he had not been sitting he thought one or other of them would have pulled his cork.
'I have no excuse for my stupidity. I came back early determined to put things right between us. Finding her absent made me anxious and then you know the rest. I had not thought myself a jealous man, but that is the only rational explanation. Unless my accident has addled my wits.'
There was a polite tap on the door and three footmen staggered in with laden trays. They hastily put them down on the leather-topped desk and vanished leaving them to serve themselves.
'Coffee only for me, thank you,' he said to Aubrey who had immediately walked over to the food.
'When did you last eat, Perry?'
'I can't remember. I doubt I could keep anything down.'
'You will try.' Beau opened the window and tipped out the contents of a flower pot, slammed it shut and then handed him the receptacle. 'There, problem solved.'
After the first few bites his guts settled and he devoured everything put in front of him with relish. He washed it down with several cups of coffee and when he was done he felt almost human again. He wiped his mouth on his napkin and sat back. His brothers had not eaten, they were watching him and both looked less severe than they had earlier.
'How do I mend my fences with Sofia? First, I will tell you both what I have arranged for us.' He quickly told them about the house in Derbyshire he was having built and why he thought they would both be happier when life was less restricted by etiquette and rules.
'I think that an excellent notion, and it will go halfway to restoring your wife's good opinion of you. You would hardly have made these arrangements if you had been intending for her to leave and return to Spain.'
'I must warn you, Aubrey, that if Sofia does decide to go then I shall follow. I know it is the woman's place to live where her man wishes, but I will not lose her.'
Beau nodded. 'I would prefer you both to be living at Silchester, but as long as you are happy and together I shall be content.'
'Have either of you any suggestion as to how I should begin the process of winning her back?'
'Sofia has moved next door and I suggest that you do not approach her today. Allow her time to calm down. The fact that she rushed to your defence when she thought we were going to horsewhip you is a good sign.'
Perry smiled. 'I apologise for your nose, Beau, I...' He surged to his feet. 'Sofia damaged her hand. I must go at once and see she has not broken any bones.'
'Sit down, my wife will take care of her. Do you wish me to send word next door and see how she does?'
He subsided into the chair. 'Yes, please do that.' He closed his eyes and tried to marshal his thoughts into some sort of order. Until his accident he would have considered himself a sensible, calm, rational man and now he was behaving like a simpleton. If this is what love did to a fellow, he wished he was like his older brother, a bachelor with no one to worry about but himself and his duties as the duke.
When he opened his eyes again his brothers had gone, as had the trays. The fire had been banked up, the shutters and curtains closed – all this done whilst he had slept. He glanced at the overmantel clock and was shocked to see the time. He had been asleep for hours.
For the first time in several days his head was clear and he was thinking like a soldier. He had lost a battle but not the war and he was determined to court his wife and, however long it took, he would somehow persuade her to forgive him and take him back.
He emerged from the study to find the house quiet, Beau had obviously dined with Aubrey and Mary next door. He waspersona non grataso would not intrude. Although he had eaten enough for three men before he fell asleep he was hungry again.
He saw a footman lurking at the other end of the passageway and snapped his fingers. 'Bring me something to eat. I shall have it here. Coffee also.'
When he had eaten he was wide awake and had no intention of retiring. There was a hunter's moon which would make it perfectly safe to ride. He was already dressed in suitable garments for such an enterprise, all he needed was his greatcoat, gloves and muffler. There was a heavy frost tonight, but so far this winter there had been no snow.
Zorro, as always, appeared at his side when he reached the stables. The horses were all bedded down for the night, the grooms eating their supper in the servants' hall and he had no intention of calling anyone back to do something he was perfectly capable of doing himself. Billy was as eager as him to get out in the crisp, cold night air.
He was not foolish enough to gallop, or jump hedges and ditches as he would do in daylight, but he had a most enjoyable excursion nevertheless. He heard the village clock strike midnight as he crunched back into the yard. He had walked the last mile so his horse was cool and could be put away immediately.
As he strolled back to the house he was aware there was no light glimmering through the closed shutter. God's teeth! Surely he had not been locked out of his own abode? He tried the side door and indeed it was locked. He marched around the house and was unsurprised to find everywhere firmly bolted for the night. He had not thought to inform a member of staff that he was going out and when Beau had returned from next door and he must have thought him asleep in his apartment.
Perhaps his brother was still awake, he often remained downstairs into the small hours reading whatever geographical journal had arrived that week. He made his way to Aubrey's wing but again it was evident no one was up.
This left him two options. He could either hammer on the door of the main part of the house in the hope that someone would hear him or spend the night in the stables. No – there was the third option. He was an agile man and he thought he might be able to climb up to the first floor and gain entry that way.
