Monty sighed.
“Perhaps a gift would be appropriate also, my lord?”
“Would it?” He looked at his butler. “What could I possibly purchase for a woman who has money and everything she wants?”
“You have just received the latest copy of Captain Broadbent and Lady Nauticus, my lord.”
“I haven’t read it yet.”
“But you could easily get another.”
“As could she,” he said, sounding testy, which he never was. “But yes”—he sighed—“I can give her that.”
Haven left, and Monty sat and sipped his tea.
“I have informed Jensen you will leave in an hour, my lord.”
“Will I?”
His butler nodded.
Sighing once more, he got to his feet. He felt a great deal older today than he’d been last week. And dissatisfied. He blamed Iris for that.
After dressing, he left the house with his book, which would no longer be his by the day’s end.
“Stop at the sweet shop, please, Lenny.”
The duchess was in luck, and the weather had stayed sunny, which meant they could be outside and not crammed inside smelling several scents that were unpleasant when mixed.
Monty thought about the Deville family. They would all be traveling together with their children and likely Walter, their lovely big dog. There would be laughter and chatting on the journey, whereas he was in solitude. Which usually he enjoyed. However, not today.
When the carriage stopped, Monty climbed out, leaving the door open.
“I shall not be long, Lenny. I will simply secure us some taffy for the journey and more peppermint sticks.”
“Right you are, my lord.”
Stomping toward the sweet shop, his driver stopped him with a loud throat clearing.
“Is there a problem?” Monty turned to look at him.
Lenny made a walking gesture with his fingers, and Monty realized he’d been striding instead of Plunge walking. He gave a curt nod and continued with smaller mincing strides, because you never knew who was watching.
“It’s a lovely day for taffy, my lord,” Mrs. Veronica, the owner of his favorite sweet shop, said.
“Indeed, it is,” he said in his high-pitched voice. He ordered peppermint sticks to be delivered to Iris and Henry and then bought two bags for himself as well as the taffy.
Armed with what he needed for his journey, he returned to the carriage, handed Lenny his taffy, and then stepped in through the open carriage door to find a thin, trembling greyhound had joined him. It was on the floor, and Monty only just managed not to stand on it by stumbling sideways and landing on the seat. Pushing himself upright, he looked at the quivering dog.
“Can I help you with something?” Monty asked.
“Oscar!”
The roar came from outside the window of the carriage. Looking at the brindle-striped dog, he noted it seemed to have shrunk lower and was trembling harder. It didn’t make a noise or even look his way. The long snout was buried between its paws.
“You mangy beast. I’ll bloody kill you when I get my hands on you!”
The man wasn’t tall. Monty had a head on him was his guess, but he had a solid build and carried a whip with him.
