The housekeeper, perhaps only ten years older than him, turned to face him, her smile welcoming and ready.
“Yes, Your Grace?”
He grinned broadly at her. “Did you know I was waiting, Mrs. Vale?”
“I would never keep you waiting, Your Grace,” she replied smartly.
He caught the hint of a twinkle sparkling in her round eyes that were the color of imported tea.
“Did you know I had arrived, then?” he amended his question.
“I know all the comings and goings in this house, Your Grace, just as you pay me to do.”
“Excellent.” Sebastian bobbed his head in appreciation of her skills.
“Was there a particular reason you came calling this afternoon?” Mrs. Vale’s eyes ticked up and down his form, and he could feel that she was inspecting his attire and perhaps looking for indications of what he had been doing before making this impromptu house call.
“May I speak with you privately?”
She nodded, so Sebastian led her up the stairs and into the study he rarely used. He would probably stay there today a little longer. Vincent and Percy were on a trip through the countryside with Verity, so it wasn’t likely that any visitors would come looking for him today.
Besides, he had been neglecting his work for the Crown in lieu of thinking about Lady Phoebe. He needed a place, this place, where he could concentrate and realign his priorities.
Shut inside, Sebastian took a seat behind the grand desk. It was an enormous piece of furniture that dwarfed all other fixtures in the room.
Made of rich mahogany, the desk stretched nearly from one wall to the other. His chair, which was made of buttery soft brown leather, supported Sebastian even when he slouched while trying to work out how to discuss the matter that riddled his mind.
“At my most recent event,” he said slowly, thinking, “I met a lady.”
It was not uncommon for that to happen. Even when Sebastian snuck off to the library as he had during the night of Lord Spencer’s Masquerade, he invariably spent the majority of the evening with one lady or another clinging to his arm.
“Yes, Your Grace,” Mrs. Vale prompted, gently luring him out of his muddled thoughts. “Did the lady offend you in some manner? Should I send a footman to?—”
“No, no.” He held up his hand to stop Mrs. Vale from entertaining such thoughts further. “This lady was quiet, cautious, maybe even a little prudent. She…”
When he trailed off, Mrs. Vale’s lips puckered. Sebastian recognized this as her confused face. “Is there some sort of problem with the lady, Your Grace?”
“Yes,” he answered automatically before recalibrating and trying again, “No. The lady I spoke with that night is not troublesome, but she is in a difficult situation, you see.”
“Ah…” Mrs. Vale nodded knowingly. “You would not be the first Duke to make a mistake at a masquerade and wind up with a bouncing baby on your doorstep a few months later.”
Sebastian’s mouth hung agape. He stared at Mrs. Vale for a long moment.
She has misconstrued things entirely.
He snapped his jaw closed then snorted, as a sense of amusement overcame his shock. “I did not mean that I compromise the lady in question and left her with child.”
Once more, Mrs. Vale screwed her lips up into a tight pucker. “Then, forgive me, Your Grace, but I am failing to understand the purpose of this conversation.”
Unsure of how to proceed, Sebastian’s eyes darted around the room. They stopped when they landed on his feather quill.
“Ah! Here.” He plucked the quill from its ink stand and scribbled a few notes onto a scrap of parchment.
Then, he stood and handed the missive to his housekeeper.
She glanced at the hastily written words, then looked at him wearing a bemused expression. “Lady Phoebe, daughter of Lord and Lady Tripleton. That name sounds familiar. Shall I check our guestlist from the last event, Your Grace? Did this lady manage to sneak in without receiving a proper invitation from Lord Spencer?”
Sebastian heaved an exasperated sigh. He knew he was doing an abysmal job explaining the matter, so he didn’t blame Mrs. Vale for floundering, but he also wished she could just know his thoughts and stop asking so many probing questions.
