Brynn had been intimately involved with Clarion and Benson affairs in recent months, but accepting an invitation for “family” felt awkward. Still, his decision to come had been rewarded with news of the duchess. “She’s taking time away from Ashmead? Good news, certainly,” he said.
Lucy frowned. “More like strange. What provoked this, David? She refused to attend the little season as your hostess, and she must know you need one. Did you beg?”
“I don’t beg.” The earl frowned at Lucy.
Benson laughed at him. “You begged. You need Maddy’s help. You need a hostess.”
Clarion’s unease amused Brynn. But the earl addressed Lucy. “I have hopes you will take that role eventually.” Lucy was the sister of his late wife, and the earl was fond of her, but the perpetual sadness beneath his smile seemed deeper this evening.
“There’s more, isn’t there?” Lucy peered at him intently, waiting.
“Nothing tragic, I assure you, and probably minor. The Duke of Glenmoor has asked to speak with her. When I told him she didn’t leave Ashmead, he said he would go there. I don’t think she wants him there, for some reason. Maddy is stubbornly private.”
“What do you suppose he wants?” Brynn set down his glass, his protective instincts making his hands fist and his jaw clench.
“She walked away from the Glenmoor estate without taking anything. He sounded affronted at the time and to my knowledge hasn’t seen her since. I can’t imagine what he wants.”
“Did you tell him to stay away from Ashmead?” Brynn demanded. His outburst drew frowns from both Rob Benson and Clarion. He reminded himself the woman had two brothers, both sitting right in front of him. Questioning the Duke of Glenmoor wasn’t Brynn Morgan’s place.
“I wondered the same thing,” Lucy said. “What did you tell him?”
“I made it clear the lady would decide whether to receive him. I told him I would inquire.”
“That should have been the end of it. Good manners dictate he withdraw if the lady won’t see him,” Benson said.
“He was polite enough, but he appeared tense. Something eats at the man.”
“Couldn’t he simply write to her? She’s his father’s widow. It would be unexceptional to do that,” Lucy said.
“He repeated his insistence that he had to speak with her, and that was it. He refused to elaborate. ‘A private family matter,’ he called it. He wasn’t belligerent, but I feared he would charge on up there. I sent Eli a warning to watch out for him, but it appears my fears were exaggerated.”
“She decided to come here, then,” Lucy said. “I can’t say I’m sorry. It will be good to see her.”
Clarion smiled wryly. “I confess I’m grateful to him for prying her out of Ashmead. Her message came by return dispatch. She expressed her willingness to help with your dinner and indicated she would see Glenmoor while here. She didn’t mention any concern.”
Something about it sounded off to Brynn, but the duchess wasn’t his sister. He reminded himself she was not his responsibility. Twice.
Lucy spoke up first. “I’m taking it as good news for me. She’ll be here for that merciless dinner party you insist upon.”
Clarion’s answering smile was the brightest of the evening. “She will indeed, and it will be a far, far better affair as a result,” the earl said.
An hour later Brynn stood next to the Bensons’ carriage in front of the earl’s townhouse while they waited for the groom to return with Brynn’s horse. Benson helped his wife into the carriage and out of the night air.
“Whatever you’re considering, think twice,” his friend said.
“Unlike you, I think before I act,” Brynn countered. “What do we know about Glenmoor?”
“You sound like Rockford. He would gather information first also and then plan defenses if the need for them arose—is my sister under siege?” Benson asked.
“We don’t know yet, but I intend to find out.”
Benson didn’t argue.
Chapter Five
London lay threemoderate days’ travel from Ashmead or four leisurely ones. Madelyn arrived at Caulfield House, her brother’s London home, disheveled and without a maid, two days after leaving Clarion Hall before dawn and changing horses as needed. The night porter greeted her long after the household had retired for the night.
The butler, alerted by the porter, rushed to take charge, a sleepy footman dragged traveling trunks into the entranceway, and the exhausted coachman pronounced himself and the outrider ready to see to the team and equipage without assistance. Maddy felt a twinge of guilt at inconveniencing so many by urging the staff to drive as if the devil were on their tail.
