Nonsense, of course. Glenmoor is perfectly harmless. The duke would bring memories with him, however, memories of a life she had left behind. He’d been an awkward boy when she’d met him, and he had grown up with none of his father’s nasty character. She had never seen anything but sweetness in him. In her heart she was sure of it. She shook aside the dark memories and looked forward to seeing him again after almost nine years apart.
The shadows wouldn’t entirely leave her, however. Glenmoor had been little more than a boy when she’d left him. People changed.
“Don’t disturb his lordship,” she told the unfamiliar butler. “Has a room been prepared for me, Mr.…?”
“Harris, Your Grace. Yes. Indeed. All is in readiness, but—”
“Maddy! What on earth are you thinking arriving in the dark of night? London and surrounds are not safe!” David hurried down the stairs, rumpled, sleepy, and still fastening his coat.
Instinctive resentment stiffened her back.Madelyn, what were you thinking? Madelyn, a lady does not behave that way. Madelyn, why did you…The voices that always lurked beneath her surface—her mother’s or, if not, her late, unlamented husband’s—echoed through her. She turned what she called her duchess face to her brother. “I’m here safely, as you can see.”
Whatever he meant to say next died under the ice in her voice. “You are indeed,” he murmured, “and it is a joy to see you. Come, let’s find your room. We’ll talk in the morning.” He offered his arm and turned her toward the stairs.
He paused at the first-floor landing, frowning down at her. “Safe, yes, Maddy, but are you well? Has Glenmoor—”
She quieted him with two fingers to his mouth. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
“I apologize. You must be exhausted. You have to forgive a brother for worrying about you. It’s just you’ve always been so independent and—”
“Tomorrow, David. Am I still in the green guest room?”
His head jerked up as if startled. “Green? I asked Harris to arrange the large guest suite overlooking the garden.” He walked her past guest room doors, including the tiny one with the ugly green wallpaper and narrow window there.
A footman rose from the hearth in the cozy sitting room, where a fire flickered to life, and bowed. “I already lit the fire in the bedroom, and hot water has been ordered, Your Grace. Mr. Harris wishes to know if you desire refreshments as well?”
Dear God, Maddy, you’ve roused the entire household.She wanted plain bread and butter but suspected David’s butler was the sort to insist a duchess must have an overladen tray. “Tell Mr. Harris that a cup of tea would be welcome, but I need nothing else.” They were heating water already, and tea would soothe her jangled nerves.
She mustered as much smile as she could for her brother, thanked him, and bid him a firm good night. He lingered as if he wanted to talk more, but he left after pronouncing his delight that she had come at last.
Maddy collapsed into a chair, too tired to stand or undress, obliged to wait for tea and water to wash, and unhappy with herself for not refusing them outright. She woke with a start sometime later to find a maid shooing a footman from the room. An ewer of steaming water sat on her washstand and a cup of tea on the table at her elbow.
“Will Your Grace need assistance?” the girl asked, keen to serve a duchess in spite of the hour.
“Not tonight. I’ll manage. Thank you…”
“Ellen, Your Grace,” the little maid said with a blush.
“Thank you, Ellen. That will be all.”I always manage.Maddy employed no lady’s maid and arranged her clothing with all fasteners in front. Every lady’s maid she’d ever had had spied for someone, her mother, her husband… It was easier to dress herself.
Maddy groaned when the door clicked shut behind the eager girl. Overabundant help and fawning assistance, whether she wished them or not, were bound to be her fate for the duration of her stay.
She relished the steaming wash water after the long day on the road. The tea, however, went cold after a few satisfying sips. She slipped into nightclothes, leaving her traveling outfit over the chair, and crawled into the bed. She’d have slept on a plank floor she was so tired, but clean sheets, a soft mattress, and a warming pan felt like heaven.
She woke soon after dawn, and memories came flooding in. She sat up and stretched, grateful she had slept well and felt prepared to face the day. Her brother posed the first and most pressing problem. He would question her about her life with Glenmoor, and she would deflect the topic as she always did.
David leapt up when she entered the breakfast room, gesturing to a footman, who hurried to the kitchen for hot tea, and holding a seat for her. “I didn’t expect you so early after your long night.”
Maddy waited while he went to the sideboard and filled a plate for her without asking her preference or allowing her to do it herself. Her mild annoyance wasn’t soothed when he managed to suit her preferences almost perfectly.When did I become so predictable?
In short order, a steaming pot of tea arrived with a rack of fresh toast. David poured himself another cup of coffee and sat back, replete, waiting with impatience so obvious Maddy found it impossible to enjoy her food. She wiped her mouth with deliberate care. Hands clasped in her lap, she asked, “What is it you wish to know?”
“Do you know what the Duke of Glenmoor wants? When asked, he only repeated it is a family matter.”
She shook her head. “I have no idea. I’ve heard nothing from him since I parted ways with the Glenmoor estate. He has not contacted me directly.”
His expression told her he had feared differently. “If he bothers you, Maddy, you need only call for my help.” He meant it, and her heart told her to revel in his care even as she resented his attempts to order her life. It wasn’t Glenmoor she feared, at least not the current one; it was the past she had tried to bury.
“Thank you, David. I would if I found it necessary. So far, he merely asked to speak with me.” Insistently, according to Eli Benson.
