“Perhaps we do,” he replied. “Do you think this is where the competition began?”
“Competition? You mean feud, don’t you, Your Grace?” she said bitterly. “Sniping, cheating, gloating…”
“I didn’t realize how bad it had grown until I became Roseleigh. I’ve heard nothing since the day of the funeral but roses. Roses and, frankly, cautions about your father and your family.”
“As a child, I found it amusing, a little friendly competition. Then I began growing them. When my father realized the quality of my work, he began pressuring me to create winning cultivars. From the time I first attended the York Rose Council, I’ve been horrified by the cutthroat competition. Since our two families win the bulk of the time, it is always engendered or fed by one or the other of us. Your cousin Harry—” She bit back her words.
“What about him?”
“It is not good to speak ill of the dead. Suffice to say he liked to win. By the way, the flower show dates to the 1750s. I would guess the feud began soon after,” she said.
“Feud.” His brows drew together.
“What would you call it?”
“War?” he suggested.
She chuckled ruefully. “Perhaps. You’re the head of your family now. How do we call a truce?”
“I may be the duke, but I doubt if I could stop it. Would your father listen?”
“Not likely.”
“There we are, then. Let’s go back down, and I’ll show you my favorite painting. It is in my study. I suspect it has roses. I always thought the roses everywhere were a play on our name.”
She reached over and put a hand on his arm. “It probably is. I’ve heard my father complain that your title gave your family an unfair advantage.”
His eyes met hers, and he covered her hand with his. “Do you suppose you and I could declare our own truce? Do you think the others would follow?”
He swayed a bit, and she thought he might kiss her. When he turned away and led her in the direction of the stairs, her heart sank.
Don’t be a ninny, Margaret. You’ve been here less than a day. Besides, that way lies heartbreak and no end of conflict.She didn’t care. She really wanted his kiss.
*
Henry stared intohis shaving mirror while Carter, the valet he’d inherited along with the title, stood stoically behind him, waiting to finish grooming him for dinner.
His familiar features always struck him as unremarkable, yet he’d caught Margaret—Lady Margaret—studying him several times the day before. She looked for family resemblance, of course; that must be it. There wasn’t much. Henry got his looks from his mother. Bradleys passed on many things, but their features were not among them.
Did she find him pleasing? For a moment at the top of the stairs, he’d thought so. He certainly found her so. He had almost kissed her. Wouldn’t that just fuel the feud?
He turned and let Carter see to his unruly hair and create a masterful knot in his cravat.
Would a kiss do harm, Henry? Surely not. And what if it led, as such things do, to more? Would a relationship between you cause dissention? Or would it heal old conflicts?He wouldn’t have thought about it before, but now he wondered. Problem number six still loomed over Roseleigh: Find a wife. If he’d drawn up a list of the qualities he wanted in a partner, he suspected Lady Margaret would fit the bill perfectly. It was too soon, but worth considering. He went down to breakfast with a spring in his step, whistling.
Aunt Blanche held court at the head of the table, Mary to one side and Eckelston to the other.Did they all hasten down to face me as a group?His aunt glared up at him. “Roseleigh. I didn’t expect you; I thought you’d eat in your office.”
He bowed respectfully. “As you see, I decided to eat with family.”
“You haven’t met with Jones yet.” Aunt Blanche got down to grievance quickly.
“I have had too many other things to do,” he said, nodding to Givens, who made haste to pour his coffee while he sent the footman scurrying to fill a plate.
His aunt sniffed. “You had time to parade that woman around the manor.”
“I did indeed. Lady Margaret had been left on her own all day. I thought one of us ought to make her welcome,” he said.
Aunt Blanche pursed her lips and frowned at him. “From what Mary told me, you made her very welcome indeed.”
