Lady Vera frowned suspiciously at Esmeralda and asked, “Does Sparks know you’re here?”
“Yes, of course. He showed me into the drawing room and asked me to wait here for His Grace. Perhaps we could summon Sparks and ask him to let your brother know I have arrived.”
“So you are really here to see the duke?” Lady Sara asked.
“Yes.”
“Is the duke here?” Lady Vera asked her.
“I thought so,” Esmeralda said, though now she wasn’t so sure. “I should say I assumed he was when Sparks asked me to wait here for him.” A feeling of dread threatened to settle over Esmeralda, but she shook it off and admitted, “I really don’t know.”
“He has been stopping by more often because Auntie Eve is unwell,” Lady Sara offered.
“Stopping by?” Esmeralda questioned.
“He doesn’t live here with us, Miss Swift,” Lady Vera said. “Did you think he did?”
“Yes.” Confusion swarmed inside Esmeralda. Her first day was not turning out like she’d thought. “I did assume that.”
“Oh, no,” Lady Sara said. “Whenever we come to Town, he resides at his town house in St. James.”
That was a piece of information Esmeralda would have found useful if the duke had taken the time to tell her. No wonder he wasn’t fearful that Josephine and Napoleon would bother him. He wouldn’t be here!
Oh, he was an impossible man to figure out. She didn’t know why she wanted to try.
“He says it is to give us more room and privacy,” Lady Sara added.
“But we know it’s really because he wantshisprivacy,” Lady Vera said, giving Esmeralda a smile that said she was quite pleased with herself. “He can’t be the notorious bachelor he’s known for being if his sisters and aunt are in the same house with him, now can he?”
“I suppose not,” Esmeralda whispered.
“Vera, hush that kind of talk,” Lady Sara admonished. “You are not being polite.”
“Oh, don’t be such a persimmon,” Vera countered testily. “You know very well what I’m saying is true.”
Esmeralda was beginning to believe the duke had purposefully not told his sisters she was the new chaperone, preferring to leave the delicate task to her. What a dastardly thing for him to do.
“Well, then perhaps he isn’t here,” Esmeralda said, hoping to quell the argument brewing between the sisters before it began. “I’m sure he will be soon.”
Lady Vera walked closer to her. “Why don’t you tell us why you want to see our brother?”
Lady Sara admonished her sister again, by saying, “Vera, that’s not a very nice question to ask a guest.”
“It’s certainly not rude. She is here in our home, asking to see our brother. I think it’s a perfectly natural thing for us to want to know.” She turned back to Esmeralda. “Besides, I may be able to help you in some way since he’s not available.”
“How can you help her?” Lady Sara questioned.
“I don’t know yet, Sara. She hasn’t told us what she wants. Now, if you will be quiet long enough, maybe she will.”
Esmeralda knew she might as well learn how to handle the twins and their tit-for-tat bickering right now because she aimed to see to it that they spent the next six weeks together. And the best way to do that was to stick to another of Miss Fortescue’s rules: “Do be forthright at all times.”
“All right, my ladies. I suppose since the duke didn’t tell you who I am, I will have to tell you.”
“That won’t be necessary, Miss Swift. I am here now and will do it.”
Esmeralda whirled toward the entrance to the room. The duke leaned casually against the door watching her.Handsome as ever,she thought grudgingly as her gaze met his across the room.
Much to her consternation, the rhythm of her pulse quickened and her stomach fluttered deliciously, but that didn’t keep her from murmuring under her breath, “And about time.”
