No matter. He’d find a way to take it from her.
He always had his way, in the end.
* * *
As soon as the duke was gone, Rose flew up the stairs and into Abby’s bedchamber, where Abby was waiting for her.
Abby leaped up from the bed. “What happened? What did Sir Richard say?”
“It’s . . . well, it’s a trifle concerning, Abby.” That was one way of putting it. Another way was that it was an utter catastrophe.
“I thought as much, what with that slack-jawed look of yours. Go on, then.” Abby waved a hand. “Let’s have the worst of it.”
“Ambrose has left Hammond Court to the Duke of Grantham.”
Abby’s jaw dropped open. “You mean to say Ambrose has left youhomeless? No, I don’t believe a word of it. There must be some mistake. We must fetch Sir Richard back this instant, and—”
“No, no. Ambrose hasn’t abandoned me, Abby. He wouldn’t do such a thing. No, it seems that Ambrose has left Hammond Court to me,andto the Duke of Grantham.”
Abby’s eyes went so wide they nearly dropped out of her head. “I—what? I don’t understand.”
“He’s, ah . . . well, in essence, he’s left Hammond Court to both of us.Together,” Rose added, in case the ghastliness of it wasn’t entirely clear.
She’d expected wailing, rending of clothing, and perhaps another brandishing of the hairbrush upon delivery of this news, but the explosion never came. Abby regarded her in silence for a moment, then she marched across the room and began snatching armfuls of clothing from the clothes press. “Go to your bedchamber and gather your things, Rose, while I run and fetch Billy, and tell him to ready the wagon for us.”
“The wagon? Whatever for?”
“Why, we’re going to stay with Mrs. Sullivan in Cirencester, of course.”
“Cirencester! You know I can’t leave Hammond Court, Abby.”
Abby crossed her arms over her chest, her chin jutting out. “I don’t know any such thing.”
Dash it. She knew the stubborn thrust of that chin. “The instant I set a toe outside the door, he’ll find a way to make certain I never return.”
Perhaps the Duke of Grantham wasn’t the ruthless scoundrel everyone claimed he was. Perhaps even he could be made to see reason, but the expression on his face when he’d told her he’d do whatever it took to have Hammond Court . . . there hadn’t been even a sliver of warmth in those frigid gray eyes.
She shuddered, chills darting down her spine. She didn’t trust the man any more than she would a rabid dog. “But there’s no reason foryouto stay here, Abby. Indeed, I think it would be for the best if you went to Mrs. Sullivan’s.”
Her heart gave a panicked throb at the thought of losing Abby, who’d been by her side for all but the first four of her twenty-one years, but there was no help for it. This battle with the Duke of Grantham was bound to become a great deal uglier before it was over, and she didn’t want Abby caught up in it. Abby would be better off in Cirencester with Maggie Sullivan, well out of the Duke of Grantham’s reach, just in case he took it into his head to use the people she loved as pawns in his quest to have his way.
“I’m not going anywhere without you.” Abby dumped the armful of clothes onto the bed, then turned a shrewd eye on Rose. “You ought to think about letting the duke have his way, Rose. He’s likely to have it in the end anyway, no matter what you do.”
“What?You expect me to just give up, and let him have the house? I can’t do that! He’ll tear it down if he gets his hands on it.” Hammond Court, with its cracked windows, rutted drive, shattered front door, and hundreds of spiders, was herhome.
She wasn’t going anywhere.
“I love Hammond Court as much as you do, but you can’t afford this place, Rose. It was all well and good when Ambrose was alive, but this house . . .” She shook her head. “It’s a weight around your neck, now. You’ll wear yourself to a thread, trying to keep up with it.”
“How can you say that, Abby? Why, it would break Ambrose’s heart if I abandoned Hammond Court!” It would breakherheart, as well.
“Ambrose is gone, Rose, and you’re a young lady, with your whole life ahead of you. I don’t pretend to know what Ambrose was thinking when he died, but I can’t believe he’d want to see you tied to this house forever.”
“Then why would he leave me half of it?” She couldn’t answer that question herself—not yet—but one thing was certain. Ambrose had his reasons. He always did.
It was up to her to figure out what those reasons were.
“Listen to me, pet.” Abby took her hand in a gentle grasp. “The duke will pay to be rid of you. Imagine what you could do with that money, Rose! Would it be so terrible, having your freedom?”
