“Yourhusbandis going to give youlessonsin how to seduce another man?”
“When you put it like that—”
“What other way is there to put it?” Kitty said incredulously.
“I’m not sure.” As a headache settled between Mara’s eyes and began to throb, she massaged the bridge of her nose. “To be completely honest, I’m not sure about anything. This is not what I wanted when I accepted Ambrose’s proposal. I didn’twantto be left here. I didn’twantto be lonely. I didn’twantto be married to someone who doesn’t want me. But all of those things have come to pass, and I can either remain here wallowing in my self-pity, or I can do something about it. At least Ambrose is offering to be a help instead of a hindrance,” she said, attempting to see the sun through the clouds. “I should be grateful.”
“Youshouldbe checking your tea for arsenic!”
A sliver of amusement cut through the pounding in her temple. “You’ve been reading too many of those gothic novels. Ambrose is many things, but he’s not a murderer.”
“I’lltell you what he’s not.” Kitty slapped her hand on the floor. “He’s not a cuckold. If you believe otherwise, then you’re more a fool than he is for not recognizing how wonderful you are.”
“Kitty,” she exclaimed, oddly touched. “That’s... that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Don’t let it go to your head.” Clambering to her feet, Kitty smoothed out her skirts and resumed her waltz position. “You need to fix whatever is broken between you and the duke before the Season begins. Have an affair, don’t have an affair. But for the love of God, be discreet about it like a normal couple. We cannot afford another scandal.”
“Anotherscandal?” said Mara, confused. “We haven’t one now.”
“We’re about to.”
“If you’re referring to the rumors—”
“Rumors are just rumors until there’s truth behind them,” Kitty interrupted as she executed a flawless spin to the right. “Lady Harmsworth and her group of old crones will have some fresh meat to sink their teeth into soon enough. But we needn’t deliver them a feast on a silver platter.”
Mara shook her head in bewilderment. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
In a feat of perfect balance, Kitty froze on the tips of her slippers with her arms flung out in a circle and her spine bowed inward. The only sign of exertion was the rapid rise and fall of her chest. “I’m talking about my divorce.”
*
“HUMPHREY!” Ambrose bellowed,throwing open the door to his bedchamber so that his shout could ricochet down the hall. “Dammit, Humphrey, where are you?”
“Here, Your Grace.” Panting slightly, the beleaguered butler hauled himself up the final steps of the staircase and half ran, half walked the last few yards with as much dignity as he could muster. “I’m here.”
“About time,” Ambrose grumbled, stomping across the room to a set of windows that overlooked the western lawn. Throwing open the curtains, he glared at the unfolding sunset, taking personal offense at the breathtaking spill of colors. If they’d been able to reflect his current mood, they’d have been a canvas of grays and blacks. How irritating that the world didn’t revolve around him. That hiswifeapparently no longer revolved around him.
Irritating and damned inconvenient.
“How can I be of service, Your Grace?” Humphrey remained in the doorway, as much to observe proper protocol as to protect himself. Having witnessed the duke in a mood such as this one more than once, he’d learned it was best not to get too close.
“I require...” Ambrose hesitated. The sad truth was, he didn’t need anything. Not anything that his butler could retrieve, at any rate. But as he’d paced the length of his bedchamber, his fists coiled balls of tension and his stomach a twisted knot of unease, it had occurred to him that he hadn’t anyone else he was able to genuinely rely on except for Humphrey. No one who had been by his side longer. No one who knew him better. And wasn’t that a sad, sorry state of affairs? His servant—not his wife, not his friends, not his mother—was his most trusted confidant. “I require an ear.”
The butler paled. “An... an ear, Your Grace?”
“Yes,” he snapped. “Your ear, to be precise.”
Humphrey covered the side of his head. “My—my ear?” he squeaked.
Ambrose cast a moody gaze over his shoulder, caught the butler’s uneasy expression, and rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to cut it off, Humphrey. I merely want you to listen. I... I want your advice.”
“My advice.” All things being equal, the sudden green tinge to Humphrey’s jowls indicated he might have preferred to hand over an ear. “I shall endeavor to grant you whatever you’d like, Your Grace.”
“The duchess and I had a disagreement. We are having trouble with the original terms of our marriage.” His brow furrowed as a belated thought occurred. “Areyoumarried, Humphrey?”
The butler blinked. “Me?”
“Is there someone standing behind you?”
