Page 5 of Lavender’s Lost Duke

Glancing out the window, he saw his footman and maid out in the back garden. The footman was parading in front of her like a puffed-up aristocrat, and she was laughing without reserve. He hoped his servant wasn’t impersonating him, but even if he was . . . it was funny to watch. How would it be to be able to laugh and tease without anyone watching your every move, ready to take advantage?

He sat up taller, an idea taking place in his mind. Servants were able to move about and do their work without hardly anyone noticing them. They weren’t under constant criticism like Thomas always was. And no one really took notice of them when they moved about town. They were always there, but more invisible to the higher-ranking members of the ton. They were invisible to all the people Thomas wanted to avoid.

That could be the answer to his predicament. Thomas needed a break. He needed a break from Lord Chilcott, and parliament, and his monotonous life. He needed a break from all the alcohol he was accustomed to consuming and from women throwing themselves in his path on the off chance he might start thinking more seriously on matrimony. No one paid any mind to servants for that sort of thing. Besides, people didn’t necessarily need him around. Except for his staff, he supposed. So, what if he simply ran away? The last place anyone would look for a duke would be in the servants’ quarters. It wouldn’t hurt to lie low for a time. Lord Chilcott couldn’t pester him consistently if he couldn’t find him.

Thomas stood and began to pace the small study. He placed the decanter on the desk and stared at the brown glass until it came into focus. Ha! If he was thinking clearly enough to make that glass come into focus, he was certainly not as foxed as he’d thought. He could do it: become a servant. He could live a life of anonymity, less pressure, and more freedom. He glanced down into the garden at the young couple again. He could investigate this type of happiness for himself.

As appealing as becoming a servant was, he knew it couldn’t last forever. But all Thomas needed was a little time. He could hide away and deny his cousin the pleasure of harassing him. Ron had no evidence anyway; his ridiculous accusation would blow over.

Thomas took another long gulp of his brandy, relishing the burn in his throat. So much for stopping drinking at White’s. How had he come to rely on the practice so heavily? He kept telling himself he was going to stop drinking, but drink was so convenient to dull his thoughts.

If he was living like a servant, he wouldn’t have the coin to continue the habit. It might be the easiest way to change. To become the man his father would have wanted him to be.

Could he give up his pampered life for a time and live among the lower class? No one would miss him. His parents were gone, he had no siblings, no woman he was courting. He was a single man with every opportunity available to him should he care to take it. He smiled. The obscurity of the idea made it all the more appealing. He didn’t even want to sleep on the decision. Everything about it felt right.

Thomas Monteclare, Duke of Fenleigh, was about to disappear.

Chapter 3

Lavender exited the back of the house and into the light drizzle that so often accompanied the month of April. She took the dozen or so steps to Henry’s cottage and knocked. If anyone could help her make sense of her thoughts, it would be Henry—the family groundskeeper was a fantastic listener. She was tired of being the only soul who knew about Mr. Lanscombe’s actions. It was long past time to talk to someone. She heard movement from inside the cottage, and she stepped back just as the door swung open.

“Lady Lavender,” Henry greeted her with a crooked smile. “What can I do for you?”

The smell of fresh-cut wood wafted out the door. “Am I interrupting anything?”

Henry set aside a stick he’d been whittling and stepped outside, closing the door behind him. “Not at all. I am at your disposal.”

Lavender smiled a little. “I am in need of a walk. Would you accompany me so that I am not alone?”

“Most certainly.” Henry retrieved a coat and then joined her on the sodden path. He was getting older, Lavender noticed. He was at least ten years her father’s senior, but his health had never faltered. What a blessing to the entire Gardner family. Henry played a large part in the children’s upbringing. Under the earl’s instruction, it was Henry who spent time teaching them to shoot a bow or a pistol. But that was not where his value lay. Every one of her siblings had a unique relationship with their groundskeeper.

As for Lavender, she’d always been able to talk to him without fear of judgement. He lent a kind, listening ear and shared a wealth of solid advice. Even more, he was like her—a background character in the story that was the Gardner family. They were the unnoticed, but they saw each other.

After sauntering around the garden paths for a time, Lavender felt she was composed enough to ask for his advice. “Henry, I have a confession of sorts to make.” She swallowed hard. “You might be surprised to know that I had always thought I would marry Mr. Lanscombe.” The words reopened the wound in her heart, but she pressed on. “But he is searching for a wife in London.”

Henry mumbled something under his breath that Lavender pretended not to hear. Then he cleared his throat. “I wondered why he didn’t come around anymore. If Mr. Lanscombe has chosen a life without you, then I believe it’s better he never shows his face here again. If I had my way, he would not leave looking the same.”

Lavender smiled a little at the thought of her elderly groundskeeper giving Mr. Lanscombe a solid punch to the nose. He’d do it, too. She had no doubts. “He would deserve it, I’m sure.”

“He has always been a fool. Courting you in private the way he did . . . it wasn’t right.”

“How did you know he was courting me in secret?”

Henry shook his head. “I have windows on this cottage, my lady. And I wanted to keep an eye on you when no one else seemed to notice you’d disappeared.”

Lavender felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment. “You must think me a fool.”

Henry laughed at that. “I’ve had no such thoughts. I remember what it was like to be young and in love. Your head doesn’t always choose what is best for your heart.”

She nodded in silent agreement. Her head had allowed her to make all sorts of excuses for Mr. Lanscombe’s lack of commitment over the years. She’d relied almost solely on her heart to make decisions. That was a mistake she refused to make again. “I feel stuck. At this rate, I’ll be an old maid. I don’t feel particularly fond of the idea of marriage right now, but without it, I don’t progress at all.” And I would continue inevitably to be at the mercy of my mother’s whims. She thought with a grimace.

They walked in silence for a time. She never worried that Henry wasn’t going to answer; he took his time with his words. He always had.

“I think you ought to talk to your parents.”

Lavender’s shoulders fell. “I was afraid you were going to say that. You know how difficult it is for me to talk to them. I’ve been brushed aside so often. Besides, I don’t want to be a burden while father is ill.” Even thinking about how easily her concerns were dismissed or forgotten by her family made her embarrassed.

“I know. But, I think you ought to try. I’m afraid your father . . .” his voice trailed off.