Page 78 of Lavender’s Lost Duke

“Because this is the room for the duchess . . . should we ever have one again. The former Duchess of Fenleigh was unmatched in her way of making one feel at home.”

“How long ago did she pass away?” Lavender whispered.

“She passed giving birth, my lady.”

Lavender nodded, remembering the information. “How terrible,” Lavender commiserated.

“Yes, nothing has been quite the same since. Servants can’t quite replace a mother, try as we did to make a difference.”

Lavender faced the older woman. “I’m certain you made a bigger difference than you know. Do you believe the duke will come back? It’s been so long.”

“I’ve never had reason to doubt his word, and since he said he would return, I’ll keep making things run the way he always likes them to.”

“You do a wonderful job of it all. Thank you, again, for taking me in when I needed it most.” The kind words of the housekeeper made Lavender more confident that she’d made the right choice in coming here. She longed for a chance to meet the man who had been on the lips of everyone all Season. It was his library . . . and this room she was after. If the man had a decent character attached to it, she could ask for nothing more.

Dinner was somewhat of an awkward affair. Mrs. Howard made it clear that Lady Lavender had requested to eat her dinner in the kitchen with the staff, but the conversation was stilted, and she could tell she’d made the servants uncomfortable. Tomorrow, she would simply take her meal in her room.

She continued her reading of Pride and Prejudice in the library after the meal was over. The candle burned low beside her, and she stretched her neck to the sides. She could remain in this room for a lifetime and not run out of new books to devour.

Chapter 38

Thomas was hungry. He’d traveled for far longer than he’d anticipated. In his excitement to put things to rights with Lady Lavender, he’d pushed the creature too hard at the beginning of the journey, and his pace was achingly slow for the remainder. It was an exercise of patience in the cruelest form. When he finally reached Everleigh Park, he tied up the mare next to the stables. Not a stable hand was to be seen. It was no matter. Thomas would care for the creature himself once he ascertained whether Lady Lavender was here like he hoped.

Rolling back his shoulder, Thomas opened the back door that led to the kitchens. The cook screamed, threw her hands into the air, and then began throwing pots at his head. Thomas extricated himself from the woman by taking shelter behind the door he’d just entered through. “Mrs. Chambers,” he called. “It’s me, Lord Fenleigh.”

She gasped. “Your Grace!”

He poked his head back in to see her picking her way across the floor and kicking pots and pans to the side to clear a way for him to enter. “Is it safe to enter?” He chuckled.

She pulled the door open and swatted at his arm. “Let me see you.”

He looked down into her weathered face and smiled.

“What did you do to your face? You are under that ridiculous beard, aren’t you?”

Thomas chuckled. “I assure you, I am here and aside from this,” he pulled on his facial hair, “I feel better than I have in a long time.”

“Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick.”

“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

She wiped her hands on her apron and then planted them on her hips. “Try me.”

Just then the door to the kitchen swung open. “Mrs. Chambers, is everything alright?”

Thomas’s jaw dropped to the floor. He’d never seen something more beautiful: the woman he loved standing in the doorway. “Lady Lavender?” He swallowed thickly.

She covered her mouth with her hand. “Tom? What are you doing here?” Her voice shook.

He strode to her and pulled her to his chest. “You’re here. I can’t believe you are here.” He kissed the top of her head.

She pushed him away. “Me? I can’t believe you are here. You are not supposed to be here.” Her head fell into her hands, and her body began to shake. “I can’t believe you followed me! Why can’t you simply let me do what I must?” She turned to go.

“Wait,” Thomas rushed to stop her. He planted himself in the doorway that led to the rest of the house. “We must speak.” He reached out to touch her, but she stepped further from him.

Mrs. Chambers cleared her throat. “I believe he owes us all an explanation, my lady.”

The hairs on the back of Thomas’s neck rose with awareness. He turned to see Mr. Alby, Mrs. Howard, and a host of other servants lining the corridor beyond. They were his people, the people he’d chosen and trusted for years, at his back. A lump formed in his throat. He’d missed each and every one of them. “You all deserve an explanation. But none more than this beautiful lady.” His eyes combed Lady Lavender’s face. “If you will allow me a walk in the garden, I promise to return here and report to everyone the state of things.”