Page 5

What a mess.

2

Sebastian

This was the day from hell.

Firstly, asking a matchmaker for help at all.

Secondly, the matchmaker’s far-too-attractive granddaughter being the one to grace his doorstep rather than the actual matchmaker.

Yes, he knew that Miss Hu assisted her grandmother with such matters, but he would have much preferred to deal with Lady Hu than her.

Thirdly, his mother returned from the countryside against his express orders, behaving as if she did not even remember being banished.

The desire to flee the house and never return was growing stronger. But that was not what good dukes did, and his father had raised him to be a responsible member of the nobility. Noblesse oblige had not just been words to his father; they’d been a mandate of what a nobleman owed to those who provided his livelihood, and Sebastian was determined to honor his father’s memory and live up to his expectations. Also, to avenge his murder. Which would be a great deal more difficult if he fled London.

Take things one step at a time. A deep breath. And he needed to dismiss Miss Hu so he could speak to his mother alone. He also was not certain how his mother would react to her, and Miss Hu certainly did not deserve to feel the brunt of his mother’s ire. She was already looking at Miss Hu and frowning in disapproval.

“Miss Hu, thank you for your time,” he said formally. “As I have an unexpected arrival to deal with, I hope you will understand that I must end our discussion early, though I would like to continue it at a later time.”

“Of course, Your Grace.” Miss Hu sank down into a curtsy, turning slightly to include his mother so a separate curtsy to her was rendered unnecessary. Not that it mattered. The moment he’d dismissed Miss Hu, his mother’s attention had returned to him. Studying his face. Smiling at him as though their last words had not been exchanged in anger.

He had received several letters from her, sent from the Grange, begging to return to London. Each time, he had been firm in his denial. The Grange was the smallest and most far-flung of his estates. She must have set off in the carriage not long after sending the last plea, so she would be able to truthfully claim she had not received his refusal.

There was a point and time when he would not have believed his mother capable of such duplicity. That was before he’d heard the way she spoke to his sister when she thought there was no one to hear. Before he’d heard her confess from her own lips that she had been spreading rumors designed to undermine Tiffany after her marriage to Sebastian’s best friend, Gregory.

“Well,” his mother said once Miss Hu was out the door. “I can see I have arrived not a moment too soon. You do not need a matchmaker, my darling boy. I am more than happy to assist you in your search for a bride.” Reaching up to touch her hair, she smiled when she found it perfectly in place. “I know everyone who is worth knowing, after all.”

“You are supposed to be at the Grange, Mother,” he replied through gritted teeth. “You were not given permission to return to London.”

“Oh, darling, you could not possibly mean for me to stay there forever.” She widened her eyes at him, coming forward. Sebastian steeled himself, hardening his heart as those wide eyes filled with tears. “You cannot imagine how awful it was there. Harleen and I were desperate for any kind of company.”

“And where is Harleen?” he asked. His mother’s lady’s maid was faithful to her, but she was also a good woman who had seen what his mother was before he ever had. She’d promised to keep his mother under control, as best she was able from her position.

“Oh, fallen ill.” His mother waved her hand as if it was of no matter that her oldest and most trusted companion—and the only servant who might be able to stand up to her—was sick. “She will follow us here once she is feeling better.”

Blast. Sebastian would have to write to Harleen and see how she was doing and if she needed anything. And also, if she could tell him anything about his mother’s sudden confidence that she could return to London without any consequences.

“Now then, you are looking for a bride in earnest, are you not? As soon as Alice wrote me that St. Albans had found a bride, I knew I must come. The only available dukes left on the marriage mart now are you, Montagu, and Northumberland. There is going to be a frenzy among the ladies, and you do not want to make a misstep that will cost you for the rest of your life.” His mother patted his cheek before sweeping behind him to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Not the one Miss Hu had sat in. For some reason, he felt relief over that. He did not think he would like to see his mother sitting in Miss Hu’s seat, though he was uncertain why it would matter.

Taking a deep breath, Sebastian tried to reorder his thoughts.

Getting his mother out of Bolton House the first time had been… difficult. Despite hearing the awful things she’d said to Tiffany, there were times he still had trouble reconciling that with the mother he’d grown up with. The one who so lovingly doted on him, who slipped him small treats when he’d angered his father, who had always been supportive of him in every way. The times that he’d been sent to bed without supper by his father, he’d never been hungry, because his mother always came by with a piece of cake or pudding before bedtime.

‘Our little secret,’ she’d said, then snuggled him while he ate his treat, filled with warmth and love for his mother.

As he’d gotten older, he’d spent more time under his father’s wing than hers, as was appropriate, and she’d been so proud of the man he was growing into. She’d been more focused on his sister, and he’d even been jealous of Tiffany for that at times, but he’d enjoyed learning his ducal responsibilities from his father. It had never occurred to him that Tiffany’s treatment under his mother’s care might be very different from his own.

Sometimes he still wondered if he’d imagined the whole scene of his mother berating his sister, confessing to being the source of the rumors spread about her, but he knew he hadn’t. Tiffany had been there after all, and Gregory, Sebastian’s best friend, who was now her husband. Gregory had realized the truth far before Sebastian had.

Turning on his heel, Sebastian tried to decide what to do. Short of bodily picking his mother up and dragging her to her carriage, would he be able to get her out of the house? Should he? Not that he wanted her input on his bride. On the other hand, trying to physically remove her from the house in the middle of the day when anyone could see…

Being a duke afforded him a lot of leeway. There were certain things, however, that could scupper his chances of choosing whatever bride he wanted. Having his own mother dragged bodily out of his house with witnesses about was one of those things. Although the reason he’d decided to hire Lady Hu as a matchmaker was that he was struggling with the abundance of choices for his bride, that would be the kind of thing that would cut down on the desirable choices. Not the undesirable.

Sebastian let out a long, slow breath as he sat down across from his mother. She proudly beamed at him, as she always did, when he sat behind the desk, taking his place as duke. It felt like no time had passed at all. Like she wasn’t furious at him for having her banished to the countryside. Indeed, she was behaving as though she’d taken a journey by choice and had now just returned in his time of need.