Page 73 of It's All About the Duke
“You can come stay with us, Mrs. Abernathy,” Mrs. Portington offered softly.
There wasn’t room for the three of them in that house, let alone two more, Rath thought as he looked at her pale face. Yet Rath was touched by how kind it was of her to offer shelter from what little space she had. He was more determined than ever to make sure that his plan for Portington worked out.
“Thank you, Veronica,” Mrs. Abernathy said. “It’s so dear of you, but we really couldn’t impose on your hospitality. The duke will take care of us.”
“The offer stands,” Mr. Portington said confidently.“We’ll do what we can to help. Now, Your Grace, if you think we can be of further assistance to you, we’ll be happy to stay. If not, we’ll take our leave and allow you to handle this for Mrs. Abernathy and Miss Fast.”
“There’s nothing more you can do. Thank you for coming to her aid, Mr. Portington. And you, Mr. Bramwell.”
“Yes, thank you, gentlemen, Veronica, and Eugenia,” Marlena agreed. “I’ll see you out.”
“What dear neighbors you all are,” Mrs. Abernathy called as they filed out of the room. She then turned to Rath. “I’m so glad you came so quickly, too. I simply didn’t know what to do.”
“Miss Fast is right. A mouse cannot hurt you. They are way too small and are much more frightened of you than you are of them.”
“No. No, that is not true. I cannot possibly get off the settee and put my feet on the floor. We have an infestation here, and I simply can’t abide it. We can’t stay here. I don’t want to live with mice. And worse, what would we do if Marlena had a gentleman caller over? Perhaps a viscount wooing her. What would we do if a mouse ran across his boots? What horror that would be!”
“No man would be horrified over a mouse. They are seen in the finest homes and on every street all over London.”
“He’s right, Justine,” Marlena said, walking back into the room. “It’s not likely anyone will have a mouse near their feet in this house. Give the tonic you drank time to settle you and you’ll be fine.”
“Not in this house, I won’t. I can’t allow Marlena to live here, Your Grace. Whether or not she’s afraid of the little creatures, I am. We will have to move into your Mayfair home after all. Marlena will simply have to adjust and manage without seeing Eugenia every day.”
“Justine, how many times do I have to say no to that?” Marlena exclaimed. “We are not moving.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible anyway, Mrs. Abernathy. My house in Mayfair is no longer available.”
Mrs. Abernathy rose up straighter. “What do you mean? Why not? You offered. Are you rescinding your invitation?”
“When it became clear Miss Fast didn’t want to move there, I allowed the family of one of my cousins to move in for the Season as I usually do.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Justine sounded peeved.
“I don’t feel it necessary to tell you about decisions I make concerning my family or my properties, Mrs. Abernathy.”
“But you’d offered it to us,” Justine argued.
“And the offer was declined,” the duke reminded her firmly. “I doubt I could even find a place to lease for you this late. Everyone has their plans for the Season set.”
“Well, no matter,” she said, lifting her chin. “You can ask your cousin’s family to leave now that you know your ward and I have need of it. It will be perfectly understandable to them.”
“Justine!” Marlena exclaimed. “How can you be so cruel to suggest such a thing? Throw someone out?”
“It’s not cruel. The duke had no way of knowing you’d have need of the place. You are his ward. You should come first.”
“Mrs. Abernathy,” Rath said, moving closer to Marlena. “I won’t ask them to leave. They’re all settled in and that is the end of it.”
Mrs. Abernathy swung her feet off the settee and stood up, lifting her chest high as she did so. “Don’t you have another home in Mayfair we can go to?”
“I’m afraid not,” he said.
“We can’t go to an inn,” Mrs. Abernathy declared.“Heaven only knows what kind of people we’d have living there with us. I don’t want to even think about that. And we simply can’t stay in this house until we’re sure the mice have been dealt with. If you have no other home we can go to, we shall move into your house in St. James with you.”
Marlena glared at her cousin in disbelief. “Justine, you are being impossible. We can’t do such a thing, and you know it. It’s absurd for you to even suggest such madness. An unmarried lady under the same roof as a—a.” She looked at Rath. “A rake.”
Rath smiled at her. He saw her frustration at her cousin’s antics melt away after he did. He liked the fact that he could settle her with a smile. Mrs. Abernathy had no idea what she’d just done, but Rath knew and so did Marlena. Her cousin had given him the perfect gift for a rake. The opportunity for Marlena to live in his home.
With him.
