Page 62 of Gone With the Rogue
He was back.
Chapter 21
Ashiver shook Julia, and then another. She slowly laid her cape over the packet and wrapped it inside the folds of the damp wool to hide it.
Her mind whirled with thoughts. Had he seen Garrett? Did he know about him? Had the duke come to take Chatwyn away from her?
Julia walked down the corridor and into the drawing room on stiff legs and numb feet. The duke stood by the fireplace warming himself. He was much thinner than when she had seen him last. She’d never seen his shoulders stoop before. There was a sickly pallor to his skin, and his thin face looked gaunt. For the first time since she’d known him, it appeared as if he’d aged considerably.
“Duke,” she said, and curtseyed, hoping that she wasn’t visibly shaking as much as she felt her insides trembling.
“Lady Kitson,” he answered with a nod. “You seem out of breath.”
She swallowed hard. That hardly touched the way she was feeling. “I am. I just came in from playing outside with Chatwyn.”
“You allowed him in the garden in this weather?”
“It’s hardly a storm,” she said cautiously. “Just a misting rain. Though, it may be raining harder now.” She hugged the wrapped packet of documents to her chest so tightly the knuckles on her hands had turned white. She tried to loosen her grip so he wouldn’t notice but she couldn’t seem to let go.
“Where is my grandson?”
“I just sent him upstairs with Miss Periwinkle to change his clothing and shoes. You know I’m always so careful, just as you instructed, to see that he doesn’t catch a chill. It’s been raining for a couple of days now. He was quite irritable and needed to get out of the house for a while. He is now getting into dry clothing, so he should be fine.” It irritated Julia to have to explain in detail how she took care of her son. “You still don’t look well, Your Grace. Would you like to sit down?”
“I’m not well. I’d like to go up to my chambers and rest, but I want a brandy and to see my grandson first. Then I must go to my book room. There are some things I need to take care of in there.”
Julia felt as if she might faint. She knew exactly what he wanted to do in his office. What was she going to do? She held the fake documents in her hands. Should she drop her cloak now and admit that she’d stolen the real ones? Should she wait until he went into his book room and confront him there?
Yes, that seemed the better idea than the drawingroom. And truly she needed more time to recover from his return. She knew it was inevitable but still a shock that it was now. She needed all the time she could get to calm herself. Now that she was going to actually confront him.
The duke sat down in his favorite chair by the fire, and said, “I don’t know where the butler is. He’s never around when I need him. Pour me a brandy and then bring my grandson down.”
Julia looked around for a place to put her cape. She laid it on the secretary and then placed a book on top of it, hoping Mrs. Desford wouldn’t come in, see it, and want to put it away.
She poured brandy for the duke and one for herself. She seldom drank the strong spirit, but this afternoon, she needed more fortification than just her anger and fear to get her through what she had to do. With her back to the duke, she put the small glass to her mouth and drank the entire dram. It burned all the way down, but she managed to hold in her cough.
After a few deep breaths, she walked over the duke. “How are you feeling?” she asked, hoping her question would distract him so he wouldn’t see her hand shaking.
“Only somewhat better.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“The fever is gone and I’ve decided that whatever it is that has beset me hasn’t killed me yet, so it’s not likely to any time soon. I’ve heard there’s a new physician in Town and that he’s quite good. I’m going to see him tomorrow.”
“Yes. I remember you telling me that before I came to London.”
“Perhaps he can do more for me than the presenthost of men I’ve had at Sprogsfield seeing to my well-being.”
“It does seem as if it’s time for you to seek another opinion. I’ll get Chatwyn for you.”
“Before you go,” the duke said. “I stopped getting daily letters from Mr. Pratt over a week ago. Do you have any idea why?”
She tensed. “No.”
“You didn’t think it necessary to mention in your letters to me that Mr. Pratt had stopped giving the lessons?”
“No. I assumed you had finally listened to my pleadings and dismissed the man. I was happy he wasn’t coming.”
Picking up her cape, she took it with her and quickly stuffed it behind a pillow on the settee in the vestibule before going to the top of the stairs and calling for Miss Periwinkle to bring Chatwyn.
