Page 42 of Yours Truly, the Duke
“Don’t sound outraged,” she answered with a pleasant, almost shy grin, which stirred masculine emotions inside him again. “They didn’t mind and enjoyed the extra time for reading. They were eager to know when we would be leaving too.”
Wyatt watched the shadowed lighting from the lamp flicker invitingly across her face. Looking at her had him suddenly feeling that if he could just wrap his arms around her, catch her up to his chest, nestle his nose in the warmth of her neck, and close his eyes, his head would stop the incessant pounding.
Then he could kiss her. That’s what he really wanted to do.
But it was best he shake those thoughts away for now—if possible. She wasn’t inviting him to indulge in the desires his body was craving, but his head was denying.
“I believe I said I would look into it today.”
“I’m sure you said ‘handled,’ which I took to mean it would be taken care of.” Her brows scrunched together determinedly as she moved down a step. “Since you tookso long to return, I assume I can now rest easy that everything ishandledand I can leave for Paddleton tomorrow or the next day?”
“No, not yet.” His head was fuzzy with tension. “One reason is that you don’t have a carriage, Fredericka.” He never got around to looking into that. Somehow, with all the other things he had to do that errand had skipped his mind.
“Well, of course I do.” She brushed off his point with a short laugh. “How do you suppose I got here?”
“I made it clear you aren’t going anywhere until I make arrangements for a new carriage. One that’s befitting the wife of a duke and has my family crest on it. I should have already done so and had it delivered to you, along with a qualified guard to travel with you and not just a stable hand.”
“And Jane?” she asked without taking her steady gaze off his.
“It may take a little longer than I anticipated to clear up the issue with her since she decided not to give up her pursuit as we’d hoped.”
Fredericka’s expression morphed into concern. She moved down another step. “How much longer?”
Pushing the tail of his coat aside, Wyatt rested his hands on his hips. “I don’t know,” he admitted, shaking his head. “A few days. Perhaps a week.”Or longer.“Rest assured I will have you on your way to Paddleton as soon as I can.”
“But you were gone all day. What were you doing?”
Wyatt scoffed at her question.
She exhaled loudly. “I’m not understanding the problem. You made it sound as if only a few words from you to the Lord Chancellor would be all that was needed to settle this issue with my cousin.”
Wyatt grunted a laugh. If only it had been as easy as he’d hoped. “I explained this morning I had other commitments to attend today as well as my promise to you.”
“I stand corrected. You did say that, but does that mean you didn’t speak to anyone about Jane?”
“Yes. Of course I did.”
That’s what had been on his mind most of the day. He obviously hadn’t had his concentration on his competitions at the tournament. He hadn’t lost an important fencing match, a card game, and at the billiards table in the same day in years. That wasn’t acceptable to him. By his lack of focus, he had not only let himself down, his club, and his charitable obligation, but he’d disappointed all the other men who were counting on him to win their wagers.
Wyatt was discovering he didn’t like letting Fredericka down either.
Figuring honesty was the best way to deal with his intelligent and resourceful wife, he said, “The problem is that when I asked Epworth to arrange an appointment for me to meet with the Lord Chancellor, he reminded me that the Chancellor and I are of different political parties. If I were to speak to him on your behalf right now, he might not be willing to listen to me, so it’s best that I wait and not rush this.”
“So, what you are saying is that Chancery isn’t as easy as walking into the Lord Chancellor’s office and declaring you want a certain ruling simply because you are a duke if one is of the Tories persuasion and the other is of the Whigs.”
“Yes. Nothing could be settled by me speaking to him today. It’s a bit more complicated than I thought because of the politics. This must be handled carefully. There are important issues before Parliament and the two sides areat odds over all of them. If I want the Lord Chancellor to do something for me, I need to be prepared to offer him something he wants.”
“This is children we are talking about. Politics shouldn’t have anything to do with them.”
He understood her indignation, but the Lord Chancellor held a high political appointment and he had a lot of power. “You may not like it, but that’s the way it is.”
“I see.” She studied him closely and took in a deep, steady breath. “Does Jane’s brother-in-law, Lord Longington, happen to be of the same political persuasion as the Lord Chancellor?”
There was no need to hide anything from her. “Yes, and quite friendly with him I’m told.”
“I don’t know much about such things as politics. It’s not usually a subject men discuss with ladies, but I’ve heard men can be very stubborn about their views on certain matters, so that is concerning.”
“That’s true. There are members of Parliament happy that I stay out of most political discussions and members who are unhappy that I do. Epworth will make some discreet inquiries to see if there is any way I might be useful to the Chancellor. A favor for a favor.”
