Page 60 of The Odyssean Duke

“My staff, you mean.”

Stephan paused, looking startled. “Yes, I suppose I do mean that. Our staff.”

“I am certain they will be most attentive,” Evelina said. “If a little…nervous.”

Stephan sighed, looking suddenly as though he had aged a hundred years. “I do regret that I cannot offer you a better staff,” he said. “After my father died, the dowager saw fit to replace the entire staff for me. They are all sorely in need of experience and training.”

Evelina blinked, for a heartbeat thinking that she must have misheard him. “She…did that?” Evelina asked.

Stephan nodded grimly. “I will confess to being rather startled by it myself,” he said. “I have known for some time that my grandmother is a cruel and spiteful woman, but even I was surprised by this recent act of pettiness.”

Evelina shook her head. “I am certain the staff is trying. They have all been very kind to me.”

She was thinking of Mrs. Newbury and how kind she had been in the garden.

“They are trying,” Stephan said begrudgingly. “I am still furious with her, though. She dismissed my father’s steward, and I have encountered significant difficulty in finding the man.Admittedly, my grandmother had a habit of driving away the staff, but I would have liked to have kept some of them.”

“Of course,” murmured Evelina.

A pressure began to build behind her eyes, and she took the tray of food, turning with the intent of placing it on the table by her bed. Before they could, Stephan lifted the tray from her hands and set it there for her.

“Thank you,” Evelina said. “I could have managed it myself, but it—it was kind of you to help me.”

“Of course.”

Stephan paused and studied her face for a long moment. Then, he gently stroked her wrist; his fingertips were cool and gentle against her heated skin. Evelina’s breath hitched, and a knot tightened in her chest.

For a while, they remained like that—his hand on her wrist and her heart in her throat. Then, Stephan sighed and curled his fingers into the bedlinens. “I should go,” he said. “If you have any need of me throughout the day, do not hesitate to send for me.”

Evelina knew that she would not send for him; she had too much pride. However, she did not trust her voice to tell him that or anything else. If she spoke, she feared that her feverish mind might saystay, and she knew he could not.

He gave her a final small smile and a firm squeeze of her hand. Then, he turned and left, leaving a strange bleakness behind him.

CHAPTER 26

Stephan liked to think that he was a reasonable man. He was calm and fearless in the face of battle. Many men in his position made errors when faced with foes; they became overwhelmed by impatience or eagerness, by the desire to be victorious or shed blood or simply to win a fight. Stephan had never been that man. His record as an admiral had been spotless; any losses—of which there were very few—had been due to the circumstances.

They were outnumbered or overpowered. The weather had turned unexpectedly and forced a retreat. There were always factors beyond Stephan’s control, and even so, he had become adept at salvaging even the worst defeat. He and his men survived; that was what mattered most of all.

His grandmother threatened to undo him. “To the Dowager Duchess of Rothbury,” he barked.

The footman snapped to attention, throwing open the door of the coach with such force that he nearly struck himself withit. Later, Stephan imagined that he would probably feel a little guilty for frightening the man, who was becoming fairly competent at his job. At the moment, Stephan was too infuriated to care. He would have sworn that his blood boiled in his veins, and his muscles all pulled so tight and taut that he ached.

How dare his grandmother come to his house unannounced? How dare she speak to Evelina so disrespectfully? Even though it was irrational, a small part of Stephan fought against the impulse to blame his grandmother for Evelina’s sickness. Maybe if the accursed woman had not upset his wife so badly, she would not have retreated to those gardens and fallen ill.

The coach jolted into motion, and he grimaced. It was unwise to visit his grandmother while he was so angry. Stephan knew that, but all rationality faded away when he imagined the Dowager Duchess of Rothbury standing in his house, uninvited and malicious. The thought of the woman speaking to Evelina only unfurled a protective instinct that Stephan had not even known he possessed.

This dispute was between the two of them. Evelina was formidable, and Stephan suspected that she was more than a match for his grandmother’s cunning. He smiled a little, thinking about how startled the Dowager Duchess must have been when she discovered that his blushing bride was a woman of strength and integrity. Evelina was no weak-willed woman. She would not fold as many others might have.

Still, Her Grace had no right to bring an innocent person into the middle of their feud. If the Dowager Duchess was a man, theywould have already come to blows or declared a duel. A man’s honor could only endure so many blows.

At last, the coach reached the dowager’s house. Stephan straightened his spine and fixed his gaze ahead, determined to emerge from the coach looking cold and impassive, in control. The fury bubbling in his chest would do him no good, so he must be careful. His grandmother was cruelly adept at turning his temper against him.

The coach door opened, and the footman bowed hastily. “We are here, Your Grace.”

I can see that.Stephan forced the snide words back. He had already snapped at the man earlier, and if he could not control himself around his own footman, he was certainly unprepared to face his grandmother.

“Thank you,” Stephan said. “I will not be long.”