Page 46 of Once Upon a Devilish Duke

“Are you sure? It is a glorious day, and we do not get many of them.” Dunstan gestured to the view out the window and the blue sky.

“I thank you, but no. I hope you enjoy your afternoon.”

“If you change your mind, we leave in an hour.”

Edward nodded but had no intention of changing his mind. “How was your reception when you arrived?”

“Vastly different from my last visit. I am very grateful you allowed us time to talk the other night. I have my work cut out for me, but I believe I will win her heart in the end.”

“Said like a typical romantic, ever optimistic when it comes to the heart. My sister is smart, so you will have to win her mind as well, just remember that.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.” He stood and bowed before turning for the door.

“Dunstan, if you see my brother, will you send him up, please?”

“Of course,” he replied as he closed the door.

He wrote down all that Dunstan had told him and added it to his latest report. It would not be the first time a map may have been altered to gain a strategic advantage. But if someone were selling the information to the other country, it presented a problem. For they might not stop at just this set of maps. National security could be at risk. He had to find out who this person was and stop them from selling information to anyone else, like the French or the Prussians.

Tony did not come to see him, but he would see him at dinner. Another type of punishment. There was a thin line between open hostility and ducal deference. His having left the night his nephew was born did not change the outcome, and he wished they would all just move on.

Edward asked his butler to fetch one of his prized bottles of brandy and have it put on the table at dinner. He would offer it to Tony, partly an olive branch, partly a welcome gift for William. He may not accept it, but at least Edward would have offered it.

None of those currently sitting downstairs waiting for him to join them for dinner had any idea the torment he had gone through. Lucinda going into labor in his house, down the hall, in fact, was too much to bear. It had been his own nightmares come to life the moment Rose told him that Lucinda had gone into labor.

Yes, he had run away, but what else could he do but remove himself from the house? If he had stayed…he may have drunk himself to death. Oh, wouldn’t Charles have wet his pants then? Not to mention the scandal. Instead, he rode until he realized he was riding to Ashtonvale. Then he turned around and came back. The lesser of two evils, or so he thought. Now he would have to confront the eyes of his family, knowing they liked him a little less with every day that passed.

He closed the door behind him and headed for the stairs, but instead of descending, he walked on down the long gallery until he was standing in front of Tony’s room. He knocked softly, hoping Lucinda might be asleep, but then she said, “Enter.” He opened the door but did not go past the doorframe.

“Your Grace!” she said in shock. Her hair was braided and its glorious red color shone in the candlelight. Just as on the first night he had met her, when she became Tony’s ward.

“Sorry to intrude,” he began. “I just wanted to say congratulations and… congratulations.”

“Come in,” she said, extending her hand to him.

He shook his head. “No. I just needed to see that you were all right.”

“I am well.”

“Right. Good. Well, good night, Lucinda.”

“Good night, Edward. Thank you for checking on me and William.”

Edward nodded and took two steps back into the hall and closed the door. Taking a deep breath, he turned and made for the stairs. It was time to face his family.

Chapter Eleven

When the duke arrived in the parlor, he wore a mask of cool detachment and simply said, “Let us go in.”

He held his arm out to his mother, who took it as was customary, and they all proceeded into the dining room. Rose watched him and wondered what was going on in that ducal mind. It was obvious that the excitement of the last few days must have taken a toll on him; the dark circles under his eyes made him look haunted and even more sleep deprived than normal.

Dinner was a mostly quiet affair as there was not much to discuss, as they had not left the house. Unlike breakfast, the duke had no paper to hide behind. He mostly studied his dinner, only looking up when their plates were taken away and replaced with the next course. Rose caught his eye, and she gave him a small smile before taking a sip of her wine. He gave her an almost imperceptible shake of his head that seemed to say, do not pity me.

Is that what she felt for him? Surely not. His actions alone had placed him here in this position.

The duke pushed a bottle of something towards his brother.

Tony glanced at the bottle and then at his brother. “What is this?”