Page 35 of The Duke and His Jilted Bride

“Maybe I should ask him instead.”

Aurelia turned so hard she almost gave herself whiplash.

“Or maybe I will be on my best behaviour,” Lydia said. “Only time will tell.”

Sufficiently dressed – and aggravated – Aurelia and Lydia descended an hour later. It was almost six o’clock, and Aurelia couldn’t put off the thought any longer – he was late. She found Aunt Violet looking weary in the drawing room with Lord Rosdale, who apparently could talk even Violet into silence.

He smiled widely when the two women entered and immediately complimented their appearances. “But why do you look so sad, Your Grace?” he asked Aurelia, clicking his fingers for a footman to prepare drinks for them. “On such a festive night as this.”

“I am not sad,” Aurelia assured him, smiling for Violet’s sake. “I am only concerned for the duke’s wellbeing. He is not here.”

“Well no, he is in Suffolk,” Lord Rosdale said.

“Suffolk?” Violet cried.

“What do you mean?” Aurelia asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“I thought…” Lord Rosdale looked well and truly stumped. “Surely he mentioned he was going south today with Mr. Poole. Something about a cow farm and…” He sighed and took another drink himself. “Well, it is not a topic of conversation for women. He did not mention it to you?”

Aurelia felt the colour drain from her face. Yes, he had mentioned it to her. But in the rush and panic of the day she had forgotten all about it. Why had none of the staff reminded her? She supposed they had been too busy with the guests. But he hadn’t said he would be late. Aurelia picked at her nails through her gloves.

And at almost that exact same moment, the sound of a carriage arriving could be heard outdoors. She couldn’t say who had rushed to the window first, but all four of them were there with their noses pressed to the glass, watching Evander climb out of his carriage and put on his hat with Poole walking behind him.

“They look to be in good spirits,” Aunt Violet commented.

“Finished business tends to have that effect on men,” Lord Rosdale replied.

“But there are no cows with them,” Lydia said.

Lord Rosdale scoffed. “Right, let’s come away now and greet him properly instead of like monkeys in a menagerie. Miss Penrose, you may stand beside me.”

Lydia gasped happily. “Oh, certainly.”

He had known he would be late before he left Suffolk. The property meeting had produced an additional question for every one it resolved. He had sent word ahead and told the driver to push the horses as much as he reasonably could on roads that the previous night's storm had treated badly. But from the look of the faces in the drawing room, word hadn’t arrived in time.

They were all there. Patrick, already comfortable and laughing, moving forward to shake his hand. Miss Penrose smiled devilishly, making a face at Aurelia when she thought he couldn’t see. And Mrs. Hartwell, Aunt Violet now, who rose from her chair when he entered and bowed slightly, smiling gracefully.

And of course, there was Aurelia. Who took his breath away and restored it. Who had slept beside him last night and disappeared – and all the questions that had issued.

“Sit down,” Aunt Violet stressed. “You must be exhausted, Your Grace. The roads today were dreadful when we were driving in and no better for you I’m sure.”

He avoided Aurelia’s gaze as he maneuvered over to Aunt Violet and sat down. Thankfully Patrick soon occupied the women with a very loud and very energetic conversation. But somehow Aurelia slipped the net and came over to stand beside her aunt instead.

“The roads were perfectly manageable, Aunt Violet,” Aurelia said. “I expect His Grace does not want to talk about the road after so many hours on it.”

“Oh, hush,” Violet said with mirth. “You were pacing the room when you thought he was late and likely just as worried as we were.”

“You were worried?” Evander asked. “I did try to send word to the house.”

“She had forgotten all about your meeting,” Violet said on her behalf, taking Aurelia’s hand and tapping it. Her rings glittered in the firelight. She had the rings; Aurelia had the bracelets. “One has to wonder how excited and busy she has been to forget such a thing… Perhaps we will learn all about your young marriage at dinner.”

Evander smiled, secretly thinking that he hoped to keep the bulk of it firmly to himself.

Thirteen

Later that night, by the time the main course arrived, Violet was deep into a story that just about kept the room together. It concerned a horse she had briefly owned, funnily enough also named Pearl, she said, that had apparently nipped three separate barons over the course of its long eventful life. Miss Penrose was contributing observations that made the story somehow sillier. Aurelia was laughing with her hand pressed over her mouth, while Evander covertly watched.

He said relatively little, which was his preference even on evenings that weren’t as awkward as this one to him. Nobody seemed to mind his absence from the main conversation as he focused on slicing through his pork and apples.