Chapter 11
Eleven
Iintend to get some answers
The Duke swept past Adele into the hallway, the scent of his cologne washing over her.
Adele’s heart skittered, but she could not tear her gaze from the Duke’s cold blue eyes. He had seen Martha, and only a fool would not notice that she was with child. Adele swallowed. A part of her wondered if she should go after the servant, but the rest of her knew it would do little good.
She chewed on her bottom lip and shook her head as she turned to face the Duke. “I think it would be best if we continued this conversation in a more private place, don’t you?”
The Duke nodded. Adele gestured to one of the nearby servants. “Would you please arrange some refreshments for His Grace and myself? I have a suspicion that this may take some time.”
The servant’s eyes flicked from Adele to the Duke, her lip curling slightly before she replied, “Of course.”
“I believe it is customary to use ‘My Lady’ when you speak to the mistress of the house.” The Duke’s voice was so cold it sent a shiver down Adele’s spine. “You would do well to show her the respect she deserves.”
“I am sure it was only a momentary slip.” Adele nodded to the servant, smiling at her.
She was not sure why she was defending the woman. She was one of the ones who seemed to delight in making snide remarks or conveniently ‘forgot’ to do things Adele had asked.
The servant turned towards her, face red as she said in cool tones that were just shy of a reprimand, “His Grace is right, My Lady, one should remember their place.”
Another thing for them to hold against me. She caught sight of the Duke’s eyes narrowing at the servant, his mouth open, as though he was going to say something more, and without thinking, she grabbed his hand and moved towards the drawing room.
She felt his muscles tense at her touch, but he did not pull away. The feel of his skin against her fingers made her heart beat a wild rhythm, and she swallowed.
“Thank you. You may leave us now.” She caught sight of the servant’s eyebrows raising at her contact with the Duke and hastily released him.
The damage had already been done. That is another mess I will have to clean, no doubt.
The Duke was still frowning after the servant, and for a moment, Adele wondered if he was going to reprimand the woman.
Her heart pounded, and she cleared her throat, gesturing to the door as she walked through it and into the drawing room.
The Duke followed her in, his eyes still lingering on the retreating servant’s back. Adele tugged at a loose thread on her dress as she flopped onto the sofa.
“Well, go on. We might as well get this over with. Tell me what a bad job I am doing of being a marchioness. Ridicule me for my inability to control my own staff.” She hated the way her voice trembled on the words.
“Do all the servants speak to you like that?” Duke Scarfield’s face was impassive as he sat across from her, and she noticed a tension in his jaw.
Adele shrugged. She knew she should deny it, that she should play the incident off as some kind of random occurrence, but even as she formed the words, they stuck in her throat. She thought of the growing coldness of their stares, the little sniping comments.
“Yes.” Her face burned, and she looked at the ground.
“They have no right to treat you like a usurper.” He thumped his fist into the palm of his hand. “Just because one of them is carrying my cousin’s child does not mean that they have any right to treat you with less respect than your station commands.”
“I — what?” Adele put a hand on her chest as though that might keep her pounding heart in place.
“The pregnant servant. The one I bumped into when I arrived. It is Rothwell’s child is it not?” His voice was more gentle than she had ever heard it, and the air of command that usually ran through his words was absent.
Every hair on her body stood on end. A bead of sweat trickled down her neck. The Duke’s eyes met hers, and she felt like a deer before a hunter. I should deny it, throw him off the scent. But she could not.
She sighed. I have kept this secret long enough, and I am so tired. “How did you know?”
“I did not. Well, not for certain. You have confirmed things for me. That is the reason he kept her on, is it not? It is the reason her wages are so high above the other servants even though they are already paid more generously than most.” Warner’s eyes bored into hers.
She thought she saw a flash of some deep emotion in them, but it was gone too quickly for her to name.
She nodded and felt her shoulders relax, as though a great weight had been lifted. She breathed in deeply, her heart returning to normal.
“It seems you have it all figured out. Yes, she is carrying his child. They were in love. If we lived in a different world or if your cousin had been a second son, I have no doubt he would have married her.” The memory of the way Lord Rothwell had looked at Martha played in her mind, making her heart twist. “He asked me to marry him so that he could be a father to his child. He would continue his relationship with Martha, and his child and any others would be legitimate and protected because I was to pretend it was mine.”
“Why would you agree to this?” The Duke’s lips pursed.
Adele stiffened, her eyes narrowing as she let out a bitter laugh. “If you are about to tell me that I have no self-respect, you might as well save yourself the trouble. My mother has already done that.”
The Duke’s eyes narrowed, and his next words were clipped with restrained emotion.
“Your mother was wrong. I did not mean to imply that I thought less of you for your agreement with my cousin. It was a noble sacrifice. Regardless of your feelings, it cannot be easy to know your husband’s heart will never be yours. ”
“I never wanted his heart.” Adele looked out of the window, tearing her gaze away from the Duke’s, letting her thoughts come more freely.
“What did you want?” the Duke asked, his voice soft.
Companionship. Adele forced the word down as she looked at the Duke.
“He offered me a life that was as close to my dreams as it is possible to get. We would go to the continent, remain there a year or so, living separately. I would study with some of the finest dressmakers in the world. When we returned to England, we would continue our separate lives, meeting on occasion to keep up appearances.”
And I would never have met the widows. Her chest tightened at the thought of that. She had not seen them in days, had not been able to bring herself to share the truth of what had happened at the ball, and she missed them fiercely. Their faces swam before her, mixing.
“That sounds lonely.” The Duke canted his head towards her, his eyes tracing her face as though searching for something.
Her breath caught, and she swallowed, wishing that he did not affect her so much. “I am used to loneliness, Your Grace. After all, I was something of a surprise for my family.”
“I suppose you may well have fallen in love with someone. If he was having an affair, he could hardly fault you for doing the same.” Duke Scarfield leaned back in the armchair, rubbing his face thoughtfully.
Adele noticed the barest hint of stubble and caught her hand before it reached towards him. She clenched her fingers together and made a dismissive gesture.
“I have seen the fickleness of love. My sisters both married for love, and it did them very little good. Bianca’s husband, Lord Crowley, was like something out of a novel.
Strong, sweet, and dependable. Yet as soon as she produced a son all of that changed.
” The memory of her argument with Bianca rose in her mind, but she pushed it away violently.
She stood up, pacing around the room. “And of course, there is my sister and her husband, the Earl of Montrose. He was nothing but beautiful words and sweeping promises. And now… every word he says to her is poison. He chips away at her day by day, each sentence is a new way for him to break her.”
“No man should behave that way.” The cold anger in his voice sent a shiver down her spine.
“Love blinds us to all manner of sins.” Adele ran a hand along her face, leaning her forehead against the cool glass of the window. “At least with Lord Rothwell, I did not have to expect any nasty surprises.”
“Until he was killed,” Duke Scarfield muttered.
She curled her hands into fists as she turned to face him, “I suppose you still think I did it.”
“No. You are not the killer, Lady Adele.” There was something in the way he said her name that made it feel like a caress, and a shiver ran through her.
You are a risk to my family. Bianca’s words filled her, and Adele felt tears prick at her eyes as a lump formed in her throat. She tried to force the tears away, shaking with the effort.
Her lip trembled; her vision was blocked with tears. She heard footsteps, felt a hand on her shoulder, and something soft pressed against her cheek. A handkerchief.
The smell of sandalwood made her head spin as she dabbed at her face.
“I had not realised my accusations had been weighing on you so heavily.” His hand was still on her shoulder, and out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw his other hand move towards her.
There were only inches between them.
She tried to laugh, but it came out hoarse and breathless. “You would think this is your doing.”
“What else would it be?” His voice was dark and husky.
The door opened, and the pair of them sprang apart. Several servants entered, each curtseying as they laid out the plates of biscuits and tea. Adele took advantage of the distraction and moved to the sofa. She absently ran a hand across her shoulder, the warmth of his touch still lingering.
The servants left, and Adele’s momentary reprieve ended. She reached for the tea pot and poured two cups of tea. Her hand shook as she sipped from her own.
“I am sorry.” The Duke met her gaze with a sombre expression. “For the way I have treated you.”