Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
“Now, I want to take the two of you back in time to before you were married,” Algernon began. “To a time when there was no talk of a marriage between our two families.”
Nash frowned. “I thought we were here to discuss our divorce?”
“We will get there in due time,” Algernon said and turned to Laura. “Do you remember the first time you were invited to Ravenswood?”
“We came for a dinner, I think.” Her brow rose, and then she pointed at the hourglass. “Are you going to turn that thing or must Nash do it for you?”
The duke smiled and turned the hourglass. “The occasion was my eighteenth birthday. Nash was…”
“Seventeen,” Laura murmured.
“Laura was sixteen,” Nash replied, determined not to be left out of the conversation.
“He had finally shaved off that ridiculous attempt at a beard,” Algernon continued, smirking. “He was nervous about his looks, though.”
Nash winced, barely remembering himself with whiskers. By all accounts, he had looked ridiculous with a feeble amount of hair sprouting all over his face, and he’d been teased to the point of humiliation before he’d had their valet shave it off. “What does my miserable excuse for a beard have to do with anything?”
“Nothing.” Algernon turned to look at him. “What did Laura wear to dinner that night, brother?”
Nash frowned, but he easily remembered meeting Laura that night. It wasn’t the first time, though. He’d seen her at a distance, and then met her without the benefit of a formal introduction. Their family estates shared a border, and they’d spoken briefly on more than one occasion. Laura had not been out in society yet at that time and he’d not told Algernon anything about it then. “A pink muslin frock with green and gold embroidered vines around the neckline. Laura embroidered it herself.”
“Is he right, Laura?”
By his side, Laura shrugged. “He is.”
The duke nodded. “And Laura? What do you remember most about Nash that night?”
“He wore a blue suit and silver waistcoat and he seemed…” Laura did not finish her sentence.
Nash leaned toward her a little, keen to know what she had thought of him then. “Seemed?”
“Different,” she said, keeping her gaze on the duke.
“Different to what? Had you met before?”
As a blush grew on her cheeks, Nash glanced at Algernon and shook his head, warning him not to press her for an answer.
Algernon nodded but continued to smile at Laura, and the amused gleam in his eye made Nash downright uncomfortable. He and Laura had decided together that they’d not tell anyone about meeting prior to that night.
The duke winked at her. “Right, well…and what was I wearing?”
Laura frowned severely. “Blue?”
Nash shook his head. “Probably black. He wore that color, or lack of, more often than not to get on Father’s nerves.”
“Wrong on both counts. Never mind.” Algernon smiled quickly and looked pointedly at him. “Nash, tell Laura why you dismissed the old nursery maid now.”
“Yes, I want to know the reason for that,” she said, turning to him. It was clear it was a touchy subject with her.
“I had noticed her sleeping during the day, napping, when she should have been watching the boys. I assigned another maid to the nursery to observe her for a month, and to help if needed, and she reported back to me that the nursemaid seemed unusually tired for no obvious reason. I took her pulse and found an erratic beat. I ordered bedrest, but she resisted my advice. She passed out on the servants’ staircase one day shortly after and bumped her head rather badly in the fall, frightening the children.”
Laura’s breath hitched.
He continued, “I realized then that her health was in decline, and I sent her home to be with her family with a generous bonus to ensure her comfort for her remaining years. I also spoke with the local physician about my concerns for her and urged him to call upon her as often as possible.”
“She never told me she’d been ill,” Laura admitted, her posture softening.
“’Tis not an illness but old age,” Nash added for clarification. “I hoped that with fewer demands on her time, she would live many long and happy years with her family.”
Algernon caught his eye. “Why Mrs. Radcliffe?”
“We met by chance. She needed employment away from London and something instantly available. She was young enough to keep up with the children, and wiser than any young maid here had proved to be. She had experience with orphaned children, and could keep the boys under control and active, too.”
Algernon clapped his hands together. “So, the dismissal was a considered decision for the benefit of the old lady’s health. Not done out of spite or on a whim.”
“Of course not,” Nash promised, affronted. “I did what was best for the children.”
Algernon turned his gaze on Laura again. “Has he explained his actions concerning the changes in your sons’ care while you were away sufficiently, madam?”
Laura nodded, back stiff again and facing the ducal desk rather than Nash. “Yes. I suppose so.”
“Good,” Algernon said, clapping his hands again and pulling a sheet of parchment out of a drawer. As he ticked something off a list, a pair of servants arrived carrying a tea tray. They set it down behind them and left the room.
“Nash, pour your wife a cup of tea,” Algernon ordered.
Nash sputtered. “What about the divorce?”
The duke glared at him. “Do it, or this ends here and now and you can stay married forever. I can easily persuade those with authority to deny a petition from you.”
Nash stood, angry with his brother’s threat, and stalked to the tea tray. He splashed some tea into a cup, tossed in three lumps of sugar and stirred vigorously. He tapped the spoon precisely three times against the rim of the cup and took the cup and saucer across the room, placing it on the table before his wife. “My lady.”
“Don’t call me that,” Laura hissed. “I’m not your anything.”
He scowled and reconsidered how best to address her. He’d never been informal with her in front of his brother. Or any of the family, for that matter. Perhaps he should use her first name, now they were to part ways. “Laura.”
“Now, sister dear,” the duke said, beaming a smile at them both. “Nash needs a cup, too. Fetch him one, and make sure it’s the way he likes it.”
Laura scowled but went to the tea trolley as he had done. Nash did not watch his wife but kept his gaze on his older brother. What was Algernon doing, forcing them to make tea for each other?
Laura put a cup before Nash and sat down primly, hands clenched.
Algernon gestured to both steaming cups. “Drink and then describe.”
Nash shook his head at the idiocy of his brother’s request and took a sip of his tea. “Black tea. No milk or sugar.” He set the cup down immediately. “Just the way I like it.”
Laura took a sip and then put her cup down more slowly.
Algernon leaned toward her. “Well, sister?”
“Just the way I like it, too,” she promised.
“How delightful. You remembered.” Algernon smiled widely. “Now, Laura. Would you be so kind as to make a cup of tea for me?”
“Yes, of course. How do you like it?”
“How do I like it? Do you hear that, Nash? Your wife has no idea how the Duke of Ravenswood takes his tea. Nor what a future duke was wearing the first time she came to the palace to dine with us. But she remembers what you, the spare, wore that night and knows your taste in tea without having to be reminded.”
“Well, of course she should when she was my wife, not yours,” Nash complained with a shake of his head.
“Exactly my point. Now go back to the tray and offer a biscuit the other will like,” Algernon asked.
There had been two types of biscuits on the tea tray. One Nash liked, a shortbread, and another he did not. He went to the tray and offered Laura the biscuit he did not like—the one studded with fruit. She set it on the saucer of her tea cup without comment or eating it.
When it was her turn to choose for him, he watched her, curious now. Her hand hovered over his favorite—the shortbread. But then she seemed to consider choosing the one studded with fruit for a long moment. Finally, she sighed before offering him the shortbread. “Your favorite, I believe.”
“Thank you,” he said, and took a bite.
Laura returned to her chair and stared stonily ahead.
Algernon sat back, grinning at them. “Neither one of you has changed beyond recognition. You remember each other’s preferences, and Laura committed nothing about me, the future duke, to her memory.”
“Tea and a good memory are hardly important,” Nash complained.
Laura huffed and turned her face away. “It’s the little things that matter. I always left you the shortbread.”
“Yes, Laura, and my point, exactly. Life is made up of a lot of little moments that can easily be forgotten or misplaced through neglect and busyness. The more time you spend together, the more at peace you will feel.”
“Peace was never possible when the family continued to meddle and spy upon me,” Laura said, scowling again. “Every move I made was reported back to the duke. And nothing has changed here.”
The duke pursed his lips. “Laura is correct. The duke spied on us constantly. He was always complaining about her. The servants were reporting her every move to him.”
Nash felt her eyes upon him, but he did not turn. “Algernon, you will not spy on Laura or use the servants to gather information about her activities like father did. She is my wife still, and I won’t have it.”
Algernon nodded. “Beyond these meetings of ours, I promise not to interfere. I shall stay well back and let you both have the run of the place with only one rule—you may not sleep on different floors of the palace again. You will continue the occupation of adjoining bedchambers. No more sleeping in your study, Nash.”
Nash reluctantly nodded. “Agreed.”
Laura said nothing.
“Well, time’s up. I won’t see you at dinner since you’ll be with your children. Do have a pleasant evening. Your children should be in the nursery again and a pair of horses have been saddled by now. I asked Jasper to go down to the stables to have them made ready and waiting for you to both ride the estate together after our hour.”
“So much for you not interfering,” Laura cried, irritation obvious as she burst to her feet. “I’ve no desire to go riding, so I’ll be in the nursery with my children.”
Laura shot out of the room before the matter of riding could be discussed further.
Nash bowed his head. Algernon could not help but meddle.
“The horses do need the exercise,” Algernon explained with a careless shrug. “She used to enjoy riding the estate with you. But, if you two will not take the horses out, I will have to ride one and lead the other, or conscript a stable hand into coming with me.”
“I could still come with you?” Nash offered. “I could use the fresh air. The palace can become stifling, especially when stuck with someone who doesn’t want me around.”
“Then you realize how Laura must have felt when you were gone from the estate.” Algernon shook his head. “No. You must stay with her and tend your responsibilities. I won’t become our father and demand all of your time.”
“You couldn’t even if you wanted to,” Nash assured him.
Algernon grunted. “You’re flattering the wrong person. Go after your wife and children. They need you more.”
Nash grimaced but nodded. The meeting with Laura had done no good at all other than prove how impossible the situation was. “Laura doesn’t trust us.”
“She has good reason not to. Father manipulated you both into thinking the worst of each other. No wonder she left you, and you left her.”
“I did not leave my wife,” Nash promised.
“Didn’t you?” Algernon tipped his head to one side, studying Nash. “I hardly ever saw you in the same room together after the first year of marriage, except for formal dinners. How could you bear to leave her alone here for so long?”
“You know why I had to.” He’d done it for Algernon and their brothers. Nash rose to his feet and studied his brother, sitting at their father’s old desk. “You won’t learn how to make a good marriage from our example. What are you trying to achieve by dragging up the past?”
“I’m trying to help you find common ground so you can hold civil conversations around the children. If I can make you both as happy as possible from those discussions, then that will be for the good of all, too,” Algernon explained, throwing up his hands. “Surely you don’t want to stay angry with each other?”
Nash shook his head. “I don’t think it’s possible to be happy without a divorce.”
Algernon stood and came around the desk and settled a hand on his shoulder. “I know this is difficult, but trust me, talking about the past is essential. You’ll get there in the end if you both stop fighting each other. Excuse me.”
“Where are you headed?”
“To take those horses out. Maybe Jasper will come with me.”
He left the room, and Nash followed. He probably should seek his other brother and talk to him about Sophie. He’d been taken by surprise by their announcement, and he did not want to be at odds with Jasper. He would congratulate them on their upcoming marriage and wish them well.
The duke suddenly staggered backward, holding out one arm to stop Nash from continuing down the hall with him.
He pivoted on his heel and pushed Nash back, hard. “We can’t go this way.”
“Why not?”
Algernon laughed softly, leading him back the way they’d come. He leaned close. “Love matches are always the worst. Couples make love at the drop of a hat when they think there’s no one around to disapprove of their fun.”
Nash glanced down the hall, astonished by the idea that Jasper and Sophie might be… “Now?”
“Now,” Algernon insisted. “We’d better get that pair wed by special license as soon as possible, I suspect.”
Nash shook his head. Sophie had always seemed so proper to him, despite the circumstances he’d found her in when they’d first met. She’d lost a child and hadn’t had the benefit of a marriage. She’d been betrayed and tossed aside like garbage. Through all of that, she’d kept her dignity and had never once given him a sign of interest in other men. Of course, now she was to marry his brother, he did not think less of her for being swept away again. Jasper would marry her. “Yes, it might be a good idea to expedite that marriage.”
“Agreed,” Algernon said as he rubbed his hands together. “I suspect there will be so many babies filling up the nursery soon that we will have to expand it.”
“Yours should be there already,” Nash chided.
“I never said I didn’t want children,” Algernon promised. “Or if I did, it was always within Father’s hearing, which, let’s face it, was everywhere. I’ve said a great deal of nonsense over the years just to get under his skin.”
“You enjoyed it,” Nash said with a half laugh, stepping out of doors and into the sun. A stable hand stood not far away, holding two horses. “I could come with you. On horseback, I mean.”
Algernon seemed to consider his offer, then shook his head. “No. Better not resume bad habits. You have a wife and a family. I would send you home to them if we did not share the same house.”
“This is my home,” Nash protested.
“I never said it wasn’t,” Algernon promised. “But as we get older, there will often be times when we are too busy for each other. When I marry, I will be with my wife and children more often than not, I expect.”
“Unless you’re with Lady Barnes,” Nash suggested, glancing at Algernon in curiosity. “You keep a mistress. A wife would not be happy about that.”
Algernon smiled quickly. “I will not keep a mistress when I marry. I had already stepped back from my connection with Lady Barnes when Father died.”
“You never told me,” Nash said, shocked that the affair was over. “What happened?”
Algernon’s jaw clenched for a moment, and then he shook his head. “I cannot marry Lydia or have legitimate children by her. And I certainly don’t wish for Lord Barnes’ demise. So, I have begun my fresh start, just like you.”
“I’m sorry. I know you were very fond of her,” Nash murmured, recognizing sadness in Algernon’s eyes and voice.
“I will always admire her,” Algernon admitted. “And I shall forever regret what could never be.”
Lydia, Lady Barnes, and Algernon had been close for many years, and yet they could never be together. Algernon now had to marry a woman he might never learn to love.
His brother slapped him on the shoulder and pushed him away. “Think not of my loss, but of your gain. How do you want to live here in the years to come? Will you at least try to make yourself happy?”
“I want to,” Nash promised. “I will be content, I suppose.”
“That is less than I wish for you and for our brothers,” Algernon promised. “You must have love and happiness, whatever it takes.”
Algernon threw himself onto a horse and took the stable hand with him. Nash let him go, but his heart was heavy. He did not know what the future held in store for anyone, but more complications seemed likely in his future.
Laura would go, and Isabelle would stay. Sophie would marry his brother Jasper and the duke would finally wed one day. Stratford had already gone off with his bride and wasn’t expected to return to the estate for some time.
Nash was a loose end. The odd one out again. Unhappy being married, but unable to do anything about it still.
That wasn’t what he’d expected or hoped for by his age. He was filled with the same uncertainty now as when he’d proposed to Laura and became a husband.