Chapter Six #2
He squinted up at the ceiling. “If I recall correctly, Dulverton had to leave London because his father was dying. It was right in the middle of the Season and the lovely Christina remained in town and ran amok.” He brought his gaze back to Katie and smiled.
“I was just teasing you when I asked if he’d offered for you.
The Dukes of Dulverton don’t condescend to marry mere English misses. ”
“What do you mean?”
“They always take Dutch wives. It’s some ancient family tradition dating back to the Glorious Revolution.”
The young woman in the garden tonight now made sense. Dulverton must have been meeting her for the first time—and the two older people with her were probably Dutch matchmakers of some sort—and Katie had ruined their plans.
Not just theirs, but Fowler’s and Letty’s, as well.
“What is going on, Katie?”
Katie looked up from her unpleasant thoughts. “You said the marriage was a disaster? What did you mean?”
“Oh, didn’t I say? She ran off with another man.”
“What? Who?”
“Viscount Hendry’s youngest son. You won’t have met him as he never came back after running off with Christina.”
“Are you saying that Dulverton is still married?”
“No, no. He obtained a divorce.”
Katie’s jaw sagged. “A divorce!”
He looked amused by her reaction. “Hard to imagine old Dullness embroiled in such a scandal, isn’t it?”
Actually, Katie had a hard time imagining a woman running away from such an intimidating man. He did not look as if he would allow it. “Tell me the story, Andrew—all of it, please.”
“Well, as I said, Dullness—”
“Would you please stop calling him that?”
Andrew’s eyebrows shot up, and curiosity glinted in his sky-blue eyes, making Katie wish she’d held her tongue.
Thankfully, when he opened his mouth, it wasn’t to ask uncomfortable questions.
“His father arranged the match, and I gather the two of them met for the first time a week before they married. They’d not been in London very long when Dulverton was called to his father’s deathbed.
Foolishly, he left his new duchess in London, and she ran wild. ”
“And you helped her.”
“I wasn’t her first lover, Katie,” Andrew said, looking miffed. “And when I discovered what she wanted I ended our brief association.”
“What did she want?”
“Someone foolish enough to run off with her.”
“And she found one.”
“Yes. She and Hendry were packing their bags when Dulverton returned.” He paused and gave her a thoughtful look.
“What?” she asked.
“I probably shouldn’t tell you this next part—it’s not really for a lady’s ears and—”
“I cannot believe that you, of all people, would utter such rubbi—”
“Calm down, darling. I’m going to tell you.” He raised his hands in a placating gesture but quickly lowered them again at whatever he saw on Katie’s face—likely murderous rage at being told to calm down. “Dulverton challenged Hendry to a duel.”
“Good Lord! With swords or—”
“It was Hendry’s choice and he picked pistols.”
“And is Dulverton—”
“He is a crack shot.”
“Then why did Hendry choose pistols?”
“Because the duke is also an expert hand with a sword and damned handy with his fives, not to mention outweighing poor Hendry by at least two stone.” Andrew frowned and his gaze turned vague.
“I was a few years ahead of Dulverton at school, but I recall that he had a devil of a time his first year and got thrashed almost weekly.”
“But he is enormous.”
“Now he is. But he was a late bloomer. Back then, he was a spindly little lad. Not only was he puny and gangly and awkward, but he always had his nose in a book and spent every spare moment studying.”
“Then why do you keep calling him dull?”
Andrew said, with exaggerated patience, “I meant dull in the other sense of the word, darling. Even as a boy he had impossibly dull habits. He was no fun.”
“Fun?” she repeated.
“Yes. Fun. You know about fun, don’t you?”
“I know about stupid young bucks and their notions of fun,” she retorted. “Just get on with your story. What happened at this duel?”
“I’m getting there,” he said in a chastising tone.
Katie bit her lip.
“My point in mentioning his younger days was that when he came back to school the second year, he wasn’t that much bigger, but he suddenly knew how to fight.
Somebody had taught him well over the summer and that was the end of his weekly thrashings.
He also joined both the shooting and fencing clubs—and was bloody scary at both.
” Andrew shrugged. “As far as I know, Dulverton never did make any friends, but everyone left him well alone after the first year.” An almost fond smile curled his lips.
“What is it? Why are you looking like that?” Katie asked.
“I was just remembering that duel. I have to admit it was one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever seen.
“You were actually there?”
“Lord, Katie! You don’t think there was a man in the ton who missed that, do you?”
“All those men and nobody had the sense to try and stop it?”
He looked at her as if she’d just sprouted a second head.
“Never mind,” Katie said. “Men are truly idiots.”