Chapter 15 #2
Tom sighed behind her. “I don’t mean to paint him as all bad.
But you asked for honesty, and I wanted to give it to you.
But he’s a good man. He’s determined and reliable, definitely brave enough to face an army of bees.
” He winked at her. “The ladies have said he’s a handsome fellow.
” They both chuckled. “I believe all he needs is a woman to ground him, and he’d become the leader he was born to be.
The duke might be a little lost, but he doesn’t have anyone to tie himself to.
No family, few friends, and a thousand acquaintances who only want to know him for their own self-interest.”
Lavender nodded. “Yes, much of the aristocracy suffers from the same situation. My father has made some friends, or at least I think he has. But my mother . . . well, I don’t know that she has a single real friend outside of my father.”
“But your parents are close?”
“At times.” Lavender stood from the swing and walked over to the bench. “They are close right now. She refuses to leave my father’s side in his illness. But for much of my life, they seemed to be at odds with one another.”
Tom took a seat on the bench beside her. “Perspective changes the way we think about things. In the face of separation, their differences have likely melted away.”
“Temporarily. But I don’t expect my mother’s views to change once my father is gone.
I am glad they get to spend his last days in harmony with each other.
Having all the children out of the house is helpful.
It is almost always us that makes them disagree.
” Lavender recalled all the moments she overheard them talking about what to do to make her elder sisters ready for marriage.
Her mother was always the one who demanded a level of perfection only Rose could attain.
Even then, all her training hadn’t paid off in the way their mother hoped.
What was more, Lavender was supposed to bring peace to their home, and she was failing.
Over the years, she’d begun to believe that she was named incorrectly.
For as much as she wanted to bring peace unobtrusively, she had a difficult time keeping her opinions to herself.
She shook the melancholy thought from her head.
“Why do Lord Chilcott and the Duke of Fenleigh dislike each other so?”
“From what I understand, Lord Chilcott and the duke are related somehow. I believe Lord Chilcott is the next in line for the dukedom if anything happens to the duke.”
Lady Lavender sat forward and rested her elbows on her knees. “I had heard that.” She took a deep breath. “I suppose it’s not all that odd then, their spats over the years. But I would suspect it to be wholly on the baron’s side. Why would the duke retaliate as much as he has?”
She looked over her shoulder to see Tom with pink cheeks. He grimaced. “I think it might have been the drinking that made him act irrationally at times.”
That was not surprising. “Tom, where do you think the duke is? Could he have gone to France?” Lavender asked.
“He could have, certainly,” Thomas admitted. “But I don’t think he would choose to do so if it made him look guilty of his charges.”
“If he was capable of thinking clearly.”
Tom rubbed the palms of his hands down his trousers. “Do you think he could change his ways?” His tone was earnest.
“Everyone can change.” Lavender put a gloved hand on his shoulder. “The good book says as much.”
Tom cleared his throat. “Then I would hazard a guess that Fenleigh is trying at this very moment to do so. He may be misguided at times, but he’s not a lost cause.
He doesn’t lack ambition . . . it’s more that, well, for a long time he couldn’t look beyond the next day or the next week because he couldn’t imagine anyone waiting there for him. Not after his father died.”
Lavender’s heart went out to a man she’d never met, “If he is half so honest as you, Tom, I would very much like to meet him. He sounds interesting. It’s a shame he isn’t here. I’ve had little luck finding gentlemen who appeal to me for a husband.”
“You would consider him, even as aimless as he is?”
Lavender glanced at her exposed arm and felt a flush creep into her cheeks.
“It is far more likely he wouldn’t consider me.
Not when he could choose anyone. The man is a duke after all.
” She felt the familiar melancholy settle into her heart.
No, the duke would never consider her an option for a wife.
Not with the rushed nature of her circumstances coupled with her mangled arm.
“A duke that would be ridiculous if he didn’t see your value. You are an incredibly beautiful woman, Lady Lavender.” Tom stood and clenched his jaw. “I hope you do get to meet him. You would make a good match.”
As much as Tom’s words soothed Lavender’s heart, they hurt in equal measure.
If Tom was so set on her being a good match for another man, he certainly wasn’t thinking about her the way she’d begun to think of him—despite him calling her beautiful.
She knew the impossibilities of marrying a servant.
It would be her family’s undoing. But still, some part of her had seemed to hope.
As things stood, she thought on the Duke of Fenleigh and the possibility of gaining his favor.
If only the man hadn’t disappeared, she could explore that avenue.
Still, there were plenty of people curious about the duke’s disappearance.
She’d started this entire game of questions so that she might be more helpful to Miss Dalrymple, so that she might help discover the truth.
Perhaps if she put even more effort into the pursuit, she could meet the man one day.