Chapter 39
Lavender watched as the servants all exchanged glances.
The uncertainty of their employment must have them all concerned, and she wished to put their minds at ease.
The last thing she wanted was to be the center of attention at such a time, but she pushed past her inhibitions and stood from her wooden chair.
Everyone’s eyes swung toward her. “I know that you must all be worried. I only wish to assure you that the evidence we’ve discovered should be more than enough to clear the duke’s name. ”
A young man with a missing tooth rose a little from his spot on the floor. “Why are you here?”
Lavender felt the heat in her cheeks, but there was no hiding it now. “Someone I trusted told me that the Duke of Fenleigh had an incredible library. I love books, and as my father is dying, I am tasked with finding someone to care for me before he passes.”
“You’re here to marry our duke,” the boy said.
Lavender nodded her head. “That was my hope, but I expected the duke to return to his estate after his name was cleared, and I certainly did not anticipate knowing the man.” She sat back down, not wanting the attention of the room focused on her any longer.
What they must think of her! Presumptuous woman to come convince a duke to marry her out of pity.
“This duke,” Tom—no, not Tom, Thomas—said, “has been an imbecile of the greatest degree, and he has some work to do to convince the lady to go through with her plan.” He smiled at her.
Lavender wished she could melt into the floorboards. If only they would all stop looking at her.
The butler clapped his hands once and all attention turned toward him. “Welcome home, Your Grace. Now, I do believe there are horses that need attending, and baths to be drawn. The rest of you will go off to bed.”
Jack put his hand up. “I’ve taken care of the horses. Is there somewhere you could put me up for the night as well?” He followed the butler but winked at Tom . . . Thomas. Goodness that would be difficult to wrap her mind around.
The room slowly emptied, the gaggle of servants not even attempting to hide their looks of curiosity as they gazed at Lavender.
She couldn’t blame them; given the circumstances, she would have been staring, too.
Besides, the discomfort she felt being the center of their attention was a small distraction from the Duke of Fenleigh who was situated on the other side of the room.
She could feel his stare like one could feel the warmth from a fire.
Mrs. Howard was the last one to leave the room. She dipped a curtsey to the duke. “Your Grace, would you like the door open or closed?”
“Closed, please. Thank you, Mrs. Howard,” he answered swiftly.
The door clicked behind the housekeeper and Lavender was left with nothing and no one to distract her from the man across the room. She swallowed and then turned to face him.
“Lady Lavender,” he said as he walked slowly toward her. “Before you go to bed, I must warn you about the Duke of Fenleigh.”
Lavender watched him warily. There was fire in Thomas’s eyes, and she was tempted to play with it. The thought surprised her. “Is he guilty of his charges?”
Thomas shook his head. “He is not.” He reached out and cupped her elbow with his calloused hand, just as he’d done in the garden a few minutes ago.
Lavender’s breath hitched.
“The Duke of Fenleigh knows precisely what he wants. And what he wants is the love of a very specific lady.” He arched an eyebrow at Lavender as if she were going to misunderstand his implications. “But what he wants, and what the lady needs might not be one and the same.”
“You do not believe I need to be loved?”
Thomas pulled her to him in an embrace. “She certainly needs to be loved. She needs to know that she is the most important person in his entire world to him. But she also needs to be safe, and at the moment . . . he is not safe.”
Lavender allowed her arms to wrap around his waist, and she buried her head in his shoulder. “She’s never felt safer.”
“On the off chance that Lord Chilcott is successful at proving my guilt, she would be in grave peril, and I cannot ask her to risk so much knowing him at all.”
“What do you suggest, Your Grace?”
“I hardly know, Lavender. I only want for us to be happy together. I cannot make you happy if you’ve pledged yourself to a criminal. It would ruin you and your family. Your parents would surely not handle the news well.”
Lavender relaxed more into his arms. His reasoning was sound.
She hated it, but it was logical. Her goal the entire Season had been to find someone that would put her father’s concerns for her future to rest before he died, not multiply them.
But she’d been learning to prioritize her own needs.
Perhaps her idea of running off to beg a duke to marry her didn’t line up with what she’d been learning.
But she could have gone to Mr. Lanscombe, and she’d chosen better for herself. “Let’s talk at breakfast.”
Thomas kissed her cheek and led her up the stairs. “Which room is yours?”
Lavender felt mortification wash over her. “I’ll sleep in the library.”
“Is that where Mrs. Howard put you?” His voice sounded shocked.
She shook her head. “No, but she put me in your mother’s old room.”
The moment Thomas realized those implications came swiftly. “That’s far too tempting for me. I’ll sleep below stairs with Jack. He’ll keep me accountable for the night.”
“It’s your first night back in your home with a proper bed; I can’t ask that of you.”
He led her to the door of the duchess’s chamber. “You didn’t ask it of me. Besides, Jack and I need to talk. I promise you’ll be safe here.”
She believed him. Heaven help her heart be steady. “Thank you.”
“Thomas,” he searched her face. “Please call me Thomas.”
“Thank you, Thomas.”
The smile he gave her would be burned into her mind forever. “Goodnight, Lavender.” He kissed her temple and released her hand. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Lavender nodded. He stood there in the corridor until she’d shut herself in the bedchamber.