Chapter 7 #2
Mrs. Foulger disappeared, and Aurelia sat opposite him, squinting at the sun that streamed in through the windows.
There were many potted plants in this room and she wondered who had put them there.
It was like the outside world was seeping indoors.
She thought, indulgently, that it suited a gentleman like Evander – the farmer duke.
As she adjusted her napkin on her lap, she said, “I did have something, actually. I had that pasty at the coaching inn at noon.”
“Half a pasty,” he said, the whisper of a smile on his lips. “And Mrs. Foulger said she found your supper tray untouched outside your rooms this morning. You should eat.”
She looked at him across the table. The dogs had not moved. The morning light was coming through the windows at a low angle and catching the edge of his jaw. She became aware with some annoyance that she was looking too long, and quickly moved to take some fruit from a bowl.
Two footmen arrived with more things on trays.
Then Mrs. Foulger came in with the newspapers for her – because supposedly there was a difference here between what the women and men read from the press.
And she stood by long enough to ensure adequate coverage before being dismissed again by Evander.
The table now had more food and papers on it than Aurelia knew what to do with.
Why had she expected any differently? Evander was a duke.
She could have guessed their lifestyle from the way Frederick had paraded himself around with his caravan of shiny new vehicles.
“Do you usually have such a lavish spread?” she asked, gasping a little as she felt the wet nose of a dog press against her leg. She peered under the table. Nike had migrated over to her side. “Shall I… Does she want something?”
“Oh, always,” Evander said through a laugh. He poured himself more coffee and suggested pouring for her, but she refused. “But you shouldn’t feed her at the table. I saw your Aunt Violet made a habit of it, sneaking scraps to her dogs. We don’t do that here.”
“Because it isn’t proper,” she said.
He laughed again softly. “Because if I fed them, there would be no food left for us.” He rested the coffee pot on a small embroidered mat. “But no, they’ve pushed the boat out for you this morning. We don’t usually eat so lavishly.”
She made a sound of agreement and picked up a piece of toast.
“There are hot foods on the sidetable,” Evander noted, nodding toward it. “You should have some so you are well enough to come riding with me today.”
“Riding?” Aurelia choked on a laugh. “You really aren’t wasting any time, are you?”
“Not a second of it,” he replied, picking up his broadsheet again.
And despite everything he had warned about the dogs, she swore she saw him sneak Titan a crust of toast when he thought she wasn’t looking.
An hour later, Evander reappeared in the entrance hall wearing country riding clothes that had been worn before many times – in the way that country clothes are worn, she guessed.
His boots were already muddy at the toe, which suggested he had been outside even before breakfast. She assumed this was what he usually did.
Lots of assumptions and guesses overall.
She wondered how long it would last before she had definitive answers to things.
In the meantime, she smiled up at him in what she hoped was an encouraging way.
He was more handsome in the mornings, she thought. His eyes sparkled with energy and his skin looked bright and smooth. She noticed a freckle under his eye she hadn’t seen before – and looked away when he came closer to her.
“That suits you,” he said, motioning to her own riding habit. “Now come out,” he waved her forward, striding confidently toward the front doors manned by two footmen. “I'll show you the stables.”
It was not precisely an invitation, more of a statement of what was going to happen. In that sense he seemed even more decisive than in London. And Aurelia found to her mild irritation, as she finished buttoning her outer coat, that she did not mind this at all.
He was explaining the stables to Aurelia – the layout, the horses, the history of the yard – when he noticed that she was not, strictly speaking, actually looking at the stables.
Instead she was looking at Titan, who had attached himself to her left side while she was throwing a stick for Nike. Her technique needed some improvement, but it was a start, and the large dog sprinted across the stable gardens, kicking up muck as she went.
“They’ve gone mad,” the old groom, Matthew Howes, said beneath his breath beside Evander as they walked toward the stables. He had joined them outside the house earlier. “The dogs, I mean, Your Grace. Mad for the duchess.”
“Fresh blood,” Evander said, kicking some mud from his boots against the stable fence and ignoring the anxiety and jealousy knotting in his stomach as Nike brought the stick back.
Aurelia threw it again. Titan watched the stick go with detachment and then looked up at Aurelia as though to confirm she was still there.
“-- north pasture fence needs looking at before the end of the week,” Evander caught Howes saying, blinking as he returned his attention to him.
But it was only a matter of time before he looked at Aurelia, who had by now retrieved the stick from Nike personally rather than waiting for it to be delivered.
She laughed loudly as Nike bounded up in excitement, trying to steal the stick from her.
She threw it again and wiped her hands on her riding skirts.
He thought the country suited her.
As though sensing his eyes on her, Aurelia smiled at him.
She half-walked half-ran over to him and Howes, dusting off her hands again.
“I’ll never be rid of her,” she joked, looking over her shoulder at Nike as she raced back like a bullet.
“I am so sorry, sir. You were saying something about the stables,” she said to Howes.