Page 101 of A Treacherous Bet to Win a Duchess

Oddly enough, however, he explained that he had instead made arrangements for Lord Farellshire to accompany her since he already knew where the orphanage was.

At last, a coach stopped in front of Meredith and Lord Farellshire alighted.

“Good morning, Miss Meyer! You look as lovely as ever.”

Any traces of annoyance that Meredith harbored with regards to his tardiness melted away at once in the unrelenting brightness of his wide grin.

“Good morning to you too, Lord Farellshire! You haven’t changed at all.”

He scoffed, “Oh, don’t you start with the flattery. I look—and feel—like I’ve aged a hundred years!”

Meredith rolled her eyes at this exaggeration. “If that’s what you think, Lord Farellshire, then I suggest getting yourself an eye ring.”

“A what?”

“You know, an eye ring? Circular piece of glass that gentlemen wear on their eyes when they have trouble seeing.”

He shrugged, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one.”

“Really? Well, they’re quite popular in Germany these days.” She smiled, “Shall we get going, then?”

“After you.”

* * *

“No, no, we’re cutting vegetables, not hunting prey.” Ma’am Tabitha nagged, “What on earth are you holding the knife like that for?”

The unbearable heat of the kitchen and the endearing but still somewhat overbearing demeanor of Ma’am Tabitha was making Anthony regret his decision to come here.

“Ma’am Tabitha, if you prefer, perhaps you could cut the vegetables while I did something else? Perhaps you have a particular manner and process of doing things that I certainly wouldn’t want to disrupt.”

“Oh, all right. Please pass me the knife then. In the meantime, could you please grab the plates from that cupboard over there? You can start setting the places at the table.”

As Anthony lugged the dishes and cutlery to the dining table, he silently asked himself how he got here.

“Oh, sorry, Anthony. Could you please come make sure that you put this tablecloth down first?”

“Yes, Ma’am Tabitha.”

As bizarre and new as this whole experience was for him, his heart swelled with pride as he eyed the new renovations that he had donated towards.

He had asked Ian for descriptions of the home’s interior so that he could set aside funds to make gradual improvements. The last two years had been quite eventful for both him and Cecilia. As he pieced together his broken heart, he learned the importance of being more open and connected to the people around him.

He started looking for ways in which he could connect to his community, not just through philanthropy, but through investments in ordinary folks’ business ventures. He now firmly believed that this was how he could best uphold the family name and fulfill his duties as the firstborn son and older brother; he wanted to set an example for Cecilia.

Cecilia! Where on earth are they?

He checked his watch, it was a quarter to one.

They should be here in about fifteen minutes.

* * *

“My apologies, Lady Cecilia, but where did you say Anthony was?”

Cecilia chuckled at Mr. Lockhart’s dumbfounded expression as he sat across from her in the coach. She folded her hands on her lap and repeated herself, “I said that Brother announced this morning that he was going to put on a disguise and go to the orphanage ahead of us.”

Mr. Lockhart simply shook his head, “What on earth does he think he’ll accomplish with that?”