Page 40 of I Never Forget a Duke (The Night Fire Club #1)

T hree days after the wedding, Hugh walked into the mistress’s bedroom, where Adele was at work packing her new gowns into trunks for transport to Swynford House.

“You can ask a servant to pack everything for you, you know,” said Hugh.

“I know. I prefer to pack everything myself.”

“Actually, you might as well un pack. I have just found out I may be detained in London longer than expected.”

“What?” She turned to face him.

“A legal matter has come up. I must stay in London until it is resolved.”

“What legal matter?”

Hugh shook his head as if to say it was nothing Adele needed to worry her pretty little head about, and something about that hit her the wrong way.

“Hugh, I need not know the particulars, but you must know by now that I am not the sort of docile wife who just nods and smiles when you speak. I should like to know what detains us in London past our planned departure date.” Adele looked at the shawl she held in her hand.

She’d been in the process of folding it when Hugh had walked in.

She tossed it on the bed in disgust now.

He sighed. “You are right. I apologize. It is the matter of a plot of land in Kent adjacent to my property. A distant cousin of mine bought the land some time ago and never did anything with it. He intended to build a house, I believe, but died before the plans were completed. The plot of land has been tied up in a legal struggle among my extended family. I intend to buy them all out.”

“Do you know who the land rightfully belongs to?”

“It belongs to me. My cousin left it to me in his will. It is adjacent to Swynford House land, after all. But one of my cousins has found some arcane legal argument that he is using to contest the will, and now everyone is trying to get their hands on it.” He sighed, looking tired.

“It is quite a valuable piece of land. If I have to pay all my relatives off to get my hands on it, so be it. To what end, I have not decided, but my solicitor thinks we have a good case for it. So I need to sort out the legal documents related to the sale. I do not think it will take long, maybe a week or two.”

“Very well.”

“You are disappointed.”

Adele could not deny it. She was anxious to get out of London.

She’d been feeling a little restless recently, likely due to the lack of real responsibilities in a house that had enough servants to take care of her every whim.

At least in the country, there would be some household management tasks for her.

“You may also be pleased to learn that Mother intends to leave at the end of the week.”

That certainly caught Adele’s interest. “Are you serious?”

“She prefers the house in Surrey and intends to go there now that the weather is warm. She dislikes London in the summer, which I do not blame her for one bit. I think she also is grudgingly accepting that you and I have made a successful match and that the social repercussions are not nearly what she imagined.”

“Just as we were coming to an understanding.”

“Were you?”

Adele thought so. She and Helena had in fact had a few pleasant conversations since the wedding.

Adele sensed Helena was trying to make amends, although she also guessed that Helena still thought Adele was not good enough for her son, and Adele was not ready to forgive her for that sentiment.

So tension remained. Adele thought it would ease with time, or she hoped it would, because she could not imagine being at odds with her husband’s mother forever.

“She may even like me a little,” Adele said.

Hugh walked closer. “I like you a great deal, and that is what matters.”

Adele smiled and put her hands on Hugh’s shoulders. “You love me.”

“I do. And I’m sorry about us staying in London longer than expected. I will try to resolve these issues as swiftly as possible.”

Adele hugged him close. He put his arms around her. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything, my love.”

“Give me something to do,” she said. “I have never enjoyed idle time. I need a task.”

Hugh raised an eyebrow. “I can think of something you could do right now.” He nudged her with his hips, making his intention clear.

She laughed. “I’m serious.”

“I know. You should sit down with Mother before she leaves, and she can show you what her daily household tasks are. You may choose to take on as many of those as you like. She likes to meet with the cook in the morning to plan the day’s meals and she oversees shopping and the household budget, among other things. Do those seem like suitable tasks?”

“Yes. I shall meet with your mother tomorrow to discuss.” She smiled. “I hate feeling… ornamental.”

“Ornamental?”

“Like my job here is just to look pretty. I can handle running a household. I did it for the Countess of Sweeney after all.”

“I have the utmost faith in you. And please do not hesitate to ask if you need anything. The management of Swynford House will be a much larger undertaking, but I have no doubt you will master it. One of the things I like most about you is how clever you are. I imagine you could run Windsor Castle if you put your mind to it.”

Adele grinned. “I appreciate your faith in me.”

Hugh kissed her forehead. “I do love you, Adele. I hope I give you no cause to doubt that.”

“I do not. I love you, too.”

“I would very much like to show you just how right now, but I must get back to my work. Hold that thought until tonight, will you?”

“I will.”

*

“How is married life treating you?” Fletcher asked.

Hugh grinned as he settled into a chair at the club. “It’s very good.”

Lark sighed. “That’s because the dowager has declared the season over and gone to her country home. I gather from the look on your face that you and your new wife have spent most of your marriage in bed.”

Hugh shrugged.

“What brings you here?” asked Owen.

“Adele is having dinner with her father tonight before he, too, leaves for the country, so I found myself at loose ends. I suppose I could have joined them, but it seemed better to give them room to talk. And besides, my wife and I cannot possibly spend every waking moment together.”

“Nice of you to remember us, then,” said Fletcher.

“I apologize for my absence, but you will understand when you get married.”

Fletcher smiled. “I was kidding. I don’t blame you at all.”

“How is everyone?” Hugh thought to catch up with his friends, since he’d spent the better part of the last two weeks either dealing with the land sale or in bed with Adele.

His mother had, he suspected, begun to feel a bit extraneous, and though he did enjoy her company when she was not lecturing him on the history of the family, her departure had been something of a relief.

“Lady Louisa and I went to see that Swedish singer at the opera house again,” said Fletcher.

“I know none of you cannot abide by opera, but this woman is extremely talented. Voice like a songbird. And if you stop to listen, you may learn that the opera house is good for more than just social intrigue and public assignations.”

“And how is Louisa?” asked Lark.

“Great. She told me this hilarious story about Lord Castlereigh, but it loses something in the retelling.” Fletcher laughed to himself as if this story were the funniest thing he’d ever heard.

“You aren’t married to Lady Louisa because…” said Owen.

Fletcher waved his hand. “She is my friend. Like a sister. We don’t like each other romantically.”

Hugh opened his mouth to make a half-formed joke about that when his cousin George, Lord Collingswood, appeared.

Hugh could recall enough to know that he and George had grown up together but were not close as adults, and Hugh had the sense that he did not like George much but could not remember why.

“Hello, Your Grace,” said George, and he sounded friendly enough.

“Hello, Collingswood. How has your day been?”

“Good, good. I barely got to talk to you or your lovely wife at the wedding, so since you are here, I wanted to convey my sincere congratulations to you.”

“Thank you. I will pass that along to the duchess.”

“Much obliged. Marriage is suiting you well so far?”

“Idyllically.”

“Good.”

Hugh glanced at Lark, hoping Lark might be able to step in and help Hugh remember whatever it was that he couldn’t, but Lark shrugged. Whatever reason Hugh had for not trusting George, he had not confided it to Lark before he’d been hit on the head.

“How are things with you?” Hugh asked.

George shrugged. “A little difficult. There was… an incident at my plantation in Jamaica that resulted in some property damage, and the crop yield is little less than what I’d hoped for, but I’m managing. I may need to sell some of my property there to make up for the shortfall.”

Hugh wondered if by “property,” George meant slaves. Hugh remembered suddenly that George owned a large number of people, which turned his stomach. But he said, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Cost of doing business. The bizarre weather we’re having this year hasn’t helped, but that is out of my hands.”

“Yes.”

“But enough about me. I just wanted to congratulate you again. Have a good evening, gents.”

Everyone remained silent until George had disappeared into another room.

“Did you know he was a member here?” asked Owen.

“Yes,” said Lark. “He got the membership here because of Hugh, but he’s rarely in town, which is why we don’t see him.”

“I never liked him,” said Fletcher. “No offense, Hugh, but he always seems like he has an ulterior motive.”

“Agreed,” said Lark. “When we were boys, he used to skulk around the Swynford property like he was angry it was made out of bricks.”

Hugh remembered George as a boy following him and Lark around and shook his head. “I don’t trust him, but I cannot remember why.”

“I can’t think of anything specific,” said Lark, “although I don’t trust him, either. He was a bit of a bully when we were boys. I can’t see that he’s changed much, although I guess he was perfectly polite just now.”

“Maybe he’s resigned himself to never getting the title now,” said Fletcher.

“What do you mean?” Hugh asked.

“As your only first cousin, he was your most logical heir. But now that you are married, your future son, assuming you have one, will be the clear heir to the dukedom.”

His future son. Hugh had assumed he and Adele would have a boy, and given how much time they’d spent in bed, they may already have conceived one. Of course, they might have a girl first, one he’d dote on just as much as he would a boy. He hoped if they had a girl, she’d be as pretty as Adele.

He shook it off and focused back on his friends.

“Where did you go just then?” Lark asked softly.

“Apparently I am ready to have children now. Adele and I have discussed it already, in fact.”

Owen frowned. “I don’t know about this love business. It does strange things to your mind.”

Hugh laughed. “No one is more surprised by this turn of events than I am. But back to the topic at hand, you think Collingswood might harbor some resentment toward me now that I have married and all but assured the title will go to another?”

Fletcher shrugged. “Or he wants money but is too proud to ask with so many witnesses. You heard him. He’s having financial issues.”

Hugh considered the problem. “He has set his solicitor on me to try to get a parcel of land in Kent that was willed to me by one of our distant relations. The lawyer found some loophole in the law that he is trying to exploit to question the will. I would gladly buy Collingswood out if money is what he wants.”

Lark pursed his lips and stared at the direction George had gone for a long moment. He turned back toward Hugh. “Is that why he’s back in London?”

“I can’t say. Does he normally live in Jamaica?” Hugh asked, not able to remember.

“Yes, most of the time.”

Hugh shook his head, as if it would rattle the memory loose. He knew something about George, but he didn’t know it. It was hiding somewhere behind the gray curtain.

“Collingswood is a swine,” said Lark, “and a cowardly one, but if you and he had been arguing before your head injury, you did not tell us about it.”

“Fair enough.”

“Perhaps we should discuss a happier topic,” said Owen. “I am postponing my trip back to Wales.”

“This is happy news?” asked Fletcher.

“My ancestors are going to strike me down for this, but I prefer London to Caernarfon. What is even there besides a dusty old castle?”

“The beach?” Fletcher suggested. “As I recall, Caernarfon is close to the sea.”

“And you refer to the dusty old castle your family owns, no?” said Lark. “The one Edward I built five hundred years ago?”

“Aye, the same,” said Owen. “Do you know why Prinny is called the Prince of Wales?”

Hugh laughed. Owen was drunk, his accent becoming more pronounced. Likely Hugh had heard this story before, but he was game to hear it again as if for the first time. “Why?”

“When Edward built that bloody castle, he created the title of the Prince of Wales. The Welsh made him promise that no man who spoke a word of English would ever hold the title of Prince of Wales, and he agreed. So King Edward bestowed the title on his infant son, who did not speak a word at all. Ever since, the firstborn sons of the kings of England have been called the Prince of Wales.”

“Thank you for the history lesson,” said Fletcher. “You are not allowed to have any more whisky.”

“Why are you postponing your trip?” Lark asked.

“I have a new nephew! My sister did not make it out of London before he wanted to join the world.”

“Congratulations!” said Hugh.

“Thank you. He bears the unfortunate name of Llewellyn, after the last King of Wales, but he is awfully cute. But anyway, I am staying behind to help out the family before we all adjourn to Wales in a month or so. Hopefully before it gets too hot in London.”

“It is already too hot,” said Fletcher.

“Are you drinking to celebrate?” asked Lark.

“I will admit to having a tipple before I came out here to meet you gents.”

“A tipple or the whole bottle?” asked Fletcher.

Owen just laughed.