Page 22 of Starlight and the Duke (Cherish and the Duke #5)

He wanted to sweep her into his arms and hold her so very tightly, absorb her into himself. Of course, that was physically impossible, but could he not at least absorb some of her pain?

Yet here he was. Unable to comfort her or do anything for her at this vulnerable moment.

Worse, she wanted him out of her life. His every thought and instinct was to remain close and protect her. How could he ever walk away when he knew how much she was suffering? And would he not be causing her more suffering by pretending to consider someone other than her as his wife?

Frustration roared through him.

He noticed Aubrey watching them.

So did Fiona. She drew away. “Go and mingle with the young ladies in attendance. They are a clever lot and quite pretty in their own quiet way.”

She scurried off, giving him a look that warned he had better not follow her.

Aubrey approached him as he sat staring with misery into his glass of lemonade. “Seems I am not the only lovesick fool, Durham. You might be even more of a fool than I. Frankly, I did not think it was possible.”

Rob grunted in acknowledgment and set his drink aside. “Bad situation.”

“They are right, you know,” Aubrey said, settling in the chair Fiona had just vacated. “We need to move on. It isn’t easy. Quite hard, in fact. But I am determined.”

Rob shrugged. “Do you have a choice?”

“No, clearly I do not.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“I thought to approach Florence Newton. I find her surprisingly intriguing. Quite pretty if you get past her spectacles and hideously unstylish gown. But she cast me such a withering look the moment I took a step toward her that I went off to the stable again and simply had a chat with my horse.”

Rob laughed. “You could have chatted up some of the other young ladies.”

“Yes, I know. But I thought to start with Florence, since I enjoy a good puzzle. She is an odd duck, just as you said. I have yet to figure her out.”

“I’m sure she pushes us away on purpose.”

“I cannot blame her. We are not exactly prize catches at the moment,” Aubrey said. “There are three other young ladies here who seem promising. Have you spoken to any of them yet?”

“No,” Rob admitted. “But I will this evening.”

“Who will you approach first? There’s no point in both of us going after the same young lady.”

Rob shrugged. “I’m not going after anyone just yet.” Or ever. “How about you? Have any of them caught your eye, Aubrey?”

“Florence did, but she is now at the bottom of my list.”

“Ah,” Rob said with a nod. “An intriguing puzzle but not a prospect for marriage.”

Aubrey grinned. “I have no intention of marrying someone who will do nothing but cast me withering looks. Should there not be a glimmer of affection even if there is no love match?”

“Well, you both share a love of birds. Perhaps she will warm up to you because of that.”

“I’m not sure what she’s doing,” Aubrey said, frowning, “but she isn’t watching birds.”

The remark surprised Rob. “Seriously? What do you think she is up to, then?”

“I have no idea. Spying on someone, perhaps. Bird watching is just a ruse to allow her to march around with binoculars in hand and not raise any suspicions.”

“Truly?”

Aubrey nodded.

Rob scratched his head. “She had me fooled. She claims to be chairwoman of some fancy ornithological society in Lower Bramble.”

“And who’s to question her?” Aubrey snorted. “Who knows if the society or the village even exist?”

“Truly? Do you think something clandestine is going on with her? Should I say something to Bromleigh? This is his home and his party, after all.”

Aubrey shook his head. “No, I don’t think she is going to cause trouble.

In all likelihood, she concocted this bird-watching ruse to give herself an excuse to march off into the woods whenever convenient to avoid unwanted attention from the eligible bachelors.

That she walks around with her binoculars could just mean she wants a wider view of her surroundings so she can see us coming from a distance and run off before we find her. ”

“I see.” Yes, that was the most likely reason.

“Quite clever of her, really,” Aubrey mused.

Rob agreed.

“Ah, look,” Aubrey said, pointing toward the lawn where the contestants had been playing archery a short while ago. “Pershing is awake and now wandering off in the wrong direction. Perhaps I had better go after him before he stumbles into the pond and drowns.”

But Gawain must have been thinking the same thing, for he sent one of his footmen after the wastrel to escort him back onto the terrace, where others had now gathered for cakes, tea, and lemonade.

Fiona was among that crowd, smiling and chatting away as though she were having a grand time.

Aubrey smacked his hands to his thighs and rose. “We had better join them before our hosts come after us with hatchets. There’s an open seat by Lady Eloise Barclay. I think I’ll start there. What about you, Durham?”

A gentle breeze blew off the water and rustled through the trees that provided them a most comfortable shade where they were seated. But Rob rose, too. “I’ll start with Lady Millicent Randall.”

“Why? Because she is seated closest to Lady Shoreham?”

Actually, he had not been thinking of that at all.

Or perhaps he had been doing so unconsciously.

“All right, scrap Lady Millicent. I’ll start with Lady Anne Hastings.

” Gad, she looked to be not at all promising.

Yes, she had lovely golden hair that shone a rich hue under the sun, and very pretty blue eyes that appeared to have a small depth of intelligence, but there was a smugness about her that put him off.

She knew she was beautiful and expected this to be enough for any man.

Or perhaps he was merely being peevish because Fiona was forcing him to look at other women when he only had eyes for her.

“Did you enjoy this morning’s lawn games, Lady Anne?” he asked a little later, trying not to look reluctant as he settled beside her.

“Yes, quite. But you did not join in, Your Grace.”

“I preferred to stand back and watch you lovely ladies.”

Was this not the tritest line? He really needed to put more thought into his conversation.

But the young lady seemed to preen under the compliment. “Then you are forgiven,” she said, flashing him a flirtatious smile.

He strained for another topic. “Have you been to the Brighton area before?”

“No, this is my first time.”

“And how do you like it so far?”

“Well, it seems a bit isolated. And the breeze off the water is a constant nuisance, isn’t it?”

“A cooling breeze is a good thing in the summers,” Rob remarked. “Otherwise, it can get quite hot, especially as the noonday sun beats down on you.”

“Yes, there is rather a lot of sun out here. Perhaps the Bromleighs should not have organized so many outdoor activities for us. It is not good for a lady’s complexion.

And the constant wind makes it impossible to keep one’s hair properly styled.

One has only to look at the Bromleighs’ neighbor, Lady Shoreham, to see what the ravages of time in this place have done to her. ”

“She looks fine to me,” Rob muttered, doing his best to stifle his annoyance.

What in blazes? Why was this girl singling out Fiona?

“Her cheeks are too pink and will burn if she does not keep herself out of the sun. She is getting to that age where wrinkles will come fast and never disappear. For this reason, she has to be careful. And just look at her hair, all wild curls, and none of them properly held in place. But I suppose this is what happens when one is a widow and left with independent means. She has no need ever to remarry, so why bother maintaining her looks?”

“I see nothing at all wrong with her.”

“Perhaps your preference is for an earthier appearance on a lady, one whose aspect is more like a farmer’s wife than a countess,” she said, casting another barb at Fiona.

What was it with these waspish ladies? First Cordelia Milbury and now Anne Hastings.

Rob crossed Lady Anne off his list. Being educated and considered a bluestocking was no guarantee of charm. Frankly, the young lady did not strike him as being all that bright.

But she was a schemer for certain, and might have sensed he held Fiona in some affection. Why else would she have tossed out that insulting comment?

He doubted any of Fiona’s servants would ever tattle about what had transpired between him and her, and especially never utter a word to anyone working for the Hastings family.

But the on dit around London at one time had been that he fancied Fiona. It was also known that she had rebuffed him, although they had remained on friendly terms.

It was obvious this arrogant young lady was seeking to raise herself in his esteem by tearing down Fiona. He knew Fiona would never have done anything so cruel to this young woman.

Rob could not wrest himself away from Anne fast enough.

He moved on to Lady Millicent Randall, no longer caring that Fiona was still seated beside the girl. “May I join you?” he asked, casting Lady Millicent a rakish smile.

The girl blushed. “Yes, of course.”

He settled between Millicent and Fiona, but pushed his chair back a little so that he did not interfere with their ability to see each other while the three of them engaged in conversation.

“Lady Millicent was telling me all about the new exhibits her father has sponsored at the British Museum,” Fiona said, obviously hoping to get a chat started between him and the girl.

“Her father is quite the archeologist and has several teams digging for relics in the area of ancient Babylonia. Is this not fascinating?”

“Quite,” he said, not really feeling any excitement for the topic.

Nor was he feeling anything for the girl, but he had yet to give her a chance.

Also, he had to admit that this was a far more interesting subject than the weather, how to cure colic in one’s horse, or which modiste a young lady ought to use when ordering stylish gowns for her debut.

“Do tell me more about these new exhibits.”

To her credit, Millicent went on to describe her father’s hunt for places and objects rumored by lore to exist or actually spoken of in the Bible in fascinating detail. She spoke so cleverly that Rob perversely ruled her out as too clever for him.

Not that he was a dullard by any stretch of the imagination.

He called Aubrey over, thinking he might be interested not only in the discussion but in the girl herself.

Millicent obviously wanted to travel the world and continue her father’s work.

Aubrey could do with getting away from England for a while and putting some distance between him and the Duchess of Lynton.

Fiona frowned at him when she caught on to his encouragement of Aubrey.

He ignored her frown, for he was doing nothing wrong. Millicent wanted to travel to far-off lands. He was a duke with responsibilities to his subjects and the Crown. Those responsibilities required him to remain solidly anchored to England.

Besides, he had already spent years touring Italy and Greece before the war, and then slogging through Portugal, Spain, and France during the conflict. He was done with all that and more than happy to set his roots here and never leave.

Aubrey, who was a duke in waiting, was the perfect one to undertake such travels as Millicent described.

Unfortunately, Aubrey did not appear interested either.

“My father has just inherited the Weymouth dukedom but is not up to the task of managing it on his own,” he explained when Rob raised the matter with him a short while later.

“Most of the responsibility has fallen upon my shoulders. Not that I mind at all, since I detest being idle. Oh, look. Our Florence has gone off with her binoculars again.”

Rob had not been thinking of the young lady at all, but obviously Aubrey was still paying close attention to her. “Are you going to follow her?”

“I don’t know,” Aubrey said. “Maybe. I am curious about what she is doing. However, Bromleigh’s wife has devised a scavenger hunt for us that is about to start. We are to partner the ladies. She will flay both of us alive if we disappear now.”

“Shouldn’t Florence be participating?” Rob asked.

Aubrey nodded. “But I don’t think any of the other young ladies will mind her absence. Less competition for them as they fight to gain our notice. By the way, what did you think of Anne Hastings?”

“Why do you ask?” Rob did not like the way she had demeaned Fiona, but she might have gotten that bit of bile out of her system and been nicer to Aubrey.

“She spoke quite unkindly about Eden, commenting with disdain about her hair.” Aubrey grunted. “How is Eden in any way responsible for the natural color of her hair? And who says red is unsightly? Eden’s is a warm, dark cinnamon that suits her perfectly.”

“She demolished Fiona, too.” But Rob laughed at the nonsense she had spouted. “Said she would wrinkle if she did not stay out of the sun. She also claimed her hair was too wild.”

Aubrey grinned. “Ah, yes. What man could possibly adore a wild mane of hair on a lady? Florence actually has nice hair.”

Rob hadn’t noticed.

“But those binoculars…and I also wonder whether she really requires her spectacles. She looks awfully sharp eyed to me. Maybe it’s the distinctive color of her eyes, those flecks of amber mixed in with the green. Quite striking, really.”

Dear heaven. He had paid that close attention to the color of Florence’s eyes? “Aubrey, you do realize your mind is completely taken up by her.”

He looked appalled. “Not at all, but is she not a distracting puzzle?”

“If you say so.”

“You know what,” Aubrey said, slapping his thigh, “I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to find her and bring her back in time for the scavenger hunt. I want her to be my partner.”

“I don’t know that we are given the choice. I think Cherish has already designated our partners.”

“Then tell her to change mine to Florence. You will do this for me, won’t you, Durham?”

“Yes, of course,” Rob said with a nod, for who was he to interfere with the course of true love…or puzzle solving?