Page 41 of The Blind Duke's Ward

And would she be wrong? If Emily is not here yet, then I have time before I must leave. Perhaps time for Nathan to send me to York, which is where I intended to go anyway.

There was still the problem of being part of Nathan’s life along with the woman she had pretended to be. It was a position she did not want to put him in. Nathan took duty as something that was sacred to him. Honor was equally as important and not to be shirked. Gemma remaining in his life risked both. It left her with that unbearable emptiness inside, a hollow sadness.

“Actually, he also spoke to me personally, not through Mr. Marshall,” Charlotte said.

“Did he?” Gemma said half-distractedly.

From the short time she had been given to get to know Nathan, it did not surprise her in the least.

“He wanted to know if I was well and that I should take time after the shock of last night. He even said he would be happy for me to have a few days off. I don’t know what I would do with myself. It is only through my duties that I keep those horrible images from my head.”

Gemma took her hand, smiling sympathetically. “I think he is a very good man,” she said.

Charlotte looked at her friend and there was a light in her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. “He is a very good man. Not one to let slip through your fingers.”

Gemma flushed, looking away. “Is it that obvious?”

“Not to everyone, I daresay. But it’s as plain as paint to me. When I assured him I was perfectly well enough to work, and that I preferred it, he asked me to tell you that he should like to discuss your moving to York. And asked me if I would like to accompany you!”

Her eyes were wide at that. Gemma frowned.

“York can hardly hold a candle to London. Is it so exciting?” she asked.

“It is by all accounts far nicer than London. It is more that he asked me, giving me the option of choice. He is a most uncommon Duke. A most uncommon employer, I must say. He sometimes treats his staff as though they are…well, his equals.”

The tone of her voice told Gemma that the very notion was utterly unthinkable to her.

“I hope that you are in his service for a long time, Charlotte. Long enough that it does not seem remarkable any longer that he treats you as his equal,” Gemma said.

“Such a thought! Anyway, I said yes, of course. Not because it is my duty as your lady’s maids, but because you are my friend and I want to help.”

Gemma felt a touch of warmth. Charlotte squeezed her hand and some of that hollow feeling in her was filled.

“I should very much like that. Now, what was it you overheard?”

“Oh, yes. I forgot. Well, he was relaying information to Mr. Marshall. Details of the journey and the place we are going to. Names and times and such like. Mr. Marshall then asked him if he was sure. His Grace got quite angry at that. And I was surprised too. It is not like Mr. Marshall to question His Grace.”

Gemma wondered at that. Marshall knew about the deception. Perhaps he did not approve. Worse, he might see her as some kind of fortune hunter, seeking to get her hooks into his employer for personal gain.

I should speak frankly to Marshall about my intentions. If he dislikes me, he should be willing to help me leave Nathan alone for good.

“Mr. Marshall will be coming with us to supervise the house in…Mickelgate, I think he said,” Charlotte continued. “Then they talked about Emily Carlisle. His Grace was most concerned that there had been no word. Mr. Marshall informed him that she was no longer at the Carlisle home in Scarborough. By all accounts, the messenger His Grace had sent there, had come back empty-handed. Mr. Marshall said there was no one in residence except servants and that Miss Carlisle had set out two days before.”

“Nathan must be frantic with worry. Something must have happened to her,” Gemma murmured.

It increased the feeling of guilt. A young woman, waylaid on the road should be Nathan’s priority. Not Gemma Stamford and her dastardly cousins. It made her feel that she was a burden to him. The fact that he was as attracted to her as she was to him simply made it harder for him to put his duty first.

And ultimately, that will make him resent me. I will always be the woman who turned his head and made him forget his honor. A man like him will not forgive that. Once I am in York, I will speak to Marshall and quietly slip away with his aid.

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

Nathan fought a battle that made the recent war seem a game for children. He was aware of Marshall’s stoic presence beside him, given permission to sit at the breakfast table in order to take the Duke’s dictation. By this means, Nathan wrote a letter to all of the Justices of the Peace for the county of Yorkshire. He requested the aide of the county militia and expressed his concern that a young and vulnerable woman, traveling with only a maid for company, had been waylaid between Scarborough and East Yorkshire. He did not know what had happened but the news that the house was empty sent a chill through him.

Those blackguards the Stamfords may have had something to do with it. At least one of them has been stalking my lands and killed my gamekeeper to send me a message. Who is to say that they would not intercept a carriage on the road and take prisoner its passenger upon discovering her destination.

The battle was to keep his attention focused on the matter at hand. The letters would need to be carefully worded so as not to be dismissed or handed to the attention of a minor functionary. One did not call out the militia for much, save an invasion. It was an expensive business that was paid for by the great and the good of the county. Men who often put their purses before their honor. Nathan intended to gently remind those men who were responsible for law and order within the county, of the favors they had been done by him or his family over the years. All were now being called in. The challenge to his attention came from Gemma.

Frequently, his mind wandered to the exquisite feel of her naked skin against his own. The softness was delectable and made him yearn for her. Her scent still filled his head. Since becoming blind, he had labored for years to hone his other senses but also to use his mind to its fullest potential. As a result, he could bring to the forefront of memory a scent or sensation of touch, if he concentrated. Now, he wished that faculty did not exist. It would allow him to more easily focus on where his mind wanted to be. To that end, he had left Gemma’s bed before she had awoken, not wanting either of them to become distracted by the other.