Page 9 of The Duke In My Bed (The Heirs’ Club of Scoundrels #1)
“Well, we don’t. Whatever your reasons are, they are foolish, and I assure you they have no merit.
There could never be a reason good enough to refuse a duke’s offer of marriage.
But I’ll leave that decision with you, as I am not getting paid enough to worry with such unwise behavior.
I shall meet with the duke as soon as possible and advise him what we will need.
We must get started right away. There is much to accomplish to get three ladies properly gowned for the Season, and there isn’t much time. ”
“Oh, we don’t have to worry about me. I’m not looking to make a match this Season.”
“Ha! Of course you are. You don’t expect Lord Wayebury to be responsible for you for the rest of your life, do you? You need a husband to look after you and the allowance left to you by your brother. Heavens have mercy, he has six of you to marry off.”
Louisa stiffened. “There are five of us, Mrs. Colthrust.”
“Oh, well, yes. But he expects two of you will be married by the time he returns to England. We must get to it.”
Louisa didn’t want to get into telling Mrs. Colthrust about her feelings of being abandoned by her father, her brother, and now her uncle, so she thought it best to just pretend she was looking for a husband, too.
Only Louisa had to know that she would never accept the attentions from a man or marry and leave her sisters without the love and attention she gave them.
“Now, I will talk more about this with you at a later time. I must get some rest so that I can see the Duke of Drakestone tomorrow and speak to him about what we need.”
Louisa caught her as she was turning away, saying, “I’ve already spoken with the duke about the things we need for the Season, and he said he would see that we have everything we ask for.”
Mrs. Colthrust whirled back to Louisa. She lifted her bonnet off her head, revealing hair as dark and shiny as a raven’s feathered coat. “You spoke to him? When?”
“Today. A few minutes ago. He said he would be setting up accounts for us in Town and that he would send someone around to see what other things we might want.” Mrs. Colthrust’s eyes darkened. Louisa could see the woman wasn’t going to like it if she wasn’t in complete control.
“Did he?”
“Yes, but I am glad you are here now to take over and handle anything he might have overlooked.”
“Of course,” she said, leaving Louisa no doubt she was miffed. “Since I had carriage problems and was delayed, it’s good you sought him to find out what was going on.”
“Actually, he came here to see us. My sisters and I have been in London almost a week. Perhaps he heard that you were delayed by travel and thought he should stop by.”
“Yes, I’m sure that must be what happened. I can’t blame him for wanting to keep up with the whereabouts and care of you and your five sisters. Every eye in Town will be looking at him and how he handles this.”
“Four,” Louisa said tightly. “I have four sisters.”
“Yes, well, however many.”
“Mrs. Colthrust, were you aware that my uncle not only left the duke in charge over our inheritance but made him our guardian as well?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “No, I didn’t know that, but I must say, now that I think about it, I’m not surprised. That was a very clever thing for him to have done.”
“Clever?” Louisa asked. “I thought it inconceivable that he would leave us to the responsibility of a total stranger.”
“Why? It’s what Lord Wayebury wanted. He wanted the duke to marry you, thereby making you and all your sisters the duke’s responsibility.
Obviously since the duke failed to do that, Lord Wayebury took matters into his own hands and settled the duke’s debt to your brother.
” Mrs. Colthrust laughed and then stifled a yawn.
“I really must wash and rest before dinner. My journey has left me drained. Send the maid up to my room with hot water as soon as you can.”
“I’m afraid we don’t have a scullery maid.”
“Fine. Louisa,” she said testily. “At this point, I really don’t care what the maid’s title is. Just send one up.”
“There is no one here but the cook, Mrs. Trumpington. She’s older, and I don’t think she is capable of carrying water up the stairs.”
Mrs. Colthrust harrumphed. “Where are the other servants?”
“Whoever was here, my uncle took them all with him.”
“All of them?” she asked, clearly exasperated.
Louisa nodded confidently.
“That’s unforgivable!”
Mrs. Colthrust was unbelievable. It was perfectly fine for Lord Wayebury to turn his charges over to a reckless stranger, but she was shocked and offended that he didn’t leave any servants to help care for them.
“What about your servants from Wayebury? How many did you bring with you?”
“None. Most of them left within a year of my brother’s death.
Other than our governess, we had only an elderly couple there with us.
She took care of the cooking, cleaning, and the kitchen garden.
Her husband did a wonderful job with the grounds, horses, and the carriage that took us to the village once a week.
The only person who traveled on the mail coach with us to London is the younger girls’ governess, Miss Kindred. ”
“Thank God you have someone to handle the younger girls, and I won’t have to worry about them. As the old saying goes, ‘Children can be seen, but they never should be heard.’”
Louisa bristled. First the duke was unkind about her sisters, and now Mrs. Colthrust’s comment set Louisa’s teeth on edge.
She had never restrained her sisters from speaking or, as the duke could attest, playing in the house if the weather did not permit recreation outside.
She wasn’t going to start putting restrictions on them now.
Maybe His Grace was right when he said Mrs. Colthrust would not be a suitable chaperone.
She was not endearing herself to Louisa.
“I will take care of my sisters,” Louisa said, knowing she had been the only constant in their lives the past few years.
“Really?” She gave Louisa a curious look. “Have you ever attended a Season, Louisa?”
“No, but I do have a fairly good idea of what to expect.”
“I think not. Let me enlighten you: Once the Season starts, you will have precious little time to do anything other than throw your tired body in bed to sleep and then rise again long before you feel rested and prepare yourself for another round of one social occasion after the other.” She paused and threw up her hands and said, “But I am much too tired to go into all that with you right now. I have no idea how we will make do without servants! I’ll just have to speak to the duke about this tomorrow as well.
For now, have the cook get the water heating.
I’ll tell the driver I will pay him to wait and carry the water upstairs after he brings up my trunks.
And I will make sure the duke repays me—double.
And you—” Suddenly Mrs. Colthrust stopped and smiled. Her face brightened.
Louisa looked down the corridor to see what had brought about the abrupt change in the ill-tempered chaperone. Gwen was coming toward them slowly carrying a tea tray.
“Well, now, I see I can forgive you for being tardy in answering the door, Louisa. You took time to send someone for tea. That was thoughtful of you, as I’m famished.” She pointed to Gwen and ordered, “Follow me upstairs with that tray.”
Mrs. Colthrust swirled past Louisa in dramatic fashion and started climbing the stairs. Gwen stopped by Louisa and said, “Who is she, and what happened to His Grace?”
“She is our chaperone, Mrs. Ramona Colthrust.”
“She looks severe, Sister.”
Louisa started to agree and list all the things she didn’t like about the lady, but quickly changed her mind.
“No, no, not at all.” Louisa lied without compunction, not wanting her sisters to have any fear or hesitation concerning the woman.
Louisa had enough misgivings for all of them.
She didn’t know how anyone so beautiful could have such a disagreeable deportment.
“She’s very knowledgeable and will be a fine and dutiful chaperone for us. As to be expected, she’s tired after her journey. I’m sure she’s ready for a cup of tea. Take it on up to her.”
Louisa turned away from the stairs. She realized how many “if only’s” she had in her life.
If only her parents and brother hadn’t died.
If only Mrs. Colthrust weren’t such a rough-speaking chaperone.
If only her uncle hadn’t left them in the care of a handsome duke who made her feel things she had never felt before, her life in London would be so much easier to understand and to bear.