Page 40 of The Duke’s Bride (The Duke’s Alliance #6)

‘Now your abigail is missing and your husband is about to abandon us. Do not shake your head, my girl. He was about to say that he would not be coming back, so I was forced to interrupt. My head is spinning. I thought he loved you – why else would he marry you when he knows you cannot give him children?’

She bundled her parent into her sitting room and closed the door firmly behind them. ‘You are very indiscreet, Mama. You should not have been speaking of such things where servants can hear. You know very well it is I who is sending him away, not he who is leaving voluntarily.’

‘Then you have bats in your attic. Why would you choose to ruin all our lives in this way?’

Even after explaining in great detail her reasons, and how she expected Beau would eventually be glad she had taken this stand, her mother remained unconvinced.

* * *

Viola should not have told the family – that was his prerogative.

She had put him in an invidious position and now he was going to have to lie to the children.

Whatever he might have said to her, he had no intention of upsetting them unnecessarily.

He was still hoping he could persuade her to change her mind.

Then he recalled what Thomas had told him the first time they met – that once she had made up her mind she would not change it.

The two of them were watching him anxiously. ‘Do not look so worried, both of you, your grandmama will be well after she has had a rest. I believe the shock of knowing she is now mama to someone so important as myself was too much for her.’ His intention was to make them smile. He failed miserably.

‘I liked it better when you were just Mr Sheldon, Papa,’ Thomas said.

‘Life was certainly simpler. However, I intended to tell you myself and hope you understand why I misled you. If you finish your breakfast quickly, we can go to the music room and I shall show you both how to tune a harp.’

They were not so easily distracted. Elizabeth would not be fobbed off with half-truths and prevarications. ‘Papa, you must promise us you will not be gone for long. We shall be miserable without you here. What if this Mr Fenchurch tries to take us away again?’

‘I am not going anywhere until that matter is settled. Do you think I would leave you or your mama in any kind of danger?’

‘You have not answered my question…’

‘Do not be impertinent, young lady. You will show me respect at all times. Is that quite clear?’ His tone was firm and he regretted having to speak to her like that but the alternative would be so much worse.

‘I do not want to know anything about your harp, your grace. I am going to the schoolroom to study my books.’

She ran away and he wanted to call her back, not to reprimand her, but to reassure her that her fears were groundless. It would be hard to forgive his wife for the misery she was causing so unnecessarily.

Soon he and Thomas were engrossed in their music and he was able to temporarily push his worries aside.

They had been playing for some time when Elizabeth crept up beside him and he made room for her on the piano stool.

He put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him trustingly.

He would be devastated to give up these children.

This could not happen – he would not lose them as well as her.

‘You have done well this morning, son; the more I hear you play the more convinced I am you are an exceptional musician. Elizabeth, sweetheart, are you quite sure you do not wish me to tune the harp so you can have your first lesson?’

‘No, thank you. I just want to sit with you. I don’t understand what is happening. I thought you and Mama loved each other, so why are things going wrong so soon?’

He should not have been surprised that a child so young was so observant. ‘Shall we sit in front of the fire and I will try and explain things to you?’

What he was going to do would push Viola further away, might well turn her love to hatred, but the children were legally his now and he had no intention of giving them up.

‘I have responsibilities that I escaped for a few weeks but must now return to. My life is at Silchester Court and you will come with me when I go. You have aunts and uncles and seven cousins, and there might well be more on the way by now.’

He spent the next hour telling them about their new family and what their life would be like in future.

He did not mention that their mother did not intend to come with them and they did not ask.

Of course, their grandmother would also remain behind and they were very fond of her.

If he left for Silchester as soon as he had confirmation that Fenchurch had returned to Ireland, Sofia and Perry would still be living at his ancestral home, as well as Mary and Aubrey.

The children would be most welcome and he could not wait to introduce them to his siblings.

‘You must return to your nursemaid, children, as I have business to attend to.’ He kissed each of them in turn and was pleased to see they no longer looked pale and sad.

Taking them away from their devoted parent might well be considered the act of a tyrant, little better than what Mr Fenchurch had planned to do.

He had no doubt in his mind that his beloved wife could not remain apart from her children for long but would follow soon enough.

It might take months, possibly years, to repair the damage he was going to do, but it would be worth it if eventually she was at his side.

She loved him as much as he loved her and living in close proximity, sharing in the parenting of their children, seeing how happy her new family were in their own relationships, might well be enough to convince her he had done the right thing.

Before he went to visit Watson he must discover what had happened to Hughes. He was on his way upstairs when he met his wife coming down.

‘Have you found your maid?’

‘She has gone. I believe her to have been in league with Sir Frederick. She was his spy here and it was your arrival in our lives that prompted his actions.’

‘I am about to ride over and speak to that gentleman. I am not convinced we know the whole of it.’ He did not offer to take her with him and she did not ask to come.

Belatedly he recalled his mother-in-law was supposedly unwell and he should have enquired after her health. ‘Is Mrs Alston recovered?’

‘She is perfectly fine. It was a ruse to stop you speaking, as well you know. I shall not hold you up any further; this matter must be settled before you leave. The sooner it is done the sooner you can go.’ Her tone was cool.

For a moment he almost doubted that she actually loved him, but such strong emotions were not switched off so easily.

‘Then I shall see you at dinner, Viola. Perhaps you would be kind enough to tune the harp so your daughter can begin her instruction on that instrument. By the by, I have cancelled the order coming from London. I have, naturally, paid for the inconvenience.’

He was hoping to provoke a response from her. The reserve she was displaying was unsettling. ‘I was going to suggest you did so. There is no need for there to be two harps in this house.’ She smiled, but it did not reach her eyes, and sailed past him on her way back to see her mother, no doubt.

Bishop was waiting to hand him his outdoor garments. ‘The horses are waiting, your grace, and I am assuming that you wish me to accompany you.’

‘I do indeed. I am hoping you will remain my valet and able assistant when I resume my normal life.’

He bowed deeply. ‘I should be honoured, your grace, to serve you in whatever capacity you wish.’

Beau was finding it strange hearing himself addressed correctly after several weeks of being plain Mr Sheldon. God knows what the staff thought of this charade – but it was none of their damn business to speculate about the lives of their betters.

He was becoming curmudgeonly. Being thwarted in his desires was not good for him. He had already broken his promise to his wife that he would not impose his will on her, and this was only the second day of their marriage. What sort of gentleman had he become?