Page 16 of The Duke’s Replacement Bride (The Wild Brides #6)

W hen dinner had come to an end, the group split up.

Caroline and her parents returned to the sitting room for a conversation Levi hoped would involve the state of their marriage and how happy Caroline truly was.

Arabella went out to check on her children.

Bridget found her way to the pianoforte and began to pick out a soft melody.

Her notes were hesitant at first, but before long, she flowed into an easy tune that seemed to fill the whole house.

Levi had to admit that he found it very pleasant.

“May I speak to you in private?” William asked him.

Levi looked at the other man. The Duke of Redmayne was a formidable figure, but he didn’t look particularly intimidating now. His expression was neutral, and though he asked for a private conversation, Levi didn’t perceive any discomfort. “Certainly,” he said. “Shall we go to my study?”

They made their way through the hall. The music faded as they walked away from the others. “She really is quite good,” Levi said as they entered the study.

He had only been making conversation, but William nodded as he took a seat. “That’s a part of what I wanted to speak to you about, in point of fact.”

“You brought me in here to speak to me about Lady Bridget’s skill on the pianoforte?”

“No, no, not that specifically,” William clarified. “I wanted to talk to you about the family as a whole. About Lord and Lady Highgate, and about the way they relate to their daughters and their niece. I know this dinner has been a bit…”

“Chaotic?”

“To say the least.” William cracked a smile. “I did see you defending Caroline.”

“I don’t like the way they speak to her.”

“No, they can be a bit harsh. And it’s unwarranted, because Caroline is lovely, of course, and because they have never endeavored to help with the raising of her.

It was largely left to Arabella, as you may know.

Their parents were not involved as they should have been when they were little.

Now that they’re grown, Lord and Lady Highgate seem to have realized the error of their ways and are trying to rectify that. ”

“That may be too little, too late,” Levi said.

“It may be. But the reason I wished to speak with you was this—in spite of their failings, they do love their daughters. They are good people. And I’d hate for you to live with anger at them because you didn’t realize that.”

“What do you make of the disappearance of Lady Prudence?” Levi asked.

William sighed. “That’s worrying,” he said.

“Of course it is. It’s always a matter of concern when something like this happens.

And yet, the letter she sent makes me think that she must be safe, at the very least. I don’t agree with what her parents say about her being spoiled, but she is headstrong.

You were engaged to marry her, so I’m sure you must know that about her. ”

“I’m familiar,” Levi said dryly.

“I agree with Arabella. It’s likely she’s hiding away somewhere and laughing at the lot of us. I don’t relish the scene that will unfold when she returns. I know there will be a lot of anger. But I have confidence that she will return when she feels ready to do so. I wouldn’t worry.”

There was a knock at the study door, and both men turned toward it. “Come in,” Levi called.

A servant poked his head in. “Lord Talbot is here, Your Grace—shall I show him in?”

“My cousin,” Levi explained to William. “I’m surprised he’s come by, to tell you the truth. He usually avoids this place. Yes, show him in,” he added to the servant.”

William might have liked to ask why Charles avoided Mowbray Manor.

It occurred to Levi that he might even have told him.

He had never confided in anyone about this—his concern that his cousin’s desire to inherit the dukedom and frustration at being thwarted still lingered, was still potent.

It bothered him to think that his inheritance had left Charles perpetually unhappy, but if it hadn’t, why would Charles stay away from Mowbray?

Then again, he was here now. Maybe it was the beginning of a new chapter for the two of them.

In any case, Charles joined them so quickly that William had no time to ask anything at all.

“Cousin!” he exclaimed, coming around the desk to embrace Levi as he rose to his feet. “A pleasure to see you—though I’d no idea you had guests. That’s what I get for not sending word in advance, I suppose. I feel like a proper oaf.”

“No, don’t be silly,” Levi said. He wasn’t about to run the risk of driving Charles away if his cousin was trying to heal the awkwardness between the two of them. “You ought to stay. We’re done with dinner, but we’re having tea in the sitting room—the Duke of Redmayne and I were about to go down.”

“Well, if you’re sure, I will accompany you,” Charles said. “It would be very good to see your lovely wife again. And Your Grace, I’ll relish the opportunity to get to know you as well,” he added, nodding to William. “Our paths have crossed, but we’ve never spent all that much time together.”

“Come, then,” Levi said. “We ought not to keep the others waiting for us.” He left the study, noting that William was right on his heels—and noting, too, that Charles lingered ever so slightly, looking around the room as if there was something he hoped to see.

Or perhaps it was just that, even now, he envisioned himself in this space. Maybe he was still lingering over thoughts of what might have been and wishing that when the late Duke of Mowbray had passed, he had been the one to inherit the title.

“Thank you for putting up with my family,” Caroline sighed. “I know they can be a lot to stomach.”

“No, it’s I who should be thanking you ,” Levi countered.

“For putting up with Charles. He may be my cousin and my friend, but I know as well as anybody how taxing his presence can be, and he wasn’t a guest we planned for.

You were wonderfully graceful about the surprise of his presence here today. ”

“I thought he was charming,” Caroline said.

“You thought Charles was charming?”

She laughed. “Well, he was a bit boisterous, it’s true. I wouldn’t like to be married to him. I’m willing to wager that he actually is a rake! But for an afternoon, he was good fun. I’m glad he joined us.”

“I am too,” Levi agreed. “I think we might be on the path to repairing the damage to our relationship.”

“What happened between the two of you?”

“Nothing between us, exactly.” Levi sank back into his seat, and Caroline followed suit, setting her teacup on the table beside her.

“We’ve remained friends through everything that’s happened.

But it was a shock when I inherited this dukedom from my uncle, since he never named me as his successor during his life.

He’s never said anything, but I’ve always felt as though Charles must have wondered why I was given the title and he wasn’t.

That’s a question I wouldn’t be able to answer. ”

“I can see how that would make things uncomfortable between the two of you,” she agreed.

“Well, it was good having him here today, even if he is a bit boisterous at times. And it was nice to see him getting along so well with your family. I certainly couldn’t have predicted that.”

“They were a lot to deal with, I know.”

“I didn’t mind it, actually,” he told her.

“Your parents are difficult—that must have been challenging for you growing up. Arabella is a delight, though, and I like her husband a good deal as well. We should have the two of them around more often.” He leaned forward and braced his knees on his elbows.

“You know, William told me he doesn’t think we need to be too worried about Prudence. ”

“Yes, Arabella said the same thing to me. She’s the only person in the world I think I could have trusted to give me a real answer that I could believe, because I know she would never make light of the situation or try to sweep it under the rug.

She loves Prudence as much as I do. If she thinks everything is all right, then it probably is. ”

“Well, I’m glad to hear you feel that way,” Levi said.

“And I think you’re right. But even so, I’ll do everything I can to help make sure your sister is found as soon as possible.

Even if she is doing well, it’s not good for anyone to have her out on her own like that.

We’ll all feel better, I think, once she is back at home. ”

“I know I will,” Caroline said fervently. “Do you think my parents believed the two of us were happy in our marriage? We can’t forget the other reason for tonight’s dinner.”

“You’d be better able to answer that than I would,” Levi said. “You know them better. How did they seem as if they received our little performance?”

“To tell you the truth, I forgot to pay attention.” She covered her face with her hands. “I’m sorry, Levi. I know I ought to have been watching them. It’s just that so much was going on, and I let myself get distracted.”

“No, don’t worry about it,” he said. “We did the best we could, I think, regardless. I don’t know what else I could have done to demonstrate my devotion short of kissing you right in front of them.”

It had been a joke, and he had anticipated they would share a laugh, but Caroline looked up sharply when he spoke the words as if he had said something deeply shocking.

And Levi found he wasn’t laughing either. Somehow, now that the words had been spoken and hung in the air between them, they didn’t seem as funny as he had anticipated they would.

Of course, I wouldn’t have kissed her in front of her family.

Her family isn’t here now.

He cleared his throat and rose to his feet, about to say something about how perhaps he ought to get up to his office and put in some work before the whole day had passed him by. Caroline rose to her feet as well, and suddenly the two of them were face to face and only a few feet apart.

He cleared his throat again. She was between him and the door, and she didn’t seem to have realized it—or rather, if she had, she had made no move to clear the path.

Not that there’s anything stopping me from going around her.

Her family isn’t here now.

Was he really thinking about that joke he had made? About kissing her? He hadn’t meant that seriously. She couldn’t be thinking about it in the same way he was, either…could she?

Unwittingly, he dropped his gaze to her lips—full, pink, slightly parted. Her breathing was a little erratic, as though she was having trouble with it. As though her heart rate was accelerated.

What am I doing ?

He gritted his teeth and tore himself out of the moment. This was not who the two of them were. This was not what their marriage was meant to be about. “I’m going to head back up to my study,” he said. “I’ll be there for a few hours, if…”

He trailed off, not knowing what to say. If what? If she wanted to collect on that kiss? If she wanted to discuss this strange and powerful new dynamic between the two of them? None of that could be allowed to happen.

Levi hurried past her and fled the room before things could get any more out of control than they already had. Control—it was one thing on which he had always prided himself.

He couldn’t allow it to slip from his grasp.