Page 32 of The Duke’s Sharpshooter (The Duke’s Guard #14)
T he duke walked into the servants’ dining room and nodded to his men.
“Thank you for stepping up once again to lend aid to our villagers. They have come to rely on your aid, as I have.” When O’Malley pushed back from the table, the duke placed a hand to his shoulder.
“Your report can wait until you have eaten your fill. Take your time. I’ll be in the library. ”
A short while later, the duke looked up at the knock on the open door. “Come in, men. I trust you ate every crumb.”
Garahan chuckled. “Ye know us too well, Yer Grace.”
“Constance is an excellent cook,” O’Malley added.
The chorus of ayes pleased the duke. “We’re lucky she was not tempted to leave with the other servants.
” It still rankled that his elder brother had all but bankrupted the dukedom and tainted the family name.
But it had taught him one thing—to toil until he’d refilled the family coffers.
With the help of his younger brother, they had restored their family’s good name.
“If ye’re ready,” O’Malley said, “I’ll let the others give their reports separately, as they each led a separate search party.”
The duke inclined his head. “Proceed.”
Eamon O’Malley gave his summary first. “I can tell ye the men riding with me got to see firsthand that Yer Grace has well-trained geldings in yer stables.”
“Indeed. What happened?”
“A vixen shot out from beneath a hedgerow and tore across the road in front of our horses. Spooked half the horses, but not the ones from yer stables, Yer Grace.”
The duke smiled. “I hope they have been bedded down for the night and treated like the champions they are.”
“Aye, Yer Grace,” O’Malley replied. “I took me men to the west of the village, and though it would have been a sight to see, we did not run into any vixens—human or fox.”
The duke smiled, watching the reaction ripple through his men.
They were bound by blood and their vow of fealty to him.
He’d nearly lost Patrick, as head of his guard, due to his unbridled fear after his twins were nearly kidnapped.
He’d let pride, and his unreasonable expectations at needing O’Malley to be in more than one place at a time, color his better judgment.
Thankfully, they’d come to an understanding.
He’d offered O’Malley a second chance, though the stubborn Irishman felt he did not deserve one.
Eamon O’Malley’s serious expression had the duke wondering if the man’s wife was still suffering from nausea.
That made three women under his protection—and his intrepid private guard—that were expecting: Eamon’s wife, Garahan’s wife, and his own darling duchess.
No wonder there had been a bit more tension among his men when Flaherty added another rescued woman, and her daughter, to those they’d vowed to protect.
“Anything untoward occur during your search, Eamon?”
“Nay, Yer Grace.” He paused, then grinned. “Unless ye count one of the tenant farmers’ sons chasing after their milk cow.”
The duke could not hold back his smile. “Gertrude again?”
“Aye,” Eamon replied. “They cannot afford to let her run off. Gertrude’s milk churns into the tastiest butter—”
“Don’t forget the cream she provides that Constance whips up and serves with her scones,” Flaherty added.
“Are you men still hungry?” the duke asked.
“Nay, Yer Grace.” O’Malley frowned at his cousins. “But they’ll always make room for scones.”
He chuckled at hearing the chorus of ayes from his men. “Any trouble during your search, Flaherty?” the duke asked.
“None. We’ve good men who stepped up from the village, and our tenant farmers. I’m proud to continue to work with them.”
“As to that, men, I’m grateful and proud of the protection you provide on a daily basis.
The recent threat to the foundation we’ve built had me reevaluating your core mission.
I know most of you have already heard part of it, but let me reiterate and assure you that your wives and babes are just as important and in need of your protection as my duchess and the twins.
“My brother and I have fought alongside you men, our footmen, and tenant farmers when we were under attack. When our call goes out for reinforcements from Captain Coventry or Gavin King of the Bow Street Runners, no matter which one of my estates requires it, you band together and work alongside whoever arrives. You defend not only my family, but your own. My thanks will never be enough, but you have it. In return for your unstinting loyalty to me and mine, you shall have mine for you and your families.”
The intensity and gratitude gleaming in the eyes of his men showed their trust and dedication to him—giving the duke yet another reason to show his faith in their decision by agreeing with Flaherty’s earlier request. “As I have been given a second chance to rebuild what my brother Edward and I thought we had lost, I agree with your suggestion regarding O’Brien, Flaherty.
” The looks of awe and relief were expected, but welcome just the same.
“After speaking to him, I believe he will be a welcome addition to your ranks here—on a trial basis. See that he is proficient in all manner of weapons, though it may take a bit longer while his arm is healing.” His lips twitched as he slowly smiled.
“By the by, excellent aim, Flaherty—but I expect no less from my sharpshooter.”
Flaherty grinned. “Any man intelligent enough to admit to his mistakes, and vow not to make them again, is a man worth knowing.”
“Now then, Garahan. I understand Harkness left your search party before you found his sister. Is there anything in particular you learned after finding Miss Harkness weeping over her ruined slippers?”
“She’s headstrong, self-centered, and, if I am not mistaken, will have just received her first dressing-down from the brother who has always doted on her. Flaherty and I did not stick around to hear it,” Garahan answered.
“And?”
“I’m thinking she’s realized the damage she had done to not only Greene and O’Brien’s reputations, but Temperance and Maddy’s, her brother’s, and her own.”
“I understand how Harkness felt,” the duke remarked. “And the reason he blamed himself for his sister’s actions. I have been in his shoes, though it was my brother—my sister is another tale for another time. Her issue was her overexuberance once she recovered from being held at knifepoint.”
O’Malley cleared his throat. “I seem to recall Baron Summerfield having a different opinion on the matter regarding her exuberance.”
The duke chuckled. “Indeed. Any further information or observations, O’Malley?”
“Harkness has promised his sister will make amends to Temperance and her daughter by admitting she made up the gossip she spread about them. She promised to share the news with any and all visitors to the inn. She will also stop by every shop in the village to apologize for sowing the seeds of dissension.”
“An excellent start,” the duke replied. “What of Greene and O’Brien?”
O’Malley replied, “I stopped in to speak with Harkness after Garahan and Flaherty dropped her off. The man was loath to admit it, but finally confided that the attention Susana was getting by using her face and form went to her head. She’s promised to speak to the vicar and repent.”
“I had not expected that,” the duke admitted.
“As I witnessed her epiphany,” O’Malley said, “I was not surprised. She truly had not given a thought to her actions before that moment. Apparently, her brother’s disapproval—loudly stated—meant more than his approval.”
“Thank you, men, for your steadfast loyalty to me and mine. I’m grateful, and I know Harkness is too.
As I discovered, it isn’t always our love and approval that the ones we are guiding need.
Sometimes it is the stark reminder that they are in the wrong and need to realign their thoughts, words, and deeds to become the person they were meant to be.
” Flaherty, Eamon, and Garahan were staring to the point where the duke had to ask, “Don’t you agree? ”
“Aye,” Flaherty answered. “I may not speak for me cousins, but as I’ll be a da tomorrow, I’ve taken yer words to heart and only just realized ’tis what me ma and da did for me brothers and meself growing up.”
Garahan squared his shoulders and laughed. “Faith, I’m glad I have time to get used to doing battle with me own son or daughter.” Turning to Flaherty, he grinned. “I’ll be praying for ye, Da.”
The duke chuckled. “O’Malley, I expect you’ve put the plans in place for the footmen to stand guard when the vicar arrives to marry Flaherty and Temperance so you can all be in attendance?”
“I have.”
He thanked the men and dismissed them. Following them out of the library, he took the stairs two at a time.
His duchess was no doubt expecting to hear his report, while he was looking forward to talking her into waiting until he undressed her before giving it.
He was smiling when he knocked and then entered their bedchamber.
“Have I told you today how very much I love you, Persephone?” She furrowed her brow as if she could not recall. Unable to wait to hold her in his arms, he scooped her off her feet and kissed her soundly. “Minx!”
Persephone was laughing when she finally answered, “Why yes, my darling duke. I believe you said that just this morning when you pressed your lips to my belly.”
He eased back to stare into her dark eyes. “How remiss of me not to say it again. That was hours ago.”
She turned her back to him. “Unbutton me, and I’ll let you make it up to me.”
“With pleasure, my love.”