Page 41 of His Darling Duchess
"In here!” Aurelia tugged him into the morning room, where he was pleased to see the staff in the midst of laying out the breakfast dishes. A hot breakfast would be very welcome just now: he’d ridden through the night and was absolutely exhausted.
Aurelia led him to the fire, freshly stoked and pouring heat into the room, and Rhys almost moaned aloud as the welcome warmth began to seep into his chilled frame. His hands were so cold he couldn’t get his gloves off; he struggled with one for a moment, biting back curses as his numb finger failed to unfasten the buttons at his cuffs.
“Let me.” Aurelia’s slender fingers made quick work of the small buttons, and then she was drawing the gloves off and taking his hands into hers, crying out at the frigidity of his skin. “Oh, Rhys,” she murmured softly, trying to chafe his big hands with her small ones to warm them. “What possessed you, to ride out in such cold? Why set out so early?”
“I didn’t set out early,” he murmured, fascinated with her efforts, with the way her blue eyes glistened with unshed tears as she tried desperately to warm him. “I rode all night.”
“Rhys!” Startled, she looked up to meet his eyes. “Whatever for?”
He hesitated, loath to tell her, but knowing he must. “I had to get back to you, Aurelia. Grantleigh has gone missing. We do now know where he is. I feared…”
She paled, but her chin firmed and she lifted her head proudly. “He would not dare show his face here.”
“What makes you come to that conclusion?” He was genuinely curious.
Aurelia laughed incredulously. “He is terrified of you! I may have been a little out of my wits that night in your library, but I will never forget the look on his face when you told him to get out or meet you at dawn. He could not get away from you fast enough, the coward. Certainly he is not going to come here, to seek to challenge you on your own ground!”
“You might be right, at that,” Rhys murmured, struck by her logical reasoning. He himself had not been thinking straight at all; from the moment he and Lansdown had reachedGrantleigh’s estate to find a furious Jeremy Hale locked in a guest room, Rhys had been in a state of near-panic. They had searched the estate, questioned every servant they could find, and finally found that Grantleigh had slipped out in the night, just hours before their arrival. Rhys had set out immediately for Stowe Park, fearing the worst, but Aurelia’s words were a balm to his frayed nerves.
“Come, sit down and let Graham bring you some breakfast,” she urged, leading him to the dining chair closest to the fire. “You must be exhausted; eat and then you can rest.”
Rhys sank into the chair with a sigh, grateful for her care and attention. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, letting the warmth of the fire seep into his bones. For a few blissful moments, he forgot all his worries and simply basked in the love and comfort of his wife’s presence.
A footman quietly set a filled plate before him, another poured strong black coffee, and Aurelia took a seat beside him, nodding to the offer of tea.
"Eat, please, Rhys," she said softly, nudging his hand toward his cutlery. "You need your strength."
He was almost too tired to eat, weariness threatening to overcome him now he had seen for himself that she was safe and well, but to please her he picked up his knife and fork and cut off a bite of steak. She watched him eat and drink, signalling discreetly to the footmen to top up his coffee and bring him more toast, and Rhys had to admit that when he sat back, sated, he did feel a great deal better.
"I am sure Harris has a hot bath ready for you," Aurelia said quietly, and Rhys jerked in his seat, mortified to realise that with a full belly and warm from the fire, he had been dozing off over his empty plate.
"Lansdown and Hale will be here later today sometime," he muttered, hauling himself to his feet. "Would you have Mrs Henley prepare rooms for them?"
"I will oversee it myself. Get some rest." She hesitated, and then reached out shyly, touching his hand. "I'm so glad you're home. I missed you."
"I missed you too," he said gruffly, aching to pull her into his arms and kiss her, but keenly aware of the footmen still present in the room. Even though the men were standing by the wall stoically staring straight ahead, kissing his duchess in front of them was just not the done thing.
As he made his way up the stairs, Rhys couldn't help but feel a sense of relief wash over him. The warmth of the house and Aurelia's love had chased away the cold and fear that had gripped him during his journey home. But as he entered his bedchamber, he knew sleep would not come easily when he laid down. His mind was still reeling from the news of Grantleigh's disappearance, and he needed to make a plan.
He stripped off his damp clothes and sank into the hot bath that Harris had drawn for him, letting the steam and heat ease the tension in his muscles. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, trying to clear his mind and focus on the task at hand.
"Let me wash your hair, my lord," Harris murmured, and Rhys sat forward to let his valet work the soap through his hair.
"Tell me how things have been at the Park while I was gone, Harris," Rhys requested. "I feel so guilty for leaving the duchess alone for Christmas..."
"She wasn't alone, my lord. Her parents and sisters arrived on Christmas Eve. They only departed yesterday."
Harris poured a jug of warm water over Rhys' hair to wash the soap out, leaving him gasping.
"Her parents?" He'd written to her father, of course, stating that he was going to try to find Grantleigh. Her parentsmust have left London almost immediately upon receiving the express, determined to stay with Aurelia while he was gone.
"I'm glad she wasn't alone," he murmured, getting out of the bath and shrugging into the robe Harris held up for him.
"Not alone, but still lonely," Harris said confoundingly.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Her Grace remarked multiple times on your absence. She worried about you, my lord. Missed you, dare I say."
