Page 29 of A Bride for the Beastly Duke
“Yes, certainly not for Lady Caroline, who probably hasno ideawhat he eats,” Lady Lanton replied contemptuously.
Edward sighed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. “You know, if you made an effort to get along with your daughter-in-law, you could probably get to see your grandson and son more often.”
Lady Lanton gave an even more contemptuous humph. “If she gave a tinker’s dam about her own child, I just might. But of course, she will not.”
“Simply because she refused to christen her son in Peter’s old robes does not mean she does not give a tinker’s damn for her child,” Edward said tiredly.
Ava noticed that Lily looked quite worried as her eyes went between Edward and his aunt. She made a mental note to find out what her daughter was thinking, but in the meanwhile, she cast about for a topic change. “You are looking quite lovely this morning, Lady Lanton. Any particular reason?”
The Dowager Marchioness looked startled. “No, dear. I have no engagements today. I am at your disposal, should you need me.”
Ava blinked in surprise at the offer. She had been under the impression that the other woman did not like her at all. In fact, she assumed that Lady Lanton spoke of her out of earshot in as derogatory a manner as she spoke of her daughter-in-law. “Need you for what?” she blurted in her confusion.
“Well, for one thing, you might not know the countryside as well as I do, so as you seek to renovate this castle, I might be of help by showing you where you can get certain things.”
Ava just continued to stare at her, waiting for the other shoe to drop. She wanted to ask the other woman, “but what do you mean?” but stopped herself just in time, knowing it wouldbe rude. Instead, she nodded shakily. ‘Th-thank you,” she said uncertainly.
Lady Lanton inclined her head in acknowledgment and smiled, further confusing Ava. She looked too Edward for some explanation, but he just smiled enigmatically back. She looked at her daughter and saw that she was busy focusing on her food.
Well, at least the diversion worked.She shrugged internally, deciding to follow her daughter’s example and focus on her food.
Edward decided that he would not restrict himself to working only at night. Spending time with Lily and her mother seemed to clear his head quite nicely and enabled him to think more clearly. After their very eventful start to the day, he had decided to adjourn to his room for a nap, seeing as he had been up all night, but he made sure to wake up in the early afternoon as he had promised Lily that they would see the gardeners then.
To his surprise, he found that Lily was the very balm to his spirit that he had been looking for. Her utter indifference to his face and his appearance enabled him also to forget about it, at least for a while.
Her mother, on the other hand, was another story. Being around Ava made him even more self-conscious than he normally was. Strangely though, he enjoyed her eyes on him, even when she was glaring—which was a lot of the time. He had no idea whyshe was always so annoyed, but he had a feeling that he had something to do with it.
Even with his newfound equilibrium, he could not ignore his primary mission—which was still to find his brother’s killer. Having directed his private investigator to find Jonathan’s former batman, he was gratified to find a letter from the man, saying that he had found Mr. Gabriel.
I took the initiative of inviting him to my office, should you wish to interview him.
Edward nodded to himself. That would indeed do very well. He rang the bell to summon Notley.
“Yes, Your Grace?”
“Pack my bags. We are leaving for London today,” he said excitedly, gathering his papers.
Notley looked non-plussed. “We, Your Grace? Do you mean the entire family or just you and me?”
Edward paused. “No, just me. You are needed here to take care of my family.”
Notley almost smiled, bowing his head discreetly to hide it though Edward noticed. “Yes, Your Grace. Right away. How long should I pack for?”
Edward tried to calculate how many days he would need.I simply need to interrogate him and find out what he knows.
He looked up at the butler and smiled. “Not more than a day or two.”
Notley nodded, bowed, and left the room. Edward continued to gather his papers together before a thought occurred to him. “I suppose I should tell Ava where I am going and for how long in case she has need of me during that time.”
His heart sped up at the mere thought of seeing her, much to his mortification. He simultaneously loathed and liked the effect she had on him. He liked it because it proved he was not completely dead inside, but he loathed it because it proved he was not completely dead inside. He was not particularly fond of the numbness he had been living with, but it was familiar and safe.
He put the papers in his bag and left the room in search of Ava.
As he walked along the corridors, he heard Lily chattering and followed the sound of her high piping voice to the orangery where she was explaining earnestly to her mother why they needed to weed the plant beds. Edward could not help smiling. The child really had turned out to be such a delight.
He cleared his throat loudly, so they knew he was there. Lily immediately stopped talking, and they both turned simultaneously to favor him with twin gazes of curiosity. He felt as if he could stand there and have them stare at him forever, content never to move again. However, he straightened up withregret and took a deep breath. “I regret to inform you that I must leave you for a few days. I must rush to London on business.”
Lily immediately began to protest. “Must you go?” she whined plaintively.
