Page 33 of A Game with the Rakish Duke
He loves her. He really does.
“Oh, do stop fussing, Thomas,” the Dowager Duchess huffed, shooing him away with a bejeweled hand. “I am quite capable of seating myself!”
Once she was settled, and tea was served, she sat back, gazing around the room with an eagle eye.
“You have not been keeping up with things, my boy,” she declared eventually. “The parlor maids are lazy. There is a layerof dust on that cabinet, and the painting above it is askew. You must tell the housekeeper.”
The Duke looked amused. “I will be sure to rebuke the maids soundly, Grandmother.”
“Make sure that you do,” she huffed. She took another sip of tea and put the cup aside. “When I was in charge, that wouldneverhave happened. The maids would not have dared. They knew they would be sent packing if a chair was even an inch out of place.”
Catherine suppressed a laugh. She could just imagine how terrified the maids were when the Dowager Duchess was in charge here. They had probably slept with one eye open, fearful the lady was about to barge in on them, demanding they polish the silver at one in the morning.
“Now,” the Dowager Duchess said when she had completed her inventory of the room to her satisfaction and turned back to them. “How are things going?”
“Good,” the Duke replied, smiling at his grandmother. “Very good. The weather has been spectacular. I saw Dunford yesterday. He sends his best wishes to you…”
The Dowager Duchess arched an eyebrow. “Dunford? Your fellow Etonian? What ishedoing in the district? That boy was always a gadabout.” She shook her head impatiently, leaning on her walking stick, gazing at him intently. “I do not care to hear about Dunford. What is he to me?”
The Duke shrugged, looking a bit puzzled. “Well, heisone of my oldest friends, Grandmother…”
She sighed, glaring at him. “No, no, Thomas. Tell me what I need to know. There is a reason I journeyed all the way from London in an impossibly bumpy carriage, and I am sure I am black and blue from it now.”
The Duke looked bewildered. Catherine gazed at the old lady. What was she talking about?
The Dowager Duchess rolled her eyes, as if her question was obvious.
“Do you have news for me?” She looked from the Duke to Catherine expectantly. Her eyes narrowed with impatience. “Is there evidence yet that an heir might be on the way?”
Chapter Sixteen
“Grandmother.” The Duke looked embarrassed, his cheeks reddening slightly. Quickly, he glanced at Catherine then back to the Dowager Duchess. “That question is not seemly.”
Catherine felt her own cheeks turn pink with mortification. The Dowager Duchess, however, didn’t look shamefaced at her bold question. On the contrary, the old lady rolled her eyes, glaring at them both.
“Oh, honestly, Thomas,” she snapped, shaking her head. “We are all adults here. We understand how babies come into the world.”
The Duke sighed heavily. “Grandmother, of course, we all know how babies come into the world,” he said, grimacing slightly. “But I cannot ever recall that I must speak with my grandmother about such… intimate things.”
The Dowager Duchess gazed at him, her eyes widening, as if she were talking to a simpleton. “Intimacy has nothing to do with it, my boy,” she said in a tart voice. “This is business. The duchy hasalwaysbeen a business, and so it remains. It runs on the continuation of the line. As the Dowager Duchess, I have every right to enquire about it.” She paused. “Now, is there a reason for hope yet?”
The Duke looked appalled. “No, Grandmother,” he hissed. “We have only been wed a few days. You must realize it takes rather longer than that to hope for such a thing.”
The Dowager Duchess looked pained. “I knew I was expecting your father within a few weeks of my marriage,” she stated. “Your grandfather and I did not shirk our duty.” She sighed. “But yes, I see your point. It is far too early to tell. However, can I have your assurance that you are trying as much as possible?”
Catherine almost spat out her tea. The Duke shook his head incredulously.
“That really is none of your business, Grandmother,” he said, squirming in his chair. “The duchy might be a business, but I draw the line at reporting onthat. I am not a stud horse, you know.”
Catherine turned her head away, biting her lip, desperately trying not to burst into laughter. The whole conversation was so bizarre that she couldn’t help it. But she couldn’t stop a small yelp from escaping her lips. Both the Dowager Duchess and her husband turned to her.
“And what do you find so amusing exactly?” the Dowager Duchess barked, fixing her with a cool stare. “Do you believe producing an heir for the duchy to be a jest, Duchess?”
“Please, call me Catherine,” Catherine replied, suppressing another giggle. “And to answer your question, yes, itisall rather amusing. I must say, I never expected such a subject to be discussed over morning tea. I rather thought we would talk about the weather or some such thing.”
The Duke smiled at her, his eyes filled with amusement. He shrugged his shoulders helplessly, as if to suggest he knew his grandmother was a bit impossible but to humor her all the same.
“I do not beat around the bush,” the Dowager Duchess declared almost proudly, her lips twitching into a half-smile. “Some people find my directness abrasive, but I do like to get straight to the point.” She gazed at Catherine steadily. “Youaretrying, are you not? You are eager for children?”
