Page 50 of The Captive Duke
“Napoleon is at long last vanquished, and the options for those who want to remain in service are far flung, and not likely to offer as much action. Many of the officers are happy to return to home shores.”
“And the Army can hardly afford to keep them on when there’s no war to fight.” Though men did so love to commit slaughter in the name of patriotism, didn’t they?
Some men. She couldn’t see Mercia ever again setting foot on the field of battle, thank heavens.
Stoneleigh’s lips twitched, probably his version of a fit of hilarity.
“Let us sit, Mr. Stoneleigh, and let us be direct with each other. You may speak freely, and I assure you I will not quote you.”
He led her to a conversational grouping near theyawning fireplace—no fire for the man of law, not on a pleasant summer day.
“You truly are in good looks,” he said, his tone puzzled. “Was marriage to Greendale as bad as all that?”
Her marriage had been a hell beyond the worst imaginings of the seventeen-year-old innocent she’d been. She suspected even Stoneleigh would have found the circumstances daunting, and he was far from innocent.
“Marriage to Greendale was worse than I’d wish on the Corsican himself.”
He let the comment pass and took a seat in a wing chair at a right angle to Gilly’s place on a gorgeous blue brocade sofa.
“I’ll be direct at your invitation: Are you with child, Lady Greendale?”
“Heavens, no.”
“You’re sure?” He was absolutely serious in his inquiry.
“Not unless the Second Coming is imminent, and I the unworthy vessel chosen for the Almighty’s arrival.”
“You might want to take measures to alter your status in this regard,” Stoneleigh said, once again the brusque barrister. “I’ve had a look at Greendale’s will, and you benefit greatly if you can produce a posthumous child, your ladyship.”
“Greendale regaled me at many turns with the terms of his will, Mr. Stoneleigh, and I assure you, he intended to leave me penniless.”
“He wasn’t entirely forthcoming, then, because hewrote a codicil about a year ago, and left the unentailed sum of his estate, less your dower portion, to any child of your body born within a year of his death.”
“He was giving me permission to get with child practically at his graveside? What an odd notion.”
“No, he was conforming his will to the common law, which attributes paternity of a child to the mother’s husband, up to one year into her widowhood. This is in part why mourning lasts a year.”
The common law needed to consult with a competent midwife. “Not even horses carry for a year in the normal course, Mr. Stoneleigh.”
“Common law predates modern science, and even nature allows for some variability.”
He looked very prim, defending his silly common law, but Gilly would have liked him for it if she didn’t already firmly approve of him.
“Well, this is all very interesting, but hardly relevant to me. I am not with child, I cannot be with child, and I doubt I could accomplish it even if I tried. Was there more?”
He crossed his legs and settled back in his chair, studying her as if she were a rare legal volume on loan from another barrister. Maybe the cool, capable Mr. Stoneleigh had expected some other reaction from her.
Perhaps she was to proposition him to accommodate her quest for a child, reducing the hourly rate for his services in light of her bereavement. Of course in the process, she’d catch a chill, what with being in intimateproximity tohim. She was smiling at her thoughts when he fell silent.
“I’m sorry, you were saying, Mr. Stoneleigh?”
“I’ve seen what funds you gave me into the keeping of Mr. Worth Kettering, the man of business I use myself. He is particularly careful dealing with a widow’s mite, and has had good success with his investments. He will expect you to call on him, and you will receive quarterly statements describing the progress of your funds. But a word of advice, my lady?”
Stoneleigh’s advice had prevented Gilly from being charged with murder.
“I am not in any great hurry, Mr. Stoneleigh.” Only a small hurry, because she could not countenance Mercia being anxious over her absence.
“If Mercia is inclined to settle a competence on you, you’d be well advised to see the thing done.” Stoneleigh was being oblique, possibly insinuating something nasty.
