Page 160 of His Grace, the Duke
“Perhaps you should take me on your ship,” George said with a grin.
Tom donned his hat. “Perhaps I’ll teach you to swab decks.”
George crinkled his nose. “Not a chance.”
“We must be off,” called James from the doorway. “If we’re doing this in one go, I want to keep the light.”
“Mama still won’t join you, then?” called George.
“She says she wants to be in Town for all the Christmas parties,” James replied. “She’ll return to us sometime in the new year.”
“And... that is agreeable to everyone?” George flashed Rosalie a knowing smile.
“Alcott is her home,” James replied. “If it is her wish to return, I welcome it.”
George crossed his arms. “Yes, but does your duchess feel the same?”
Rosalie stilled, her fingers on the buttons of her pelisse.
“I have no duchess,” James replied, cuffing George on the shoulder.
“Yet,” George added with a wink.
James sighed, dropping his hand away. “Well, until she is in being, I will make all the decisions about where our mother lives on my own.”
“You are never on your own. Not when you have suchfaithful shadows to left and right,” George replied, giving a nod to Burke and Tom.
“We promise to keep him out of trouble,” said Burke, offering George his good hand.
George looked at it, almost surprised by the gesture. Slowly, he reached out and shook it. Tom shook his hand next, following Burke out the front doors.
“We really do need to go,” James said at Rosalie.
She nodded. “I will be right there.”
With a final nod to his brother, he followed Burke and Tom.
“Well, Cabbage, I suppose this is farewell then,” George said, looking oddly vulnerable.
She paused, glancing at the door to make sure the others were truly gone. “I must know... did I ruin your life? Did my words cause you to make a decision that you now regret? Will you come to hate me for it?”
George smiled, reaching out to wrap his arms around her. It felt odd to be in his embrace. He pulled away, holding her by the arms. “Cabbage, I meant what I said before. You are the only person who has ever liked me for me, saw me for me, listened to me as me. You are my one success. If I have only one, it is a good one. For however brief a time, you were my ward. I was your benefactor, and I was good at it, I think,” he finished with a shrug.
She smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes. “You were... you are. Even if I am not your ward, I can still be your friend.”
“I’d like that,” he replied.
“Make me a promise?”
He raised a curious brow. “I’ve never been very good at those.”
“Come home occasionally?” An idea struck her, and shesmiled, knowing it was right. “The Michaelmas ball. You should come home for it. It is a celebration of the Corbin family. You are a Corbin. You should be there. James would like it if you were there.”
He smirked, stuffing his hands back in his pockets. “Fine. A promise for a promise.”
She gave him a wary look. “What can you possibly ask of me, sir?”
His smirk widened, flashing his white teeth. “If I return to Alcott for the next Michaelmas ball, and you are yet unmarried... you will marryme.”
