Page 75 of His Grace, the Duke
“And how long have you been in Town?”
“Just a fortnight. I’ve been in Greenwich—”
“The hospital?” Renley’s voice was suddenly tight as he gave his friend a once-over, looking for any obvious injury. Rosalie knew there was a notable hospital for seamen in Greenwich.
“Aye, but not as a patient. I’ve been giving lectures, actually. Don’t know why they’d let me behind a lectern, but I can’t argue with orders.”
Both men laughed again.
“Are you going to come in, Lieutenant, or should we all just learn to live with this ghastly draft of air?” called the duchess from her spot on the sofa.
“Sorry, Your Grace,” Renley replied, still holding Hartington’s shoulder as he moved into the room to let the footman shut the door.
Rosalie hardly noticed that Burke was standing behind her chair, a cup of tea already in hand. “How the hell did Will Hartington get invited to tea?” he muttered.
“That’s partially my fault, I suppose.” She looked over her shoulder at him to see his confused frown. “We met him in the park. He pushed his way in, as a matter of fact.”
Burke just grunted, taking a sip of his tea. “Sounds about right.”
She didn’t know why, but Burke seemed displeased. “You know the captain?”
“Only by reputation,” he muttered, his eye still on the sailors.
Rosalie turned her attention to the lords at the tea station. “Which is which?”
“Darnley is the one on the left,” he replied.
She took in both gentlemen. Lord John Darnley was the eldest son of the Earl of Whitby. He was tall and narrow through the shoulders, not unattractive, with dark blonde hair and dark eyes. The other gentleman was Lord David Seymour, third son of the Marquess of Hertford. He had an athletic build and dark features, with a prominent nose and hooded eyes.
“Your timing is not ideal,” she whispered, bringing her cup of tea to her lips.
“No time like the present,” he replied. “I need this over and done with.”
“You need totalkto her first,” Rosalie countered. “She’s in a fragile state, Burke. If she finds out we’re trying to manipulate her or pawn her off on strange men, she’ll dig her heels in. Please, talk to her before this gets out of our control—”
“Alright,” he soothed, his hand itching with the desire to give her comfort. She watched him curl it into a tight fist. There were too many eyes here, this was too public.
She gave him a little nod of understanding.
His eye darted over to the pair of lords now in conversation with the Swindon sisters. “Seymour and Darnley are staying through luncheon. I’ve arranged it with James to seat them by Olivia. I’ll get Renley to invite Hartington to stay to better balance the numbers. And Iwilltalk to her,” he said again. “I swear to you, I’ll talk to her before the day is done.”
34
Burke
The gorgon waslooking at him again. To be fair, Burke had the sneaking suspicion he wasn’t actually the object of her interest. He happened to be sharing a sofa with Tom and Captain Hartington. Olivia sat on the sofa opposite them, wedged between Rosalie and Prudence Nash, adding very little to the conversation.
But those looks... every few minutes she couldn’t seem to help herself, and she had to glance his way, her eye roving from him over to the captain and back. Was she measuring him against this officer and finding him wanting?Good.Anything to convince her to go her own way.
Tom and Hartington were carrying the conversation, regaling the ladies with countless stories of their adventures in the Caribbean. Burke had listened to Tom sing the praises of Will Hartington for nigh on ten years, but this was his first time meeting the man in person. Did he have to be so bloody tall? And how did he get that ugly scar? And why was Rosalie laughing so hard? His jokes weren’t that funny.
Christ, but Burke was in a sour mood.
Hartington said something else that had the group laughing again. On the far side of the couch, Tom wiped a tear from his eye. Burke couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. When Tom left for the navy, a wall started to grow between them. On one side, there was the life Tom shared with Burke and James, the country gentleman’s life of fishing, riding, hunting, and farming. On the other, there was his navy life, and Burke shared no piece of it. Hartington knew Tom in ways Burke never could.
But it was pointless to feel jealous of this captain, he reminded himself. Tom belonged to Burke. They belonged to each other. Since their moment in the alley, he buzzed with a thirst he couldn’t sate. He wanted Tom.Neededhim. The ache was nearly as strong as his constant ache for Rosalie. He watched this confident, brash Captain Hartington with an easier smile. He wasn’t a threat. Burke could relax and enjoy the conversation.
“So, tell me of your life now, Livy,” said Hartington, addressing Olivia directly. “I can’t believe you’re not yet married. You always held such high regard for the institution.”
