Page 34 of A Duke's Temptation Poetess
“Well,” his aunt said lightly, “I think she would be good for you. She is something of a bluestocking, and you could benefit from some more intellectual company.”
Colin arched an eyebrow. “Is Watford not intellectual enough for you?”
“He is,” Aunt Matilda said, “but I think keeping some female company would do you good. You might be surprised at how the fairer sex thinks.”
His aunt was too tactful to tell him that she felt he was out to keep the company of a woman who he was not carnally involved with, but he understood the underlying message. “Well,” he said, “I can certainly say that Lady Clarissa is full of surprises.”
Chapter 17
The sky was the most beautiful blue that Clarissa had ever seen in her life. It was a perfect, cloudless day, which meant that there would be no further delays on their journey to Bath. His Grace offered his hand to help Clarissa step into the ducal carriage. She accepted gratefully, arching an eyebrow when she felt a thin piece of a paper pass from his hand to her own.
“Read it when you have privacy,” the Duke of Hartingdale said.
She felt a tingle of delight trace the path of her spine. Clarissa had not the faintest idea what His Grace might have given her, but knowing that it could only be read inprivatemade her feel as if she were doing something bold and daring, like the heroine in one of her beloved novels.
Clarissa seated herself beside her mother, carefully tucking the piece of paper out of sight between the folds of her skirts. His Grace seated himself beside his mother. The carriage door was closed, and the journey continued. Clarissa caressed the edge of the paper with her thumb, bursting to open it. What could it possibly contain? A poem? A letter meant only for her eyes?
She fought to keep her breath steady, as she imagined all the things arakemight write on a slip of paper and all the reasons that he might want that paper to be read in private.
“We will reach the Spencer residence first,” His Grace said. “I have asked my driver to take you and Lady Clarissa there.Then, my mother and I shall continue to the Rosewood Estate.”
“That is very kind of you,” Clarissa’s mother said, smiling.
A small part of Clarissa was surprised that her mother had not somehow tried to persuade His Grace and Lady Matilda to allow them to stay at Rosewood Estate, too.
“Do give my best to—oh, dear,” Lady Matilda said. “Mrs. Spencer—Frances, yes. We have not spoken with one another in some time. I believe it was when her husband died.”
That was unsurprising. After Frances Spencer’s husband died, she had become something of a recluse. She seldom left her home in Bath and preferred communicating through letters rather than conversations. Only recently had Frances expressed a desire to have visitors or speak with anyone, but Clarissa strongly suspected that Frances believed her niece and sister-in-law were in need of comfort with Lord Bentley dead.
Clarissa did not know if she needed comfort because of her father’s death, and sometimes, she felt cruel for being uncertain about that. However, she did long for her family in a deep and profound way, which her mother did not seem to understand.
I hope my aunt and cousin do not realise that Mother has only come to visit them in the hopes that I ensnare His Grace.
Clarissa felt like they would both be hurt if they learned the real reason that her cold-hearted mother had finally agreed to the visit.
“I do not believe I am acquainted with your relatives,” His Grace said.
“I would be happy to introduce you to them,” Lady Bentley said, “if you feel so inclined. Of course, they are notquitea part of the ton since Frances married a gentleman.”
Clarissa wondered why that point was worth emphasising. Her aunt Frances had married a physician, who was exceptionally witty and talented. Clarissa had only vague recollections of him, but she remembered him being a jovial man.
“She is delightful,” Lady Matilda said. “I was quite happy for her when she wed.”
Clarissa noted that her mother’s smile wavered for a heartbeat, and she wondered if there was some story behind her mother’s expression that she did not know about. Being one of the ton meant never really knowing all of your family’s secrets. They were revealed slowly, a few at a time throughout one’s life and sometimes, not at all. Clarissa still occasionally learned new tales about her mother and father.
“You seem to know everyone, Aunt Matilda,” His Grace said, smirking.
“In my youth, I was quite sociable,” she said.
“You are still quite sociable,” the Duke of Hartingdale said.
Lady Matilda cast him a sly glance. “One of us has to be. You would rather hide away in Wales or Scotland than attend a function in London.”
His Grace only smiled and offered her a small shrug. “Those are where my investments are.”
“A convenient excuse,” said Lady Matilda.
The Duke of Hartingdale shook his head with a self-depreciating air, as if he was all too aware of his eccentricities. Clarissa could not help but feel as if such a gesture was intended only for her, for she knew well His Grace’s fondness for the countryside.
