Page 11 of The Curious Life of the Unfortunate Duchess
“As you wish,” she muttered. “I was bred to speak the truth. Father would not have had me bite my tongue in this matter. Forgive me if facts upset you.”
“You leave at dawn, you say?” he continued, eager to shift subjects back to the issue at hand. “I must have the servants prepare for departure.”
Catherine raised her gaze back to him, the confusion on her cheeks clear. Leonard did not fault her perplexed expression. He was not certain he, too, understood his own actions.
“I will see that the servants have you prepared for travel,” she replied slowly. Leonard could see she wished to say much more but to his relief, she did not pursue it. He did not wish to be questioned when he did not have valid answers for her.
“Is there another matter which brought you here, sister?” he asked kindly. “Surely you did not come here to discuss my impending marriage.”
“I did not!” she agreed. “I hoped you would join me in the town this afternoon, if you are quite finished with your duties for the day.”
Leonard smirked slightly at the naïve question.
“The duties are never quite finished for the day,” he replied but he rose from his chair. “However, I am never so occupied that I cannot join my sister for a day of shopping.”
A hopeful expression touched Catherine’s face. Clearly she had expected a rejection.
“Truly?” she gushed. “Oh, how wonderful, Leonard!”
A small jolt of guilt pricked the Duke and he realized again how little time he had spent with Catherine following the death of his father. The least he could do was allot a few hours to accompany her.
“It is my pleasure,” he assured her and took her arm to escort her from the study. “I cannot think of a lovelier way to spend the day, after all.”
* * *
Has the town changed or have I?Leonard mused silently. With Catherine’s arm in his, they moved about the streets but all appeared much smaller than the last time he had visited. His sister chattered in his ear as they walked but Leonard admitted to himself that he heard very little of what was being said.
He gazed about, nodding at passersby who oft paused to stop and bid them good day. Catherine did not seem to possess any signs of the insecurity she had claimed upon his return home but he wondered if it was his presence which inspired the confidence she felt.
“Oh, may we stop here?” she whispered and pointed toward a dress shop. “I see fabric which will make a splendid gown.”
“You may,” he replied cordially. “I shall remain on the road and keep watch for highwaymen.”
Catherine scowled.
“There are no highwaymen in the town,” she grumbled although she knew it was merely Leonard’s excuse for avoiding the shop.
“One can never be too safe,” he insisted. “I will guard you while you do your shopping.”
Catherine sighed heavily but turned to enter the shop.
“You are an awful shopping companion,” she muttered as the door closed at her back.
“You may thank me at another moment!” Leonard called jestingly after her. Catherine did not turn around. The Duke smiled to himself and leaned casually against the wall. He reached for his pocket watch and noted the time.
The shops will be closing soon. I must return to Brookside and tend to the last of my duties if I wish to attend this wedding.
He found himself questioning his reasons again. It was absurd for him to be struck by an urge to go based solely on Herbert’s excitement on the matter. The attorney was much like a young boy in some ways, despite his high mind. Leonard wondered if he had not simply been caught up in Herbert’s infectious glee for the occasion.
As he replaced the gold watch in his waistcoat, a breeze of air diverted his attention upward. A few steps beyond where he stood, two young ladies were walking, their fine dress depicting noble breeding yet Leonard did not know them on sight.
“…and if they haven’t one here, Franny, we must do without,” the smaller of the women said, her voice filling his ears with a mellifluous chime. “We have traveled to three towns today alone. I daresay we cannot find the headdress you insist upon having.”
She sounded as though was singing as she spoke but without a childish undertone. Her voice was simply musical without attempting to be so. Leonard pushed himself off the building and stared after them but all he could see was the tendrils of their dark tresses against the velvet backs of their gowns. They walked in slow, measured steps and Leonard was consumed with the urge to match strides with them. A few yards behind, a housemaid trailed after them.
“But I long for one!” the other girl cried, her voice adopting the whine of youth. “Please, I cannot attend without it!”
“We will find you another to your liking,” the first girl replied softly and Leonard was touched by the patience she exuded, despite her companion’s near-caterwauling.
