Page 61 of His Duchess in Disguise
“Should I ask what he needed?”
“Oh, probably not. I certainly didn’t. Since he didn’t plan to scuttle it or chop down the masts, I let it be. I have sold my commission and need to learn how to be a civilian again.”
Emma handed him the scone, poured a cup of tea and handed him that, also. “It isn’t easy, is it, Leo?”
Leo shook his head. “Not really. Although it can be hard, military life is different. Not as messy as civilian life.”
Emma looked up from the scone she was now smearing with clotted cream. “I would think that war would be very messy.”
“It is. But a lot of being a naval man is bound up in familiar routines that are dictated by the wind and tide. Although weather changes can be challenging, the natural elements follow a pattern. Men are different. They are emotional, fickle, and often untruthful. Dealing with society is filled with hidden shoals, whirlpools, and unexpected storms that are all but impossible to predict.”
Emma took a bite of her scone, chewed thoughtfully, then sipped her tea. “I think I understand. But even civilian life has patterns. People must eat, they need clothing to wear, and they need something fun to do.”
“While all of that is probably true,” Leo replied, “the problem usually lies in that last part. There are a lot of different definitions of ‘something fun to do’ and not all of them are very nice.”
Leo looked over his scone, then bit into it. The flavor was delicate, the texture light and flakey, and the cream added just the right amount of moisture to the top of it. He realized that Emma was watching him intently. “You had a question, m’lady?” he asked.
“I’m not sure I’ve thought much about what people do for fun,” Emma’s words came out slowly, “but I think I know what you mean. I like to read books for fun. Sometimes I read novels about other people’s lives because their troubles are easier to bear than my own. But some people like to tease puppies or make a great deal of money as their fun things to do.”
“Exactly. But enough of this gloomy topic. What do you think you should do as a newly wedded Duchess of Menhiransten?”
“Clean up the library,” she said promptly. “If there is money for it, Your Grace, I would like to hire an expert in preserving manuscripts and old books. My skills are well enough for mending schoolbooks, but I think you might have some books and scrolls of real value squirreled away in the deeper parts of that wonderful collection.”
Leo grinned, and the corners of his eyes crinkled up. “Well, I can see that you will be forever devoted to the preservation of the written word. Why does it mean so much to you, Emma?”
Emma turned her teacup around and around, her eyes fixed upon the cup before she looked up at Leo and said, “I should have gone mad without books and learning, I think. I was fortunate in the governess that my father hired for me. She was not paid nearly enough for her devotion to teaching me, but she lived in a room just off the schoolroom and ate with the servants. That gave her a little money to spend on books and paper, as well as colors and pencils.”
“She taught you how to draw?”
Emma laughed. “Well, she tried. I can mend a book, embroider a pillow slip, or darn a sock. But I never quite mastered the knack of catching a person’s likeness.”
“I am relieved to learn that there is something you cannot do,” Leo tried to hide his amusement.
“Oh, there are lots of things I can’t do, Leo. I’ve never fired a gun and wouldn’t have the first idea about how to clean one. I wanted to learn to fence, but Father wouldn’t hear of it. I was allowed to ride because riding around the park was a proper thing for a young lady to do. And my cooking skills are minimal. I know how to make porridge, beef stew, and tea.”
Leo sat down next to her at the table. “I can teach you to shoot and to fence if you wish. If you promise not to add your own thumb to the beef stew, perhaps you could cook for me sometime.”
Emma laughed. “I think you would be gravely disappointed, Your Grace. I’ve tasted Mrs. Chambers beef stew, and it is far superior to anything I have ever managed.”
“So, I am Your Grace again? As to Mrs. Chambers, she is an uncommonly fine cook. But I will keep it in mind that should we ever fall upon hard times that with you as my wife, we need not starve.”
“You seemed to be speaking rather officially, Leo. That makes you ‘Your Grace’. And I can only cook if you can provide the ingredients for the porridge and the stew. Even the finest of cooks can do little without ingredients.”
“Amazingly, I have heard that this is true,” Leo agreed amiably. “Perhaps you would like to take up hawking. I’ve been informed that many country ladies provide meat for the pot in such a manner and that it serves admirably when their husbands are far from home.”
“Why are you being so supportive of my independence?” Emma asked. “Are you planning to be gone from home often?”
“Actually, Emma, I have been thinking how pleasant it would be to make up a small hunting party, just you and I and perhaps a beater or two. You see, although we are beginning rather in haste, I am beginning to think I quite like you and that this marriage could be very enjoyable.”
“I have no idea what to say to that, Your Grace.”
“And now I am back to being ‘Your Grace.’ Emma, dear Emma, what have I said to put your back up?”
“Leo,” Emma set her teacup down with a click, “you are planning our lives without asking me what I want. For all you know, the thought of bringing down a pheasant could make me quite squeamish.”
“Does it?”
“No. Rags catches mice, and sometimes caught a fat rabbit in the townhouse garden. We found the fresh meat very welcome, and I learned how to dress out the bunnies. That’s not the point. Do, please, ask if I would find an activity pleasing before you make plans.”
