Page 132 of His Duchess in Disguise
There came a soft tapping at the door, and Mary entered. “The gentlemen are asking for you, Your Grace,” she said.
“Thank you, Mary,” the Duke said. “Trust me, dear Emma, I have done my best to make all right and safe for you. I’ll go now and take care of the last details so that we can be on our way.”
Emma sat in the wingback chair before the fire and thought over the strange events of the day while Mary bustled about, putting the last touches on their packing.I’m going to marry a Duke . . . a wonderful, kind, handsome Duke. So why do I feel hollow?She stared into the fire, watching the flames flicker over the coals. Then it came to her. He had praised her, cajoled, flattered her, and even promised safety, security and high regard.But not once did he say that he loves me.
Chapter 33
Shortly after the noon meal, the Duke’s carriage rolled out of the drive, pulled by a matched team of four bays. Mr. Hamilton, Miss Hoskins, her maid, and the Duke all rode inside. Rags could be heard barking at people they passed on the road.
Robbie rode on top with the driver and two lookouts. It was a grand place to ride, especially on a fine day in late May.
They even had an escort of cavalry loaned by Captain Arnault. Robbie wasn’t sure that captains were supposed to be able to do that, but the men seemed to be enjoying themselves as they rode along on their horses.
This is a grand adventure. I can’t wait to see what happens next. They’s been some strange goings-on since I found Miss Emma lost on the chalk. That there has. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
* * *
While Robbie surveyed the passing landscape with equanimity, the occupants of the coach surveyed each other in silence, except for Rags’s outbursts of barking at passersby.
Leo felt a momentary pang of regret for not having borrowed two of Captain Arnault’s horses and simply riding out without all the baggage, retinue and folderol. But that would scarcely have been fair to Emma, who would have arrived at the coast without her new wardrobe or her dog.
It is not possible to carry on a light flirtation, let alone a courtship, in a jouncing coach accompanied by one’s secretary, one’s fiancée’s maid, and a yapping lapdog.
Worn out with barking, Rags finally settled onto his mistress’s lap and went to sleep. The silence stretched like a living thing until irrepressible Emma broke it. “This is going to be a very long trip if we do not find some way to amuse ourselves,” she said. “Why don’t we play a game of some sort?”
“It would be difficult to hold cards,” Leo protested.
“How about a round or two of Cross Questions and Crooked Answers?” Hamilton put in, unexpectedly.
“You know about games?” Leo was surprised.
“I’m the second oldest of twelve, remember? My older brother was usually involved in whatever my parents were doing, so I was frequently tasked with keeping my younger brothers and sisters amused, quiet, and out of the way. This Questions and Answers was a good one for when the cousins came to visit, as well.”
“Tell us the rules,” Emma prompted, her eyes shining. “There was never anyone for me to play with, so I know more about solitaire than word games.”
“Very well,” Hamilton said. “With your permission, Your Grace?”
“As long as Miss Mary also wishes to play,” Leo said. “It would be unkind to leave her out.”
“I’m quite all right,” Mary said, “but I will play if you wish. I think I remember the rules, but it would be a good plan for Mr. Hamilton to refresh us all on how to play.”
“The play is simple. The first person asks the person on his right, or in our case, the person seated across from him or her a silly question, such as ‘Why do hares bound?’, or ‘why keep a dog?’, then the person being questioned makes up an equally silly answer. At the end of the game, each person will tell the question they asked, plus the answer they gave. The two placed together will almost always create a funny response.”
“All right,” Leo said. “Just to keep Miss Hoskins amused. I will start with a question. Miss Hoskins, why did you leave the city?”
Emma gave him a look that Leo interpreted to mean that his question wasn’t quite fair. “I left the city because the country seemed safer.” She then turned to Mary, “Mary, why do potatoes grow eyes?”
Mary entered into the spirit of the game, in spite of the odd start. “To see their way out of the ground, of course.” The maid then turned to Mr. Hamilton, mischief dancing in her eyes. “If the blacksmith’s daughter married a peer’s secretary, what would they have?”
Mr. Hamilton grinned at Mary and promptly replied, “A strong union.” He then addressed his employer, “A man who marries in haste will then do what, Your Grace?”
Leo quirked an eyebrow at his secretary then calmly misquoted, saying, “Why, he will enjoy at leisure. Now, Mr. Hamilton, what comes next?”
“Beginning with Miss Hoskins, each of us will recount the question we were asked and the answer we received. Miss Hoskins, can you remember both?
Emma promptly replied, “His Grace asked me why did you leave the city, and the answer I received was ‘to see their way out of the ground.’”
Leo chuckled. “So that’s how it works.”
