Page 9 of A Duke in Pursuit of Passion
As Partridge House came into view, Nathaniel’s heart swelled unexpectedly, causing him to feel as though he was returning home. For years the place had been a second home to him, the earl and countess always welcoming of their close friend’s son, their daughters always insistent to play with him whenever he was about.
But that was years ago, and he could imagine that though the countryside had changed little, the people in said house most likely had.
Still, the joy at seeing the place again after so long overwhelmed all fears of everything else, and he breathed a deep sigh of country air as he approached the steps leading up to the front door.
Upon knocking upon the door, he and Mack glanced at each other, concerned by the way it swung open as though it had not been closed properly in the first place. Almost immediately, the sounds of commotion that hit his ears melted away the joy he had felt at seeing the place. Whatever had happened, it had to have been terrible. In fact, Nathaniel feared that perhaps someone had died.
Please don’t let it be a member of the Gideon family,he thought, feeling guilty that he should think it for the fact that whoever had died likely did not deserve it.
Stepping inside the house with Mack at his side, he found servants hurrying to and fro. If the maids and footmen noticed him, they did not stop in what they were doing to enquire who he was or what he might be doing there. They all seemed preoccupied with whatever got them all in such a fuss. In a way, they reminded him of bees about a beehive.
“Excuse me, I am looking for my father, the Duke of Worthington?” Nathaniel called to anyone who might be listening.
A small yet rather round man hurried forwards from the shadows at the far end of the hall, his formal attire marking him out as the butler.
“Right this way, My Lord,” he said, gesturing for Nathaniel and Mack to follow him. Again, the two men glanced at each other, a mixture of intrigue and concern upon both their faces. It appeared that all forms of etiquette and rules had been thrown out of the window by whatever awfulness had occurred at the Partridge estate.
They were escorted through to the drawing room, a room he had seen the inside of many a time during his childhood when he had spent hours reading beside the fireplace while the Gideon sisters learned their crocheting or they were all forced to learn how to dance.
He might have spent some time thinking over fond memories if not for how he found his father and Lady Partridge. The woman was much older than he remembered, her blonde hair beginning to go grey in streaks, several more wrinkles bordering her eyes and mouth.
But she did not look nearly as old as his father, whose salt and pepper hair had once been jet black. The duke’s abdomen had begun to protrude of late, and it was clear to Nathaniel that perhaps his earlier assessment of his father was not nearly so accurate as he had anticipated.
Please say he has not brought me here to explain that he will not be around for much longer,Nathaniel thought with a hardening lump in his throat. Though he had been doing his best to be a better son, there was no way he was anywhere near ready to become a duke just yet. He still had several things left to learn.
But whatever had summoned him there, from the looks on both of his elders’ faces, it was clearly something exceptionally worrying.
“Father, Lady Partridge, how may I be of service?” he asked immediately upon entering, bowing to them both.
When his father gestured him closer, it was clear to see from the redness in Lady Partridge’s eyes that she had been weeping, likely for quite some time, though it appeared that now her tears were all dried out. Still, she dabbed her face with a handkerchief as though she would simply wipe the grief away.
“I do hope nothing too disastrous has occurred,” Nathaniel said, adjusting his jacket before taking to a seat upon the couch opposite them both, where they were sitting in separate armchairs.
“A grievous act has occurred, Nathaniel,” his father explained, and the way the duke glanced at Lady Partridge suggested he was attempting to choose his words carefully, “I am loathsome to admit that Lady Louisa Gideon has run away.”
At that, Nathaniel scoffed. Rolling his eyes, he leaned back in his chair, feeling much more at ease. “Did you truly bring me all the way to Nottinghamshire just to tell me that?”
The way that Lady Partridge started to weep made him sit back straight, the lump growing ever harder in his throat. Perhaps this was more serious than he had anticipated.
“Lady Louisa has always been one of the dramatics,” his father said with a deep sigh. Shaking his head, he added, “But I am afraid that this time is entirely different.”
Leaning forwards in his seat, the duke picked up a piece of paper from the table beside him and leaned over further to pass it to Nathaniel.
“This is a note written in Lady Louisa’s hand pertaining to the fact she has run away to Gretna Green to marry a Mr. Joshua Giles.”
Nathaniel barely managed to bite back the gasp that threatened to escape his lips. He bit it back, turning his face down to read the letter. Though it had grown much more delicate over the years, Nathaniel could certainly recognise Lady Louisa’s hand when he saw it. He and both the sisters had sent each other letters in the early years of his time in Scotland. Though that had been some time ago.
“Mr. Joshua Giles?” Nathaniel mused over the name, feeling as though he should know it. At the sound of the name, Lady Partridge whimpered, dabbing her nose and mouth with her handkerchief as if to try to hide the sobbing.
“He is the eldest son of a baron something or other,” his father announced, wafting the fact away with a hand as though it was of little consequence. “But that does not matter. What does matter is that he has convinced Lady Louisa to run away with him, to marry him in secret, and if word of this gets out, the Gideon family shall be ruined.”
At those words, Lady Partridge started crying openly. “This is a disaster. We shall be scandalised, and it is the last thing my husband needs right now!”
“Where is Lord Partridge?” Nathaniel asked, curious as to why his father and Lady Partridge appeared to be the ones who were trying to fix the situation. He glanced around, half expecting his words to summon the man.
Instead, his father shook his head. “My friend has taken gravely ill and cannot join us to fix this matter.”
“What can be done?” Nathaniel asked though he sensed he had already got a pretty good idea of why he had been asked to join them.
