Page 40 of The Duke Who Loved a Widow
“I find that hard to believe. The woman jilted me. I was devastated. Her betrayal is the reason I spend most of my time in London. Memories of Rosalind haunted me in every room and every place in the grounds where we had spent time together. It’s taken me years to feel comfortable here again, and what do you do? You invite the person I tried so hard to forget as a house guest.”
His mother looked crestfallen. “I thought maybe it would help,” she said quietly.
“This is my house. I’m not Papa. I don’t wish to be an austere and distant custodian of the castle and estate. I accepted your invitation to Simon, as it gave you such joy. But inviting Rosalind is a totally different matter. I have no idea what you were thinking of.”
“Simon and Rosalind have grown close again in recent months. I truly thought you had moved on,” his mother explained.
“I have moved on, but I haven’t forgotten, and why would I want to bring back memories of her scheming, backstabbing ways.”
He took his mother’s hand in his. “I love you, Mama, and I’m sorry there is a rift between Simon and me. I know it causes you pain. But eating mutton pot pie with Rosalind or hearing her sing is not something I want in my life. I’ll accept her presence here, but keep me away from her as much as possible. I will walk away if you seat her near to me at dinner.”
Robert had never said anything like this to his mother before, but he knew it had been necessary.
I don’t have to be my father, he thought as he took his leave of his mother, but I can say what I think. This is going to be a difficult two weeks.
He noticed the look of stunned surprise on his sister Elinor’s face when his mother called her across to greet Rosalind in the drawing room as they gathered before dinner. He noticed his sister soon found a reason to move away from the finely dressed duchess.
He coped with the formal dinner, which had five courses, and true to her word, his mama placed Rosalind close to Simon at the other end of the table.
He’d heard she had been widowed. The elderly Duke of Wyndale, whom she had married after abandoning Simon, had died last year, leaving her a vast fortune. The Duchess of Wyndale was now a rich and powerful woman.
Simon, though, seemed devoted to Rosalind again, listening intently to every word she spoke, gazing at her almost with adoration.
Could they be together again? In a romantic attachment? Surely not?
After hosting the gentlemen for fine Madeira wine, or cognac, he led the way to join the ladies in the drawing room. It was a sizeable party, and he recognized few faces. There were no neighbours this evening, just the house party guests.
He rather liked Sir Benjamin Hanslope and his wife, Constance. They were quiet and unassuming guests. Constance had been a friend of his mother’s for many years. He was unsure about Lady Dorothea Sutton and her daughter, Anne, and he had yet to see either of them smile.
The final couple were friends of his sister, Elinor, and he liked them immediately. Colonel Edmund Lloyd and his wife, Julia, had brought smiles to his sister’s face. Colonel Lloyd had served with Elinor’s husband and the wives had spent much time together in the years before Freddy was born and Elinor had returned to live at the castle. The group was large enough that hecould avoid Rosalind, yet not so large that the house was overrun with guests.
He took a seat on a sofa near Sir Benjamin and Lady Hanslope and engaged in the usual conversation about estate management and Wellington’s army. His mother, who had been playing some Haydn in the background, had given up her place at the pianoforte to Mrs Lloyd, who was playing a medley of country songs.
During a pause in the music, his mother clapped her hands for attention. “I have an announcement,” she said as everyone looked towards her.
“I’d like to announce the engagement of my son Simon, the Marquess of Orsdale, to the Duchess of Wyndale. Let us join together to wish Simon and Rosalind good wishes for their future together. I shall be delighted to welcome a daughter-in-law to the family. This house party will now be in celebration of their betrothal.”
For a moment, time stood still for Robert. He wondered if he had misheard his mother. Yet there she stood, smiling with delight at his brother and Rosalind as if she had forgotten they had been engaged before, and it hadn’t led to a happy ending.
Did he care for her? Was there anything left of the feelings he had once experienced every time he saw her face? He had certainly felt shock at the announcement, but he could find no trace of envy of Simon in his reaction to the news.
Another face floated unexpectedly into his thoughts, a memory of emerald eyes glittering with gold flecks, drawing him into deep, green pools.
Robert felt someone moving to sit beside him and put a hand on his arm. It was Elinor. His sister’s face showed her shock at the news and concern for him.
As the guests congratulated the happy couple, Elinor spoke quietly to him. “Mama told me just before you re-joined us. I had no opportunity to warn you. Simon seems happy, but I have reservations. It is difficult to talk here, but I cannot see how this match can make him happy.”
“I have no words to say. Dear sister, I thank you for coming to sit here next to me, or I might have said something I later regretted. He’s welcome to her and her scheming ways. If I were Simon, I’d obtain a special marriage licence now before another suitor takes her fancy.”
“Hush, we’re being watched. Let’s talk more tomorrow,” Elinor warned him.
***
After the guests had retired for the evening, he went to the library with Mickle beside him for some solitude. He’dmanaged to avoid his mother, and his formal congratulations to the happy couple had been a stiff bow.
He heard a noise in the orangery, and Mickle left his heel to dash into the glass house attached to the castle. In the winter months, his mother spent many hours sewing in the natural daylight.
Several candles burned in the orangery; the servants hadn’t yet extinguished them for the night. He noticed the door to the terrace was open and went to close it when he noticed the figure sitting quietly in the shadows.
