Page 56 of The Duke Who Loved a Widow
He looked forward to the midsummer ball and wondered what creativity she would bring to that. She’d already persuaded his mother to abandon the formal sit-down dinner at the ball, which was always tedious in the extreme and took away at least two hours of dancing time.
Here he was, the Duke of Montbury, in the midst of his tenants and the workers from the castle and estate. He smiled, exchanging a word with people as they returned to their seats.
He felt a pang of envy as he watched the Reverend Colbrooke and Miss Emma discovering love and gaining confidence in showing their feelings to friends and family. Their voices had climbed to a crescendo of sadness, joining perfectly as if they were the only two people in the room. He suspected there would be wedding bells at St Mary’s church within months.
He envied them the simplicity of their love. They had no past baggage to weigh them down. And there she was, right in the midst of his family and friends, the sensuous woman who had betrayed him and tormented his dreams for so many years.
She had noticed his looking in her direction, and her eyes flashed an invitation he would ignore. His brother, sitting beside his betrothed, focused on her every whim. Simon had no clue that Rosalind still cast her net beyond him, trying to catch other men. Would she marry his brother this time? He somehow doubted Rosalind and Simon would ever stand before the altar together.
At times in the last weeks, he had felt a sense of excitement, as if he was truly living again. Life felt different. When he had walked into the room, he’d caught his breath at the sight of Lady Arabella Farrington talking animatedly with her family.
He’d enjoyed her company at the summer fair; her conversation could be serious or filled with humour. They had laughed together so many times, and he’d felt a heavy weight lifting from his shoulders.
He glanced towards Arabella, and she looked up and met his gaze. He saw how her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t look away immediately. He smiled gently, knowing he wanted her to look at him like this time after time.
He contrasted the elegant, contrived sophistication of Rosalind with the effortless loveliness of Arabella.
Ever since Rosalind had told him she loved another, he’d felt empty, a vast void in his heart. He’d made a life in London that he enjoyed, with companions he’d admired and desired, but there had been no connection to anything or anyone.
At that moment, he realized the void was filled by the owner of a pair of enchanting green eyes. Could Arabella Farrington be the answer to his future happiness?
“Robert. You look to be in a world of your own. I asked you twice if you would fetch me another slice of fruit pie, and I swear you didn’t hear a word I said,” his mother said, giving him a despairing look.
“Sorry, Mother, you’re right. I was miles away,” Robert confessed.
He forced his attention back to the people around him. His feet wanted to take him to stand close to Arabella again, but he knew with a heavy heart that it could cause gossip, so instead, he listened to his mother talking about plans for the summer ball and his brother’s wedding.
Robert forced himself not to turn in the direction of the party from Horton Hall, but in his mind, while he listened to hismother, all he saw was a pale complexion, enchanting jade eyes, and a smile that gladdened his heart.
***
For the next two days, Robert threw himself into estate business, spending time with Jason Brown and showing him the far corners of the estate and, more importantly, his hopes and dreams for the future of Montbury.
He took Mickle everywhere with him, and the estate workers began to recognize the spaniel. Robert needed space to think without the continual interruptions at Castle Montbury.
“Let’s escape by the butler’s pantry and the boot room,” he said to Mickle. “I’m thinking of giving Jason an office in the west lodge. It’s vacant, and I can meet him there without anyone finding me.”
Mickle looked up and made a noise that could have been approval.
“I might even make myself an office down at the west lodge. It seems I’ll be here for a few months, and I cannot function with this house party taking over the castle. Once they leave, there will be another one arriving or a ball. Oh, for a quiet week.”
He mentally made a note to thank Elinor again for giving him Mickle.
“I believe I might have gone crazy without your quiet company,” he told the spaniel.
“You’ll like France,” he told the dog. “We’ve got to get you used to travelling in a coach, though. I’ll speak to Grayson in the stables about that.”
Here I am talking to a spaniel. How far have I come from being that elegant man about Town!
He walked with Jason to a vacant property on the other side of the lake.
“I wondered about renovating the cottage and taking on someone to look after the lake?” he told Jason. “We have the gardeners, but the lake is such an important part of the estate, and it was very overgrown down near the boathouse.”
“And the fish stock?” queried Jason.
“Looking after all aspects of the lake. My idea is for it to stay wild and natural, but with management to keep it that way. My mother arranged a picnic there a couple of weeks ago. The children had such fun, and I realized we hardly use the lake as a family anymore.”
“I remember there was a small beach over there, by those oak trees, in your grandfather’s time,” said Jason. “It’s near the path from Montbury to Chillington, and your grandfather used to let us village boys swim there,”
