Page 120 of Marry in Scarlet
“Naturally.” Avoiding his eyes, she forged on. “We’re not going to leave Phillip by himself in the country again, even though Mrs. Harris has been wonderful, and certainly Danny cannot go back to live with that vile creature who calls himself a stepfather. No, you boys will live with the duke and me. And Finn.”
“Here?” Phillip asked carefully.
“No, I cannot believe it would be pleasant to remain in the place where you were almost kidnapped, and I don’t imagine Danny will want to live close to his stepfather.”
“No fear,” Danny said. Phillip’s eyes were wide.
“So that’s settled. You’re both coming to live with us at...” She finally met his eyes. “At the duke’s place?”
“Yes, at my place,” Hart said. The dazzling smile she gave him left him breathless.
***
They reported the kidnapping to the local authorities, and Hart wrote off to engage a runner from Bow Street to track down Jephcott and his accomplices.
“His references were genuine,” he told George, “but clearly the man was fed up with tutoring small boys and wanted to set himself up for a comfortable retirement.”
That night in bed, after making love, George asked Hart if he minded her declaration that the boys would go with them. It had been a spur-of-the moment decision, and she didn’t regret it for a second, but she was aware that she’d given him no choice.
“No, of course not,” he assured her. “I wouldn’t have expected anything else of you. The boys will be much better off living with you.”
Withyou, she noted. Not withus.
It was a sobering reminder.
Two days later, they all removed to Everingham Abbey. As they arrived, staff spilled out of the front door and lined up to greet the duke. More than twenty people, all standingstarched and straight; they were a daunting sight until George noticed the warm and genuine smiles that greeted the duke. He spoke to each one of them and introduced her to each by name.
He was loved here, she could see. But by his demeanor, she wasn’t sure he knew it.
The two boys, once they’d recovered from the sheer size and awe-inspiring atmosphere of the ancient pile, took the duke’s invitation to explore the place for themselves to heart.
They took to their new location with gusto, finding enough fascinating nooks and crannies indoors to delight and entertain young boys in wet weather, and a sprawling garden, a bubbling stream and a nearby forest to explore by sunshine.
George, too, was enthralled by its ancient archways and worn stone steps; the rich paneling; artwork in every room, amassed over multiple generations; the new sections grafted on to the old; the modern kitchen and the luxurious room set aside just for bathing.
It was a fascinating mix of eras and styles and she loved its eccentricity. Hart, when he showed her around the house, was apologetic about its sprawling inconvenience and the rabbit warren of hallways and corridors, especially in the old sections, but she could tell his diffidence masked a powerful love of this place.
The master bedroom was huge and a little intimidating, but once she’d passed the night with Hart, making love in the big old, extremely comfortable bed, she was reconciled to the heavy draperies and the general air of consequence. Once more the duke invited her to redecorate, but she wasn’t up to that yet.
Besides, she had to remember that this wasn’t to be her house; in the marriage settlements they’d agreed on, she was to get a house of her own. The thought weighed on her.
Danny, with an eye to future treats, ingratiated himself with the kitchen staff first, while Phillip introduced himself to the stable inhabitants. Every morning he raised some comment about life in the stables, indirectly and verypolitely reminding George of her offer to teach him how to ride. While after every meal, skinny little Danny gave the staff lavish compliments about the food.
It amused Hart. “Those boys will do well in life,” he said to George after breakfast one day. “They know what they want and, each in his own way, goes after it; the subtle and the blatant.”
On the second day George sent for her horse, Sultan, who she’d missed. Though the duke already had some lovely horses in his stables, none were suitable for small boys, so they took the boys off to a nearby farm and selected two well-mannered ponies suitable for boys just learning to ride. And when she heard about a litter of springer spaniel puppies in the neighborhood, she took the boys to choose a puppy each.
***
The following month was like nothing the duke had ever experienced. It wasn’t at all how he’d imagined his honeymoon. Faint visions of gondolas and canals faded before the brisk domesticity of life at Everingham Abbey.
The arrival of two small energetic boys and one slender, energetic bride had livened up the old house considerably. It wasn’t what he was used to, but he had to admit he enjoyed the change.
George had very decided ideas on how they would all spend their time. It was to be a holiday, she insisted. A holiday, not a honeymoon.
Acknowledging that Hart needed to deal with his correspondence and see to the supervision of the various estates he was responsible for, she graciously allowed him the mornings for that. The rest of the day—and the nights, she said with a sultry look—were hers.
Hart had no quarrel with that. Their lovemaking was... He had no words to describe it. Richer. Deeper. Moving him in ways he’d never dreamed possible.
