“Well, I wasn’t before!”
They both laughed, then he sobered. “It is because of how much life you have brought back to the castle,” he said. “And to my family. I’m not a fool. I know that my rigidness has made the castle, and my siblings, a little lifeless over the years. And I’m not too proud to admit your presence has corrected some of my mistakes. And for that I am grateful.”
Her heart in her throat, she smiled up at him, and he paused. For the first time since they had started dancing the cotillion, he stopped, and she stopped with him.
For a moment, it seemed as if she was going to say something. He had that look in his eyes, as if he were on the verge of confession. A storm seemed to be passing through him, and she could see him battling it; battling himself, really.
She opened her mouth to ask him about it, but before she could, he released her. In the silence of the ballroom, he took several steps back. His face once more clouded and became reserved, all the warmth in him dying away at once.
“I should let you get some rest,” he said, his voice hard and cool. “We leave early tomorrow morning.”
“Yes,” she said, a faint feeling of sadness overcoming her. “I suppose I should be off to bed.”
“Goodnight, Duchess,” he said, bowing stiffly. “I shall see you anon.”
He turned and left the ballroom, leaving Emery to stare after him, a hollow feeling filling her up.
Chapter Seventeen
“We were supposed to leave a quarter of an hour ago!” Lucien thundered, staring confusedly back and forth across the crowded entrance hall. Everywhere he looked, there was chaos. Trunks were everywhere. It seemed as if each of his sisters was bringing with her their entire life’s possessions, and the footmen were only making it worse by moving at a snail’s pace to bring all the luggage out to the carriages.
“What is going on?” he asked out loud to the hall, but no one answered. There was too much noise anyway, too many things going on. The footmen were racing back and forth--and yet never seemed to get anywhere with the trunks--while the butler and housekeeper were yelling increasingly convoluted orders, and his sisters were only making matters worse, going from trunk to trunk trying to find things they would need for the journey, their dogs running at their heels and barking loudly at any sudden noises--of which there were many.
“Your Grace,” the butler said, materializing at Lucien’s side from out of nowhere. “We are having a problem with Cook.”
“What?” Lucien stared at him in distraction. “What kind of problem?”
“She is insisting that she needs all of her own pots and pans to cook at your London residency. We tried to dissuade her, but she insists that she must bring them with her.”
“How can that be?” Lucien demanded. “We have the best cookery at the London residency. There is no reason why she shouldn’t be able to use those.”
His butler gave him a pained smile. “I know, Your Grace, and I tried to impart all of that to her. But she would brook no opposition. And believe me, I would not bring this to you if I hadn’t already tried every means of getting her to see reason.”
Lucien brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose and pinched it, trying to think.I have been doing that a lot recently, he thought. Another sign that everything has gone off the rails since Henry and Emery’s disastrous wedding and I was forced to take charge.
But he couldn’t think about that right now.
“What do you want me to do about Cook?” he asked, opening his eyes again and meeting the butler’s.
“I need permission from you to pack her boxes of pots and pans in your carriage,” the butler said, looking very apologetic. “Itmeans that we may have to bring one fewer trunk of clothes, though…”
Lucien sighed. He already knew which of the many travelers would have to go without an extra trunk, and it wasn’t going to be one of his sisters.
“Fine. Do what you must.” The butler nodded and disappeared, and Lucien turned away. He had a headache, and he desperately wished he could be alone right now, sitting in the peace and darkness of his study, not talking to anyone.
Traveling with four younger siblings had always been difficult. Maybe that was one of the reasons their parents had always left them at home when they travelled. Lucien had always resented this, but now that he was once again faced with the nightmare of trying to transport his families, he had more sympathy for how difficult it must have been. And while things should have been easier once the girls were grown, it was somehow always harder.
At that moment, Leah came back into the hall, her dog trotting at her heels. Her eyes met Lucien’s, and she made a beeline for him.
“Hello, how are you faring?” she asked as she approached. “Has it been very stressful?”
“More than you could realize,” he grumbled.
His sister bit her lip, looking apprehensive. “Well, I hate to add to your worries, but I just spoke to the footmen, and it looks as if they haven’t packed Colonel’s things.”
“Colonel?” Lucien repeated, staring at her. “Pray tell, who is Colonel?”
The dog chose that moment to let out a sharp bark, and as Lucien looked down at his wagging tail, his heart sank.
