She tore her gaze away, though the image remained. Jasper Everleigh patient, generous, kind? It was utterly contrary to every conclusion she had drawn of him. And yet, she could not shake the troublesome thought: perhaps there was a side to the Duke she had not seen at all.
Unfortunately for Matilda, Jasper Everleigh seemed born with a sixth sense for when eyes were upon him. Having given his valet the last of the cases, he turned sharply and saw the three ladies upon the path. His expression shifted at once into that familiar half-smile that was always too knowing and too smug.
“Ladies,” he drawled as he approached, every inch the Duke again. He bowed, the gesture languid yet undeniably graceful. “I had not expected to be greeted so warmly upon my arrival. You shouldn’t have made such a fuss as to welcome me, all three of you.”
Matilda’s spine stiffened, her brief astonishment buried deep, as though it had never existed. “If by warmly you mean that we happened to be walking in this direction and weremost unwillingly forced to endure your company then yes, exceedingly warm.”
His smile widened. “Ah, Lady Matilda, how I have missed your gentle spirit. Kenton’s gardens will bloom twice as brightly with your tenderness scattered upon them.”
Hazel stifled a laugh, and Cordelia shot her a warning glance. Matilda, however, met Jasper’s gaze head-on, her eyes cool as steel. “It is remarkable, Your Grace, how you can make flowers wilt with nothing more than your presence. Let us hope Kenton’s soil proves sturdier.”
Jasper placed a hand dramatically to his chest. “You wound me. And here I thought I had made myself useful already, carrying trunks, showing uncommon humility for a man of my station.”
“Humility?” Matilda scoffed. “I daresay I have never heard the word so abused.”
He leaned slightly nearer, enough for her to catch the gleam of mischief in his dark eyes. “And yet, you were watching me. So perhaps my efforts were not in vain.”
Her cheeks burned not with embarrassment, but with indignation. She refused to step back. “I was watching to be certain you did not scold the poor man into the grave.”
Jasper chuckled, low and maddeningly amused. “You see villains everywhere, Lady Matilda. One might suspect you enjoy finding me guilty.”
“Because you so often are,” she retorted, her tone sharp but steady.
For a moment, his gaze lingered on her. Then, with a courteous nod to Cordelia and Hazel, he added lightly. “It seems Kenton will not be dull after all.”
He bowed to Cordelia with all the polish of a court favorite, then offered Hazel the same deference, though his grin lingered a touch too long, as though daring her to laugh.
“And where is Mason?” he asked, his tone casual, though Matilda fancied she heard a note of expectation.
“He has gone into town,” Cordelia replied. “But he should return before long.”
“Ah,” Jasper said, clasping his hands behind his back, looking entirely too at home already. “Then until his return, are you not fortunate indeed? Three ladies, one duke. Society will have my head for keeping such enviable company all to myself.”
Matilda rolled her eyes so forcefully she was certain he must hear the sound. Hazel bit her lip, clearly amused, while Cordelia only lifted her chin with serene determination.
“Come,” Cordelia declared, her voice bright. “Let us walk the gardens, and then we shall return to the house for tea. By then, Mason will be back to join us.”
Matilda froze. A stroll through the gardens with Jasper Everleigh? She would sooner throw herself into the ornamental pond!
Quickly, she shifted a step behind him, catching Cordelia’s gaze. With frantic gestures which included but were certainly not limited to hands slicing through the air, fervent shakes of her head, and a most emphatic mouthing of the wordno, she made her opinion known.
Cordelia, of course, was unmoved. Hazel, stifling laughter, looked away lest Jasper noticed.
Jasper, oblivious to the silent theatrics being performed at his back, gave a most obliging nod. “A capital suggestion. Fresh air and charming company, why it is the very medicine I require after the rigors of travel.”
“Splendid!” Cordelia clapped her hands together in triumph.
Matilda very nearly groaned aloud.
Chapter Seven
Jasper could not recall a time he had been so thoroughly entertained by silence. For it was not Cordelia’s serene silence nor Hazel’s stifled one, but Matilda’s. For it was Matilda, who was behind him at that very moment waving her arms about like some frantic scarecrow, her face arranged in horror as though Cordelia had proposed a walk straight into the gallows.
He had half a mind to turn about and catch her at it, but no. Far better to pretend ignorance and let her stew.
“Splendid indeed,” he echoed Cordelia, folding his hands behind his back as if he were the very model of docility. “I can think of no finer company to guide me through the Kenton gardens. I daresay roses and primroses shall appear dull in comparison.”
Hazel coughed, which he immediately recognized as poorly disguised laughter. Cordelia arched a brow in approval. And Matilda, ah, the sweet, prim and proper Matilda, shot him a look fit to scorch.
