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Fortunately, she still had her mourning attires from her mother’s funeral and they would have to suffice, until she could think of more. Ladies of her rank usually held full mourning for six months. She’d had to make herself order more appropriate clothing. In normal times she wasn’t the one to fuss much around wardrobe things, acquiring enough to be presentable. Now, she cared even less.
The silent procession of people continued. At a certain point, two people stood in front of the chair she sat on, by which Philip stood. She lifted her head and saw her father and her half-brother. A marble expression covered her grieving face.
She stood up and looked at Philip. Tall and formal in his black trousers and coat, he revealed to be a solid presence by her side during these distressful days. They didn’t speak much, the tension and mistrust still underlying their comportment, they set a tacit truce to undergo the mourning procedures.
“Major…Lord Crompton,” Rockfield hadn’t been invested with the dukedom yet, but was being called by his new title informally. “These are Baron Drawbridge, my father and Charles Eastwell, my half-brother.” The three of them bowed to each other, veiled hostility.
Both unattractive Eastwells exhibited medium height, dark eyes and apple-moth hair. Her father on the verge of balding; Charles, overweight and emaciated by his lifestyle.
“Lord Crompton?” Charles asked in an unpleasant tone. “Are you sure my sister isn’t with child?”
Philip tried to understand from where Selene’s enchanting looks came from, if not from that part of the family. Her mother, perhaps. There was something about father and son that didn’t appeal to him. At all. The barb didn’t contribute for friendship. The thought of her pregnant by another man, any man, churned his guts. But he preferred the gallows to demonstrate what went through his mind.
So he put on a phlegmatic expression. “That’s what mourning periods are for. To clarify if the widow isn’t with child. In which case, I would act as the duke until the child, if a boy, came of age.” He eyed the despicable brother fully, hard. “I’ll be Lord Crompton for a long time, anyway.” He smiled blandly.
Charles made a sour face and turned to Selene. “You widowed well, you could mother a duke to complete your fortunate turn of events, little sister.”
Philip saw her blanch and ire flash in her deep-forest eyes. “As if I had wanted any of this!” This remark intrigued him. What could have caused it?
“You should be careful of what the solicitors will do with the paperwork, you know.” Came her father.
Selene stared at him with a pained expression Philip had never seen in her. He’d seen her combative, furious, haughty, but never this.
“Leave the premises immediately, gentlemen.” She said in a voice dripping bitterness. Too early to mention such trivial matters, and in these circumstances?
Discomfort smeared the Eastwells at last. Grudgingly, they bowed and left.
“No wonder you don’t keep their company.” Philip murmured under his breath.
She made no answer, sitting down again and resuming her role as a host and the deceased’s widow.
After the burial, the Dukes of Crompton solicitor came to Crompton house. Selene and Philip sat in the study and listened as the greying man read endless documents.
Selene knew that, as the dowager Duchess, she’d have free use of the London house and the manor. Until the new Duke married, at least. A possibility she avoided thinking about, as it evoked mixed feelings in her.
When the solicitor came to the part where the documents described the settlement John had made for her, she was taken aback. The amount she’d receive a year would be enough to buy a luxury mansion. Plus her choice of a cottage in the estates would be designated to her. She wouldn’t need to worry about money for the rest of her days.
Then the solicitor went on about the amount for the keeping of the London house, the manor and the lands. The list of the Duke’s obligations and tasks came afterwards. She had married into a very wealthy family indeed. Nevertheless, she’d exchange all of this to have back her hopes and dreams, the chance of loving and being loved. Now she’d become a rich widow, love would not come to her, only fortune hunters, she thought sadly.
Next day, she awoke to the news that the new duke had disappeared, vanished in thin air. He’d left instructions with the butler, the solicitor and the steward in the manor to keep on their good job and evaporated. Selene felt completely dumbfounded by his attitude.
It conjured ambiguous sentiments in her. On one hand, she felt relieved, for, without John, she stood defenceless against the pull Rockfield exerted in her. On the other hand, it made her think he had been just toying with her, while in town. Gone away in search of more excitement, since he didn’t have any more obligations toward his uncle. The latter prevailed and bitter anger installed in her heart.
She sought to continue with her arid life, now little more alive with the management of Crompton house in full. Also she entertained herself with her books and the company of her friends, since she wouldn’t be attending big social events for a while.
Chapter 6
After breakfast, Selene went to the study, which she’d been using for practical matters, like correspondence from the manor, Crompton house bookkeeping and other minor chores.
She’d worked all morning and now stood to keep the books in their proper shelves. The door opened, distractedly, she looked up and froze. The very devil stood there, tall, magnificent and implacable. It was as if a blast of heat had hit her full in the face. Her heart started a frenetic rhythm and she must have flushed all over.
But she couldn’t do it, take her eyes off him. If possible, he looked even more hellishly attractive than ever. His skin held a golden hue, his sleek hair a little longer over his neckline, his aristocratic features finer, sharper. She stood there like a silly schoolgirl for several seconds. Their stares locked in mutual surveillance. His clove eyes perusing her avidly.
“The lost duke makes it home, at last.” She mocked, hoping to have hidden her reaction.
“A home kept meticulously by the dowager duchess.” He devolved in kind.
A quizzical stance covered her face. “Jenkins kept me informed.” He answered her unspoken question.
