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‘It’s best that people think Melina’s father is dead,’ Warrington said. ‘Better than the truth and having to acknowledge him. Better for the women. For everyone.’
‘I can see how that would be.’ Rhys watched the women laughing. He could not connect them in his mind to Hawkins.
‘My wife thinks Bellona wants so much to be different from her father that she almost becomes him. Hawkins has that nose up in the air, thinking he is above society’s ways. Bellona can be uppity, too, around society. Can you imagine Bellona making morning calls or indulging in polite conversation at a house party? She’s more likely to be asking the servants how many eggs a day the chickens are laying.’
‘She’s been a boon with the duchess, though. They have even looked at fashion plates together.’
‘Bellona? That is not her normal way. My wife finally reached an agreement with Bellona so that at least her gowns are acceptable. I’m fortunate Hawkins spent more time with his eldest daughter. He insisted Melina act like a lady. When Bellona was growing into a young woman and should have been learning the same skills, Hawkins returned to England for several years. Probably hoped they would starve. I doubt he cared much either way as long as he didn’t have to think of them. It’s a wonder they survived into adulthood. I saw how they lived when I went to the island. I saw how hard it was for Melina to leave her two sisters behind, believing coming here was the only way to save her family.’
‘Bellona has helped Mother think of something besides her grief.’
‘That really doesn’t surprise me.’ Warrington stepped back to the window. ‘One day, I smelled a stench in the hallway, but I ignored it, thinking a chamber pot had been dropped. Then I heard a strange noise and discovered Bellona had been keeping an orphaned pig in her chamber because she thought no one else could keep it alive. A pig. In the family quarters. Willa cried when I said little Snowdrop had to be removed. It was not leaving snowdrops in its wake. I was the only one in the entire household who didn’t know of the creature.’
‘Still, Bellona has something that...’
Her laughter trickled in through the window. Rhys head turned towards the sound.
‘You need to watch yourself Rhys.’ Warrington shrewdly studied the duke’s face. ‘Don’t make an error which might cause us to kill each other.’
Rhys didn’t answer. London. He would have to go to London immediately. If even Warrington could sense his interest in Bellona...
Rhys couldn’t even step away from the window.
* * *
Homesick. Heartsick. Bellona touched her stomach, before resting her hand on the fabric of the chair in the library. Seasick on land. She missed Melos, but she could not return. She missed her sisters, but they both had wed—Melina to the earl and Thessa to Warrington’s brother, Captain Ben.
In the past, Willa and her brothers had always taken Bellona’s mind from the feelings of sadness. Today, seeing her niece again had only heightened her loss. Her mana and sisters had laughed together so many times. Mana was gone for ever.
Now, instead of having her peaceful mother, she was sitting every day with a woman who could have tackled Zeus and made him leave the heavens. Bellona could not go back into the duchess’s chambers right now. She had told the maid so—twice—when the duchess summoned her.
Bellona had chosen to sit in the library because it had the largest windows, but now the evening shadows lengthened in the room, darkening everything. The duchess was suffering a fit of irritation. The older woman always became more cross as the sun set. She could sit it out alone this time.
Rhys walked into the library. He held a half-full glass of amber liquid. He sat it on a table, but his eyes met hers. ‘My mother has asked me to collect you.’
Her chest constricted. She didn’t know why she did not have the strength to make her body unaware of him whenever he walked into the room.
She was in the duke’s chair. The arms of the chair seemed to grow bigger and the back taller. She rose. She had to free herself from the confines. ‘Your chair.’
His head moved only an inch to each side as he shook it, but his eyes didn’t move at all. They remained locked on her. ‘Miss Cherroll. Please be comfortable. I am just as at ease wherever I sit.’
She raised her chin in acknowledgement of his words. ‘I have been here too long. When I saw my family today, I realised how much I miss them. I...’ She moved back, planning to tell him she would have to leave.
‘My mother just stormed into the dining room where I was eating,’ he said. ‘She insists you are being contrary.’
