Chapter Two
Thursday, 14 May 1812
“Duncan!” Lord RichardOrson called when he and the Ladies Theodora and Emma entered the house.
“I assuredly do not miss your bellowing,” Theodora said as she handed off her bonnet and gloves to Mr. Fields.
“His lordship was to attend Mr. Bellingham’s trial today, my lord,” Mr. Fields informed Richard.
Richard turned to assist Emma off with her pelisse. “Little did I know a man could learn so much valuable information just sitting in a modiste and waiting for his bride-to-be.”
“Then you approve of Madame Emmeline?” Dora asked.
“The woman with the fake French accent?” Orson asked. “Her creations appear to meet with my Emma’s approval, and she serves a passable brandy, so I hold no reason to complain about the woman.”
Emma rose on her toes to brush a quick kiss across Richard’s lips, and Theodora knew a twinge of jealousy. Alexander had yet to return to Duncan Place, and she wondered if he meant to cut all ties with his adopted family.
“I do not mind waiting,” Theodora’s eldest “brother” said as he smiled easily upon the woman he loved. “I will be in Duncan’s office.”
“Do not forget my father is to dine with us this evening,” Lady Emma reminded him, and Dora noted how Richard had thought to roll his eyes, but chose otherwise. Lord Donoghue’s initial arrival had been a source of delight for Emma, but the man’s lack of taking control of Lady Donoghue had caused both Richard and Emma more public scrutiny, which naturally set off Richard’s protective nature of Lady Emma.
“I would imagine Lord Donoghue might be called back to the Continent quicker than we originally thought, especially after Monday’s assassination. Britain’s allies will be concerned with the transfer of power in Parliament,” he cautioned Emma.
“Then I shall ask either Lord Duncan or Lord Graham to escort me down the aisle. It is all ceremonial, as I am of age,” Emma said sensibly.
Richard kissed her cheek. “Hurry along, love. We should both be prepared to entertain your father.”
Emma giggled. “Coward!” she teasingly accused.
“Guilty as charged,” Richard said with a laugh, and Theodora’s jealousy grew more pronounced: She wanted more of that same easy banter she was accustomed to sharing with Alexander, but it had been lost somehow, and she did not know how to earn it back. Even so, she led Lady Emma up the stairs to Dora’s suite so they might freshen their appearances before the evening meal.
Alexander rang thebell at Duncan Place and waited for Mr. Fields’s response, but before Fields’s appearance, Duncan himself came up behind him. “Glad to see you, boy,” Duncandeclared as he used his key to unlock the door. “Come in. Did you leave your key at Dutton Hall?”
“Yes,” Alexander answered, though the key was in his pocket. Since being presented with a key when he was fourteen, Alexander had always carried it. Today, however, he was not confident of his welcome, for he had been absent for a number of days from the house he had always considered as “home.”
“Come in. Busy day. Significant day,” Duncan declared as he set his gloves and hat on a nearby table for Mr. Fields to place away. Alexander left his own items beside Duncan’s. “We expect Lady Emma’s father for supper. He may be able to provide information of which we are not aware.”
It broke Alexander’s heart, for the “we” Duncan used freely meant Duncan’s family, and Alexander was no longer assured he was part of it. However, he did not comment on his thoughts, for Theodora appeared on the stairs. “We were worried for you, Papa.” She descended the steps to kiss her father’s cheek. To Alexander, she said, “You have been missed, Lord Marksman.” She laced her arm through Duncan’s and turned her back on Alexander. “Richard is inside with Lord Donoghue. Graham said he would not arrive until cordials are brought around, but the others indicated they would not be late.”
“Your mother would be so proud of how well you oversee this house,” Duncan said, but not in a manner directed to Alexander’s lack of a proposal, but rather as simple praise for his daughter. Evidently, with no outward objections, the Duncans would permit Alexander his way. Though it was what he wished, somehow it did not feel right.
“I miss her, though I barely recall her,” Theodora admitted and then quickly changed the subject. “By the way, Richard learned something about the mysterious count’s arrival date.”
“Wherever did he come across that information?” Duncan asked with a smile of approval.
“I shall permit him to tell you it all, but let us say Richard now knows the value of waiting on his future wife at Lady Emma’s modiste.” Theodora directed their steps towards the drawing room, and Alexander followed without a word. She had essentially treated him as a servant tending to Duncan’s health.
Well, if such was the way Theodora wished to “play” with their relationship, Alexander could be equally as indifferent.
Before they reached the drawing room, Beaufort and Thompson arrived. “Something smells wonderful,” Thompson said as he closed the door behind him. “Where is Mr. Fields?”
“I imagine he is busy with Lord Donoghue,” Duncan said with a chuckle. “Since the man released the majority of the staff at Donoghue House, he has been a regular in my supper room.”
“I thought I heard everyone.” Richard came to greet them.
Theodora laughed and teased, “You just want us to hurry along so Fields might serve.”
“You heard my stomach growl a bit ago,” Richard accused and pretended to rush Theodora along, while Alexander found himself feeling as if he might never belong to a family—at least, not one of his own.
