Page 49 of This Marquess of Mine

Chapter Sixteen

Olivia was in a cheerful mood when she arrived at the Keswick townhouse the following evening. The duke had not called on her like she’d hoped, but she knew she was in his thoughts.

At least, that was what his note had said, the one he’d sent to her this morning along with an enormous bouquet of dewy red roses which now graced the sofa table in the drawing room.

It was the largest bouquet she had ever received, and his choice of flower was not lost on her.

Perhaps there was hope for him yet.

Pushing aside thoughts of roses and the duke, Olivia leaned against the foot of Lady Keswick’s bed and tried to look cheerful but not too cheerful.

The poor woman had been laid up for more than a week, and the inactivity seemed to have taken a toll on her spirits.

A crackling fire blazed in the hearth behind Aunt Augusta, who sat in a wingback chair beside the bed shuffling a deck of cards. Artemis snoozed at Lady Keswick’s feet.

“And what is on tonight’s agenda, girls?” Lady Keswick barked. “Is it Mrs. Lubbock’s soirée? Or is that tomorrow evening?” Her mummified ankle was propped up on a pillow and a plate of biscuits sat in her lap, crumbs dotting the bed linens.

“No, it is tonight, Mama,” Emmy said from Olivia’s side. “And it is sure to be a dull evening. Isn’t that right, Livvy?” She turned to her with beseeching gray eyes.

“Oh, yes. Dreadfully dull.” Olivia nodded for emphasis.

Lady Keswick puffed out a wistful sigh. “I think a dull soirée sounds absolutely wonderful. I miss dull soirées.”

Aunt Augusta laughed. “You’ve been confined to your bed too long, Lavinia. You hate Mrs. Lubbock, almost as much as you hate her soirées.”

Lady Keswick harrumphed, waking Artemis, who rose with a mewl before clumsily climbing up the marchioness’ legs to her lap, as if sensing her unhappiness.

Lady Keswick set her plate of biscuits aside and gave the kitten a smile. “At least I have this little one to keep me company tonight.”

“And what have I been doing here for the past sennight but keeping you company?” Aunt Augusta said with a sniff. “Excellent company, I might add.”

But Lady Keswick only waved the question away with her hand and kissed Artemis on the top of her head.

“I still don’t understand what possessed Griffin to bring home a kitten,” Emmy said, clearly trying to steer the conversation elsewhere. “He’s never done such a thing before.”

“Oh yes, he has,” her mother said, a smile lighting her blue eyes. “He used to do it all the time when he was a boy.”

“He did?” Emmy asked, surprise in her voice.

Olivia’s ears perked up and she leaned a shoulder on the smooth oak bedpost, her gaze locked on the marchioness’s face.

“Oh, yes,” Lady Keswick said with a nod. “Kittens and rabbits and birds and squirrels, he showed no discrimination. He even brought home a baby badger once.”

Emmy laughed. “A badger?”

“To this day, I have no idea where it came from.” Lady Keswick chuckled. “I’ll never forget the look on his face when he brought it home.”

A miniature Griffin bringing orphaned animals home to his mother was just about the sweetest thing Olivia had ever heard. One had to wonder what he would say if he knew his mother was sharing stories about him as a boy. A smile curved her lips. She could almost hear his long-suffering sigh.

“I have no memory of him bringing any animals home,” Emmy said, propping her hip against the mattress.

“No. You wouldn’t have,” her mother said, her eyes dimming. “He stopped doing it after your father died.”

Olivia’s heart squeezed. She knew how close Griffin was to his sire, how deeply the loss had affected him. How difficult it must have been to lose someone he’d loved so much.

“Of course, if Richard had lived,” Lady Keswick said, her tone over-bright, “I have no doubt the two of them would eventually have turned our barn into a zoological garden. He was a lover of animals, too.” She chuckled, though there was an unmistakable hint of melancholy in her voice. “I sometimes wonder if he loved his dogs more than he loved me.”

Aunt Augusta snorted. “Nonsense. I remember how that man looked at you, Lavinia. Utter adoration.”