Page 7 of The Duke’s Caught Bride

The Duke’s mouth did something that was not quite a smile. “We have had quite enough bad luck already. We will survive this breach of protocol.”

Charlie nodded once, accepting the verdict with the solemn gravity of a junior officer acknowledging orders.

“Now.” The Duke turned to the governess, a woman of indeterminate age whose expression suggested she had long ago made peace with the challenges of the Stafford household. “We can’t let the day go to waste. Take the boys upstairs and resume your lessons as you would on an ordinary day.”

Freddie groaned. Charlie did not, but the slight droop of his shoulders conveyed a sentiment his manners would not permit him to voice.

The governess herded them toward the stairs easily, evidently having learned that direct commands worked better on Freddie and gentle guidance sufficed for Charlie.

Alice watched them go.

“If you are not too much of a scaredy-cat, we can go horse riding,” Freddie suggested.

Charlie’s voice was softer. “We’re not allowed to go away if no one knows where we are, Freddie.”

Freddie sighed. “But Jackson works there, and he will know where we are, so that makes it safe.”

“But what if Jackson tells Papa?”

“He won’t. He will have no reason to. Now, come on.”

Charlie, it seemed, did not have much of a choice.

Alice knew that dynamic. She had lived it. The bold one and the quiet one. The one who claimed space without asking and the one who learned to make do with what remained.

Watching the twins disappear through the doorway, she felt the hollow ache of Rachel’s absence settle beneath her ribs like a stone.

Where are you, Sister?

The Duke summoned the housekeeper with a gesture so slight it barely qualified as movement. The woman emerged from the corridor with the promptness of someone who had been waiting just beyond the range of polite hearing.

“Prepare the blue chamber for Lady Alice,” the Duke instructed. “She will require a maid. Her belongings…” He paused, glancing at Alice. “Arrange for whatever she needs.”

The housekeeper curtsied and departed.

The staff moved through the corridors with the hushed efficiency of a household accustomed to unexpected arrivals and ducal directives. Alice could hear the soft rush of activity beyond the foyer: footsteps, murmured instructions, the distant clatter of linens being unfolded.

With that, she and the Duke were left alone.

He stood by the mantel, one hand resting on the carved wood with the casual proprietorship of a man touching his own possessions. He did not look at her but studied the empty fireplace as though it contained something worth his attention.

“I suggest you do not run,” he said. The words were quiet, measured, stripped of the heat they had carried in the service yard. “I would prefer not to hunt you through the countryside, if you are anything like your sister.”

“I gave you my word.” Alice kept her voice level. The foyer felt smaller with just the two of them in it, the air between them charged with something she could not name but could feel against her skin like the pressure before rain. “I intend to keep it.”

“Good. I won’t let my family suffer any more humiliation by yours.”

He turned then and looked at her directly. The force of his attention was so physical that Alice felt it like a hand against her chest, not pushing but undeniably present.

“I am certain that Rachel didn’t intend to humiliate you, Your Grace. She never spoke about wanting to run away. She⁠—”

“Runaways rarely tend to share their plans with others,” he cut her off, his eyebrows knitting together.

“How do you even assume that she was running away? She could have been kidnapped, for all we know,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

The Duke’s eyes followed the movement, but instead of flicking back up to her face, they lingered, and she felt a strange heat crawl up to her cheeks.

His eyes snapped back up to hers. “It’s been a long day. I won’t argue with you further,” he said gruffly. “Whatever happened today, I will find your sister, as I promised. Once I do, she can corroborate either your theory or mine.”