Page 71 of No Duke of Mine

“Hello, Jasper,” she said politely.

“Mags,” he drawled, smirking. “Good to see you back at the old pile. Here to stay this time, or just passing through?”

Maggie glanced at Algernon quickly.

“Maggie is here to stay,” Algernon announced.

“Good, because the last time you left, two of my brothers bawled their eyes out for a whole month.” Jasper came forward, caught up her hands, and surprised her by kissing her cheeks. But his touch, hidden from view of his brothers, traced over the ring on her finger as he whispered, “Stratford was almost as inconsolable as your new husband.”

“She was practically our sister,” Stratford protested, having missed Jasper’s last remark.

“Never my sister,” Algernon was quick to clarify with a wink for her, but then whatever he might have said next was cut off by the sound of breaking glass.

Algernon dashed to the window to look outside.

Nash, however, pinched the bridge of his nose. “Not another window. Why can they not be satisfied with bowls instead of cricket?”

“What the devil is going on here? Who are those people?”

Jasper groaned. “Our aunt is still hosting that little family gathering you agreed to let her have.”

“Little? There are…” Algernon started, as he started to count, pointing his finger.

“Fifty-three adults and a dozen younger ones in the nursery, all told, plus servants, horses, and dogs. Lots of unruly, barking dogs.”

Algernon turned, face pale, eyes wild. “I did not agree to this. Is she trying to bankrupt me?”

Jasper shrugged. “Who knows what the old dragon wants. I try to stay out of her way as much as possible. She’s still too fond of swinging those canes for my taste.”

Maggie bit her lip to hold in her thoughts about Aunt Violet and her canes. It was not her place to venture an opinion on family matters so soon. But Aunt Violet needed to be put in her place eventually.

“I’ll deal with her,” Algernon growled.

“We’ll keep Maggie company while you tackle the dragon,” Jasper promised.

“No.” Algernon shook his head. “She’ll need to meet my duchess eventually.”

Maggie did not remind him that she was already well acquainted with his aunt Violet and her canes. But before she met anyone else, she needed a moment or two in private to prepare. “If you could show me to my room, I’d like to freshen up first.”

“Yes, of course, my love” Algernon murmured. “Your trunks should have been brought up already, and I had the butler send up water, too. Come this way, my dear, and I’ll show you your bedchamber.”

Behind them, she heard Stratford whisper, “Did he just say her bedchamber?”

“He did indeed,” Jasper said, not bothering to lower his voice. “Didn’t you notice the ring on her finger? Do try to catch up.”

“Our brother has made a surprising choice indeed. I’ll find out why later,” Nash announced, as they moved as one to look into her new chamber.

Jasper snorted. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Maggie turned and kissed Algernon full on the lips, and then asked him to shut the door behind him to give her privacy from his brothers’ conversation.

He was reluctant to leave her alone, and she let out a shaky breath when he finally left and she could no longer hear him or his brothers in the connecting bedchamber.

But then she made the mistake of glancing up, and she saw a gilt-decorated ceiling directly over her head. As she lowered her gaze, she noticed gold and crystal everywhere.

She moved around, peeking into a doorway that led to a spacious private sitting room. The room contained a long settee, empty bookshelves, and a large desk near the window.

The mantle in this room was bare, and she dug in her pocket for Algernon’s wedding gift. Besides the ring on her finger, he’d given her a small toy figure of a woman that bore a striking resemblance to the one she’d lost here as a girl. It always astonished her that he remembered so many insignificant things about her, and she’d burst into tears on the spot at the time.