Page 76 of No Duke of Mine

EPILOGUE

Algernon took his hat from his head and wiped the sweat off his brow. He knocked on the weathered oak door just as it began to open. “Good morning!”

Laura stood there, a child on her hip. She blew a lock of hair from her eyes and scowled. “Yes, Your Grace.”

He smiled, despite the frosty welcome, knowing that she was under siege and had been for days. “I only came to say that a litter of kittens arrived during the night. They are in the stables.”

“Kittens. There are kittens. Kittens, everyone! Kittens,” Nash sang in the background. “Come along, everyone. Let’s go and see them.”

Algernon jumped back as a horde of children—well, only six—and his brother charged out the door, with Roman Crawford chasing after them all. Roman and Amity had come to stay at Ravenswood for the summer, and there had been few moments of true peace ever since.

“I thought a diversion might be appreciated,” he murmured.

“You are the best brother. Here, take Violet for a moment.”

Algernon took his niece immediately with the experience that came from years of practice as Laura disappeared back inside.

She returned, her arm about Amity, who waddled everywhere and had since the moment she’d arrived. Her stomach was huge, though her expression was serene.

“Still nothing?”

“Not a twinge.”

“I’ll send ice cream,” he promised her.

“Algernon, ice cream doesn’t bring about labor,” Laura complained.

“Perhaps not, but it’s always pleasant on a hot day like this while we wait.”

“Send a barrel of it then.”

He nodded and handed the child back. “I’ll see what I can do. Call if you need anything.”

He retreated from the door and headed around the side of the house and caught the first servant he found to deliver ice cream to his brother’s apartment promptly.

He strolled across the rear of the house and caught the scent of smoke in the air. Not an unusual occurrence when Lord Aston visited the estate. He found the old man and his brother’s wife, Win, quietly blowing smoke rings together. They were a quiet pair and never drew attention to how often they sat together. But occasionally, he noticed Aston patting Win’s hand. Those moments always made his eyes sting a little. Win could never be openly referred to as the man’s daughter. Not when she had once lived as his son…and had been replaced by an impostor to hide the shame.

Algernon did not disturb them but headed inside.

He followed the sound of Maggie’s voice, as he always did, finding her inevitably in the Ravenswood library. Today, she had an audience. At her feet was his own family. Their tiny son, Crispin, and their dog, Lord George the Hound, both seemed to be enraptured by the sound of her dulcet tones.

Algernon could not blame them for their fascination and quietly entered the room. He carefully picked up his son from his crib and joined Maggie on the settee. He settled Crispin in the crook of his arm, rocked him a little, and adored him even more when his firstborn burped.

Their dog, a young hound, immediately jumped up to sit between him and Maggie.

Maggie patted the dog but continued reading about the Romans who had built much of England’s roads.

Algernon toed off his boots and wiggled his toes, footsore from traipsing about the estate all morning in search of a lost lamb. He’d much rather have been here, gazing adoringly at his wife and son.

The dog licked him, sensing somehow that he’d been overlooked.

“Yes, I adore you, too.”

Maggie set her book down. “I’m positive that dog understands everything we say.”

“And what we don’t say out loud, as well,” he suggested.

“You were gone a long time,” Maggie murmured, putting the book aside at last.