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She stood there for a moment and contemplated everything that she had been told. The messenger had just confirmed that the Duke of Gravesend had left on his horse, but the footman told her he didn’t know anything about it, and that the person who had left was Mr. Stone, so who—?
The earlier chill had returned to encase Olivia in a cocoon of solid ice. In truth, she hadn’t felt this cold in years, until the day she had fallen through the surface of the Thames.
She reached out for something to steady her and closed her eyes. Could it be that Mr. Stone and the Duke of Gravesend were one and thesame? That he had been playing her for a fool all this time? But then, why play such a horrible jest on her when he had saved her from certain disaster just days ago?
Olivia put a hand to her forehead when it began to spin uncontrollably. While the image of the Duke of Gravesend was still a bit fuzzy from that day, she did seem to recall an intimidating gentleman with dark hair pulled back in a queue, just as Mr. Stone preferred to wear his. And that raspy voice…
She shook her head, for she couldn’t say for sure if any of this was connected to a memory, or if was merely jumbling together with the present and what her mind already remembered about Mr. Stone.
If, indeed, that was his true name.
Rather than trying to recall what she knew about Gravesend, she decided to ponderMr. Stoneinstead. While she would never forget the manner in which they had met, now she started to catch on to various hints along the way that might actually have revealed his true identity. For one, he spoke with all the charm of a seasoned gentleman. That, of course, could be true for anyone working with the nobility. One could pick up on certain aspects of one’s character, so perhaps that wasn’t a good example. Although shehadthought it rather suspect when he knew so much about her family, including who she was. But again, the Bevelstroke sisters had been a recent novelty in town, so it stood to reason that they would be scrutinized carefully.
‘My name is Miles Stone.’
It was his given name that finally gave her pause. While her sister, Araminta, generally called the duke by his title, she had heard mention of Miles in conjunction with him.
Everything clicked into place.
Miles Stone, the Duke of Gravesend.
Dear God, it was true.
The cold she had been feeling disintegrated, to be replaced with a white-hot anger. “Mrs. Harper!” She shouted for the housekeeper, not even bothering with the proper niceties. Her blood was boiling in her veins. She didn’t have time to be aladyat the moment.
The woman appeared in a rush, keys jangling. “Yes, my—”
“Send a maid to my chamber immediately! I’m going riding.” She headed for the stairs with determination—and the fury of a woman scorned. She wasn’t going to allow Mr. Stone, or the duke, or whoever he was, to make a fool out of her. This was still her house until the new heir took possession and she was no longer welcome.
If it turned out he was also her father’s heir, then he was going to learn that the meek, shy Olivia Bevelstroke of the past had just been given a dramatic shove out of the way, while a stronger, determined woman was rising up to take her place.
* * *
Miles was sittingon Gladiator on top of a knoll overlooking the manor house. He had to admit that Marlington Hall was an impressive sight, and he could certainly see himself living here on a more permanent basis.
The issue was dealing with Lady Olivia and her insistence that she remain as well. Now that he could expect his mother within a few days, she would no doubt, have something to say regarding all of the time he’d been spending alone with the lady. Even if she never heard about the interlude in the library, and the conservatory, she would insist that he do the honorable thing and marry her. Although he didn’t want to subject Olivia to a lifetime of brooding and dark days when the past was almost too much to bear, it seemed as if he would have no choice but to offer the lady his hand.
If nothing else, it might atone for all of the lies he’d spewed forth thus far.
He released a heavy exhale and adjusted his body in the saddle and even farther into his greatcoat. The sun was shining this day, but the winter chill was still evident with each breath that misted in front of him, as well as the snow that still coated the ground.
He was about to urge his mount back into a walk and head for the manor, but a flash of movement caught his attention in the distance. He narrowed his gaze, for it appeared to be a horse and rider, but they were going entirely too fast for comfort. One wrong move on a slippery patch, and they could go down. They were too far off to call out a warning, but as they started to draw steadily closer, he decided to meet them halfway and urge caution.
However, as they started to lessen the distance between each other, he realized that it wasn’t just a random traveler on horseback passing through the countryside. He recognized Lady Olivia’s dark green, velvet cloak, along with the bits of hair that flew out around her bonnet that caught the sun’s rays and turned them into molten gold.
She stopped beside him so abruptly that her mare tossed her head and snow flew up from the horse’s hooves. Lady Olivia’s cheeks were red, but it was her eyes, flashing like chips of emerald fire that made him rethink his earlier reprove.
“Why is the Duchess of Gravesend coming here?”
Miles froze. This definitely wasn’t good. “The duke wrote ahead and asked—”
“Stop right there,” she warned in a low tone. “I didn’t come all the way out here to confront you, only to have you tell me more untruths, so tell me.” Her focus never wavered from his face. “Are you the Duke of Gravesend?”
Miles searched his brain for some way out of this horrible mess, this hole he’d dug for himself, but seeing as there was nothing for it but to be honest, he held her gaze intently and admitted, “Yes.”
She jerked slightly, but she recovered swiftly enough to ask, “And you are here for what purpose?”
He clenched his jaw, but again, found no easy way to tell her what he’d hidden from her. While he would have preferred she hadn’t learned the truth from someone else, since it was obvious something had occurred in his absence, there was no longer any room for deceit. “I am your father’s heir and I wanted to inspect the estate.”
