A Duke for Christmas by Cynthia Bailey Pratt

Author:Cynthia Bailey Pratt [Pratt, Cynthia Bailey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Regency Romance
Publisher: Belgrave House
Published: 2004-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“It seems I missed all the excitement,” Maris complained, waiting for the carriage the next morning. “I cannot believe that no one bothered to awaken me, not even Kenton.”

“Did you scold him for it?” Sophie asked.

“Indeed. I hold that a man has certain responsibilities toward his wife, one of which is certainly to awaken her when the house is under siege by bandits.”

“Just one bandit,” Sophie said, “And he, it seems, didn’t steal anything.”

“Now that’s very curious. As almost everything at Finchley is an heirloom, I may as well admit that we have a plethora of beautiful things. Quite a lot of it is portable, as well.”

“Yet he stole nothing. That is odd.”

“I can only assume that you interrupted this burglar before he could carry out whatever plans he had.” Maris patted Sophie’s hand. “I’m very grateful to you and Dominic. Did he really chase after him into the dark? And on such a bitter night?”

“He did indeed. Without an instant’s hesitation.”

At the time, she had not thought very much about his courage in running out into the dark. Anything might have been waiting for him, from a shot to a club on the head. Yet he hadn’t hesitated. She could still feel the touch of his hand as he went past her.

“Are you all right?” Maris asked.

“Very well, thank you.”

“You shivered.”

“Did I? There must be a draft.”

Maris looked around the entryway. “I suppose so.” Distracted by the arrival of the carriage, she took her sister’s arm. “Where’s Mother? Go see if you can find her. Kenton doesn’t like it when we keep the horses standing in the cold.”

“Certainly.” Throwing open her pelisse, Sophie went in search of her mother.

She found her talking to Kenton and Dominic in the library. “Mother? The carriage is here.”

“Is it? Excellent, we’ll go at once. I can’t wait until you are dressed as you should be. Don’t you think so, gentlemen?”

What could they do but agree? Sophie looked at them with an understanding smile. Kenton agreed instantly, siding with his mother-in-law—no fool he.

Dominic cleared his throat. “I see no fault in Mrs. Banner’s appearance as she stands.”

Sophie didn’t mind that he said it; it was good to hear that she didn’t offend everybody’s eyes. However, she could have wished he hadn’t declared his admiration quite so publicly. Her mother was already wearing the same speculative expression Sophie had seen on Maris’s face.

“Is it true ... Maris told me that nothing was stolen last night.”

“Nothing we’ve been able to discover. Tremlow and the others have been taking a painstaking inventory. Tremlow knows every piece of plate, every picture, every objet d’art better than I do myself, and I own them. If our thief had made off with so much as a thimble, Tremlow would know.”

“Then did I simply interrupt before he could do whatever he came for? Maris thinks that is what happened.”

“I think so, too.”

Dominic reached out to touch her lightly on the wrist. “Don’t do that again.”

“I didn’t mean to do it the first time.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.