The Duke by Katharine Ashe

Author:Katharine Ashe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-09-26T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Candles

“I didn’t, Papa!” Cynthia Tate cried. She and her father had retreated to a separate chamber, but everyone who was gathered in the great hall could hear them. “Forgive me, I beg of you!”

Dr. Shaw entered the hall.

“Doctor, tell us at once how she fares,” Alice demanded.

“The ankle is broken. But it is a clean break and Elizabeth has set it expertly. Otherwise, Mrs. Tate has suffered a number of uncomfortable bruises. I have given her a draught, which should allow her to sleep.”

“We are so grateful, Doctor,” Jane said. “Your Grace, on behalf of my family, I apologize for this disturbance.”

“Accidents happen.” His eyes were hooded.

“But how did it happen?” Alice said.

“Mrs. Tate indicated that she tripped over the kitten,” Dr. Shaw said.

“Out the window? Who would believe that?”

“Not I,” Libby said, entering the room. “Given the distance of the window from the floor, the width of the wall, and Mrs. Tate’s height, it is impossible.”

“Are you suggesting, Elizabeth, that Cynthia pushed her mother out the window?” Alice said.

“Of course not,” Dr. Shaw said. “Come, Elizabeth. You will wish to change before dinner.”

They went from the hall.

“Bellarmine,” the duke said, taking up a carafe. “Will you take a dram?”

Thomas looked up from his study of the floor. “Don’t mind if I do.”

“I should like to drink whiskey, too,” Iris declared.

“When you’re older,” the duke said, and for the first time in hours he smiled. He carried a glass to Jane. “Drink it, lass. ’Twill help.”

Wide-eyed, Jane sipped, and coughed.

“Take it slowly,” he said. “Anybody else care for whiskey?” His gaze came to Amarantha, unsmiling now. “Or rum?”

“Aha, the exotic brew of the Indies,” Thomas said. “Although I suppose not so exotic to some members of our party.”

“If you are suggesting, sir,” Tabitha said, “that Mrs. Garland and I were wont to drink spirits in Jamaica, you are mistaken. We are good Christian women.”

“I—I—” A flush crept over his cheeks. “Not at all, Mrs.—ma’am. I beg your pardon for—that is—for—” He bowed. “I do beg your pardon.”

“Mr. Bellarmine,” Amarantha said. “Mrs. Aiken is teasing you.”

His brow pleated.

“My husband owned a sugar mill,” Tabitha said. “His customers paid him with molasses which he used to distill rum.”

“Raw rum is only suitable for hollowing out a man’s insides,” Alice stated.

“No’ if a man adds sugar to the glass,” the duke said. He was watching Amarantha, not with pleasure, she thought, and she was a tangle of contradictory emotions.

How on earth could honesty feel so utterly confusing?

“Well now.” Mr. Tate strode in. “Mrs. Tate is fast asleep an’ the girl’s gone to bed.”

Jane moved toward him. “Papa—”

“’Tis no’ a punishment, Janie. She wishes it.” He clapped his hands over his waistcoat. “Now, Duke, where’s that roast we’ve been smelling all day? Nothing like country air to give a man a hearty appetite.”

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.