Page 13 of A Stroke of Luck
Zara was fairly certain the cough to clear his throat was a stalling for time.
”That is, my day is occupied by a great many things.”
Perry wasn’t about to let him off the hook. “Like what?”
“I, er, lunch at my club, I visit my tailor and my bootmaker, along with various other establishments that cater to a gentleman’s fashion.” Prestwick paused to think. “There are morning calls to pay, the occasional auction at Tattersall’s to attend?—”
“Useless bugger, ain’t he?” McTavish, their rescuer, reappeared from behind the shed with a jug of cider and a basket filled with a simple repast of bread, cheese and slices of cold mutton. He set them on the ground and gave a low snort.
Like the squalling seas, the duke’s eyes darkened to a stormy slate. “That’s damn unfair and untrue,” he said, his voice rumbling with indignation.
The Greeleys, herself included, waited expectantly.
“I …”
“There’s your duties in the House of Lords,” helped out Stump.
“Right.”
“And then, of course, there are a passel of entertainments each evening,” went on the valet. “Balls, routs, concerts, the theatre and all them other fancy affairs. It takes an awful lot of time to keep up appearances as the Distinguished Duke, what with choosin’ just the right coat and matching waistcoat. Not to mention the intricate knots of a cravat.”
McTavish made a mocking bow. “Well, Your Majesty, in London you may busy yourself with donning your finery and swilling your bubbly, but here you had better be cutting a goodly swath ‘o my peat, else it will be a long, cold swim back to you castle.”
“Your Majesty—ha, ha, ha!“ Perry seemed to be finding the notion greatly amusing. “Perhaps we should call you the King of Spades.”
“Ha, ha, ha,” chorused Nonny.
The duke became even more tight-lipped, but he refused to dignify the teasing with any further retort. Studiously ignoring the chortles of mirth, he bent his head and took another stab at the spongy turf.
Four
Impertinent brats!
Fueled by anger and embarrassment, Prestwick dug in with redoubled effort, his blade starting to slice cleanly through the peat. And the young lady was no better, he glowered. He had caught her staring, and no doubt the scrunched look he had glimpsed in the instant before she had turned away had meant to imply she had not liked what she had seen.
Well, the feeling was mutual!
The spade carved out another chunk of peat. He was no happier than she was to have been thrown together by chance and the storm-tossed seas. Indeed, admiration for the Greeley clan’s doughty fortitude quickly evaporated in light of their scrappy behavior and outspoken opinions.
Rude, obnoxious hellions!He deplored bad manners, and theirs were execrable. The enormous hardships they had faced did not excuse such scathing rudeness. Even if they had suffered an injustice at the hands of some relative, they had no right to use him as a scapegoat for the family’s misfortunes. Why, it was not as if he were personally to blame for their present predicament.
The duke’s frown grew even more pronounced. How dare they imply his was a life of indolent ease! Not all struggles could be measured in physical terms. Not all hardships were marked by sweat and blisters. Sometimes the wounds were far more subtle, and cut far deeper. But that was not something a raw, unrefined country miss and two undisciplined brats might understand.
“Perseus Agamemnon Greeley!”
The sharpness of Zara’s tone caused his own head to snap up.
“You should be ashamed of yourself.” She had waited until McTavish had returned to his cart before speaking up. “It is both ignorant and ungentlemanly to snigger at someone for trying to learn a new skill, no matter how awkward or amusing the attempts might appear.”
The lad’s lingering laughter was swallowed in a guilty gulp.
“And despite outward appearances to the contrary, youarea gentleman,” she added, slanting an oblique glance at Prestwick.
“S-sorry.” As Perry’s chin had sunk into the folds of his shirt, the word was barely audible.
“That is hardly a proper apology.”
Looking thoroughly chagrined, Perry lifted his head and straightened his shoulders. “Your Grace, I beg your pardon for my behavior. It was not well done of me.”
