Page 14 of The Duke's Concealed Vow
Chapter Six
The following Saturday after Lady Serena’s debut ball, Rowan, with a heavy heart, summoned his valet, Adrian, to his chambers. He had already selected a crisp but bland black suit, one which more resembled an outfit for mourning than that of a duke calling in on another nobleman. And yet, it seemed the most appropriate suit he could have chosen.
He supposed that, in many ways, he was in mourning. He was in deep sorrow over a choice and a vow he had made with the utmost sincerity, but now realised it would come at the cost of the life he had begun to find solace in since the passing of his father. He didn’t regret making his secret vow, not for the reasons for which he had made it. He just wished it didn’t now feel like the worst decision he had ever made.
Once his brown hair was combed back regally atop his head, Rowan joined his mother in the dining room. The dowager duchess gave her son a tight smile, which he regarded with nothing more than a curt nod as he took his seat at the head of the table across from her. The servants brought out trays of muffins, fried sausage, kippers, and yogurt.
Rowan’s appetite was completely absent. But he made a show of filling his plate with sausage and toast, taking reluctant bites of both as he stared vaguely ahead. He was too preoccupied with his thoughts, and dread, regarding the meeting ahead with the earl of Lindmere, to even feign interest in his food for long.
However, he did not miss the tension and unspoken words hanging between the dowager and him. He knew she was aware that he had disappeared for just under an hour during the ball. But he had chosen not to divulge his reasons for doing so to his mother. And despite her endless aloofness toward him, it wasclear to him that she was curious about his affairs.
What would she say if I should tell her what I’ve done? He wondered with silent sullenness. He was aware that his mother would have wanted some sort of say in his doings. But he also knew that if she were displeased with his choice, she would surely make him miserable with debates and rejections of his plans. And there were enough challenges ahead of him that came with making such a spontaneous decision. It would spark gossip within the ton, as well as raise many questions about his motives. Then, there was the fact that only two people knew of the secret agreement that had been reached. And there was a third who, as far as Rowan knew, was completely unaware of what was to happen.
“Rowan, darling,” she said, drawing Rowan’s reluctant gaze. To his surprise, her eyes were marginally softer than they had been in months, if not years. Her tone was stilted, but her lips twitched as though trying to form a semblance of a smile. It was as if she sensed his distress, and for a moment he continued holding her gaze. “What are your plans for the day?”
The question was an innocent one. But it was also one that he was not prepared to answer. Or, more specifically, he was not ready for the other questions that would follow if he answered the dowager’s question directly.
“I am going to finalise a deal I discussed with a gentleman at the ball last night,” he said.
His mother frowned, clearly catching onto the fact that he gave only the vaguest details about the matter.
“Do you have a new business prospect?” she asked. “I would very much like to hear all about it.”
Rowan clenched his jaw, masking it by dabbing at his lips with his napkin.
“I will know more after this meeting,” he said. He already knew what he needed to know. But he needed to buy sometime until he could excuse himself and leave for the Yardley townhouse.
The dowager huffed, clearly growing frustrated at her son’s reticence.
“Is it something that you will enjoy?” she asked.
Rowan shrugged. In truth, there was nothing about the arrangement he was heading to solidify that he would enjoy. But he was finished answering his mother’s questions. Despite his apprehension about the meeting ahead, he would be relieved to be out from under his mother’s scrutinizing, curious eye and in the carriage, away from her probing questions.
When the duchess saw that she would get nothing further from her son, she sighed, tossing her own napkin across her half full plate.
“I feel a megrim coming,” she said. “If you’ll excuse me.” The strength in her voice told Rowan that she was lying. But considering he was evading telling her truth, he could hardly be angry with her. He merely nodded, avoiding her gaze as she marched from the room.
At last, Rowan was alone with his thoughts. And immediately, he wished he wasn’t. Now that his mother wasn’t there to chastise him for being wasteful, Rowan also left the table. He paused in the first-floor washroom long enough to splash cool water on his face and hands. Then, he headed outside, where the carriage to Yardley Estate waited.
As the wheels of the coach rolled along the cobblestone road, Rowan stared glumly out the window. His secret vow bogged him down like wet sandbags on his soul. He wished more than anything that the circumstances were different, that he could alter the course of the things that were to come and that he could simply remain in the empty shell of what his life had once been. He had existed as an excellent duke, if the ghost of a man, for eight years. Surely, with a little more time and a great dealmore solitude, he would eventually find a specter of happiness to project to the world.
However, he knew that despite his reservations and reluctance, he had to honor his word. He had to ensure Lady Serena’s well-being, just as he had promised her late mother he would. Despite his grief over his father’s passing, he had been wise with his father’s investments, hiring his own broker after his father’s passing and getting returns as large as fifty thousand pounds on some of his investments.
He had kept his father’s connections in wine and spice importation, which comprised the majority of his continually growing fortune. But he had also had great success in the textile industry, and his recent dabbling in technology had earned him an extra five thousand pounds per year. Lady Serena would be well taken care of financially, of that he was certain. But would that be enough to keep her from despising him for forcing her into a marriage with him?
It matters not, he reminded himself as the coach rolled to a stop in front of Earl Yardley’s townhouse. The promise to Lady Caroline was to take care of Serena. And take care of her, I shall. Until my dying breath.
With great reluctance, Rowan exited the carriage, making his way to the door of the townhouse. He knocked, waiting anxiously, until the butler answered the door.
“Good day, Your Grace,” the man said, smiling politely and bowing. “My name is Nathaniel. Lord Lindmere is expecting you. Please, follow me to his study.”
Rowan bowed stiffly in return and nodded.
“Thank you, Nathaniel,” he said.
He followed the butler down the halls of the townhouse. Rowan noticed it was more lavishly decorated than many of the other townhouses he had visited. Even his own lacked a bit of imagination by comparison. Rowan guessed that it had requiredthe touch of a dedicated woman to make the home look so welcoming. A woman the likes of Lady Caroline, he imagined. It was clear that she had loved her home. And it was clearer still that her widower husband had loved her, and had thus kept the townhouse the way she had decorated it.
The door to the study was open, and the butler led him inside. He announced Rowan’s arrival, then immediately excused himself and closed the door behind him. The earl rose from his desk and bowed to Rowan.
