Page 98 of The Scottish Duke
“Matthews told you?” he asked, surprised.
“Not me. The staff. He tells everyone about all his many duties. He fusses a lot about your clothes, how you abhor stains and won’t wear a shirt if the cuffs are frayed. He has to order a great many shirts for you, I understand, unless that’s another exaggeration.”
He sounded like a peacock, a Beau Brummell of the Scottish Highlands.
“What else did he tell you?”
“You like a certain brand of English perfume. Well, not perfume, exactly, but cologne for men. He doesn’t care for it, himself, but he concedes that it’s your choice, after all.”
“Does he?”
“Abby says that there’s an expression in her village about a man like Matthews: he thinks he’s big, but a wee coat fits him.”
“That sounds like Matthews,” he said. He never realized that the man was telling people things he’d rather not share with everyone.
At his look, she smiled. “You have to understand, Alex, that even your brand of cologne is of interest to the staff. They’re fascinated about you. A sighting is enough to keep one of the maids tittering for hours.”
He sat back in his chair and regarded her.
“Did you titter?”
“I imagine I did, but not as much as Mary.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Her smile deepened. “Oh, come now, Alex. Don’t pretend you don’t know.”
“Know what?”
“Even the staff knows that Mary adores you.”
“She’s my sister-in-law.”
“Who would like to be more,” she said.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Haven’t you ever seen the way she looks at you? Or follows you with her eyes? She nearly salivates. She’s madly in love with you.”
He’d never blushed in his life, but he found himself extremely uncomfortable.
“I think you’ve misjudged the situation. I think of Mary as a sister, nothing more.”
She shook her head. “Then you should pay more attention, Alex. Why do you think she’s so hateful? Even your mother understands that Mary is jealous.”
She glanced at him, all warm brown eyes and fascinating mouth. He really wanted this conversation to be over. He wanted her gone. He needed her gone.
He knew, suddenly, why he’d stayed away for so long. Not to do his work, although that sufficed as an excuse. His surprising wife posed a threat to his peace of mind, if not his way of life. She made him feel too much. All sorts of emotions were knocking on his door, emotions he’d been able to control before Lorna came into his life. The threat was there that he would feel even more.
She was going to make him suffer. He knew it.
What was it his mother had said? He had a choice, to live in the gloaming or move into the daylight. He’d stayed in the shadows so long, he wondered if he could make the change.
Did he even want to?
The answer to that startled him.
With all his heart.
