Page 14 of The Texan Duke
“I shall miss you,” he said. “Perhaps I’ll be an angel,” he added. “I’ll be perched on a cloud and be able to watch everything that goes on here.”
“Do you think you’ll still be able to give me advice?” she asked, grateful for feeling amusement when she wanted to cry.
“I can’t see why not. Of course, I may be overruled, being an inhabitant of Heaven.”
For a moment she could almost see him fixed with wings, a halo above his head, and an ethereal light dancing on his face, illuminating his mischievous smile.
“I’ll miss you, too,” she said softly.
She’d probably shocked him then, by throwing her arms around his shoulders and hugging him in his bed. But Gavin didn’t say anything, only held her tight.
When she pulled back, his eyes were moist.
“You’ve been the very best gift I’ve ever been given,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure watching you grow up, my dear Elsbeth. I know your parents would have been as proud of you as I am.”
Those were the last words he’d ever said to her.
Now as she left her room, heading for the kitchen, she glanced down the corridor to the duke’s suite. Had the newest duke, the most surprising duke, spent a restful night? Was he settling into his role easily?
She took the servants’ stairs to the back of the house. When she entered the kitchen, it was to find that Addy, their cook, and Betty, her helper, were staring out the window above the sink. At first she thought they were marveling at the amount of snow that had fallen the night before. Their conversation, however, indicated that they weren’t concentrating on the weather or the landscaping, but they were certainly admiring the scenery.
“Ach, he’s a finely built man,” Addy said. “He puts me in mind of my own Jock gone these ten years or more.”
Betty only sighed.
Elsbeth didn’t say anything as she came and stood behind the two women, peering over their shoulders.
The duke evidently liked to rise at dawn as well. It was barely light outside and the lowering clouds promised more snow. But there he stood on a snowbank, his booted feet planted wide apart, his arms crossed in front of him, his strange hat solidly on his head and the thick coat bundling him against the cold.
She wanted to know what he thought as he stood there surveying the snow-covered hills. Everything he could see belonged to him. Did he feel the press of responsibility? Or was he only experiencing acquisitive glee?
“Is he married?” Betty asked.
“I don’t think he is,” Addy said. “Wouldn’t he have brought his wife with him? Do you think he’s a widower? He’s old enough to have married and begun a family. Do you think he’s been disappointed in love?”
She really should quash their questions right now. Gossip was not encouraged among the staff. The fact was, however, that she had been as curious as the other two women.
Addy turned her head and smiled, indicating that she’d known full well when Elsbeth had entered the kitchen.
She was never hungry first thing in the morning and always delayed eating until nearly noon. The smell of raisin scones, honey icing, and oatmeal perfumed the air, reminding her, however, that she hadn’t eaten last night.
She poured a little cream into her black tea and sat at the long rectangular table. The other two women remained staring out the window.
The room was so warm from the oven that the snow had melted on the other side of the glass, granting them an unobscured view of the man surveying his domain.
After a few days, their fascination with the new duke would certainly ease. But she could understand how they might be taken with him. He was exotic and fascinating in his Texas hat and coat. He was large and solid and taller than their most gangly footman.
He had an air about him, one of... Her thoughts faltered for a moment until she found the right word.Certainty, that was it. She had a feeling that he knew exactly who he was and how he fit into life. Qualities that had been present before he’d ever known he was the 14th Duke of Lothian.
What had given him that quality? He’d evidently been raised to believe in himself, to have a certain confidence. The duchess had that same attitude. Anise had it as well. Rhona was the Duchess of Lothian and Anise was beautiful. One had position and the other appearance.
Had Connor McCraight been told from an early age that he might one day be duke? Or had he simply been feted from birth? Was he an only child? Did his parents dote on him?
More questions. Each time she thought about the man she only ended up with more questions and none of them appropriate. She didn’t need to know anything about him beyond what he wished for his meals and if he liked starch in his shirts.
Suddenly, both women dispersed, Betty darting across the kitchen as if she had fire on her heels. Addy went to the oven and removed another pan of scones.
The kitchen door abruptly opened and the duke stood there. He stopped on the threshold, stomped on the mat to rid his boots of snow, and removed his hat, threading his fingers through his thick mane of brown hair.
