Page 80 of A Duke for Adela
“Mischief and danger seem to find you girls everywhere you go. You should all stay put and heal. The wedding is only a few days away and the three of you look like alley cats on the losing end of a brawl. Phoebe and I did not go to all the trouble of putting this affair together only to have you three hobbling into the church on crutches.”
Adela had no intention of remaining confined until her wedding day. “I don’t see the harm in going to the library tomorrow. Ambrose and his brothers will be there, too. With Runyon out of the way, I expect our day shall be quite ordinary and dull.”
Ambrose had been standing beside her while Dr. Farthingale attended to her, watching as the doctor properly cleansed and bandaged her knees, and then securely bound her wrist. When the doctor finished and left, Ambrose knelt beside her once more. “I shall take my leave now, as well. My brothers will be wondering what happened to us. I had better go and tell them.”
She started to rise, but he motioned for her to stay seated. “Have tea with your friends. I’ll see myself out. Stay put, as Eloise said. I’ll be back to see you later.”
She cast him a wry smile. “I’ll be right here. Not going anywhere since I am apparently under a prison sentence.”
He kissed her lightly on the cheek. “Promise me, Adela. My heart is still in my throat over you. What happened this morning is no joke. Do not treat it lightly.”
“I’m not. I promise you, I am still in turmoil over it.”
This time, he kissed her lightly on the lips.
Her friends giggled.
He had yet to let go of her hands or take his gaze off her when Octavian strode in. The skin around his eye matched the purplish-yellow bruising on Gory’s chin.
They did look a mess.
All of them did except Ambrose who still resembled a Greek god.
Fortunately, he and Julius had escaped injury.
Octavian took one look at her, then turned to his brother and groaned. “Bloody blazes. What happened?”
Ambrose let out a breath and groaned. “Adela happened.”
CHAPTER 15
AMBROSE AND HISbrothers joined Eloise, Adela, her friends, and Adela’s parents for supper on Thursday evening at Eloise’s home. The small party was meant to give Ambrose a chance to meet her parents, something Adela had been fretting about for the past two days. Now, he understood why, for they were two of the most absentminded people he had ever met.
He could see Adela inherited her intelligence from both of them, but she had an organized mind while her parents were completely caught up in the most impractical thoughts to the exclusion of anything else. It quickly became obvious Adela had been the one to keep their household in order.
What had they done before she took over the role of adult in the family?
And what would they do now that she was not returning home to them?
Was this the reason Adela had begged for their wedding destination to be the Devonshire caves? This would allow her to look in on her parents and perhaps spend a few days putting their bills and household affairs in good order.
However, it tugged at his heart to realize she gave more thought to her parents than they did to her. While there was no malicious intent on their part, the fact remained Adela had always been an afterthought to them, and neither of them appeared to appreciate the truly wonderful girl she was.
This explained why she was so determined to have her footnote in history. She wanted someone to remember her, and knew it was never going to be her parents.
They did not hate her.
Quite the opposite, they were amiable toward her as one might be to a good friend. But there was something lacking, a sort of distance kept between them and her.
No tender hugs.
No ebullient joy.
They were scholars and never the sort to physically abuse her, but indifference could sometimes be just as cruel.
He wanted to reach out and hug her then and there, but it was not something he could do around a dinner table.
“Your Grace, you and Adela are welcome to stay with us while you are in Devonshire,” her father said, shoveling a bite of mutton in his mouth. “We have a lovely house in Dartmouth.”
