Page 4 of The Duke and his Muse
“As if he knew he was sick?” she asked faintly.
Jane didn’t wait for an answer but walked down the corridor from the tiny entry hall to the parlor. Thinking of her father brought on the urge to draw. To create something. But what? She and her father had been a team: he the writer and she the illustrator.
The future stretched out before her, a great unknown. Royalties from her father’s books guaranteed her an income for life. With her finances secure, Jane assumed she would have no trouble finding a husband if she wanted one.
Jane had never been in love. She’d never stayed anywhere long enough to form attachments. The house in Exeter was the longest place she’d lived since her mother passed. Her father had wanted to travel around the country. She thought he had never been comfortable again in a place without his wife.
“I’m so sorry, Papa.”
“It’s worth it, my dear. If you find love, the pain is worth it.”
Jane wasn’t quite sure about that. Her father insisted she would change her mind when she fell in love. Jane didn’t know how or when such an event would occur as she had ventured no further than Matford in the last few years.
She sat in her favorite chair, let out a sigh, and her beloved cat Oliver jumped onto her lap. He seemed to know exactly when she needed his purring, paw kneading self.
“You’re such a good boy,” she whispered as her eyes filled with tears. “Father loved you very much.”
Oliver had wandered into their lives some two years ago, wet and bedraggled, alone in the rain. She and her father had arrived at the cottage, their new home, only a few hours before.
The plaintive cries of a cat had mixed with the sound of heavy rain on the slate roof of the house. Jane rose from her chair by the warm fire as her father shook his head.
She smiled softly. “You know I have to see if the animal is all right.”
“That’s your kind heart.” He smiled wistfully. “Your mother was the same.”
Jane opened the heavy oak front door and a small wet bundle raced by her into the cottage. The sodden orange ball of fluff sprinted out of the tiny entry hall into the parlor.
“He ran under the settee,” her father informed her with a chuckle as Jane entered the room.
“I guess he didn’t need an invitation,” she said under her breath as she retook her place on a stuffed chair.
Her father frowned. “Unusual behavior for an animal who doesn’t know us.”
“Perhaps he or she belongs to this place,” she replied with a shrug, glad that the little cat was safe and warm inside. “As it is time for me to help Maisie serve our meager supper, maybe the cat will come out when it smells food.”
And it did. She’d given the animal small pieces of roast beef from the sandwiches they’d purchased at the local village inn. Their journey of two days had led them to Exeter, a place where they had no ties, no past.
Returning to the present, she stroked the cat’s fur, whispering, “You’re my only family now. You and Maisie.”
Chapter Three
Graham had taken a morning ride and finished breakfast when Mrs. Blight approached him in the study, Daniel in tow.
“I thought perhaps you would like to spend some time with your son today,” the woman said, her chin raised. The sleepy-eyed woman from the night before had disappeared to be replaced with a judgmental nurse.
“I would!” He rose to his feet and walked to the little boy. When Graham was a few steps away from the child, he went down on one knee. “Good day, Daniel.”
The boy did not cower this time but stared fixedly at a spot beside Graham’s left shoulder. He turned slightly to see what the boy was staring at. All he could determine was it might be the brass statue of a dog on the corner of the mahogany desk.
“Does the boy like dogs?” he asked the nurse, returning his attention to the boy.
“Loves them, your Grace. All animals, really.”
“It is a shame we have no dogs at Bartlett House.” He smiled at Daniel. “We do have other animals. What do you think of horses, Daniel?”
The boy looked at him then, not scared, merely curious. Graham cautioned himself not to try too hard with the boy. He didn’t want to alarm the child.
“Horsies.” Daniel smiled up at his nurse.
