Page 2 of The Duke's Second Bride
Disappointment fell over the boy’s face. But he nodded, and, after waiting for his father to pat his shoulder, he ran back to his governess.
“That’s a good boy you have there,” Lord Barringford said as they watched Luke run off. “A shame about that stutter, of course. How long has he had it? Since birth?”
A moment of silence went by. “Since his mother passed,” Christian said quietly.
“Of course. What a dreadful tragedy,” Lord Barringford said, bowing his head respectfully. “And entirely understandable how that might provoke the appearance of an …anxiousnature in a young boy. And, of course, it is still early enough that it might be dealt with. You know, there are all sorts of treatments nowadays.”
“Why would that be necessary?” Christian asked stiffly.
Lord Barringford blinked, as though it should be obvious. “Surely you don’t mean to let the poor boy suffer an entire adolescence with that condition? And, of course, I mean no disrespect, but you must be aware of the precariousness of your title. There is no doubt as to your fitness to be Duke, of course, but you only inherited the position so recently.”
He did not go into the reason why, which Christian understood. There was no polite way to recall his predecessor’s predicament.
Jasper, Christian’s cousin, had been arrested for the murder of his older brother, the previous Duke of Richmond. By taking his own life in prison, Jasper had passed the estate and title down to Christian.
It was an unpleasant story, one that nobody in the ton much enjoyed thinking about. From the look on Barringford’s face, he immediately regretted even alluding to such a horrible event.
Lord Barringford cleared his throat, and it was clear his train of thought had been similar to Christian’s. “In any case. The situation being as it is, it does you no good to have an heir who stammers.”
“I see no reason why that should concern you,” Christian cut in sharply.
Perhaps Barringford was right. He was still stepping out of line, though. If he was determined to protect his son from the bullying of children, he certainly would not allow him to be looked down upon by a grown man.
“The boy is perfectly fine. I would bid you, Lord Barringford, to keep your mind off my family, and on matters of your own,” he growled.
Lord Barringford shuddered, but nodded. “Of course. My apologies,” he said, bowing.
Christian nodded, then continued walking forward. “Speaking of matters which concern us both, I am glad to hear good progress is being made on the ship. And how have the profits been this last quarter on the goods from our previous shipment?”
Lord Barringford nodded eagerly, seemingly relieved by the shifting of the conversation to safer matters—and encouraged by his business partner’s renewed interest in their newest venture. “Of course! I will have my secretary draw up a summary of the numbers for you, but in the meantime …”
With Lord Barringford’s droning on and on, the tension in the air dissipated. Christian listened, nodded, and tried to dispel the guilt that puddled in his stomach at the thought of refusing his son such a simple request.
No, he told himself,it is for his own good.
He may not have had Isabel’s gift for affection and warmth, but it was his job to protect his son, if nothing else. He would at least do that.
After another few minutes of conversation, his guilt had dissipated enough that he dared a look back to check on Luke. Hopefully, his governess had been able to cheer him up and, failing that, perhaps the sight of the balloon rising into the air would be enough to bring a smile to the boy’s face.
However, Luke was nowhere to be seen.
His governess was, though. Her earlier calm was nowhere to be seen. She looked about frantically, pacing back and forth, standing on tiptoe to look over the crowd.
“… then there’s the—” Lord Barringford cut off his sentence when he saw Christian storming away. “Your Grace?”
Christian stomped across the grass to where his son’s governess was darting back and forth. “What has happened? Why is my son not with you?”
Looking up, the governess’s face paled as soon as she saw him. “Your Grace,” she said, redness rising to those pale cheeks. “I only looked away for a moment, I swear.”
Christian waited for no further explanation. Instead, he pushed into the crowd, using his height to scan for his son. There were several brown heads of hair, but none that were Luke’s.
Damn, damn, damn!
His one job was to protect his son, and he couldn’t even do that. Just like he had failed to protect Isabel.
He shook his head, trying to dispel the thought. His guilt over his first wife, deep though it may run, was of no use to him here.
Luke was lost, and nothing else mattered but finding him.
