Page 57 of Her Lion of a Duke
“If anything, I will appreciate the time away. Shall I leave Brutus here?”
“He is more than welcome to come with you,” she assured him. “Besides, he has been a good companion. I would not like to be away from him for too long, if I can help it.”
He smiled warmly at her.“Very well. I will see you tomorrow, then.”
Cecilia did not see him for the rest of the day, as he took Lord Renshaw out to shoot while she prepared to leave.
It felt impolite to leave without saying goodbye to his cousin, but she did not mind too terribly. It meant that she did not have to see him again, and she was rather pleased about that.
Lord Renshaw had not been too condescending, nor mean-spirited, but something about him made her uncomfortable, and she was pleased to be away from him.
It would be strange to be with her family again, but Cecilia was optimistic. They loved her, and she loved them, and despite everything that had happened, they would be all right. It would be even easier once Leonard arrived, for they had always liked him.
Even so, when her carriage rolled to a halt outside her parents’ house, her heart rate quickened.
It had been a few months since she had last seen them, but memories of their last conversation came flooding back. The shame, the resentment she felt, all of it made her feel ill at ease, even if their letters had been kind.
Her father greeted her in the drawing room, his eyes wide.
“My dear girl!” He embraced her. “I cannot believe that you are home.”
“It is good to see you, Father,” she replied. “Is Mother here?”
“She is in town with some friends. Did she know that you were coming?”
“No, nobody did.” She laughed nervously. “I hope that I am not intruding.”
“You never could. Come, let us have tea, and we can wait for your mother. She would hate it if we discussed anything without her.”
It was the frosty reception Cecilia had expected. It was as though nothing had happened, and they were simply a father and daughter having tea together like they used to.
“It has been so quiet without you,” her father said as she passed him a slice of cake. “We so missed the chaos you bring.”
“Well, the chaos has returned for a few days, if you will have me.”
“As if we could ever turn you away.”
She smiled, but the words sounded wrong. Regardless, she poured him another cup of tea, and they settled into conversation.
“My husband will arrive tomorrow,” she explained. “His cousin has been visiting, and he should be leaving this evening.”
“Why did you come separately?” her father asked. “No trouble in paradise, I hope.”
“None at all. His cousin is a strange man, and Leonard did not want me to spend more time with him than necessary. So I decided that it was time to visit you.”
“I am pleased that you came to such a decision. I wish we could have seen you sooner, but…” he trailed off.
Cecilia tried to think of something else to say. Her father clearly did not want to talk about what had happened any more than she did, and she was grateful for that.
When her mother returned, she burst into tears.
“My dear!” she cried, pressing a damp cheek into her hair. “You are home. I cannot believe my eyes!”
“I can find your eyeglasses for you, if you wish,” Cecilia joked.
Her parents sat beside one another, and at last she studied their faces properly.
She had her mother’s blonde hair and her father’s blue eyes, but in the few months she had been away, they had aged considerably. There were faint lines in their skin that she could swear were not there when she left. Or perhaps she had simply never noticed.
