Page 14 of The Duplicate Duke
“Speaking of Lady Gwendolyn, why didn’t she come with you?”asked Wickton.
“She hates the sea,” said her mother in a rush.
“Is she younger or older?”
“Younger,” Gwen said, “by only a few minutes, she would be sure to include.”
“Twins?”Wickton looked shocked.“I’ve never known a set of twins.Identical?”
Gwen nodded.“There is some difference, being the opposite sex, but yes.If you know me, you will recognize her.”
“Fascinating!”
“Gwendolyn will come later once we’re settled.She didn’t want to make the trip twice if we returned to Boston.Women,” she added, rolling her eyes.
“Who will accompany her?She cannot travel alone.”Concern shone in his golden-brown eyes.“I could make the trip if need be.”
“Ohnon!”Mama said a little too quickly.“I mean, she’s tutoring the children of a prominent Boston family.Teaching them French.They were planning a trip abroad and said they would stop in England first.”
“Then on to France to practice their French?”he asked.
“Precisely!”Gwen mentally smacked herself for not thinking of that earlier.
Graham had been gone so long, she thought of him in a more distant sense.Someone who would return to them someday.Mr.Barnaby knew a man who had taken four years to make his fortune.Graham’s year-long absence wasn’t so unusual.
Now, thinking of Miles losing his sister, her heart ached for her brother.Was he safe?She was still certain he was alive.They were kindred souls, and she would feel it if… Oh, to see him now, to hear his laughter, to pretend ire at his teasing.Gwen blinked back the hot tears, turning to look out the carriage.Once Graham arrived, their life would be perfect.They would be a family again, settle down in the English countryside, and never worry about money or their next meal.
“I’m not usually a sentimental man,” the viscount was saying when her emotions were under control, “but I must say finding my cousins has been the best thing to happen to me in years.”His cheeks flushed as he made his declaration.
“We feel the same,” said Gwen, joy rebounding until guilt niggled at her ear.How would he feel when he learned he’d been duped?Their growing friendship was threatening to ruin her plan.He would never believe Graham was Graham after so much time together.Eventually, she would have to confess.
“I can’t believe how fond I’ve grown of you both in such a short time.It must be the familial bond.”He gave a sheepish grin and shrugged.
Mama smiled and reached over to pat Wickton’s cheek.“We can never have enough family, Miles.We’re so happy to have found you.I didn’t think Shackerley had a decent relative except for my husband.”
“He had good points,” said the viscount, “but he was so stubborn.Once he’d made up his mind or issued an ultimatum, he couldn’t retreat.As you’ll see, he was liked by his tenants and did well by them.He wasn’t what I would call a generous man, but he was fair and never shirked his responsibilities.”
They were the first kind words she’d ever heard about her grandfather.There had been another side to him.Perhaps if her father had offered the olive branch, the old duke would have taken it.Now they would never know.
CHAPTER7
The next day
Shackerley Place
Miles could see the turrets peeking over the tree line.He was on horseback today but staying close to the carriage to see his cousins’ reaction to their new home.In less than a month, he was already wondering how he would fare without Lady Graywood and Graham.The marchioness was a maternal soul, and he enjoyed being mothered.Graham had become a friend.One he could laugh with, throw back a brandy with, and talk to.He felt… content when he was with his cousin.As if they had always meant to be friends, to be together.
I sound like a ridiculous poet.But it was true.He hadn’t felt such a bond with anyone, though he had a variety of friends.A few close companions from university who still corresponded, his steward, several men at the clubs in London.
Miles would have a family to spend the holidays with.Christmastide would be something to look forward to again.These last weeks had made him consider taking a wife, adding his own children to the family events he was planning in his mind.He hadn’t realized how lonely he’d been until these cousins burst into his life.
“Mama,” cried Shackerley from the carriage window, “it’s magnificent.”
He grinned because Graham was correct.A fifteenth-century castle on a hill with stone battlements connecting four turrets on each corner.The drawbridge had been replaced with a permanent bridge, but the heavy oak and steel gate remained.The inner courtyard was a massive front lawn where he’d played lawn bowls as a child.Behind the castle was a garden with a huge maze.He remembered hiding from Alice and making her cry when she thought he was lost.His sweet sister, trying to take their mother’s place, had always looked after him.
Miles blinked, his eyes wet.I’m turning into a sentimental old sap, he thought.Yet he didn’t feel sorrow, rather eagerness to see what the future would hold.Where last month, his hopes had been limited, now the horizon seemed to spread out before him.He could almost feel his father’s presence, his eyes on Miles’s back, smiling with pride and happiness for his son.
“It’s been a long time coming, Father,” he said to the clouds above.“But I think a full and content life may lie ahead.”
