Page 77 of A Duchess to Fight For
Percy felt defeated. Louisa had turned him down. She didn’t want to marry him.
“If you don’t mind, Duchess, I will take my leave now.” Percy bowed, said goodbye to Mendon, and left.
He walked back to his townhouse slowly. Percy couldn’t believe she turned him down. Now what was he to do? Should he keep visiting her for tea? What if she went to Haddington Hall?
Percy went back to his townhouse, went straight to his library and poured himself a drink. He had a few hours before he met Cecil and Kent at the club for dinner. He decided to occupy his mind and go over his ledgers.
Financially speaking, Percy’s life was in order. Gordon Castle and the surrounding property ran well with a steward that Percy couldn’t fault. The men liked to do things his way, and Percy was accommodating. Between the steward’s skills and Percy’s hands-off approach, Gordon was fine.
Percy laughed at his household accounts. In London, a butler, cook, three servants, two footmen, and two in the stables made up his entire staff. He ate dinner every evening at White’s and ate whatever cook made him for breakfast and lunch. He didn’t live to eat; he ate to live. He’d eat just about everything she made.
So, he had few servants, bought minimal food, and could go months without needing anything new for his wardrobe. He had plenty of money in the bank. He closed his ledger and stood to put it on its shelf.
“Well, you did it,” he heard from the doorway. Percy turned around to see Hobart.
“Come in and have a seat,” Percy said, grabbing the decanter and two glasses. He sat next to Hobart and poured.
“Yes, I did it. A lot of good it did me,” Percy snorted.
“Didn’t we tell you to wait?” Hobart gave Percy a crooked smile.
Percy nodded. “You did.”
“So how are we going to fix this?”
Percy laughed, “You’re asking me?”
“No idea, huh?”
“None,” Percy said, shrugging.
Hobart took a long drink. “It might work in your favour.”
“How so?”
“She’s going to miss the hell out of you.”
“So what? She’ll be in Rutland, and I’ll be in London.”
“She’ll come to her senses. It will take some time, but she will. Don’t give up.”
“Is that why you came, Hobart?” Percy asked.
“No. I have what I consider good news. I saw Frederick; he told me what you did, so I told him I’d walk here. Barton and Xavier are not working together anymore.
“Barton knew Xavier wasn’t Stafford and convinced him to do his bidding. Xavier got tired of Barton’s increasingly distasteful requests for help and walked away. Xavier is going to expose Barton if he contacts him again.”
“We finally got a break. That is good news,” Percy said.
“So, except for Victor, Barton’s on his own again. Frederick is sitting Amelia and Louisa down tonight and telling them to pack for Haddington Hall. He’s not giving either of them a choice.
“My suggestion, Percy? It’s going to be hard, but leave her alone. Don’t visit before they leave. Give her a lot to think about.”
Percy blew out a breath, “I’m not sure I’m capable of doing that.”
“Try. It’s important.”
Percy nodded.
