Page 21 of The Artisan and the Duke
“Sherry is with her, and if anything changes, she will let me know,” Gregory said as if the matter was closed.
Lady St Claire nodded and agreed, “Fine. I will go make an appearance. Several people were expecting to see the newly betrothed couple tonight, so I’ll need to have my speech at the ready.”
“I am quite certain that me staying by the side of my stricken beloved is quite enough of a story to satisfy even the most sadistic of your friends,” Gregory said as he picked up a pen from his father’s desk. “Could you tell Fredrick to come here if you see him on your way out?”
Lady St Claire mumbled, “Of course. Might as well treat me like a servant. Are you going to put me out to pasture this coming year as well?”
“The thought had crossed my mind,” Gregory replied as he scratched down a couple of words on the letter he was writing. When he heard the door shut loudly, Gregory mumbled, “Well, that took long enough.”
***
“Your brother wishes to see you,” Lady St Claire informed Fredrick who had just come in the front door.
Fredrick raised his eyebrow in concern at his mother’s tone. “Is everything rosy?”
“Why don’t you take it up with the Duke of Thornton?” Lady St Claire threw back at her son as she pulled the door closed firmly behind herself.
Fredrick was left standing in the front foyer completely confused and a little afraid of what he might find in the drawing room. He drew in a deep breath and made his way towards his father’s old drawing room, where Gregory now spent most of his time writing the correspondence and financial tinkering that running a large estate entailed.
Once he arrived at the door, Fredrick paused a moment to adjust the wooden leg. It was chaffing him terribly after the walk in the front garden. He rapped his knuckles on the door when he was somewhat comfortable again.
“Come in,” Gregory’s voice called from behind the thick wooden door.
Fredrick opened the door warily. “Is it safe to enter?” he called.
“I did say for you to come in, but you are welcome to stand in the hallway and yell like a simpleton,” Gregory said in irritation.
Fredrick eased into the room as Gregory laid down the pen next to the fount that the man had just dipped the pen into. “Mother seemed rather upset,” Fredrick noted conversationally.
“Yes, she is like that often,” Gregory said simply. “She was just being dramatic, and I called her on it.”
Fredrick whistled, “I cannot imagine that ending poorly.”
Gregory continued as he ignored his brother’s sarcastic remark, “Julia has taken ill. So, I will not be attending the dance that was tonight.”
“I am terribly sorry that the lady is not feeling well, but I hardly think that is something I needed to know urgently,” Fredrick said in confusion.
Gregory shook his head. “I actually needed to talk to you about the country estate.”
“What about it?” Fredrick asked warily.
Gregory shrugged. “It needs full-time supervision. We’ve increased the staffing, and there needs to be some oversight,” he said logically.
“I thought we had an overseer for the estate,” Fredrick said. “What happened to Trent?”
Gregory sighed, “He is too old and wishes to retire to a small farm of his own.”
“Not a bad plan.” Fredrick agreed with the man. “So, what does that have to do with me?”
Gregory shook his head at his brother. “I thought you might want to take the position on personally while I look for a replacement? It would give you time to recover at your own rate without the pressure of mother or anyone else.”
Fredric stared at his brother for a moment before he smiled. “That actually does not sound like a bad idea,” Fredrick admitted.
“You make it sound as if I never have any ideas,” Gregory said in vexation.
Fredrick disagreed, “Quite the contrary. You have ideas all the time. They just are not routinely ones of great value.”
“I think I just changed my mind,” Gregory said as he narrowed his eyes at his brother.
