Page 82 of The Duke's Indecent Match
It was the perfect time to return.Tongues would wag far harder for a broken engagement and a scandalous encounter than something aspasseas a nobleman being trapped into marriage.Even a duke.
As expected, their arrival did not go entirely unnoticed, but there was no surge of nosy guests appearing at their doorstep.Thankfully, Drake had sent over several of his staff to assist until Nathanial could hire his own.Drake swore Nathanial was helping him out, as it would give the under butler and the woman training to replace his housekeeper some practice doing things on their own before eventually moving upward in his own household.There were also several footmen and maids, all of whom had been forewarned about Telemachus and had very little reaction to a fox running underfoot.
The first day, Nathanial had acquired a collar and leash so Fiona could take Telemachus to the park at the center of the square, with the promise that she understood that was the only place he could go outside while they were in London.The last thing Nathanial wanted was to have some young bucks deciding on an impromptu fox chase in the middle of the city.Fiona would be devastated, and who knew what kind of damage could be caused.
Hopefully, the pink bow she’d tied to his collar would make it clear to all that he was a pet.
By the end of the second day, several invitations had come to the door for upcoming events.Thetonwas acknowledging their return to the capital.Though part of him wanted to hide away, he knew it was best to meet them head-on.He and his wife needed to present a united, utterly boring front.
With any luck, by the time Julianna debuted next year, the fact that their marriage had been under rather scandalous circumstances would be barely a memory in theton’smind.It was all about appearances.If they saw a boring married couple who were completely amicable and altogether unremarkable, they would accept that and move on.
Which meant he needed to speak to his wife.
She was in the drawing room, helping Fiona sound out some of the more difficult words in a book about animals they had found at the bookstore the day before.As things went with his sisters, he had to admit he could not have hoped for better when it came to how she cared for them.
While he’d had some concerns over whether she’d be an appropriate guide for them through theton, she’d thrown herself into the role with enthusiasm.A dancing instructor had already been hired for both Julianna and Emma, and a pianist by the name of Arabella Goddard had been hired to brush up their rusty piano skills.Julianna remembered a bit more than Emma, but neither had had a piano to practice on for a very long time.Fiona had never had lessons, and she was starting now, under his wife’s tutelage.
No, he had no complaints about his wife’s conduct in regard to his sisters.
Whether her family’s issues would affect his… Well, they would need to venture into Society to determine where they landed in theton’seyes.
The opportunity arose on the third day when Gregory and Tiffany came to call.
“I am sorry we could not get here sooner, but you did not give us much notice of your arrival,” Tiffany scolded him, kissing his cheek.“Where is Kalina?”
“I sent one of the maids to fetch her.I believe she’s currently helping Fiona, my youngest sister, with her fingers on the piano.”
Tiffany lit up with interest, and Nathanial belatedly remembered that she was a music lover and an incredibly accomplished pianist herself.Unfortunately for her, and fortunately for him, his wife was already arriving at the front hall.
“Tiffany!”
“Kalina!”
The two embraced, and the simmering resentment that had been somewhat soothed at Hereford Hall began to bubble up in Nathanial’s chest again as he witnessed how easy it was for Tiffany to accept Kalina as her equal.Though Tiffany and Gregory’s marriage had also started with a scandal, it had hardly been Tiffany’s fault.If anything, it was Gregory who had trapped her into marriage, though that had not been his intention at the time.
“Well.”Gregory clapped Nathanial on his shoulder, breaking the dark mood that was starting to settle on him.“Married life looks good on you.”He was looking around at the house, not at Nathanial, thankfully, as Nathanial did not know how to react to such a statement.
“It is good to see you,” Nathanial said, rather than replying to Gregory’s statement directly.He was still eyeing Tiffany and his wife, and doing his best to hide his disgruntlement.“Since you’re here, you can help us.”
“What do you need help with?”Tiffany asked, smiling as she stepped away from his wife.
“Well, you can start with what the current gossip is about us, and we’ll go from there.”Nathanial managed to smile.
Kalina
It was so good to see Tiffany and have her friend’s belief in her reaffirmed.Sometimes, with Hereford, her guilt crept up and swamped her.Living with someone she had wronged, even if she had not meant to, was not easy.Tiffany’s easy renewed acceptance of her helped.
Marriage suited her friend.Tiffany was beaming and beautiful in a sky-blue day gown decorated with a darker blue calico pattern, which matched Gregory’s dark blue waistcoat.The two of them together made a striking pair.
Hereford and Kalina informed their current butler, Stalling, that they were not at-home to any visitors other than family and fellow dukes—Kalina quickly tacked on Delilah’s name to the list as well—before escorting Tiffany and Gregory into the drawing room.Kalina rang for tea, musing on how natural it felt even after so many days of living at Hereford Hall, where she and the girls would get their own.
Gregory and Tiffany took the couch, naturally, while Kalina and Hereford sat in the chairs across from them.The delicately carved furniture looked almost comical when being used by the men, though Gregory seemed more comfortable than Hereford did.It did not escape Kalina’s notice that they fell into the seating arrangements naturally, without any discussion.
In fact, if it had been reversed, she rather thought she and Hereford would both have been stiffly uncomfortable beside each other on the couch, whereas Gregory and Tiffany would have been loath to be parted by the chairs.It emphasized the difference in their marriages.
Quickly, Tiffany and Gregory brought them up to date on the town gossip, which was how she finally heard the details of the Fife scandal that had sent him and his family flying back to Scotland.No wonder the house had been suddenly available.She could also appreciate that in the wake of such titillating gossip, her and Hereford’s return to London would be of less interest to thetonthan usual.
That did not mean that they’d fully escape theton’sscrutiny.
