Page 10 of Fit for a Duke
With his head immersed in the basin, Ezra shrugged. ‘Who will believe her?’ he asked when he emerged and dried his face on the towel that Godfrey handed to him. ‘Even so, keep an eye on her maid, and everyone else below stairs for that matter. If the would-be assassin is here, he must have a servant with him. Keep your ears and eyes open.’
‘Don’t I always?’ Godfrey replied, holding out a clean shirt which Ezra slipped over his head. Godfrey was a decade older that Ezra and had been in his service since before Ezra’s life had changed forever. Ezra trusted him absolutely and knew that he would take Ezra’s secrets to the grave if it came to it.
‘I’ve already started down that route,’ he said. ‘Had to find a way to occupy the time while I waited for you to grace us with your regal presence.’
Ezra grunted as he buttoned his patterned silk waistcoat, adjusted the fall of his neckcloth and absently pulled a brush through his tangled hair. ‘Even so, I have a feeling that something will happen this week. Something that will affect the rest of my life—always assuming I live beyond this week, that is.’
‘Don’t worry, your grace. Only the good die young.’
‘Anyway, I shall keep a weather eye on the impertinent Miss Benton…’
Godfrey chuckled. ‘I am perfectly sure you will.’
‘I owe it to her father to keep her in my sights. She is more attractive than she realises. Benton had private means and if she has been left well provided for…well, I don’t suppose she will be astute enough to recognise the fortune hunters for what they are when they start gathering at her door.’
‘Sure you’ve got your priorities right?’ Godfrey asked, holding out Ezra’s coat so that he could slip his arms into it.
‘Not at all,’ he said cheerfully, turning towards the door that Godfrey opened for him. ‘Wish me luck. I have a feeling I am going to need it.’
Ezra jogged down the stairs, his disinclination to play a leading role in this cattle market tempered by the presence of the highly diverting and slightly worrying Miss Benton, whose welfare he had taken it upon himself to safeguard. For all her lively intelligence, she was still an innocent, with no mother to guide her. He owed her protection to her late father, a man whom he had respected enormously, not least because he had saved Ezra’s life.
Ezra thanked Lady Fletcher’s butler, who had clearly stationed himself at the foot of the stairs to await his arrival, when he thrust the doors to the drawing room open and announced him. All conversations ceased and every head turned in his direction. Ezra suppressed the urge to turn tail and run as he silently cursed his brothers for leaving him in a position he had never aspired to.
‘Your grace.’ Lady Fletcher, small and rotund, stepped forward and curtsied. ‘How good of you to join us.’
‘Lady Fletcher. Thank you for inviting me. I apologise for keeping you waiting. I was unavoidably detained.’ He cast a quick look around the room, ready to bestow a collusive glance upon the engaging Miss Benton, but she was nowhere to be seen. ‘You have not changed a bit since I last had the pleasure of your company.’
‘Ah, you flatterer.’ The lady flapped a hand, clearly pleased with the compliment. ‘Anyway, you are here now and I am sorry that the journey inconvenienced you. Now, who are you acquainted with?’
Without waiting for a response, Lady Fletcher led him towards a young woman, a very pretty young woman whom, it transpired, was her elder daughter. She curtsied and blushed, exuding confidence in her ability to charm him. Ezra knew nothing to her detriment, but didn’t feel so much as a spark of interest. He said and did all the right things, not giving any outward clue as to the nature of his thoughts, and was pleased to be introduced to the younger daughter.
‘And then there is my…oh, where is she?’
A flash of turquoise had the desired effect and Lady Fletcher was now assured of Ezra’s complete attention when a slightly flushed Miss Benton joined her aunt.
‘Ah, here she is. Your hair, child!’ Lady Fletcher looked dismayed at a sight Ezra found mesmerising. The urge to run a strand of the hair in question through his fingers had not, it seemed, dissipated. ‘Your grace, may I present my niece, Miss Clio Benton?’
‘You may indeed.’ Ezra executed an elegant bow in response to Miss Benton’s demure curtsey. Demure if one discounted the impudent smile that somehow managed to slip past her guard. ‘It is a pleasure, Miss Benton,’ he said, taking her hand and raising her from that curtsey. ‘Do you reside here?’
‘I do.’
‘And a very welcome addition to our little family dear Clio is proving to be,’ Lady Fletcher said. ‘But now, girls, you must excuse us. There are others whom the duke must meet.’
‘Until later, ladies,’ Ezra said, embracing all three with his words. But his gaze lingered upon Clio.
‘Ah, there you are.’ Ezra’s mother leaned forward and proffered her cheek, which Ezra dutifully kissed. ‘We were beginning to wonder what had become of you.’
‘I am here now.’ Ezra nodded at Conway, his cousin and his mother’s constant companion. ‘Evening, Silas,’ he said affably.
‘We were about to send out a search party,’ Silas replied, managing to imbue his words with a wealth of disapproval. ‘Your poor mama was beside herself with worry and I myself was all of a fluster.’ He fanned his face with his ever-present handkerchief to emphasise his point.
‘Overreaching your authority again, Silas?’ Ezra raised a provocative brow. He didn’t care for the fussy little man, but saw no harm in him. He drew the line, however, when he voiced criticisms. If Ezra had to be the duke, he would fulfil that situation in his own fashion. ‘If my conduct threatens your health, perhaps you should consider returning to your own home and remaining there in seclusion. It doesn’t do to take risks.’
‘Good heavens, no! I hope I am not that selfish. Your dear mama needs me. She cannot possibly manage without me.’
Ezra cast a look in his mother’s direction, anticipating a denial that was not forthcoming. He wondered how she could tolerate so much flummery, even though a part of him understood why she found it welcome. Ezra’s father had been cold and distant with his wife, a lady whom he had married purely for her fortune. He then left her to her own devices in the country, visiting occasionally to fulfil his marital duty, simultaneously carrying on with a string of not particularly discreet affairs. Silas poured all the attention upon her that she could possibly require in return for a roof over his head and a comfortable living. Every so often though, Ezra felt obliged to remind the fussy little man that he only lived so well at Ezra’s pleasure.
His mother was still a handsome woman, but she had never had much time for her sons, preferring to immerse herself in her own affairs. She continued to remain distant with Ezra, but not because she mourned the loss of her two older sons. She had been equally indifferent towards them. Ezra sometimes thought that the disappointments had been too much for her and that she had given up on life. However, she hadpushed Ezra to attend this party and hoped he would have chosen a wife by the end of it. He glanced across the room at Lady Beth, aware that she was his mother’s choice, and felt nothing more than indifference tinged with boredom. He also knew that the moment he did take a wife, his mother would consider her duty done and retire to the dower house to pursue her own life.
