Page 36 of A Sister to Beguile (Sherton Sisters 5)

After exchanging questioning glances, Grace and Alex hurried after her. Alex struggled with very mixed emotions; if it was the duke finally returned home, everything was about to change.

“Sterling,” the duke greeted sparingly, while offering a polite bow to his sister-in-law. He kept his arm around his wife, who didn’t appear ready to let go of him any time soon. “It would seem that we have much to discuss. Shall we retire to my library?”

It was worded as a question, but the way he strode off without saying anything further and without another glance toward Alex and Grace led them to receive his words in the nature of an order. After meeting Grace’s eyes briefly, Alex offered his elbow, and they followed after the ducal pair.

Despite their frosty interactions the evening before, Alex was relieved to see that it still appeared as though he could understand Lady Grace quite well. He was fairly certain she was struggling with a mixture of relief to have the duke returned and disappointment to have their investigation taken from their hands. Or perhaps he was merely projecting his own feelings onto her.

When they reached the library, it was to find Rathnelly seated comfortably behind his large desk, the same one that Grace and Alex had chosen not to use earlier. Finally, the gazes they exchanged were filled with laughter as they likely both remembered their earlier choices.

“Would you care to enlighten my wife about your whereabouts over recent days?” the duke asked. That was hardly the way Alex had expected him to introduce the tricky subject.

Alex was about to stammer out a reply when Grace stepped forward. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Despite her belief that she was indolent, he knew she was unable to allow others to feel discomfort. What did surprise him was the censorious expression upon her face.

“First, Your Grace, I think you ought to explain yourself. We have sent countless messages to you over the past few days. Why could you not have sent word at least once? I know you sent word to your wife at least once, but surely you could have found a brief moment to answer at least one of our missives directly so that we would know you were unharmed. And a little direction would not have gone amiss.”

“Gracie, what are you talking about?” the duchess demanded.

“I do apologize, Felicity. I didn’t want you to know how concerned I was, but I had started to be worried quite sick about your husband. I couldn’t believe he would allow himself to be gone so long and not reply to a single one of my messages.”

“Dukes have a habit of forgetting they are answerable to anyone,” the duchess replied with a smirk, as she glanced between her husband and her sister.

“Well, that might be all well and good under usual circumstances, but in this case, it was poorly done of you, Your Grace. Did you not receive any of our messages?”

“How many did you send?” The ducal couple appeared fascinated rather than apologetic. Alex was starting to find the humour in the situation, but he could see that Grace had not yet done so.

“I quite lost count, Your Grace,” she replied stiffly. “There were a great many matters of concern. The children for one, and the most important, of course. But there were other matters that we could have used some assistance or guidance with, if you had seen fit to reply to a single missive.”

Rathnelly finally laughed.

“You are quite right, my lady, and I do apologize abjectly. But I was detained for a time and then thought my presence would do better than a letter.”

“Well, you are right on that, I suppose, but still.”

Alex had to bite his lip to prevent his laughter. Clearly, the lady didn’t want to concede her anger, and he didn’t want it redirected toward himself.

“It would seem there is much to discuss, then. I take it you didn’t think to involve my wife?”

It was clear the duchess was torn in her loyalties, wishing to take the side of both her husband and her sister. Finally, she shrugged. “I was in the sickroom until mere minutes before you arrived. Gracie cannot be blamed for not telling me whatever the big mystery is, although she did try. She told me some, but not nearly enough. I’m fairly certain they were about to fill me in just when you interrupted with your arrival.”

Finally, the duke gestured toward the two chairs in front of his desk. “You had best take a seat. I have a feeling this might be a lengthy explanation.”

Grace was just about to sink into the seat Rathnelly had indicated when she stood back up. “But have you stopped Griffiths, Your Grace?”

“I have, my dear, thanks to your last message.”

With that, she all but slumped into the chair as though all the anxiety she had been holding in was suddenly dismissed from her being.

“That is a great relief,” she said with a soft voice.

“Would someone please start explaining?” the duchess demanded, sticking firmly to her husband’s side and not commenting on the fact that Alex had reached over and clasped her sister’s hand.

Alex was heartened to note that Grace hadn’t pulled her hand out of his grasp until he remembered that it might just be that she was too overwrought to do so. She didn’t seem to be in a hurry to comply with her sister’s directive, so he began to explain.

“From what we were able to ascertain,” he began as his gaze darted between the duke and duchess and the lovely lady at his side. “Lord Griffiths was determined to cause trouble for the Shertons.”

“Lord Griffiths? Father’s ill-mannered cousin?” Felicity questioned.

“The very same.”

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