Page 21 of An Innocent Little Scandal (Sensual Scandals)

As the butler joined the others, Miles stood tall and proud. He wished that his voice was clear during times like these, when he needed to assert his authority, but he knew he should be fortunate that he was able to speak.

Nevertheless, he was sure his blunt statement would get the point across if there might be a question of who was in charge. “When I arrived at Marlington Hall today, I allowed you to be under the impression that my name is Mr. Stone, the new estate manager, only that isn’t true.” He thought he heard a sharp gasp from Mrs. Harper, but before he could give her the satisfaction of showing him out the front door, he continued, “The truth is thatIam the new heir of Marlington Hall. My name is Miles Stone, the Duke of Gravesend.”

The silence was almost deafening after his announcement, but as suspected, the housekeeper didn’t retain her solitude for long. “Why is it that you concealed your identity?”

This is where he had to tread carefully, for most of these people were loyal to Lady Olivia, whereas they didn’t know whether they could trust him or not. “I will admit that my subterfuge is rather… unexpected, but necessary all the same. While most of my reasons are personal, I will say that I didn’t wish to distress Lady Olivia unnecessarily with this news when she was already distressed by the carriage incident on the road.”

Miles was glad to see that the atmosphere in the room altered slightly with this pronouncement. “Naturally, you were being a gentleman,” the butler announced, and Miles didn’t miss the look he shot to the housekeeper.

“I should like to think so,” Miles concurred. “However, because I don’t wish to cause the lady any further alarm at this point, I have chosen to continue this ruse for a little while longer, just until I can be assured she will not be too upset with me for my charade.” He made sure to look directly at each one present. “This is where I will need your help. From now until I say otherwise, I will continue to be treated as Mr. Stone, the new estate manager.”

Again, there was that awkward silence, as glances were exchanged about the room. Again, it was Edgerton who came to his aid. “I don’t see any harm in a slight ruse, as long as it doesn’t continue for an extended length of time.”

“I was going to give it a few days, a week at most,” Miles noted.

The butler nodded. “Very well. You have my word that Lady Olivia will not be informed of your identity until such time as the subject may be revisited.”

Miles searched the faces of the others and waited for the same recognition. It was slowly given by all, until the line reached Mrs. Harper. “I don’t care for deception of any kind,” she said firmly.

“Neither do I,” Miles returned smoothly. “But when it comes to Lady Olivia’s happiness, I would like my actions to prove my worth, so that when she finds out I am the new Duke of Marlington, it might make the transition a bit easier to bear. I know how close she was to her father, how all of her sisters admired him, and from what I hear, for good reason. I should like to earn the same trust. In this instance, is a small deceit really that wrong?”

Miles was relieved to see that her hard expression wavered for a moment before she finally gave in with a heavy sigh. “I shall agree to this plan, but as Edgerton said, only for a brief time. Whether you are the new master of this house or not, I cannot abide any prolonged lies.”

“Fair enough.” Miles inclined his head. “I thank you all for your time and shall leave you to continue your tasks. Good evening.”

As he returned to the study, he sat down in the former Duke of Marlington’s chair, but instead of resuming his earlier task, he leaned back against the expensive leather and tapped a finger on the arm. He stared out the window at the growing dusk and realized that he would have his work cut out for him when it came to earning the respect of the servants. They were clearly loyal to their former mistress, and he hadn’t made the best impression with his deception, but then, he didn’t have to be friendly with the staff, he merely had to ensure their loyalty. If they disobeyed him, they would no longer work here, for he wouldn’t tolerate anyone he couldn’t trust. He never had before, and he wouldn’t start now.

Feeling restless, he decided that he needed a walk.

* * *

Olivia was curledup in the window seat in her chamber in her nightdress, sipping hot tea with a smile on her lips. She hadn’t realized just how much she had missed this view until it was no longer available to her.

However, her expression faltered when she saw movement out in the gardens. It wasn’t difficult to discern Mr. Stone’s dark figure in the midst of the snow-covered landscape, for no one else in the household walked with such purpose and determination. She frowned, for she had just managed to set his handsome visage from her mind. Perhaps she should move to the chair by the fireplace.

And yet…

Something compelled her to remain where she was. Or rather, someone.

She reached up and absently touched the pendant around her neck. She should remove it, but it just felt so… comforting against her skin that she was reluctant to do so. From the moment Mr. Stone had gifted it to her, it had become some sort of good luck talisman.

She sighed, for she knew it was dangerous to give in to this sudden fascination for a commoner, although she had attempted to tell herself that the sole reason she relied on him so heavily the last two days was because he was filling the absence of her sisters. But that wasn’t quite true. While she would never admit it to anyone but herself, she was starting tolikehim, but she was also intelligent enough to know that nothing could ever come of it. The social barriers between them were too heavily drawn. Besides, she had told herself marriage didn’t interest her, because she didn’t want to repeat her mother’s fate. She was quite content to live out the rest of her days in quiet, spinster solitude, so long as she could remain at Marlington Hall.

She sighed in relief at being spared the initial meeting with her father’s heir that afternoon. It had weighed heavily on her mind for days, and while she knew it was inevitable that they would cross paths eventually, she was grateful that he hadn’t been there to bar her entrance into the estate. Now that she was here it would be infinitely more difficult to dislodge her.

She glanced at the four-poster that had been moved into her chamber from one of the guest rooms. When she’d seen it earlier, it had reminded her, yet again, of everything that she had lost, but hoped to regain by returning here. She wanted to feel closer to her father, and this was the only place she could hope to preserve his memory. While there was the townhouse in London that her sisters had moved in to, it bore no resemblance to her sire at all. He seldom went to town, as he preferred the country, and the furnishings lacked his certain, masculine touches. Even the hunting box in Broxbourne didn’t carry his presence as strongly as the estate.

It bothered her that the scent that lingered in his chamber and other rooms of the house would soon be gone, but at least she still had her memories to comfort her. If she closed her eyes, she could almost hear his footsteps striding down the hardwood floors as he headed toward his chamber and then the sound of his laughter carrying throughout the corridors.

Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away, as she returned her focus to the man outside. He had his hands in his pockets and wore a pensive look upon his face as he looked out over the grounds, but after a time, he turned on his heel and returned to the house.

She couldn’t imagine why he had appeared so thoughtful, unless he wished to familiarize himself with the estate that he was tasked with managing. Either way, it made her uneasy, for the new heir would soon carry the same expression, and she wasn’t yet ready to relinquish her father to a stranger, a distant relation she had likely never even met, who wouldn’t care about anything but the inheritance he was due to receive. He would walk through the door with a calculated step and ignore everything special that made up this house. He would only see a roof and four walls, while Olivia saw a home—herhome.

And she intended to ensure it remained the same.

Chapter Nine

Mr. Stone was seated in the parlor, reading the newspaper, when Olivia walked in the next morning. She had taken a breakfast tray in her room, and after performing her morning ablutions, she decided it was time to head downstairs and face Mr. Stone. Things would likely be quite different today, for that social line was firmly in place now that they were around the servants. There could be no deviation from it without the gossip mill starting to churn. Word spread like wildfire as quickly downstairs as it did among the aristocracy.

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