It certainly mixed things up for him. He had found himself drawn to her in ways that he did not mean too. It was not simply that he found her conversation pleasant. He wanted to be near her for more carnal reasons, which was not to be. He had developed a policy against having any sort of romance with staff ever since he had incident with a cook just before marrying Abigail. He had foolishly believed that he would be able to both employ her and engage in an affair. Those hopes had quickly been dashed when the young woman had begun to express deeply passionate feelings for him that she could not contain. Thaddeus tried to discontinue their affair, but he found that he could no longer keep her in the house. From then on he knew he could not risk causing that kind of scandal with another within his household.
Yet, he found himself often thinking of Miss Evie, even when he was with other women. His affair with Rebecca had all but fizzled as she was far too emotionally raw to be able to carry on without things becoming more intimate. She had mentioned to him that another gentleman had come to court her. He knew that she was signaling to him that he needed to pursue her more properly, so he had pulled away from her. He had become more social only in an attempt to maintain enough distracting affairs to keep him from thinking of both Abigail and Miss Evie.
Abigail had become to him almost like a phantom. She felt dream-like in how she appeared to him and he could no longer quite be sure what was memory and what was imagined. He was not quite sure what to do with all of his thoughts, so he went to his confidante Lord Martin for some clarity. Thaddeus admitted, “I am not as well as I would have hoped.”
Lord Martin replied, “It was never realistic to think that you could put Abigail so fully behind you. You did love her, after all.”
“Yes, but she is gone now. There is no use in dwelling.”
“That is a thoroughly philosophical viewpoint, but not very practical. In spite of your position and proper ways, you are still but a human being with a beating heart.”
“It was not quite so difficult to quit my attachment to my parents.”
“That attachment had already been quite broken. You never cared much for your father and your relations to your mother were particular at best. The loss was not quite so much.”
“Aside from that, I have a new problem,” Thaddeus said.
Lord Martin replied, “One of the women you are carrying on with beginning to demand more of you?”
“Oh no! Those are easy enough to get rid of. No, this is about the young woman now living in the manor.”
“Ah, yes. You’ve mentioned her before. She proving to be too much temptation for you?”
“It makes little sense. Yes, she is quite beautiful, but I have been able to resist beautiful women before. It is something about her, though.”
“Like the Duchess.”
“Not quite like Abigail. In her own way. I can’t describe it. To make matters worse she is being especially nice to me lately.”
“Yes, I always fancy for more bitter and angry interaction.”
“You know what I mean. It would be easier if she were to keep enough of a distance. But she is moving about the house trying to make everyone feel better. It only makes her more difficult to ignore.”
“Well, dear friend, I must say that resist you must. Grace has been through quite enough and she has now found herself a new proper companion. The last thing she needs is to lose her to your lust.”
“I am well aware. I do believe with some effort I shall be able to control myself.”
“I should hope so.”
Thaddeus breaks off for a moment of thought. He then continues, “I have received a letter from my younger brother Cornelius. It appears that he shall soon be wed.”
“Of course. He has always done things as he should.”
“Oh yes. Father’s favorite.”
“So what are the arrangements?”
“I don’t know quite yet. It shall be in a very short time, but apparently her family will be handling the arrangements. He will be marrying into a good, proper family and taking on a proper life. I’d envy him if I didn’t know better.”
“Cornelius has always taken his duties very seriously.”
“To be sure. He wants to come to the manor to make proper introductions over dinner. I have sent him back confirmation. I suppose this will all be taking place within a fortnight.”
“Send him my congratulations.”
“You could always render it yourself.”
“Oh, but I would never intrude.”
“No intrusion necessary. Bring along Lady Nott and we shall make it a proper dinner party. I’ll even welcome Miss Evie.”
“Oh you will, will you?”
“It seems only right. It will be entirely up to Grace.”
“I’m sure.”
Thaddeus ignores Lord Martin’s skepticism and thinks about his young brother’s impending nuptials more deeply. When he received the letter it had come as no surprise to him. He had known that he would get it sooner or later, and he was not at all shocked it had been sooner. Lord Cornelius was just the type of man to begin marriage and family just as soon as he could establish himself. He had been more deeply struck by the loss of his parents. Thaddeus imagined it was because that up until that point everything he had done had been for the approval of his parents.
While Lord Cornelius continued to seek the approval of his elder brother, Thaddeus was not so concerned about his brother’s life. It was not that he did not care, only that it did not mean quite so much to him that Lord Cornelius live up to any expectations. He had fallen under the pressure of family duty, he did not necessarily want that for Lord Cornelius. In fact, he had tried to warn him against it. Shortly after the death of his parents, he had drawn Lord Cornelius in for a conversation. Lord Cornelius immediately lamented, “It shall be quite difficult to go on without Mother and Father. I have hardly just begun to fulfill my duties.”
Thaddeus had replied, “You are still quite a young man, Cornelius. Perhaps it is not yet time to think of duties.”
“But of course it is. Once I have begun to establish myself, I must find my bride and start a family. It is the Wellington way.”
“You see how Father lived, are you quite sure you would like to set yourself up for that?”
“What do you mean?”
“He was a miserable man. Don’t you want some enjoyment?”
“Father suffered for us to have a good life. It is what is to be done as the head of a family.”
“That does not have to be.”
Lord Cornelius seemed to contemplate this vaguely before saying, “But what about you? You have begun to fulfill your duties as Duke.”
“I allowed Father to pressure me, to be sure, however, my life is quite different. Abigail is quite a pleasant wife and it is not suffering to be with her. The rest of it can be frustrating; the business and carrying on in such a titled position; however, at home I feel quite light.”
“So you are saying that I should find a wife like Abigail?”
“I suppose. But that does not have to be now. You still have time to explore your options as a young man of status.”
“Mother and Father would not have approved.”
“They are no longer here.”
“That does not mean that I must abandon all that they have taught. While I will take your words into consideration, I think it best to continue on the path set before me.”
“As you wish.”
Thaddeus had been quite frustrated with his brother’s staunch belief in his parents’ teachings. Nothing of their life made him wish to follow in their footsteps, but it seemed that Lord Cornelius was of a different mind entirely. It was not quite that Thaddeus blamed him, mostly he felt sorry for him. He felt that his brother was destined to become one of those hollow older men who spoke in wry monotone voice about things they clearly only vaguely cared about.
Perhaps his brother had at least taken his advice on what kind of wife he should seek. He supposed he wou
ld be finding out soon. In the meantime he needed to keep up his appearances and maintain his business. The Wellington name had long since been associated with a certain class of dealings, enriched by each following generation. Thaddeus had taken an interest in collecting priceless trinkets as well as buying successful ventures to add to the family holdings. So far he had found himself quite lucky. It seemed that he might one day leave his son a good amount to carry on the name.
When business was done, he pursued pleasure with quite as much zeal and focus. It was a sort of game to him that pre-occupied otherwise idle hours. He found that women of certain position seemed to acquiesce to his pursuits, although there was always the standard manner of surpassing their finer sentiments of ladylike behavior. Thaddeus found himself to be quite persuasive and was old enough to have learned discretion.
In his most intimate moments, the individual woman hardly mattered. While kissing lips, they could in his mind become Abigail’s. While caressing an arm, it would become completely detached from its owner. More times than not, however, he would find himself imagining the likeness of Miss Evie. Her sweet, flowery scent. Her delicate giggle. Her skin that he imagined to be as soft as it was fair. Over and over he would ravage Miss Evie in the form of some other young woman. He thought it perhaps best, for it would be disastrous if he were to take up with the real thing.
He received further correspondence from Lord Cornelius and the date was set for the dinner. Thaddeus could not say that he was looking forward to it. He would quite like to see his brother, yet the whole ordeal of introductions and weddings had never been pleasant to him. It had been enough to get through his own. Now as the eldest and head of the family it would be his job to receive the future spouses of both of his younger siblings. It would be another in the unpleasant protocols that he had to engage in.
He began to feel as if he might be in need of a trip. His last journey had been the one he undertook with Abigail. Obviously, the following circumstances had left him not only in need of re-establishing his home, but with unpleasant associations with travel. Somewhere inside he felt some responsibility for causing Abigail’s illness, as he had been the one to insist upon taking her on the trip in the first place. However, he could no longer sequester himself to his home. It was time to take Grace along to the family vacation home. If Miss Evie were to come along, he certainly would not object.
Chapter 8
Over breakfast one morning, Thaddeus made the announcement that his younger brother was to be wed and that he would be bringing his intended to dinner. Evie had heard about Lord Wellington from Grace. From what she had been told, he was a fine young man who did precisely what he was intended to do. She understood that he had been quite close with their parents and was very hurt by their passing.
Grace seemed quite fond of her other brother. She said, “Cornelius is the good kind of man that most people hope to know. All he ever wanted to do was make the family proud. He is of great temper and with quite a sense of humor. We spent many nights playing and having a great deal of fun. He and Thaddeus are not so close.”
“Why not?”
“They never have been. I think they’re too different. Cornelius wants to be like our parents. Thaddeus wants the opposite. He was always getting into mischief so he didn’t have time for a do-gooder brother. Thaddeus cares about Cornelius, he just wants him to be different. More free.”
Evie could understand that. Her father was the rebellious one in his own family, which is partially why he lost his position as Earl in the first place. He did not do as he was told and as a result he took a gamble that cost him dearly. It seemed that Thaddeus was not quite so irresponsible. As far as she knew, he handled his business well, it was only in personal matters that he diverged from the family way. Evie didn’t see that as particularly wrong, even though she knew that as a Duke it could cause many problems.
Evie was quite looking forward to meeting Lord Cornelius. Grace was certainly quite happy to see him. She had been a bit surprised when she had been invited to the dinner. She would not have thought that she would be welcome there, but somehow she was. It made her feel like a material part of the house. Each day that she spent there she felt a bit further from her own home. She corresponded quite frequently with her family and had even been to visit. As promised, whenever Grace was otherwise pre-occupied Evie was free to do as she pleased.
Although she did not like to trouble the coachman too much for rides, she did on occasion take the trip back to her home. Always she was greeted with great excitement, although the home was not so happy. Only Hannah had a prospect for her future. She was being courted by the third brother in line in a fairly wealthy family. Hannah was not particularly smitten with him, but she knew that she would be quite fortunate to wed with him.
Lucy, however, found her potential beau much less acceptable and since discontinued interaction with him. Her parents both protested, but there was nothing to be done. Once Lucy made up her mind it was nearly impossible to get her to do anything she did not want to.
Lucy insisted that she had other plans. She said, “Sir Benjamin Dunn. You’ll know him. He is acquainted with our cousins Aaron and Noah. He is well-fixed in his family. Word is that he was intended for the Blackmore’s eldest daughter, but he does not want to marry her. All I need is to meet him and I believe that I will be able to strike his fancy.”
Evie was quite sure that it would not be so simple, but Lucy had a plan. The plan was quite elaborate and was focused on becoming reacquainted with somewhat distant relations. It would not be so easy as they had shunned their father following his initial downfall. Lucy seemed convinced that if she could convince their aunt that they were proper that she would be open to uniting with them. Evie dared not correct her and instead promised that if she were able to gain a dinner invitation that she would join her.
It was much more than distance that separated the Seymour home from Wellington Manor. Evie was never more aware of the difference than upon her return to her new home. Along with the full staff, the quarters were far greater than her own. She had thought that her family faired alright considering their fallen status. Their father had been fortunate enough to receive one of the lesser family homes. It never seemed particularly shabby until she compared it with others.
Evie returned to find a particularly chatty Grace. Apparently, while visiting with a friend a young man by the name of Joseph Dean had also come to call. She said, “Joseph is said to have been my intended. My father and his father were well-acquainted, both personally and in business. He has expressed an interest in me.”
“Are you also interested in him?”
“I was not at first. Not because he is not handsome, he really is. I just didn’t know if I wanted to do what my parents intended. I cannot deny that I do find him to be quite charming.”
“Well, it sounds like perhaps you may have found your future mate.”
“Oh no! I’m not so sure yet. Please don’t say anything. Thaddeus will be against it and Cornelius will be for it. I already know it will cause problems between them.”
“Of course I will not tell.”
“What about you? Have you found any new prospects?”
“I have not been to so many engagements lately?”
“Why not?”
“I have been adjusting to life here. Besides, I am not so sure how to conduct myself. The longer I am here, the harder it will be to hide.”
“You can simply present yourself as a cousin.”
“But eventually the truth will be revealed. I would rather keep it secret than tell lies.”
“I understand. Well, you must get out or you will not be able to find anyone.”
“But what about my commitments here?”
“We will get on. I am getting old enough to handle my own affairs. Rather my brother thinks so or not. Besides, maybe if Cornelius has found a good wife I can live with them.”
“Do you think the Duke will allow it?”
“It�
�s not entirely up to him. I don’t mean to cause any problems, but I think Thaddeus might do better on his own.”
Evie thought about this. It did seem that the Duke was an independent man, but she did not see him being pleased with Grace leaving his custody. However hard his exterior may appear, she knew that he cared deeply for his sister. He was simply not an expressive man. She could not imagine that he would also like to lose Grace after losing Abigail.
She also understood Grace’s position. She and Lord Cornelius had been closer, not only in age, but in general. Of course she would like to live with him. Evie could not help but to feel some compassion for the Duke. Even with a household full of staff, without Grace he would be quite alone. Who wants to live like that?
The Roguish Ways of a Hopeless Duke Page 5