The Duchess in His Bed

by Heath Lorraine

  “I liked his smile.”

  “Selena—”

  “Don’t worry yourself so, Winslow. My secret will be safe with him.” She made to move past him, stopped, and turned back to him, her brow deeply furrowed. “Where is the statue of Atlas that resided in that far corner?”

  He’d sold it. The few coins it had brought allowed him to keep his mistress happy with baubles. “I rearranged a few of the knickknacks.”

  He watched as she slowly gazed around the room, knew each time she noted the absence of a treasure.

  “You’re selling things,” she said quietly.

  “Here and there,” he admitted.

  She faced him. “The statue was Father’s favorite.”

  “He’s not here to enjoy it, is he? It serves us better elsewhere.”

  “I gather this is not the only room that is not as it once was.”

  “Nothing about our life is as it once was. I’m sorry, Selena, that I have been negligent in my responsibilities. I will step up and do my part.”

  “That’s all I ask.”

  He did hope she’d ask at a more reasonable hour in the future.

  Chapter 16

  The following afternoon, as the coach rumbled through the streets, Selena decided she didn’t care if she were castigated for behaving in a manner unbecoming of a woman so early into her widowhood. The girls’ delight at a distraction from their mourning was worth any glares of disapproval she might have to endure.

  “I don’t recall Lady Aslyn calling on you the day of the funeral,” Connie said, sitting on the bench across from her with Flo.

  “Her husband is not yet fully accepted by the nobility,” Selena told her. “She would not attend without him, but she did send me a rather nice missive, expressing her condolences.”

  “And that’s when she invited us to join her today in this worthy endeavor?”

  “Yes.” No. Her letter had expressed only her sorrow over Lushing’s passing. She did hope Aiden informed Lady Aslyn that she was to have issued an invitation to Selena and her sisters. Otherwise matters could become quite awkward.

  “I’m not quite convinced we should be on an outing,” Flo said, her brow deeply furrowed.

  “We shall be engaged in a good deed, helping a young lady earn her way in the world. Even while mourning, one is forgiven for partaking in good deeds.”

  “Is one?” Flo asked.

  “Yes, of course.” She did not need her sister pushing back on this.

  “I think it’s exciting,” Alice said, from her place beside Selena. “Think of all the books we’ll get to touch as we put them on the shelves. We’ll be building a bookshop.”

  “We’re not supposed to experience any sort of excitement while in mourning,” Flo said. “It’s the reason I’m questioning it. We’re all smiling a bit too much.”

  “I like to believe that Lushing would approve.” Selena gave her glove a tug, finding it easier to look at the leather than her sister’s inquisitive stare. “He enjoyed seeing us happy. He would not like for us to be unduly sad.”

  “Mother, on the other hand, is probably rolling over in her grave.” Flo pursed her lips together in disapproval, before whispering harshly, “The Trewloves are all . . . bastards.”

  “It’s not a disease, Flo,” Selena responded tartly. “It’s not going to rub off on you.”

  “But to associate with them is scandalous. It could hurt our marriage prospects.”

  The whole point was to improve their marriage prospects, although she couldn’t explain that to them. But before she could think of an appropriate response to put her sister’s mind at rest, Alice piped up. “It’s not their fault. Should we blame people for things that aren’t their fault?”

  “I agree with Alice,” Connie said. “To a point. I’m thinking of it as research. I’ve never spoken to a lesser being before.”

  “They’re not lesser,” Selena snapped, taking no pleasure in her sisters’ wide, round eyes landing on her with the full weight of their surprise.

  “Have you spoken with one of them?” Flo asked cautiously.

  “I attended one of their weddings, did I not?” Not that she’d spoken to any of them there as she’d not attended the breakfast following, but it was best to let her sisters draw their own conclusions. They had not attended, having not yet had their coming outs.

  “What are they like?” Alice asked innocently.

  “They’re people.” Selena turned her attention to the scenery beyond the window. “With dreams and ambitions. They”—make me laugh, bring me pleasure, make me forget my sorrows when I’m in Aiden’s presence—“want what we all want: to be loved, to be happy, to have shelter, food, and clothing. I think it is quite commendable that they are seeking to improve their lot in life through business. Mick Trewlove has his building empire. Finn Trewlove has his horse farm where he and his wife, Lady Lavinia, take in orphans. Their sister Gillie, who married the Duke of Thornley, has her tavern. And now this other sister will have a bookshop.”

  “Then there is the Trewlove with the house of sin for ladies,” Connie said. “To be honest, I was quite intrigued by the place after hearing the ladies carrying on about it the day of the funeral. Have you been there, Selena?”

  “I’m in mourning.” Not a lie, but not an answer either.

  “When you are not, will you go there?”

  “Perhaps we all will.” Everything depended on the state of her relationship with Aiden.

  “You know an awfully lot about them,” Flo said.

  “They are on everyone’s tongue. Please do be on your best behavior.” Selena needed Aiden to find them worthy. “You don’t want to embarrass Lady Aslyn when she was kind enough to offer us a reprieve from the maudlin for a while. Simply think of it as an afternoon of good works.”

  She caught sight of the Trewlove Hotel first, grand and majestic, dominating the street, the neighborhood. Lushing had planned for them to spend a night in one of the well-appointed rooms upon their return to London for the Season. His appearance there would have done much to ensure other noble families visited. He’d always been humble regarding his influence but had used it where he could to the betterment of others. From afar, he’d admired Mick Trewlove for his efforts in improving areas of London. “Where others see decay, he sees the potential for brilliance,” Lushing had once told her. “We shall offer our support and hasten his acceptance among the ton.” He was wont to accept those others did not.

  Then she spotted the man leaning against the lamppost across the street from the hotel and all thoughts of Lushing fled her mind. The coach came to a halt, and before the footman could climb down and see to his duties, Aiden was opening the door and extending his hand to her. Even as she placed her palm against his, she feared her sisters could hear the wild pounding of her heart. He helped her disembark and then immediately reached back to assist each of the girls.

  Once they were all standing on the bricked walkway outside the Fancy Book Emporium—the letters stenciled elaborately and with a flourish in gold on one of the windows—Selena said, “Mr. Trewlove, it was so thoughtful of Lady Aslyn to invite us. Allow me the honor of introducing my sisters.” Even as she knew she should be introducing him to them. He was turning her life inside out, and to be honest, she didn’t care.

  “Lady Constance and Lady Florence.”

  He bowed his head slightly. “Ladies, it’s my pleasure.”

  “You wouldn’t know it to look at them, but they are twins.”

  “Like my brother Finn and myself.” He winked. “Although we were born six weeks apart.”

  “Your mother held one of you in her womb for six weeks?” Flo asked.

  He grinned. “No. We have different mothers.”

  “Then you’re not twins.”

  “I suppose not in the classical sense, no.”

  It wasn’t going to serve her well if Flo continued to argue with him. “And this is Lady Alice,” she interrupted, striving to steer them back to impor
tant matters.

  His smile for Alice was devastating in its tenderness, its kindness, as though he recognized that the losses in their lives were hardest on her because of her young age. “The lover of books.”

  Alice’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. “How did you know that?”

  “I no doubt mentioned it when I met Mr. Trewlove at Lady Aslyn’s wedding.” Her lie came so easily and swiftly that it was a bit unsettling.

  “Do you like books?” Alice asked.

  “I adore them,” he said. “As does my sister Fancy—which is the reason she’s surrounding herself with them. Come along, ladies. Let’s put you all to work.”

  He ushered them to the door and opened it. Alice fairly skipped into the building. Flo and Connie entered with a bit more decorum, but Selena could sense the anticipation thrumming through them. Selena, however, fearing the afternoon was designated for disaster, stopped beside him. “Does Lady Aslyn know I’ve told them she issued the invitation?”

  “Everyone knows what they need to know.”

  “Did you tell them . . . everything?”

  “It’s not their business, sweetheart.”

  “They had questions, surely.”

  He tucked a bare knuckle beneath her chin, tilted her face up slightly. “They know I met you at my club. They know I’m intrigued. They know how to hold their tongues. You and your sisters were simply in need of a distraction, and I thought to provide it. You’re safe with us, Selena.”

  No, she wasn’t. Whenever he was near, she was in danger of losing her heart.

  He’d spoken true. He hadn’t needed to tell his family much in order to obtain their cooperation. They knew he’d met her at his club—although he hadn’t told them how recently they’d met, leaving them to assume their paths had crossed before she became a widow. He’d admitted she intrigued him. He’d explained that he wanted to give her and her sisters a respite from their grieving.

  So he wasn’t surprised when he escorted Selena inside to find his family surrounding the younger ladies and welcoming them into the fold. It helped, of course, that they were already acquainted with Mick’s wife—Lady Aslyn—as well as Finn’s wife, Lady Lavinia. It was also clear they knew the Duke of Thornley—Gillie’s husband—as he was a well-placed, influential duke, probably on par with Selena’s late husband. As Thorne took control of the situation, introducing Fancy, Mick, Finn, and Beast, Lady Aslyn broke free of the gathering, strolled over, and took Selena’s hand.

  “I was most sorry to hear of Lushing’s passing. You have my deepest condolences.”

  “Your kind letter was much appreciated.”

  “I should have been there in person to offer what comfort I could, but . . .” Her voice trailed off as she seemed rather uncomfortable with where her words were leading.

  “We’re not the most accepting lot,” Selena said with a gentle smile that tightened his gut. Why did she have to be so gracious?

  Aslyn laughed lightly. “No, we’re not. Come, I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

  Just like that she took Selena under her wing, which was something Aiden wanted to provide for her: shelter and comfort. But he would be relegated to doing it all in shadows, hidden away. His father had hidden him away, still took no pleasure in his existence. It seemed no matter how much success he attained, it was never enough to make him respectable.

  “Ye kissed her yet, guv?”

  Aiden glanced down at the little urchin who had for some years lived in Gillie’s tavern, but now resided at the horse farm with Finn. The lad had probably seen eight years or so, although they weren’t certain. They knew only that he was an orphan, like so many. “A gentleman never tells, Robin.”

  “But ye ain’t a gentleman. Ye be a scoundrel. That’s what Mum says.”

  Mum. Lavinia. The boy had taken quickly to having a family. “She doesn’t know everything.”

  Robin’s expression turned mutinous, no doubt because he believed Aiden had insulted the woman he considered to be his mother, and Aiden expected the lad to come at him with fists flying. “Although on that particular matter she is correct. I am a scoundrel.”

  “And a lazy one at that,” Fancy said as she neared, a bright smile wreathing her face with joy. She placed her hand on top of Robin’s head. “Why don’t you help the duke place books on the shelves? He’s working in the animal section.”

  With a smart salute, the lad dashed off.

  “The animal section?” Aiden asked.

  “If you’d joined us in our little circle a moment ago, you’d have learned that I have divided the shop into sections according to the types of books to be found there.” She waved a foolscap with some sort of layout and markings in front of his nose. She would be eight and ten in a few months, but already had a good head on her shoulders for business, no doubt having learned quite a bit from her older siblings. Mick had sent her to a posh finishing school to prepare for her introduction into Society. His desire to see Fancy well situated among the nobility had been one of his motivations for achieving the success he had. “Upstairs is a sitting room. You’ll find some boxes marked with an S. If you’ll haul them up and assist the duchess in arranging them on the shelves—”

  “Which duchess?” There was Selena, of course, but his sister Gillie was also a duchess, not that she was yet comfortable with that title.

  Fancy smirked. “The one you’re interested in, naturally. I thought you might appreciate having a task that wouldn’t have everyone watching you. She seems rather nice. I like her sisters.”

  He didn’t think there was a soul in the entire world Fancy wouldn’t like. She had a rather innocent view of life, but then he and his siblings had ensured she’d been protected from all the harshness they’d faced. “You’re a conniving little minx.”

  “Thank you.”

  “That wasn’t a compliment.”

  “You’re a bit of a grouse. Do you love her?”

  What he felt for her defied description, but he wasn’t fool enough to give away his heart no matter how forcefully she was tugging on it. “You’ve too much of the romantic in you, Fancy. Now show me where these boxes are.”

  She took him to a storage room, but after she left him, he didn’t immediately see to the task set before him. Rather he wanted to take a measure of Selena’s sisters. So he wandered through the maze of bookcases he imagined his sister would take comfort from when they were lined with all the volumes she’d amassed. Peering around the edge of one of the cases, he was surprised to find the twins working diligently together, Florence on her knees, sitting back on her heels, pulling a book from a box and handing it up to Constance, who placed it on the shelf.

  “This could become our life,” Florence said on a wispy sigh. “Laboring all day.”

  “It’s not going to come to that,” Constance assured her. “Although I rather like feeling useful. Sometimes it seems we are expected to be mere ornaments.”

  Florence extended her body up until her bottom was no longer on the floor, yet she remained on her knees. “Why do you think we’re really here?” Her voice was a low, conspiratorial whisper.

  Constance appeared dumbstruck. “Well, to be helpful.”

  “Did you see the way he looked at her? Aiden Trewlove? Mark my words. The invitation came from him, not Lady Aslyn.”

  “But Selena barely knows him.”

  “So she would have us think. But why was he waiting?”

  “To be hospitable.”

  “Fire lit in his eyes when he saw her. He’d keep her warm on a winter day.”

  “All gentlemen perk up when they see her. They are all enthralled by her beauty.”

  “Her cheeks were as red as apples. Have you ever known her to blush? I think perhaps he has piqued her interest.”

  Constance laughed lightly. “My word, Flo. I do believe you are seeing things that aren’t there, because you are bored, because our Season has been delayed. But if you are correct, I won’t fault her. I know she adored Lushing, but I d
on’t think there was ever any great passion between them. A woman should have passion, at least once in her life. I suspect that is why Aiden Trewlove’s sinful parlor will thrive.”

  “Are you thinking of going?”

  Constance lifted a shoulder. “I’m curious. Aren’t you?”

  Turning away, knowing he’d eavesdropped enough on a private conversation, he decided to restrict entry into his establishment to those of a more mature age. He didn’t need young ladies making stupid mistakes. On the other hand, was it his responsibility if others didn’t keep a close watch on them? Although even when mothers did and approached him about denying their daughters access to his club, they often changed their mind with a bit of pampering. Lady Fontaine certainly had. He’d received a missive from her that afternoon stating that both she and her daughter would be returning in the near future. The foot rub had done the trick—but then, it always did.

  He located Alice in a back corner, sitting on the floor, her skirts fanned out around her, an open book in her lap. “It’ll take you forever if you read each book before you put it in its place.”

  Jerking her head up as she snapped the book closed, she looked at him through large innocent eyes, her cheeks turning a burnished pink. “I hadn’t had a chance to read this one yet. It came out too late for me to receive it as a gift for Christmas.”

  Crouching before her, he noted the title. Through the Looking-Glass. “Perhaps Fancy will allow you to purchase it today, even though her shop’s not yet open. You could be her first customer.”

  Slowly, she shook her head. “It’s an extravagance, and I can’t ask it of Selena. Her coins are precious of late.” Her blush deepened. “I probably shouldn’t have revealed that. It’s terribly crass to talk of money.”

  “It’ll be our secret.” Although he was impressed with her sacrifice. While his family was now teeming with nobs, his opinion of nobles as a whole was not favorable. He viewed them in light of the pennies they could add to his coffers, not the ones absent from theirs.

  “You’re nice.”

  He winked at her. “That should remain our secret as well.”