Last Night with the Duke

by Amelia Grey

  None of the rakes could have expected that there would be no winners that night.

  Only losers.

  The carriage stopped, pulling Griffin from the past. He looked out the small window. He was home. The sooner his sisters were married, the better. Once they had husbands they would no longer be tainted by his scandal.

  He would gladly take whatever revenge anyone wanted to do to him for his crass behavior so long ago, but he would do everything in his power to keep his sisters from being hurt because of him.

  Chapter 6

  Do choose your words carefully. You never know when they might be said back to you.

  MISS MAMIE FORTESCUE’S DO’S AND DON’TS FOR CHAPERONES, GOVERNESSES, TUTORS, AND NURSES

  A short time after the duke left, Esmeralda locked the front door of the building. The stuffed coin purse weighted the pocket of her skirt as she headed to the back of the building. She climbed the stairs to the living area and smiled at Napoleon’s familiar woof. She heard his nails clicking rapidly on the wood floor as he raced toward the entrance to greet her. No matter how quietly she tried to come up the stairs, he always heard her and stood his ground at the entryway, waiting for her each afternoon.

  She opened the door and the blond Skye Terrier jumped up to greet her. “How are you this dreary afternoon, Napoleon?”

  The dog woofed several times and licked Esmeralda’s hand as she knelt down to rub him. She patted his head and brushed her hand down the back of his warm, damp coat.

  Damp?

  Why was Napoleon wet?

  At first it puzzled Esmeralda, and then a prickle of concern shot through her. It could only mean one thing, and Esmeralda didn’t like it. She now knew why Josephine had been so nice about bringing her tea each afternoon. She was trying to keep Esmeralda from coming above stairs and realizing that she was sneaking out the back door to take Napoleon for a walk. Esmeralda rose. A strong desire to tap her foot in frustration gripped her, but she resisted the urge.

  “Enough playing,” Esmeralda said, brushing the active Napoleon away from her skirt. “Off with you for now.”

  “You’re up early this afternoon,” Josephine said, skipping happily into the small drawing room as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “I was getting ready to put the kettle on to steep you a cup of tea. I wanted to bring it down to you.”

  After a quick glance at her half-sister’s wet shoes, Esmeralda stared at the youthful face of the happy twelve-year-old. The two of them looked nothing alike, and their differences had nothing to do with the almost-sixteen-year span in their ages. Esmeralda’s hair was honey blonde and Josephine’s was a gorgeous shade of bright golden-red. On sunny days it fell thick and straight down her back, but on rainy days like today there was a beautiful wave to its long length.

  Josephine’s eyes were the most vibrant shade of green Esmeralda had ever seen. Her complexion was fair with a light smattering of pale coppery-colored freckles feathered across the bridge of her nose and cheeks. Josephine was slim but sturdy and had all the handsome features of her father’s Irish heritage.

  Esmeralda walked farther into the room and said, “I do appreciate that you’ve started doing that for me, but tell me, do we have a leak in our ceiling?”

  Josephine kept an innocent expression on her face as she looked all around the room. Esmeralda’s gaze followed hers. The drawing room wasn’t large, but it had double windows in the front and a single one at the back that let in late afternoon sunshine on clear days. They had a few nice pieces of furniture that had been handed down from Josephine’s father’s family. A floral-print settee and an armchair were beginning to show wear but were far from unsightly, and the small tea table was in excellent condition. Two brass sconces and a painting of an Irish hillside dotted with sheep were the only things hanging on the walls.

  “I haven’t seen a leak,” Josephine replied as her gaze traveled up to the ceiling, sweeping from side to side in search of a wet spot. “Why? Did you see a puddle on the floor?”

  “No, but Napoleon’s hair is wet. Much like it was this morning when we took him for a walk in the rain.”

  Her sister stilled. There was no mistaking she knew she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t have done. Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a small O.

  “Did you disobey me and go out by yourself again?” she asked even though she knew the answer.

  Josephine clamped her lips together tightly and settled them into a wide line of defiance as she folded her arms across her chest.

  “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?” Esmeralda added when an answer wasn’t forthcoming.

  “I’m not going to answer that.”

  Napoleon barked and grumbled in his throat as he jumped on Esmeralda’s skirt again, hoping to regain her attention. She gave him a couple more pats on the head then shooed him away again.

  “Why not?” she asked her sister.

  “You won’t like what I say.”

  “That may be,” she answered as her foot began to tap. “However, I insist on having an answer from you.”

  “I don’t want you angry with me, Essie.”

  Esmeralda’s anger plummeted. Josephine had always known how to go straight to Esmeralda’s heart. She didn’t want this tension between them either, but this was too important for her to ignore. Disciplining her sister should have never been her job, but there was no one else to do it since her sister’s father died. Esmeralda supposed she’d always been a nervous Nellie where her sister was concerned, and it had only gotten worse after Josephine’s father had passed so suddenly.

  “If you went out alone again, I have good reason to be upset with you. Napoleon has proven he can wait until I get home to go out, so now tell me, did you take him?”

  Refusing to answer, her sister stayed tight-lipped and stern-faced. Stubbornness was another trait she’d inherited from her Irish father.

  “Josephine?”

  “See, you’re already angry with me and I haven’t even answered you yet,” she accused with her eyes flashing rebelliousness.

  “I’m not angry at this point but I will be very soon if you don’t start talking.” Esmeralda felt compelled to defend herself. “I am getting quite annoyed with you for refusing to respond to my question.”

  “All right, I went out.” Josephine paused briefly and added dismissively, “But I wasn’t alone.”

  Taking her sister’s words as truth, she stiffened when she heard this. “Who was with you? Mrs. Chiddington? Did she come for a visit?”

  “Napoleon was with me.”

  “Oh,” Esmeralda said on an exasperated sigh. “You know Napoleon is not a chaperone.”

  “He is better than a chaperone,” Josephine contended, throwing her arms down beside her. “He’s my friend and a guard dog. He wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”

  “You know I’ve told you before that it’s not just the danger of walking the streets alone,” Esmeralda insisted, knowing that while it wasn’t the best address in the busy shopping area, they were in a well-respected section of Town that was fairly safe from footpads and mischief-makers. Otherwise, she’d have never agreed to lease the agency from Mr. Fortescue. Taking the man up on his offer to keep the agency open had not only given them a means of support, but a safe home as well.

  “How many times do I have to tell you it’s not proper for a young lady to be out without a companion?”

  “I’m not a lady,” Josephine countered petulantly. “I’m a girl.”

  “Who will be a proper young lady one day, and we can’t have your character tainted any more than—” Esmeralda caught herself and stopped just in time. She was about to say “any more than it already was.”

  Josephine was the granddaughter of a viscount, but also the daughter of a penniless Irish poet. Esmeralda didn’t think Josephine understood the ramifications of that yet, and Esmeralda wasn’t ready to have that discussion with her.

  “Nobody pays any attention to me anyway.�
� Her arms snapped back up to cross over her chest again in a contrary stance.

  “You don’t know that. How long have you been sneaking out of the house in the afternoons?”

  Josephine pursed her lips for a moment or two, then said, “Not long. Only a few times and just since the weather turned warmer so Napoleon’s paws wouldn’t freeze.”

  “All right,” Esmeralda said, thankful her sister hadn’t been slipping out all winter. “But you must not do this again. On this I will be firm and have your promise.”

  The seconds ticked by, Josephine’s gaze staying on Esmeralda’s. As if sensing what was going on between the two sisters, Napoleon wandered over to stand beside Josephine. She lowered her arm and bent down to pat him on the head.

  “We can stand here all night if you wish, but I will have your promise before either of us leaves this room for the night,” Esmeralda said, using the firm tone she would use with an unruly five-year-old.

  “All right. I promise. But I don’t like it.”

  “You don’t have to.” Esmeralda wasn’t happy about having to force Josephine to give the promise either, and quietly added, “Thank you,” hoping that would be the end of the uncomfortable conversation.

  “We get tired of staying inside, waiting all day for you to come up and go outside with us.”

  “If that’s the case, perhaps I’m not giving you enough needlework to do.”

  “Needlework is for old ladies who have nothing else to do, Essie, and you know it,” she countered.

  “Very well. Since you don’t like working with a needle and thread, then we will concentrate more on your sums, reading, and poetry.”

  “I hate poetry too, and you know that. I only write it to make you happy.”

  That wasn’t the first time Josephine had said she hated poetry, and Esmeralda wondered if it was in some way a retaliation against Josephine’s father for dying and leaving her. Myles Graham had written many poems for his daughter. She’d always seemed happiest when sitting on her father’s lap, listening to him read his latest poem. But there was no way of knowing, because Josephine refused to discuss her father. It was as if she believed that if she didn’t have to think about him, she wouldn’t miss him. At least it was only the poetry she said she hated and not Esmeralda.

  “I can be flexible on this as well,” she said, trying to find some way to let Josephine know she wasn’t trying to be difficult. “You can do more of whichever task it is that you enjoy the most.”

  “Walking outside,” she shot back quickly as Napoleon wandered over by the cold fireplace and laid down.

  Esmeralda wrapped her shawl tighter about her chest. They hadn’t had a fire in more than a week because there was no coal or wood because there was no money. There was oil in the lamp, so she walked over to the table and turned up the flame. It may be cold but it didn’t have to be dark and dreary too.

  She wished Josephine could have all the proper things the granddaughter of a viscount should have—a large, warm home to grow up in, servants to wait on her, lessons on the pianoforte, someone better in French than Esmeralda to teach her the language—but none of those things were within Esmeralda’s power to give unless she wanted to swallow her pride and ask her cousin for help. And she and Josephine hadn’t been that cold and hungry yet.

  The dashing Duke of Griffin crossed her mind, and her stomach fluttered deliciously. Those romantic feelings were such nonsense, yet she didn’t know how to stop them. And in truth, she didn’t want to. They were a welcome reprieve from her worries.

  Maybe it would do her and Josephine good to get away to the duke’s house for a few weeks. It had been a cold winter and she didn’t blame her sister for wanting to spend more time outside. Esmeralda would love that too. But if she had been out with Josephine and Napoleon this afternoon, she would have missed His Grace and other potential clients who came to her agency for help securing employees for their households.

  “Since we don’t have to take Napoleon out, I’m going to make your tea,” Josephine mumbled and turned away.

  “Wait,” Esmeralda said. “We’ll have a cup in a few minutes. I have something to tell you.”

  Josephine huffed. “It’s probably something I don’t want to hear.”

  “No, silly girl. It just so happens this is something wonderful. Or I think it is and on such a dreary day as this, it’s a good time to hear something lovely.”

  “If you think it’s lovely, I probably won’t.”

  Obviously, Josephine wasn’t ready to forgive her for being so firm.

  “I’ll tell you what it is and then you can decide if you think it’s to your liking. How’s that?”

  Josephine returned to the silent treatment and didn’t answer.

  “You and I have the opportunity to live in a different place for a few weeks.”

  “What do you mean, Essie?” she exclaimed, jerking her hands to her side once more. “We’ve hardly lived here a year. You promised this would be our home for a long, long time and we wouldn’t have to move again. You promised.”

  “You misunderstood. It’s not that we’re moving. We’re not. This is our home and will be. It’s more like we’ll be visiting. And it’s only for a short time. Six weeks at the most.”

  “I don’t want to go. Besides, Napoleon doesn’t want to go and I won’t go anywhere without him.”

  “You won’t have to,” Esmeralda said, mentally thanking the duke again for agreeing Napoleon could come. “He was invited as well. But he will continue to be your responsibility. Besides, you must go. There is no alternative. I cannot leave you here alone.”

  Josephine’s bottom lip formed another pout.

  Esmeralda forged ahead and said, “I have been employed by the Duke of Griffin to be the chaperone for his twin sisters for the Season.”

  “Chaperone.”

  “I know it’s not your favorite word,” Esmeralda admitted.

  “No, but it must be yours.” Josephine rolled her eyes in disgust and then said something else under her breath. Esmeralda wasn’t sure what it was, which was probably for the best.

  “I didn’t think you were going to work in homes anymore after Papa died.”

  Esmeralda had promised Josephine she wouldn’t. That’s why when Mr. Fortescue had offered her the prospect to maintain the agency, she jumped at the chance. Women were seldom afforded such opportunities. And it was the perfect setup with the agency below stairs and the living area on the first floor. The only problem had been that the man hadn’t been honest with her about the monthly income from the business.

  “That was my plan. But the duke specifically wanted me. Perhaps because he wanted someone near to the ages of his sisters, who are eighteen. I’m not sure of his reasons. I couldn’t say no once he agreed that you and Napoleon can come with me. That was a great concession on his part.”

  Unimpressed, Josephine challenged Esmeralda with her eyes and stuck her lip out even farther.

  It was time for Esmeralda to stop explaining and start getting ready for her new position. “Now I have a lot of planning to do. I must figure out who is available right now to have the agency open each day while we’re away. I don’t want to miss any opportunity that might come our way while we are at the duke’s house. And, I must read up on the duties of a chaperone. Oh, and I need to find out the names of all the eligible bachelors.”

  Suddenly Esmeralda’s mind was swirling with things she must get accomplished in a very short time. While Miss Fortescue had schooled her well in all the forms of service, she was wishing she had some practical experience right now to go along with her knowledge.

  “But, I must put all that aside for now.” She paused and looked down at her sister. “The first thing tomorrow we must go and be fitted for new clothing. Wouldn’t you like a new dress to wear?”

  “Why?” Josephine asked in a determined tone. “I will never get to go for a walk on the street for anyone to see me in it.”

  “Josephine, you know that’s not true
. You are simply trying to make me feel horrible about a decision I had to make for our future. I won’t let you. If this works out well, and I can earn the bonuses the duke promised, I will be able to hire someone like Mrs. Chiddington from down the street to come and be with you and Napoleon each day. Yes, to be your chaperone, but she could also go for walks with you in the mornings and afternoons too when the weather is good. A young lady must always have someone with her at all times.”

  “But what will I do during the day while you are doing your chaperoning?”

  “Well, I haven’t seen the duke’s house, but I’m sure it has a garden,” she offered, trying to find a way to be persuasive. “Perhaps a big one with paths, nooks, and I bet it will have fountains.”

  Her sister’s eyes widened a little and her expression sobered. “A real garden?”

  It seemed unwise to be suggesting something she had no idea would come to pass but since she’d finally gotten her sister’s attention, she couldn’t back away from the possibility.

  “I can’t imagine he wouldn’t have. I feel sure he will allow you and Napoleon to spend as much time in it as you would like. But you’ll also have to do the same things you do here. You will work on your needlework, sums, and reading. There’s a good possibility the duke has a vast library too. I don’t think he would mind if you read some of his books.”

  “I don’t like to read. I’d rather daydream and come up with my own stories. Napoleon and I go on many adventures that way.” She turned and looked at the dog, who had curled up by the fireplace. His only reaction was to move his pert ears.

  “Then it will be a wonderful idea for you to write a story about all the exploits you two will have.”

  Josephine walked closer to her. “And you really think the duke will let us play in his garden? He won’t make us stay inside all the time like you do?”

  “I’m certainly going to ask him if you may go outside any time you wish.”