The Duke's Alliance Book Two: A Dangerous Husband Read Online Free
Author: Fenella J Miller
his grandmother and her friends had suffered no ill effects from the excitement of the morning.
He found them in the small dining room where a cold collation had been laid out as usual.
'Grey, my dear boy, I do hope you haven't upset Lady Madeline.'
'No, Grandmamma, I haven't. I would say that she was enraged rather than upset.' He helped himself to a generous plateful and joined the ladies at the table.
'I'm not surprised she was angry with you. She came for a pleasant visit and was almost burnt to a crisp and her lovely gown was quite ruined.'
'A slight exaggeration, but you have the gist of it. I went upstairs intending to apologise and made a sad mull of it and only made matters worse. The fact that the duke agreed to assist me, and he left without talking to her, added to her annoyance.' He munched his way through several slices of succulent, home-bred ham before resuming the conversation.
'When the dust has settled I shall visit Silchester Court and make amends.'
'That's the least you can do, my boy, you must also replace her gown. We have been discussing this matter and know exactly what you must have made up for her – we've seen a perfect ensemble in the latest edition of La Belle Assemblée .'
He put down his cutlery and looked around the circle of expectant faces. 'In which case, I shall leave it in your capable hands. How long will it take to make such a garment?'
'I shall send word to my own mantua-maker today and she will send someone down with samples so we can choose the best material. We think that a Genoese satin would be ideal as muslin is too fine to be worn in the winter.'
He raised a hand to stop her elaborating. 'I've no idea of what you speak, I'll leave it to your impeccable taste and have no wish to do more than pay the bill.'
The conversation moved onto the latest on dits from Town and he hastily finished his food and made his farewells. The ladies didn't know the full extent of the incident in the library and he had no intention of informing them.
The duke had needed no persuading to help when he'd seen the knife sticking in the panelling. Grey half-smiled when he recalled what Silchester had done when confronted with the cadaver. The duke had raised an eyebrow, nodded, then told him he was profoundly thankful that the man was already dead as that saved him the trouble of dispatching the villain himself.
The door to the library was locked and the room would remain so until his own men had time to put things right. He set off to speak to Ned. Smith and Jenkins leapt to their feet and saluted when Grey walked in – old habits die hard. Ned nodded from his bed.
'As you were, men, we've much to discuss. I take it you had no luck in the woods.'
'No, sir, we found nothing useful. Whoever it was made good their escape without leaving any clues.' Smith scratched his head. 'We ain't happy about this, Major, some bugger's trying to do you in and he's got trained men to help him.'
'The attempts began before I arrived here – in fact, whilst I was still a serving officer. It has to be related to my work for Lord Wellesley.'
'I reckon as you're right, sir.' Bishop scowled. 'There must be something you learned when an intelligence officer what could ruin whoever's trying to top you.'
'Sit down both of you. I should explain that most of the papers I carried from behind enemy lines were sealed. Once I'd delivered a verbal message I removed it from my memory.'
They sat for a few minutes digesting this statement. Grey broke the silence. 'The duke's gone to speak to the militia and hopefully he can persuade their commanding officer to search the neighbourhood. It's a close-knit community here and any strangers would be noticed.'
'I been thinking, sir, and reckon I might know why them varmints are after you,' Bishop told him.
'Go on, I'm listening.'
'Remember, a few months ago we had to go behind enemy lines and were almost captured?'
'I do indeed, that was a damned close thing and the fact
He found them in the small dining room where a cold collation had been laid out as usual.
'Grey, my dear boy, I do hope you haven't upset Lady Madeline.'
'No, Grandmamma, I haven't. I would say that she was enraged rather than upset.' He helped himself to a generous plateful and joined the ladies at the table.
'I'm not surprised she was angry with you. She came for a pleasant visit and was almost burnt to a crisp and her lovely gown was quite ruined.'
'A slight exaggeration, but you have the gist of it. I went upstairs intending to apologise and made a sad mull of it and only made matters worse. The fact that the duke agreed to assist me, and he left without talking to her, added to her annoyance.' He munched his way through several slices of succulent, home-bred ham before resuming the conversation.
'When the dust has settled I shall visit Silchester Court and make amends.'
'That's the least you can do, my boy, you must also replace her gown. We have been discussing this matter and know exactly what you must have made up for her – we've seen a perfect ensemble in the latest edition of La Belle Assemblée .'
He put down his cutlery and looked around the circle of expectant faces. 'In which case, I shall leave it in your capable hands. How long will it take to make such a garment?'
'I shall send word to my own mantua-maker today and she will send someone down with samples so we can choose the best material. We think that a Genoese satin would be ideal as muslin is too fine to be worn in the winter.'
He raised a hand to stop her elaborating. 'I've no idea of what you speak, I'll leave it to your impeccable taste and have no wish to do more than pay the bill.'
The conversation moved onto the latest on dits from Town and he hastily finished his food and made his farewells. The ladies didn't know the full extent of the incident in the library and he had no intention of informing them.
The duke had needed no persuading to help when he'd seen the knife sticking in the panelling. Grey half-smiled when he recalled what Silchester had done when confronted with the cadaver. The duke had raised an eyebrow, nodded, then told him he was profoundly thankful that the man was already dead as that saved him the trouble of dispatching the villain himself.
The door to the library was locked and the room would remain so until his own men had time to put things right. He set off to speak to Ned. Smith and Jenkins leapt to their feet and saluted when Grey walked in – old habits die hard. Ned nodded from his bed.
'As you were, men, we've much to discuss. I take it you had no luck in the woods.'
'No, sir, we found nothing useful. Whoever it was made good their escape without leaving any clues.' Smith scratched his head. 'We ain't happy about this, Major, some bugger's trying to do you in and he's got trained men to help him.'
'The attempts began before I arrived here – in fact, whilst I was still a serving officer. It has to be related to my work for Lord Wellesley.'
'I reckon as you're right, sir.' Bishop scowled. 'There must be something you learned when an intelligence officer what could ruin whoever's trying to top you.'
'Sit down both of you. I should explain that most of the papers I carried from behind enemy lines were sealed. Once I'd delivered a verbal message I removed it from my memory.'
They sat for a few minutes digesting this statement. Grey broke the silence. 'The duke's gone to speak to the militia and hopefully he can persuade their commanding officer to search the neighbourhood. It's a close-knit community here and any strangers would be noticed.'
'I been thinking, sir, and reckon I might know why them varmints are after you,' Bishop told him.
'Go on, I'm listening.'
'Remember, a few months ago we had to go behind enemy lines and were almost captured?'
'I do indeed, that was a damned close thing and the fact
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