The Duke's Dilemma Read Online Free PDF Page B

heard the sound of someone attending the fire, but
didn’t bother to turn her head to discover who it was.
    Presumably the mysterious vanishing act
accomplished by the staff here had been reversed and with the touch of his aristocratic
hand Waverley had restored things to normal. No doubt the place was teeming
with eager servants, Aunt Agatha returned to her apartments and everything as
it should be.
    She dozed, letting her thoughts wander. If she
kept her head still, especially after the bouts of sickness, the headache was
not as bad and her thoughts not as jumbled. She listened to the muted
conversation on the far side of the room; what she overheard forced her to pay
attention .
    ‘Robin, are you sure about that?’ Birdie was asking,
her voice a alarmed. ‘Miss Culley left Neddingfield without taking her things
with her?’
    His reply was quiet. ‘Absolutely certain, Miss
Bird. His grace and I have gone through her apartments carefully. The trunks
are still in the attic so if she’s taken any clothes, then it was in a carpet
bag. Also she hasn’t taken her spyglass or carriage clock. His grace says his
aunt never travels without them .’
    Miss Culley was the duke’s aunt? How could that
be? As far as she knew Aunt Agatha only had two relatives living, herself and
Ralph Sinclair. Where had this Lord Colebrook sprung from?
    The import of the information she had heard
before this revelation home finally registered. Her aunt never travelled
without her spyglass and clock and always took two or three trunks. She would
never have gone away in such a manner. Something awful had happened and she was
lying half dead, unable to investigate. It was all the fault of the man whose
valet was tending to her fire.
    From somewhere she found the strength to push
herself upright on the pillows. She waited until her head stopped pounding
before attempting to open her eyes. Birdie had her back to her, was standing to
one side of the fire whilst a man, in a serviceable brown jacket, did what was
necessary in the grate.
    ‘Excuse
me, Robin, or whatever your name is, I wish to speak to you.’ Her voice emerged
somewhat louder than she’d expected.
    The man crouching at the fireplace was so
startled by her peremptory command he tumbled backwards sending the ashes from
his bucket and shovel spiralling into the air. The
resulting coughing and choking would have been amusing if it hadn’t added to
her own discomfort. Eventually the air cleared and the final particles of grey
swept away. Birdie came over smiling fondly at Hester.
    ‘I’m delighted you’re feeling better, my
dear.   Poor Robin’s most upset he covered
us both in ash. He says he’ll come back later to speak to you but has duties
elsewhere at the moment.’
    ‘Botheration. Well maybe you can find the
information I need. I heard him say Aunt Agatha is also this Waverley’s aunt.
As far as I know the only relative she has apart from myself is Ralph Sinclair
and he is no more an aristocrat and I am.’ She watched her companion’s eyes
twinkle. ‘What is it Birdie? What are you not telling me?’
    ‘They are one and the same, my dear. I
discovered that soon after I arrived yesterday. Your cousin, albeit a very
distant one, inherited a fortune and a dukedom from an even more distant uncle.
It seems even your Aunt Agatha didn’t know about this relative, the connection
was so thin as to be almost non-existent. However, there was a direct link
through the male line down to the gentleman in question.’
    ‘I don’t understand anything anymore, Birdie.
Two days ago we were planning the opening of our townhouse; I was eagerly
anticipating attending the opera, theatre and visiting the museums. Now here I
am cruelly injured by an ennobled relative and my aunt mysteriously disappeared
along with all her staff.’
    Birdie patted her hand. ‘Never mind, my dear.
You were bemoaning the lack of excitement in your life only the other week.’
    Hester could hear her friend