Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

C hristine waited anxiously by the window, watching for her husband's coach. When she finally saw it, she ran down to the front door and exited, breaking out into the warm day before any of the staff lined up to greet their master and his sister.

She soon realized why.

When the coach got closer, she saw that it was not the Duke's coach. Christine was about to go back inside when she also realized that there was no one else on the estate apart from her and the staff. She was the Duchess, and she was supposed to welcome people to the manor, for it was her house now, along with the Duke's.

So, she waited as the coach made its way onto the estate and down the dirt path to the front of the building. The footman alighted the coach and opened the door for the Baron of St. Vincent to step out.

"Your Grace, it is such a pleasure to see you," the Baron said. "Thank you for meeting me out here."

"I was not here to meet you," Christine said absentmindedly.

"No, of course not," the Baron replied. "I did not mean that I expected you to be waiting out here especially. I would have come to the door, of course. I am rambling again, and I know how irritating that can be, and talking about how irritating it is is also irritating, and now?—"

"Lord St. Vincent, have you come to visit Adeline?" Christine asked, saving him from himself.

"Yes, I have. Thank you, Your Grace. She has talked a lot about you, and one of your sparkling qualities is your kindness. Now, I don't mean that she has been telling me all about who you are, but she has mentioned you a few times, and?—"

"Lord St. Vincent, I must ask you something," Christine interrupted.

"Anything," the Baron replied.

"No, it is not a question, it is a request," Christine stated. "You must not think you are irritating people or annoying them. If you are, it is only because of who they are and not because of who you are. If you are yourself and someone does not like it, then that is their fault, but you must not apologize for who you are. That is when you become annoying. I hope I have not overstepped my mark, Lord St. Vincent. I think you are a good man, and I like you."

The Baron smiled. "Thank you, Your Grace. That means a lot to me. Do you think Lady Adeline thinks the same?"

"Yes, she likes you," Christine said.

"I have been considered a fool by many," the Baron said as they stood outside the front of the house, "and while I can do foolish things, I am not a complete nincompoop. I can hear by the tone of your voice that she does not like me in the same way as I like her. I came here today because I am head over heels in love with her. She is the woman I wish to spend the rest of my life with, and I could not bear to not try. Have you ever been madly in love with someone?"

Christine shook her head in disbelief but then showed a confused smile. She was married, and he had asked her that question. He would be taken as a fool by anyone else, but it was as if he was the only one who truly saw her.

"Yes, I have been in love before." I am in love.

"Then you know how I feel," the Baron said. "You understand why I arrived here unannounced. Lady Adeline did not invite me, but until she is promised to another, I shall try. She might not love me, and her brother might not like me, but that won't stop me."

"You need to give it some time," Christine suggested, trying to be helpful.

The Baron laughed to himself. "It is when people have more time with me that they seem to go off me. I was hoping Lady Adeline might come to like me before she comes to dislike me."

"I warned you not to think people dislike you. I think they see something good in you, and they become annoyed at themselves for not having it in them. We are told men should be strong and protective, and they should be those things, but they also need to be kind and caring."

"Is His Grace kind and caring?" the Baron asked.

"I won't be talking about my husband with you," Christine replied. "Now, why don't you come in and wait for Adeline? She and her brother have gone to the countryside to visit their mother, who is not doing well. They will be back this afternoon, and I am sure Adeline could do with some positivity after her trip."

"Thank you again, Your Grace," the Baron said. "I will take your words to heart and try my best to follow them. You are also a good person."

Christine walked back up the steps to the house, the Baron following. The Duke had always been strong and protective, but she had seen his caring and kind side over time. She hoped the same would be true for Adeline and Lord St. Vincent. Adeline might become more interested in him if he could show he was strong and a protector.

"Let me order some tea and food to be brought to the parlor," Christine suggested. "We can sit and talk until they arrive back. How does that sound?"

"That sounds delightful," the Baron replied.

Christine did want to help Lord St. Vincent in his quest to woo Adeline, but she had ulterior motives, too. She was in love with Theodore, and the Baron was in love with Adeline, and neither love was returned. Most would not want to hear the Baron prattle on about how in love he was, but she wanted to feel she was not alone in the world.

She would feel that if she could talk with someone who was going through the exact same thing, even if she would not talk about her relationship with the Duke. She would let him talk, and it might make her feel a little better about her life.

Christine did not leap up this time when she heard the coach, but she did make her way toward the door with Lord St. Vincent to welcome back Theodore and Adeline.

"How is your mother?" Christine asked.

The Duke didn't answer immediately. He walked to Christine, not seeing the Baron at first, and kissed her on the head. Christine was a little taken aback at the public display of affection, especially one so tender.

"She will be fine," Theodore said. "The doctor is with her now and will stay with her for the next week, longer if she needs it. Her nerves have gotten the better of her, and she did not know where she was when she woke four days ago. Thankfully, there is a farm close to the house, and the farmer found her wandering his fields. I wanted to blame the staff when I went out there, but it is clear that they care for her. It was an unfortunate series of events that led her to leave the house by herself, and… what is he doing here?"

Christine turned to see Adeline and Lord St. Vincent talking.

"He came to visit your sister," Christine replied. "He is very persistent." She watched them talk, trying to figure out if Adeline appreciated the Baron calling on her or not.

"Adeline!" the Duke called.

Adeline looked over and then left the Baron to walk to her brother.

"Do you wish to see Lord St. Vincent today?" Theodore asked.

"He did come a long way to visit me," Adeline replied.

"We spent a long time in the coach. A walk would do us both some good. You can walk with Lord St. Vincent, and Christine and I shall walk, too, and act as chaperones. Does that satisfy everyone?"

Adeline and Christine both agreed that it did. Christine watched again as Adeline went back to the Baron, noting their individual reactions. Adeline looked impassive while the Baron was entirely enthused.

"I will get your coat," the Duke said.

It gave Christine more time to watch. She wished she had a man who loved her as much as the Baron loved Adeline, and she could sympathize with him, even if he could not sympathize with her. Perhaps in time, he would.

The Duke returned with her coat, and the foursome headed back outside to walk the grounds.

"I am glad you did not punish the staff at your mother's country house," Christine noted. "I am sure they are doing all they can to help her."

Christine continued to study Adeline and Lord St. Vincent to discover if the Baron was making any headway.

"They are," the Duke agreed.

"And what of your mother?" Christine asked. "It would be welcome to have her around the manor. Is there a chance she will return someday? I know Adeline misses her, and with everything that is going on…"

Theodore sighed. "We have not told her about that yet. If Adeline does marry and it all works itself out, she does not need to know. She has enough stress in her life as it is."

"She has been this way since your father passed?" Christine asked.

"Yes," the Duke replied. "The passing of my brother hit everyone hard, but the passing of my father changed her. We have employed the very best doctors in London, and all they can recommend is rest and fresh air. She is not bedridden, and she comes across as well when I speak with her, but she will not be around other people."

"My mother hardly gets out of bed," Christine noted. "And that is all the doctors have recommended. They tell us it could take years for her to recover, and we don't even know what started it. She took to bed one day feeling tired, and she was unable to get up the next day even though she wanted to. It will be hard for Adeline to cope with everything with her mother not around. You must go easy on her."

"What do you make of Lord St. Vincent?" the Duke asked.

"He is madly in love with your sister," Christine replied.

"Do you think he can be made to marry her and father her child? He seems to be oblivious to most things," the Duke considered.

"Can he be made to do it?" Christine asked. "I am sure he could. Yet, I agree with Adeline on this one. Should he be forced into that? I don't know. Perhaps his love blinds him, and he will do anything to be with her, but is it fair to Adeline also? Should she marry a man she does not care for?"

Christine hid her tears as she thought about her own predicament. It had been easy to be married to the Duke when she was not in love with him, but feeling so strongly for him made him hard to be around. She did not ache for a lot previously, but now, she ached for him to return her feelings.

Perhaps that would be the biggest tragedy. The Baron and Adeline make sense in a lot of ways, and it would solve all her problems, but can I, in good conscience, place him in that position? I know how much it would hurt him over time.

"I want my sister to be happy and cared for," the Duke continued. "We missed the ball last night, and there is not another suitable ball for a month. I don't like it, but I know what is best. I want you to align with me on this, but I don't need your permission to go ahead with it. All I want to know is if you will stand in my way."

Christine did not have to think about it. "No, I will not stand in your way. I might not like it, but I will support your decision. We are in this together, and I know Adeline would benefit from it. Not all marriages are built on love."

Both Christine and Theodore fell silent as they walked through the willow trees twelve yards behind Adeline and Lord St.Vincent.

Birds chirped in the trees, the breeze wafted through the branches and sounded like the ringing of tiny, dull bells, and the sunlight flittered through the leaves like someone was sprinkling golden jewels on the ground.

Christine could not help but feel the romance and lack of romance in the walk. She wanted everything with the Duke to mean more than it actually meant.

"I missed you when you were gone," Christine said when they were heading back toward the manor.

"I missed you, too," the Duke admitted. "I have not stopped thinking about the night we spent together before I left. Perhaps you can come to my room tonight."

Christine wanted nothing more, but it filled her with a sense of deep loss. The more intimate she was with her husband, the deeper her feelings would grow, and the wider the chasm would grow between them.

"I would like that," Christine said. "You also promised we would do something together. On the morning the doctor arrived to talk with you, you said we could spend more time together."

"I did, and I intend to honor that," the Duke told her. "Once I have everything on order after my visit to the countryside, I will take you out properly. How does that sound."

It sounded better than spending the night in his room, but it would still grow the chasm between their feelings. "That sounds nice."

"And I will put some thought into it," the Duke added, as if Christine had scoffed. "You had to remain here while we were away, and you entertained Lord St. Vincent, and even though you don't agree with me, you are still willing to stand with me, and there is a lot to be said for a lady like that."

"I… that is a very nice thing for you to say," Christine told him. "I look forward to whatever you plan for us."

"We have another visitor," the Duke noted as they approached the house.

Christine noticed the additional coach, but she did not know who it belonged to. "We are incredibly popular today. Although, it is not until your return that we have been amassing the visitors."

"That is only because I want to keep you all for myself," the Duke told her. "My goodness, what is he doing here?"

Percival appeared from the other side of the coach, walking toward them with a large grin on his face.

"Theodore!" he called. "When are we next visiting the club to sing the night away and get drunk as a skunk."

Theodore rubbed his head at the mention of the night. "What are you doing here, Percival?"

"You have such a way with words—you overwhelm me with your fondness. I am glad to see you, too, old chap."

Christine did not have to look at her husband to know his entire body had tensed. She had not been in the company of Lord Shelvey many times, but she knew that she disliked him.

"What are you doing here?" Theodore continued.

"Lord St. Vincent?" Percival asked, rubbing his eyes as if in disbelief at seeing the man on the estate. "Well, I have not seen you since you were rump-up in a flowerbed at Lady Agnes' garden party. Do they still call you the Baron of Flowers?"

"I d-don't think they ever called me that," the Baron replied.

Percival laughed as he remembered the event. "Oh, Theodore, you should have seen it. Head over heels, he went after chasing after some young woman to talk with her, and the woman in question was not caught by any means, but I suppose you have to take what you can get."

"Percival, stop!" Theodore ordered. "Lord St. Vincent is a guest, and I will not have any guest spoken about like that."

"I was only jesting," Percival said. "I forget that you are no fun anymore. Lord St. Vincent, I sincerely apologize, and I would shake your hand if I were not worried about you falling over and taking me down with you. Lady Adeline, it is always a pleasure to see you." Percival approached Adeline, and the young woman took a step back, a look of shock on her face.

"Percival!" Theodore warned.

Christine did not know what was happening, but it was obvious that Viscount Chiverton had come to cause mischief.

Percival got close enough to take Adeline's hand, and he brought it to his lips to kiss. Adeline quickly snatched her hand back, and the Baron took a step forward.

"My, everyone is salty today. Lord St. Vincent, what is it you plan on doing?" Percival asked.

"If you dishonor the lady again, you will f-find out," the Baron said.

Percival burst into laughter again. "I shall save both of us from the humiliation by not rising to that."

"Percival, it is time for you to leave!" Theodore boomed. "You have outstayed your welcome."

"I thought we were old friends," Percival said. "I shall leave, but don't you want to know why I came here today?"

"No, I don't," Theodore said. "You can leave, and I would appreciate it if you never came here again."

Percival smiled and shook his head. "I shall go, but I will still inform you of why I visited today. I had hoped not to do this in front of the Baron of St. Vincent, but he might as well know now, so he can move on with his life." Percival took a step toward Theodore. "I came here today to ask for Adeline's hand in marriage."