Chapter Fourteen

I t was strange how quickly it felt normal to have the mysterious woman opposite him at breakfast. She would then go about her business, and they would reconvene at luncheon, and she would be waiting for him with a smile and questions about his day.

Was this what it was like to be married? He had never thought much about marriage, except for knowing that it was something he must do, in time. He had thought of how he would select an appropriate match, and the qualities she would need to have – good breeding, an understanding of what the title brought with it, an impeccable reputation – he had not given any thought to life living with a wife. A partner.

Someone who would always be there, and would ask him about his day, and sit and converse before the fire on the long Scottish winter evenings…

He hadn’t thought it would ever be something he would desire.

And yet, with her here, as temporary as it was, it made him think about it…and to wonder if, perhaps, it was time to start contemplating marriage more seriously.

"It seems, Your Grace, that it was an outright lie."

James frowned. His butler, Richards, had asked to see him about Mrs Simmons, and the outcome of sending his man of business to deal with the villainous Mr Cavin.

"Then why on earth did Mrs Simmons give in to it?" he asked with a shake of his head. It just didn’t make sense. "If he did not know anything damaging about her, why did she pay him off without questioning it? And could this man really not get money by any other means? Lies and deception, blackmail and deceit – you know how strongly I feel about such weaknesses of character."

The butler nodded. "Indeed, Your Grace. I’m not sure it’s a case of the man being unable to earn a living any other way, rather him not wishing to. And as for Mrs Simmons..." He paused for a moment, and James wondered what on earth he’d uncovered. He really did not want to have to give Mrs Simmons her notice. She’d been working there for so long. But if there was more to her theft than she was saying…

"It is rather delicate," the butler began.

"Well, spit it out, man. There are no fainting ladies in here; you do not need to worry."

"It seems – although the blackmailer was unaware of this – that there was an illegitimate child, born many years ago."

Somehow, this was not the information James expected to learn. "Oh?"

"Over thirty years ago, Your Grace. Mrs Simmons, as you know, is unwed. She had the child on the continent, and left the babe to be raised by family, before returning with no one the wiser. Or so she thought, until the blackmailer began to extort her for money based on a terrible secret from her past."

"I see," the Duke said, steepling his fingers in thought.

"So he never stated explicitly what he knew, and she just assumed her long-held secret had been rumbled." Well, at least that made a little more sense. While he was rather shocked to find out that Mrs Simmons had an illegitimate child, he was pleased that there was no current deception he needed to be worried about.

"Very well. Excellent work, Richards. If you can please convey to Mr Cavin that, should he ever try such a thing again, I will make sure he never leaves Calton Jail, then I think the matter can be considered resolved."

"And Mrs Simmons? What would you like me to do about her?"

James considered his ageing butler for a moment. Clearly, his sense of morality had been offended by learning this about the housekeeper, who had been in the family’s employ for as long as the butler himself.

"I don’t think there’s anything we need to do, Richards. This relates to an incident from before I was born, I believe, when my father was duke, not me. As long as she is not foolish enough to give in to a blackmailer’s demands again and comes to me if any such issue arises in the future, I think we can rest easy in our beds."

James thought the butler wished to say more, but the finality in James’s tone could not be ignored.

"Very well, Your Grace," he said, bowing before leaving the room.

As he left, James once again noticed Penelope in the corridor outside his study. He almost smiled, a reaction she seemed to rather regularly elicit in him, but then he turned his face to a scowl. She really was always in places where she shouldn’t be, and he hoped she hadn’t overheard Mrs Simmons’ sorry tale. Not that it seemed likely that she would recover her memories and then spread gossip about the staff of a castle she would probably never see again.

But still, he reminded himself as she scurried away and he returned to his correspondence, he had to remember that he didn’t really know her or what her reasons were for being there.

◆◆◆

Penelope had overheard the whole conversation – but it was not the part about the illegitimate child that was making her chew her bottom lip in worry.

No, it was the Duke’s statements about how he found deception and lying such apparent flaws in humans. That was what solidified within her the knowledge that, when he found out she’d been lying all this time, he was not going to be very pleased with her.

She returned to the bedchamber she had been given for her brief stay, and sat in the window seat, nervously tapping her fingers against the painted wood.

Had this all been a huge mistake?

She felt like she had done at sea, when the tide had turned and she’d realised her error in judgment. Out of her depth, and with no idea what the right course of action was.

It had seemed like a reasonable idea to pretend she could not remember who she was, and to test what sort of a man he was.

But she’d discovered how reasonable and generous he was, beneath a prickly exterior…and more than that, she’d realised that she felt something for him. Something that was possibly stronger than attraction alone.

And now…how could she admit the truth to him, having heard what she had?

He hated lies and deception. And what had she done, other than lie to him and deceive him?