Read Christmas with the Duchess for Free Online Page B

provisions, and there was this letter for me from a London attorney. I thought it was a joke, but Captain Jericho said it looked official. Turns out, it was official. And when we put in at Plymouth for the winter, Lord Hugh and Lady Anne Fitzroy were there on the docks waiting for me.”
    “Weren’t they just,” Otto murmured. Returning half his attention to the billiard table, he fastidiously adjusted the placement of one of the ivory balls. “All the world loves a rich nephew. And the London lawyer? Was he there on the docks too?”
    “No, he was in London.”
    “Ask a silly question,” Otto murmured.
    “My uncle said it would be best not to go to London until after the first of the year—because of the weather. We set off for Warwick Palace the very next day. And here I am.”
    “And here you are,” said Otto, chalking his cue. “But why? Strictly speaking, shouldn’t you be at Camford—or Candleford, if you prefer? It is Christmas, after all. No doubt, the good people of Candleford—the Candlefordians—will expect their new lord to show an interest. Who will crack open the poor box on St. Stephen’s day, if you are not at hand to do the job?”
    “Uncle Hugh said it would be better—”
    “To wait until after the first of the year,” Otto finished, smiling.
    “Well, yes,” said Nicholas. “One does not want to speak ill of the dead, but, apparently, the estate was not in good form when my uncle passed away. There were debts, and liens, and whatnot against the property. My uncle tells me the house is empty, uninhabitable. The servants have all gone, and, of course, there would be no getting new ones at this time of year. My uncle was good enough to ask that I be included in the invitation to spend Christmas here. Was that not generous of him, considering we had never even met before?”
    “Very generous indeed,” Otto agreed pleasantly.
    “We’re to stay through Twelfth Night, then travel to London. I have to take my seat in the House of Lords when Parliament opens,” he added, a cloud passing over his face. “Life is so much simpler in the navy!” he lamented. “One has one’s orders. One knows what to do, and when to do it. Uncle Hugh says I shall have to be presented at the Court of St. James, too.”
    Otto bent to study his shot at eye level. “Just imagine them all naked; you’ll do fine.”
    Nicholas laughed nervously. “You mustn’t tease me, sir. This… This is a whole new world for me, and I’m not sure I’m up for it.”
    “It is not without its hardships, I daresay. Tell me, have you met the girls yet?”
    Nicholas blushed. “My uncle has warned me that I shall be pursued relentlessly by adventuresses,” he said, “but so far, I have only met my cousins. All five of them. Or is it six? It seemed rather like six at times on the journey.”
    “I meant your cousins,” Otto said dryly, “of which there are only five, you’ll be happy to know. Octavia, Augusta, Cornelia, Flavia, and, last, but not least, Julia.”
    Nicholas stared at him with admiration. “You know their names! I confess I can’t seem to remember them all, try as I might.”
    Otto leaned on his cue stick. “Oliver’s aunt cooked five jellies,” he said.
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “Oliver’s aunt cooked five jellies,” Otto repeated patiently. “That is how I remember their names. From eldest to youngest, in order of precedence, as it were, they are: Octavia, Augusta, Cornelia, Flavia, and Julia. Oliver’s aunt cooked five jellies.”
    “I see,” said Nicholas. “That’s very clever. But why not Otto’s aunt? ” he asked, smiling.
    “I don’t have an aunt.” Dissatisfied with his cue stick, Otto went to the rack to select another. “I should probably tell you there is some talk of Octavia’s being engaged,” he went on. “I’ll believe it when I see it. But, if so, that puts Miss Augusta on the chopping block. She’s not a bad sort, really. As far as I can tell, there’s nothing