Read The Theft of a Dukedom for Free Online

the door again, running right through the family
suites to her Aunt Agatha’s suite.
    Both men were relaxing in the bright English sun.
Havers had arrived with the obligatory brandy and they
sat in companionable silence.
    ‘How’s your leg?’ Richard asked softly as a bee
buzzed around the decanter on the table.
‘Getting better.’ Charles replied in the same lazy
way. ‘It doesn’t hurt all the time any more. How’s your
back?’ Richard shrugged and it was quiet again. Both
men were oblivious to the drone of London, having lived
with an army of thousands they were used to the noise
of population.
‘How many times have you woken up in the
garden in the morning?’ Richard asked suddenly and
shivered.
‘I haven’t yet. But then I tend to fall asleep in
front of the fire in the drawing room.’ He looked at
Richard. ‘Have you?’
Richard nodded. ‘I damn nearly killed my valet
the first morning back.' He whispered. ‘The stupid
bastard shook my shoulder when I told him not to, even
if I was screaming.’
‘What happened?’ Charles asked just as softly.
‘By the time I was awake enough to realize
where I was, the poor sod was almost blue in the face
from my hand around his throat!’
‘I did the same thing to my father.’ Charles
admitted softly. ‘I think he stroked my head, but all I
saw was a french soldier until he collapsed onto the
settee and I realized I was in the drawing room.’ He
shook his head. ‘Who would have thought that going to
war would have such a detrimental effect on our lives? I
assumed it would be glorious, did you?’
‘I’m afraid I did. My brother tried to warn me
about it, but I wouldn’t listen.’
‘Wasn’t he in the navy?’
‘Yes. He sold his commission after Trafalgar. He
sat one night and tried to describe the bloodshed, but I
wasn’t really listening.’
At that moment the Duke sauntered out onto
the terrace. Charles struggled to get to his feet and
Thomas shook his head. ‘Stay seated, son. You know I
don’t stand on ceremony.’ He turned to Richard and
extended his hand. ‘You must be Richard Dunsmore.’
‘I am, Your Grace.’ Richard responded, jumping
to his feet. He shook the proffered hand firmly.
‘How is Rutland? I haven’t seen him in London
for a few years?’
‘My father is not well, Your Grace. Much of the
official business has already landed on my eldest
brother’s shoulders, so the transition will be swift when
my father dies.’ He tried to sound cold and heartless,
but he couldn’t hide the sorrow in his eyes.
‘Yes, the transition of power is swift, but warn
your brother it isn’t painless. You not only have to
grieve for the lost parent, but also have to pick up the
pieces of your life and adjust to the responsibilities of
the Earldom.’ Charles had looked up at his father in
surprise, as they resumed their seats. ‘Just taking your
seat in the House can be traumatic.’
‘Is that what happened to you?’ Charles asked
with sudden compassion for his rich and powerful
father.
‘Yes. My father died when I was twenty four.
Just your age, Charles. My mother stood beside me at
the graveside and asked me what was going to happen
and I felt the weight of a Dukedom land on my very
young and inexperienced shoulders.’ He sighed deeply.
‘I’d like to believe that I’ve managed it all quite well
since that cold morning, but everyone makes mistakes.’
‘What mistake was that, father?’ Charles asked
softly.
‘Robin.’ The Duke answered. ‘Indulging Robin
was my greatest mistake.’
Charles couldn’t believe that his father had
chosen this moment to talk about his wayward brother.
‘He was always a little wild.’ He tried to excuse.
‘When he was a small boy his wildness was
treated as precociousness and excused by his mother,
who spoiled him terribly. She was so glad that he
survived childbirth that she foisted too much love on
him.’ He said distantly. ‘When he was a teenager, I
excused his behaviour as normal for a ducal