Darling Beast (Maiden Lane #7)(23)

“Won’t you have a seat?” the third member of the tea party asked kindly. Her Grace the Duchess of Wakefield, Artemis Batten, was an ordinary-looking woman—excepting her rather fine dark-gray eyes—but she held herself with all the command of a duchess. If one were unaware of her history, one would never guess that she’d served as an impoverished lady’s companion to her distant cousin until her marriage to the duke.

A formidable lady indeed.

“Thank you, my lady.” Trevillion nodded and chose a chair a discreet distance from the trio. However much she hated it, it was his job to watch over and protect Lady Phoebe. Obviously he wasn’t needed when she was with her sister and sister-in-law—or indeed anywhere in Wakefield House—but should she wish to go out after tea, he was bound to accompany her.

Whether she liked it or not.

Lady Hero rose. “I ought to get back to Sebastian anyway. No doubt he’s woken from his afternoon nap.”

“So soon?” Lady Phoebe pouted, then immediately brightened. “We’ll take tea next week at your house—preferably in the nursery.”

Lady Hero laughed gently. “I fear taking tea with an infant and a small child in leading strings is a messy business at best.”

“Messy or not, Phoebe and I look forward to seeing our nephews,” the duchess said.

“Then please come.” Lady Hero smiled ruefully. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you when you leave with mashed peas in your hair.”

“A small price to pay to spend time with Sweet William and baby Sebastian,” Her Grace murmured. “Come, I’ll see you to the door. I’ll be leaving shortly anyway.”

“You will?” Lady Phoebe’s eyebrows drew together. “But you were gone this morning as well—quite mysteriously, too. Where are you off to now?”

It was small, but Trevillion caught it—a slight waver in the duchess’s gaze, swiftly corrected before she replied. “Just to visit Mrs. Makepeace at the orphanage. I shan’t be long—I’ll certainly return by supper, if Maximus ever emerges from his study and wonders where his wife has gone.”

“He spends entirely too much time in there. Truly Parliament won’t fall apart if he takes one day away.” Lady Hero bent to buss her sister on her cheek. “Next week, then? Or shall I see you at the Ombridges’ soiree?”

Lady Phoebe sighed heavily. “Maximus says I can’t attend. Too crowded, it seems.”

Lady Hero darted a glance at the duchess, standing behind Lady Phoebe. The duchess’s mouth flattened as she shrugged.

“It’s sure to be a terrible bore,” Lady Hero said cheerfully. “A crush like that. You wouldn’t like it anyway.”

Trevillion felt his own mouth tighten as he looked away in irritation. Lady Hero was trying to soften the blow, he knew, but she was going about it in the wrong way. He’d not been serving as Lady Phoebe’s bodyguard for long—only since just before Christmas—but in that time he’d come to realize that the girl loved social events. Musicales, balls, afternoon tea parties, anything with people. She lit up when she was at these gatherings. But her elder brother, Maximus Batten, Duke of Wakefield, had decreed that such outings were too dangerous for Lady Phoebe. Thus she went to very few social events outside her family—and those were carefully vetted.

Trevillion shifted, scraping his stick against the floor. Lady Phoebe swiveled her head, looking in his direction.

He cleared his throat. “I believe, my lady, that the rose canes you ordered have arrived. I noticed the gardeners unpacking them. I don’t suppose they need your supervision, but if you have an opinion on where they’re planted—”

“Why didn’t you say so at once?” Lady Phoebe was already moving, her fingertips trailing and tapping lightly along the backs of chairs as she walked. She halted at the door and half turned, not quite looking in his direction. “Well? Do come on, Captain Trevillion.”

“My lady.” He rose as briskly as he was able and limped toward her.

“Good-bye, dearest.” Lady Hero touched her sister’s shoulder as she passed by Lady Phoebe on the way out the door. “Try not to be so impatient.”

Lady Phoebe merely rolled her eyes.

The duchess tucked her chin as if hiding a smile. “Enjoy your roses.”

Then both she and Lady Hero were gone and he was alone with his charge.

She tilted her head, listening as he drew near. “They’re in the back garden? How did the canes look?”

“I saw them from my window, my lady,” he said as he drew abreast of her. “I couldn’t ascertain their condition.”

“Hmm.” She pivoted and began walking toward the stairs, her fingertips trailing along the wall.

He always felt a twinge of fear when she neared the staircase—it was wide and curving, and made of highly polished marble. But he’d learned after a few brief spats early in his employment that Lady Phoebe did not wish to be helped down the stairs. Indeed, despite his qualms, she’d never so much as faltered on them in his presence.

Still, he watched intently as she began her descent, ready to grab her arm should she waver.

“You’re hovering,” she said without turning.

“Hovering is my job.”

“That’s debatable.”