The Duke walked into the library and Addison gave him a bow. A respectful one.
‘Why have you summoned me?’ his father said, both hands clasped on the gold-handled cane. His clothing was immaculate, except for a rumpled paper, rolled into a tube, protruding from his waistcoat pocket, which was visible when he moved. ‘I do not like to be summoned.’
‘I invited you.’
The Duke shook his head. ‘It was not an invitation.’
Addison opened a portfolio on his desk. He took out some creased paper. The bill. And then he added the note from his bank. He held it out to his father. ‘Reimbursement.’
His father glanced at it but didn’t take it. ‘You should have sent it to my man of affairs.’
‘I wanted to give it to you myself. But if you wish, I will send it his way if he is the same one you had when the invoice was presented.’ Addison tossed it to the table.
A short nod answered. A scowl. ‘I’m still undecided about attending your hanging.’
‘I decided I would not be there.’
His father snorted. ‘You’ve always been contrary that way.’
‘Like my father.’
The Duke didn’t move. ‘I would not call your father contrary. At least to his face.’
‘I’ve always been difficult that way as well.’
‘True.’ He studied the room. ‘I did not like to bring the ducal carriage here, but I wondered...’
He glanced around the room, shaking his head. ‘In the future, you can obtain an appointment with me and see me in my office if you want to talk. I do not plan to be summoned again.’
Addison hadn’t been to the ducal estate since before his mother died. ‘Would that not be awkward for you, my being among your family?’
‘Not for me. And if it is for them, it is their problem.’
‘You would agree to an appointment?’
‘It would depend, I suppose, on how the day was going.’ He glared at Addison. ‘Do not expect any more favours. I fathered you. I fed you. I clothed you. I got you out of that gaol.’ He took several steps and glanced at the paper. His lips moved into a hard smile. ‘But you took care of your education. And the amount for the theft.’
‘My education. Where I stand. The horses I own.’ Addison heard the challenge in his voice and the pride.
His father waved the argument away. ‘But you use my tailor,’ Oldston said, eyes gleaming as if he’d proven a point.
That his father knew such a detail surprised Addison. He didn’t respond. It hadn’t occurred to him that it was possible to use anyone else.
‘Your mother insisted I go to him,’ the Duke said. ‘No disrespect to the present Duchess, but I still miss your mother. She was the most challenging woman I’ve ever seen.’
‘She once said you were generous to her.’ In fact, she said he’d treated her far better than she would have done had their positions been reversed.
The Duke grunted. ‘I had to be. She insisted as soon as you were on the way. If you received any of the softer qualities in life, you didn’t receive them from either your mother or your father.’
‘Are you certain? I always deemed you too soft-hearted.’
The Duke chortled.
‘And the butler? Where did you get him?’
‘I recently employed him. I’ve not had a chance to send him for a well-made coat and trousers.’
His father raised one brow at Addison. ‘He’s different. I’ve never been called Your Grape so elegantly.’ A guffaw burst from his father. ‘Surprised you didn’t do that when you were a lad.’
‘I didn’t think of it.’
His father nodded. ‘When I got your missive, I expected you to ask for some sort of help.’
‘You’ve done enough.’
‘Yes. I have. You are the most stubborn of my sons. Even as a little mite, you’d bow and you had a way of bending either too fast or too deep or too shallow. Not respectfully, somehow.’ He stopped, reminiscing. ‘My other sons did not have to bow to me when we were alone and neither did you. And yet you did.’
‘You were the Duke. My mother insisted.’
‘That was like Vera. She never forgave me. And I would have made her a duchess.’
‘Can you blame her?’
‘Yes. Of course.’ His father glared at him as if he were mad to suggest such a thing. Addison didn’t respond.
‘You were baseborn. You didn’t have to be. That was wrong of her. I sent you to university as I did my elder sons. I would not have a child of mine be uneducated. Then she died while you were there and you returned worse for the university. Drinking. Women. Gambling. I perceived I’d made a mistake giving you an education. My first one. But you ended up securing a position with your Oxford friend’s father.’ He laughed, a true laugh, but not wholesome.
‘What’s so humorous?’ Addison didn’t smile when he directed the question to his father.
‘You exceeded both my two other sons in gambling, harlots and then in finance.’ His father shrugged. ‘Bloodlines. You can’t help it. Your mother could have thrived eating nails and dirt and been more beautiful for it.’
‘She wasn’t always the easiest person to live with.’
Now the Duke’s laughter was full throated. ‘I know that well.’ Then his voice softened. ‘But she was harder to live without.’
He moved to the shelves and thumped the urn with the back knuckle of his middle finger, then frowned. ‘Ugly pottery.’
‘I agree.’
The Duke walked to the doorway without a backward glance, but then he hesitated, adjusting his cane, and briefly tucked it under his arm. He retrieved the folded paper from his pocket. ‘Almost forgot this.’
He held the missive towards Addison and Addison didn’t feel he should take it.
The Duke took a step and tossed it next to the urn. ‘My wife sent it. She’s got a soft heart. Curious about you. Or she wants to get a laugh in at my other sons. I dare you to attend.’
Then he stepped to the corridor.
Addison gave a quick tug of the pull so Talbot-Bonette would be at the door to let his father out.
Then he picked up the paper beside the urn. His father had dared him to attend whatever event was mentioned. A sincere request in his father’s terminology.
‘Is there any baking going on?’ Addison walked through the kitchen doorway. ‘I think I smell a pie cooking.’
‘Will be soon. Peach in the oven. And I’ve just finished slicing the apples,’ Cook answered. ‘In case one pie isn’t enough.’
Addison leaned against the door jam. ‘Is Sophia in her room?’
Cook grimaced at him. ‘Likely.’
He glanced towards the servants’ quarters.
‘Tread lightly with her. You had nothing to lose when you were younger. And I don’t see a happy end in it for her.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Addison straightened.
‘You know what I’m talking about. You’ve been working all hours for a long time. Stopping to eat and sleep. Now you have a pretty woman right here under your nose.’
‘It’s not your concern.’ Addison put emphasis in each syllable.
‘Fine. I see how it is.’ Cook sniffed.
Addison walked over and put an arm loosely around Cook’s shoulders. ‘No one can cook as well as you and it would be a sin not to share it with others.’ He put a kiss on the wrinkled cheek and she beamed brighter than any of her cherry pies.
‘Get away, you scoundrel,’ she said, laughing. ‘You’ll cause me to cut myself.’
He stepped backwards to the entrance, bending to peer sideways and call down the hallway. ‘Sophia. You are needed in the kitchen.’
‘Phht,’ Cook said and mumbled under her breath, ‘I’m the only one needed in this kitchen.’
Addison smiled at Cook, but he listened for Sophia, relieved when he heard her footsteps.
In moments, Sophia appeared. Her eyes darted to him. She seemed startled, as if she’d been caught doing something wrong. She acted almost afraid to step inside. ‘Did the butler do as you required?’ she asked Addison.
‘Yes, he did. We spoke for a moment afterwards. He apologised for his nervousness. But I let him know that the Duke had no problems with his actions and that Oldston is intimidating and can be a difficult man to win over. The butler achieved it—and did it much faster than I did.’
Truth be told, they’d both done it on the same day.
Addison had an urge to lift Sophia up and swing her around the kitchen. She had no need to look worried. The visit had exceeded Addison’s expectations.
‘Where did he go?’ Sophia took in a breath and appeared to be glancing about for Talbot.
‘Don’t be concerned about him.’ The man had shown such regret and feared he’d not been suitable for Addison’s guest. The remorse had touched Addison and he envisioned Humphrey traipsing the same steps Addison had walked after being released from the gaol. They’d talked a few moments longer and Addison had sent Humphrey to the butler’s quarters to get a good night’s sleep.
Now he indicated the oven. ‘Join us. We are celebrating the imminent arrival of a pie. A taste unequalled in other kitchens and better than any others created in the entire world.’
‘True.’ Cook put the pastry in the dish, trimmed it with a few flicks of the knife and poured in the apple filling. She then added the top, making quick work of thumbing the fluted edge of the dough into shape, finishing with slits in the top to let the steam escape. ‘The usual fare, suitable for angels, prepared by a mere mortal and sometimes sampled by people with devilish smiles.’ Cook dusted off her palms. ‘I had planned to eat it all myself, but you discovered the ruse. Now I suppose I must share with everyone.’
‘You definitely have to share with me.’ He glanced to Sophia, giving her a smile. ‘Everyone else can fend for themselves.’
‘So did the Duke stop here and ask for directions?’ Cook asked. ‘Sad his driver getting lost.’
Sophia stilled, waiting for the response.
‘He said he’d never be back.’ Addison delivered the statement easily.
‘Oh.’ Happiness faded from Sophia. ‘He’s not returning.’ She gripped the apron edge. The visit had been so important to Addison.
He reached to his waistcoat pocket, holding up the rolled paper. ‘This is what it is.’ He put it in Sophia’s hand, and for a moment, their fingers touched.
‘It’s a note the Duchess sent. Inviting me to have supper with them on the occasion of their fifth wedding anniversary.’
‘To their estate?’
‘Yes. I’ve not been to my father’s estate more than a handful of times. All when I was a child and without my mother. She refused to set a foot inside.’
‘Will you attend?’
He nodded. ‘I already have the support of the bankers. Whether I have Oldston behind me or not, everyone will believe that I do. It’s as good as an invitation to the finest events in London.’
‘I think we should have a celebration.’ Cook bunched one end of the towel and held it to the corner of her eye.
‘You are looking for an excuse to create more treats,’ Addison said.
She gave him the kind of blink that a mother gave a favourite son right before she gave him a meaningless scold. ‘That’s what good cooks do,’ she answered. ‘Especially this one.’
She tossed the towel to Sophia. ‘Would you take the peach pie out of the oven and put the apple in? I’m going to get a bottle of wine that we’ve saved for a special occasion.’ She moved out, still dabbing her eyes, and Sophia expected she was using the time alone to compose herself.
‘Were you truly pleased with Oldston’s visit?’ Sophia asked when Cook had left, in part to reassure herself that Humphrey had acted the part well.
‘Yes. In fact, today was the first time we’ve spoken in a long, long while. I’ve felt that a few doors have been closed to me for fear of invoking his wrath. He has the power to make it difficult, if not impossible, for me to succeed further. I’ve crossed paths with him when I’ve been out, but it has always been as if there is an invisible wall between us, and we’ve shared less than the minimum communication to be civil.’
‘Did it bother you?’ Her eyes widened.
‘I can’t blame him. I acted the fool.’
He rested his knuckles under his chin. ‘The last time he acknowledged me was at my mother’s funeral. My mother’s funeral.’ He shrugged away the memory. ‘He arrived, said to me, “Condolences”, then immediately left after the service.’
‘Were you angry?’
‘No,’ he mused. ‘Grieving. She was not the kind of mother one expects to mourn, but I suppose I did. They said she took a cough and, suddenly, she was gone. The Duke sent his coachman with an extra horse to fetch me, but I didn’t arrive in time. I wasn’t even told why I must return to London.’
‘Perhaps he wanted to spare you worry.’ She remembered the distress she’d felt when her own mother had succumbed to her frail health, but they’d really always known she was sickly.
‘When the door was opened as I stepped into the house, the mirrors had been covered in black and the butler had a matching armband on. I tried not to believe the truth in front of me, but I had no choice. I was directed to—I said goodbye to her in the main sitting room.’
He shook his head in memory. ‘No one expected her to die. She never showed weakness. Never. But it was as if my father and I blamed each other for her death, yet neither one of us was with her because she’d sent both of us away. I don’t think it was entirely anger on her part, but merely what she felt was best. Best that I get an education and best that she not depend on the Duke too much.’
Addison’s reminiscences brought silence from him.
She glanced at the oven, wanting to let his memories settle around him without interruption. She took the towel and used it to open the oven door and remove the peach pie. She placed it on the table. She put the remaining apple pie in the oven.
He took the towel from her, which surprised her, then he flicked a crumb of the crust from the hot pan and tossed the cloth near it.
‘My mother and the Duke often fought about marriage,’ he said. ‘Their favourite topic to fight about and they had many. I didn’t know during my childhood if either truly loved the other,’ he continued. ‘But no one would argue with her so much and keep coming back if he didn’t truly care for her. If you can hear adoration, grief and loss, I believe I heard it in my father at her funeral.’
Addison watched as she folded the towel he’d crumpled. ‘He said “Condolences”. That was all. The only word he spoke to me that day. Yet it took more effort for him than any other utterance I’d ever heard him say. I thought he was going to fall at my feet and his brother stood at his side as if to catch him.’
He tilted his head back. ‘In that instant, I knew he had cared deeply for her. But I was angry. Furious. I don’t know why. Perhaps it was grief for what might have been for them.’
She wanted to touch his hand and the glance he gave her told her he understood.
‘Then, after I left university,’ Addison admitted, ‘I lived the life of a duke’s son without the funds. I had been selling the things he’d given my mother. Then, one day, I needed him and he sent his man of affairs to help me when I thought I was alone in the world.’
Cook opened the door, sniffed long enough to draw air completely into her lungs, and gazed at the waiting pie on the table. ‘Beautiful,’ she said. ‘Perhaps it is a sin to eat it.’
Addison moved, utensils clattering as he searched for them, finding forks and a clean knife. ‘Only if it’s cold.’
‘Well, you’re right,’ she said and pulled out plates. She put them on the table and took the knife from him. ‘Let me. I don’t want it butchered.’
The solitary sound was the quick ring of the blade against the side of the dish as she moved the knife.
‘Did you cut two pieces bigger than the others?’ he asked.
‘Of course. I wanted to be correct. I’m cutting it and you’re the master. You and me will each get the biggest ones,’ Cook answered. ‘Takes more food to keep us moving. We must be fair to ourselves.’
Then she put a large slab of pie on Addison’s plate and gave it to him.
He took a bite, a drop of the crust lingering on his lip before he licked it off. ‘Definitely formed by a goddess.’
‘Ho. Ho. Ho,’ Cook said. She handed a piece to Sophia.
She took a bite and sighed. ‘Never have I had better pie.’
Cook stretched, but it was more of a victory movement. ‘Wait until you taste the apple. It has figs, raisins and pears, and a sprinkle of saffron.’
They finished eating, then Cook got another piece of pie for herself.
Merry appeared in the doorway. ‘Did I hear my name called?’ she asked Cook.
‘No,’ Cook answered, ‘but you can have a slice anyway, if you take one to that manservant.’
‘Mmm,’ Merry said, moving in to sniff the aroma.
‘Well, I will be off to bed,’ Sophia said, leaving the table.
She heard footsteps behind her and knew they belonged to Addison, and the hurrumph was from Cook. Merry’s chatter filled the air, but it didn’t matter. All she could sense was Addison’s presence behind her.
‘I don’t want to work tonight, Sophia,’ he said, softly before she reached her door. ‘Would you like to celebrate with me?’
‘How?’ she asked.
‘For me, it would be by being with you.’
‘Will you promise to kiss me again?’ she asked.
His lips moved closer. ‘If you insist.’
‘Of course.’