The Duke's Love (4 page)

“Where the hell is he?” He could hear
Jordan
scolding at
Adams
. The butler saw Jake
, raised his nose
up
in the air, and left
the room
with a scowl on his face
.

“What do you want? I was just with you last night.
Do you realize you are frightening my servants?
” Jake watched
as
his
aged
butler
,
Adams
,
limp
ed
out
of
the hall
and he realized
that he
would
soon
have to replace the old chap.

“There are rumors going around about you and Lady Carmichael. Since you returned, they are dragging you two through the gossip mills. What are you planning to do about it
,
Jake?”
Jordan
asked.

“I would think the ton would have more compelling things to talk about than us.”
However
, Jake knew
the
gossipmongers
were relentless
.

Without saying a word, he had
left abruptly two years ago
and
knew
that
when he returned
,
there would be talk
. He just hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.
How on earth did anyone know that he was
home?
After all, he had
kept a low profile last night
,
and the only person he
had seen
was Ana.

“What time is it? I have things to do today
,
” Jake said.

“It
’
s two in the afternoon, you slept late.”
Jordan
replied.

"Damn. It is too late for Parliament,
so it
will have
to wait until
tomorrow. I
just cannot be bothered
with the afternoon session." Jake replied.

Jake went back upstairs to his room
and was
aware that
Jordan
had
followed him. He needed to get properly dressed.
There was no reason bothering to ring for
his valet
. He
had
managed for years without one;
so why start being
proper now?
To keep up with fashion
, he
needed new clothes
, with all
the trimmings. Honestly, he could care less
,
but he needed a wife, so he would have to suffer. All this for an old mother’s wishes, he mused.

His mother
had gone
to
Scotland
to have a talk with him.
He
could
n
’t
figure out why
, but for some reason she
wanted grandchildren and she wanted her son home
.
After all, they
had
never
gotten
along
before. All she cared about was her place in
society
and her friends. She was the Duchess of Ashbury and god forbid that anyone judge her, he thought with
cynicism
. After his father
had
died, he stopped talking to his mother
,
unless
a situation arose to force it, but lately, she
seemed desperate and lonely. Therefore, he promised her that she would have both a wedding and
a
grandchild by the end of the year, which did not give him a whole lot of time.

“Are you going to accompany me to town
,
Jordan?” Jake could see his brother mulling it over.

“I know you hate going alone
, but what will
I get out of this outing?” He asked.

“You get answers that I see you want. Is that good enough?” Jake did not intend to answer
,
but
Jordan
did not need to know that right now.

“
Then, yes
I
’ll
go with you.
Since
I need to buy a few things
anyway, it would serve me to go ahead and get it
done.”
Jordan
stated dispassionately.

Jake and Jordan
left the house and went to the tailors first. Thanks to his brother, Jake got enough evening clothes to last a lifetime. They went to get
Jordan
a riding habit
that
he needed and some other necessities. So far, no one really paid them any notice, except the store clerks that wanted the
ir
business.

“Did you put your mistress in a tizzy? “ Jake asked amusingly, several hours later when
Jordan
insisted on going to the jewelers. 

“No. I
’
m going to let her go. I hate clingy women and she defines them
,
”
he
said.
Jordan
never kept a mistress for long. Jake used to find it amusing, but not anymore. Deciding not to comment on it, Jake went along. He needed to get a new pocket watch anyway. The only watch he had was a gift from Ana
,
and he was tired of thinking about her every time he looked at it.

“Are you going to tell me how all of
London
found out I was back so soon?” Jake asked pointedly. It was either Jordan
or Ana
who had
let
the information
slip. His bet was on his brother.
Jordan
was like a woman, thriving on gossip to keep life interesting. He even had the nerve to look sheepish.

“A few of our friends came by after you left the house and I had to tell them. They are always asking when you
’
ll return and I couldn’t help myself
,
”
h
e said.

“They just couldn’t wait to speculate could they?” Jake asked with biting scorn.

“Several of my so called friends had asked Ana for her hand in marriage after I left
,
and I’m not in a hurry to renew friendships over it
,
” Jake continued as he pointed out the fact.

“Are you angered? They
’
re
also
your friends
,
”
Jordan
said bluntly.

“Call it jealous
y
or whatever else you want. The
y should know better.” He
said in a
bitter
tone. He was appalled they would be so self-centered
as
to go behind his back and do such a thing.

He was even more
shocked
about how he was acting like a child over it. He now knew where his friend’s loyalties
were
. He could not imagine calling on a friend and having Ana as
someone else’s
wife
acting
as
host
ess
.
Just thinking about the consequences if Ana had ever accepted any of the offers received
made his stomach drop.

“They were going to find out regardless, what harm
did
I do?”
Jordan
asked innocently. Jake threw him a disgusted look. He knew what harm the ton could do to people.
Jordan
just has not learned that particular lesson yet.

It was late by the time they were walking back to the carriage when he spotted Miss Sarah Fairchild. He
had
courted Sarah before he met Ana. He
had
actually
escorted
Sarah to the ball where he first met Ana. The ballroom
had been
stuffy and crowded. He
had been
trying to make his way to the balcony
,
when Ana literally ran into him.
She
had
looked
trapped and
she
was not paying attention when he introduced himself.

He remembered
how
he couldn‘t help himself
as he
took
Ana’s hand
and
had
led her to the floor for a waltz. She
had
confessed to him that she was eluding an unwanted suitor. Jake was more than happy to help fend men off her. Ever since that night, Sarah
had
ceased to exist.
After
he
begged
off
their courtship
,
she
had
never spoke
n
to him
again
. Not that he could blame her
. Being a
Duke
and casting her aside
had
damaged her
reputation
a
bit
. She probably hated him, which was a shame. She would be the perfect wife. She would provide him with an heir and maybe a spare then leave him be. It would be a marriage of convenience, which is what he wanted.

“I hope you are not going to do what I think you are
,
”
Jordan
said behind him. Jake ignored the warning tone in his brother’s voice and strolled over to where Sarah was standing with her mother. He was hoping this was going to go well.

“Miss Fairchild it is
so very
nice to see you again after such a long absence.” Sarah raked her eyes over him
and he
could feel her disdain. She curtsied
,
but
only
enough to show respect
for
his
title
. 
Jake
could feel
Jordan
's disapproval rolling off in waves behind him.

“Your
Grace
, I wish I could say the same
of
you.”
At that, she
turned up her pert nose and started to walk away
,
heedless of where she was going.

“Sarah Fairchild
,
where are your manners? I am sorry
,
Y
our
Grace
,
it seems my daughter
has forgotten
herself
.” Lady Felicia
gave
her daughter
a look that brooked
no arguments.
There was no doubt, as
Jake looked the pair over
, that
Sarah looked like her mother.
If he recalled correctly, she
was twenty
years of age
. Light brown hair framed her face
and she
had brown eyes
that stood out from
her pale skin.
S
hort and slender
, she
would become a beautiful woman as she
grew into maturity
. If only he could stir up some sort of emotion when he looked at her. Instead, he felt nothing but regrets about
having stopped
to have this conversation
.

Jordan
coughed behind him, which brought him out of his thoughts.

“
Ladies, do
forgive me.
I would like to introduce my brother,
Lord Jordan Trent.
Lord Trent, I think you already know
Sarah
Fairchild
and this is her mother
,
Lady Felicia Fairchild.” After Jake made the introductions,
Jordan
gave them a gentlemanly bow.

“What do you want, your
Grace
?” Sarah asked disrespectfully.

“I
t would be my pleasure to have you and your mother, accompany me to
the theater tonight.”
Asking to escort the ladies to the theater was a spur of the moment idea. Now,
Jake felt at least obligated to stay for an answer, hoping they would turn him down.

He was a
lmost relieved when he saw Sarah
was about to put him in his place,
Duke
or no
Duke
.
Suddenly
Lady Felicia spoke up; afraid
that if Sarah
were
given the opportunity to speak her mind that
he would withdraw the offer
.