Page 100 of The Duke of a Thousand Desires

She regarded him in chagrin. “Is cucumber a euphemism for your appendage? It is not very romantic if it is, and I shall refuse to think of our having relations as … making a salad.”

“My what?” He laughed and tucked his shirt into his trousers. “I hope my manhood is more impressive than that. I was wondering if you were hungry. I worked up an appetite myself.”

“I’m unusually ravenous,” she admitted. “But not for a cucumber. Shall we tuck into the pies and cider that Cook packed in the hamper?”

“If you like. I wish we weren’t returning to town.”

“We’ll only stay until November,” she said. “It’s time for me to come down from my turret. There’s no longer a danger in presenting myself to the public. In fact, we have an obligation to use our rank for the benefit of Society.”

“I make large anonymous donations and support social reform. I have not shirked my duty in that regard.”

“But I have to do my part. Anonymity is all very well, but how do you encourage benevolence in others if you don’t set an example? Every member of my family sponsors a charity or the arts. My cousin Chloe is a passionate supporter of a female penitentiary.”

“Good God. What is wrong with Chloe? You are not going to gaol. Why do you put me through these trials? Haven’t I fretted enough? Do you think I want you socializing with thieves and prostitutes? Can’t you amuse yourselves with corsets instead?”

“Jane and Grayson host suppers for the impoverished and fund charity schools. The idea is to assist lost souls.”

“We shall have to compromise.” He did not add that a trace of his concern for her lingered. He trusted that in time his misgivings would subside, and he’d be free to dedicate himself to love and duty. Marriage might not be an ethereal cloud on which husband and wife floated above the world’s turmoil. Nevertheless, it was a promise to enter the fray together and stand back to back until the end. And while Simon concluded that striving for the good of mankind was a noble cause, he saw no reason why he and Ravenna could not first devote their energy to the necessary pleasure of producing a family.

In all truth, he had done nothing to prevent a natural occurrence.

From the eveningthey arrived in London, they were drawn back into the smothering bosom of the family. As one of the brood, Simon was subject to the same rules the Boscastles seemed to obey only when necessary. Everyone demanded answers, from the aunts and Harriet to Heath, who seemed not entirely satisfied by Simon’s recount of the story, as if a piece of a puzzle were missing.

Simon wasn’t sure why. Perhaps Heath had other concerns on his mind. All Simon knew was that he and Ravenna were benumbed after three days of explaining every Who, What, Why, and Where of their ordeal to the family. Finally, the duke and duchess received a blessing to resume a normal life -- if one considered intrigue and sophisticated pleasures standard fare.

The Earl of Bruxton’s death caused little comment in Society. It emerged that he had not been well-liked even by his political supporters or racing cohorts. The nephew who inherited his worldly goods did not so much as bother to arrange a memorial service for his uncle.

Nor did this heir seem curious about the circumstances of Bruxton’s death. He made arrangements to move his household to the manor as soon as legalities were settled. The local authorities had accepted Simon’s claim that the fatal shooting was an act of self-defense. Kieran was not charged. Determined to atone for his past, he brought Susannah’s horse to Caverley House.

“It is calm for once in our lives,” Simon told Ravenna as he reclined in bed, smiling at the sight of her slipping out of her cherry-silk robe behind the curtains.

“You’ve cursed us now,” she said and slid naked under the coverlet to settle in his waiting arms.

Indeed, two days later Heath shared a secret with his siblings and closest cousins that sent a jolt of unprecedented excitement through the House of Boscastle: The Home Office had confirmed that Heath’s youngest brother Brandon had been seen riding on the beach in Edinburgh.

“Brandon was initially sighted in England,” Ravenna explained to Simon after a celebratory dinner in Park Lane. “If Heath knows more, he is keeping the information to himself.”

“I deduce he knows quite a bit more,” he said once they had retired to their suite. Their nightly confidences had become a ritual that unburdened Simon and reminded him how he treasured his friendship with Ravenna.

She stood patiently to allow him to unbutton her long gloves, then gown. “It explains why Heath has been more distracted than usual since our return. That and anticipating the birth of his first child.”

“In any event, it is good news.” But Simon had refrained from asking Heath the obvious: Why hadn’t Brandon contacted his relatives? Was he hiding from them? Surely he understood the anguish his family had endured, not knowing his fate for years.

“Perhaps he lost his memory,” Ravenna said as if guessing his thoughts.

Simon walked behind her to the dressing closet. “That would be too simplistic. A man who can’t remember his past would not have the wits to erase all signs of his existence.”

“Heath will unearth the truth,” she said as she removed her jewels, carefully placing her sapphire bracelet in a drawer. “For now we shall gather close in gratitude and expect a season of impatient waiting. The prodigal will find his way home, or he will be found.”

In the interim life would continue its unpredictable course. Between family and ducal issues, Simon feared he’d soon have to make an appointment with Ravenna to ensure an uninterrupted encounter.

But he had not fallen in love with an insipid woman. Her enthusiasm for the matters of life that he had taken for granted had reinvigorated him.

Why else had he agreed they would participate in a charity masquerade at the end of the week? He had not become affable. He simply wanted to give his wife everything she desired.