Ice Cold Duke (Frigid Dukes #2)

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

“ W e were supposed to leave a quarter of an hour ago!” Lucien thundered, staring confusedly back and forth across the crowded entrance hall. Everywhere he looked, there was chaos. Trunks were everywhere. It seemed as if each of his sisters was bringing with her their entire life’s possessions, and the footmen were only making it worse by moving at a snail’s pace to bring all the luggage out to the carriages.

“What is going on?” he asked out loud to the hall, but no one answered. There was too much noise anyway, too many things going on. The footmen were racing back and forth--and yet never seemed to get anywhere with the trunks--while the butler and housekeeper were yelling increasingly convoluted orders, and his sisters were only making matters worse, going from trunk to trunk trying to find things they would need for the journey, their dogs running at their heels and barking loudly at any sudden noises--of which there were many.

“Your Grace,” the butler said, materializing at Lucien’s side from out of nowhere. “We are having a problem with Cook.”

“What?” Lucien stared at him in distraction. “What kind of problem?”

“She is insisting that she needs all of her own pots and pans to cook at your London residency. We tried to dissuade her, but she insists that she must bring them with her.”

“How can that be?” Lucien demanded. “We have the best cookery at the London residency. There is no reason why she shouldn’t be able to use those.”

His butler gave him a pained smile. “I know, Your Grace, and I tried to impart all of that to her. But she would brook no opposition. And believe me, I would not bring this to you if I hadn’t already tried every means of getting her to see reason.”

Lucien brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose and pinched it, trying to think. I have been doing that a lot recently, he thought. Another sign that everything has gone off the rails since Henry and Emery’s disastrous wedding and I was forced to take charge.

But he couldn’t think about that right now.

“What do you want me to do about Cook?” he asked, opening his eyes again and meeting the butler’s.

“I need permission from you to pack her boxes of pots and pans in your carriage,” the butler said, looking very apologetic. “It means that we may have to bring one fewer trunk of clothes, though…”

Lucien sighed. He already knew which of the many travelers would have to go without an extra trunk, and it wasn’t going to be one of his sisters.

“Fine. Do what you must.” The butler nodded and disappeared, and Lucien turned away. He had a headache, and he desperately wished he could be alone right now, sitting in the peace and darkness of his study, not talking to anyone.

Traveling with four younger siblings had always been difficult. Maybe that was one of the reasons their parents had always left them at home when they travelled. Lucien had always resented this, but now that he was once again faced with the nightmare of trying to transport his families, he had more sympathy for how difficult it must have been. And while things should have been easier once the girls were grown, it was somehow always harder.

At that moment, Leah came back into the hall, her dog trotting at her heels. Her eyes met Lucien’s, and she made a beeline for him.

“Hello, how are you faring?” she asked as she approached. “Has it been very stressful?”

“More than you could realize,” he grumbled.

His sister bit her lip, looking apprehensive. “Well, I hate to add to your worries, but I just spoke to the footmen, and it looks as if they haven’t packed Colonel’s things.”

“Colonel?” Lucien repeated, staring at her. “Pray tell, who is Colonel?”

The dog chose that moment to let out a sharp bark, and as Lucien looked down at his wagging tail, his heart sank.

“The dog is Colonel, isn’t he?” he asked, glancing back up at Leah.

“But of course!” She sounded surprised that he didn’t know her dog’s name, which only added to Lucien’s ill temper. “And now the butler just told me there will not be room for his bed, toys, and favorite foods to be packed in the carriage. Something about the cook’s pots and pans? I’m not sure I heard that correctly, however.”

“You heard correctly,” Lucien snapped. “But why, dear sister, would we need to bring the dog’s things with us?”

Leah looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Because he is coming with us, of course!” she said, laughing. “Oh Lucien, I couldn’t bear to leave the darling thing behind! It would break my heart. And his, I’m sure.”

Lucien felt his last nerve sever. He’d had enough. Now the dog needed to come with them? His family truly was going to be the end of him.

“Leah,” he began, with forced calm, “we do not have room to pack the dog’s things, let alone for the dog itself! We are six people traveling to London--not including a dozen servants--in only a handful of carriages. Nor does that take into consideration all of our things! Where do you think the trunks are going to go if we have to pack in your dog and--”

A horrible thought occurred to Lucien, and he narrowed his eyes. “Is just your dog coming, Leah, or do your sisters also plan to bring theirs?”

“Why, all of us are bringing our dogs!” she said, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. “You did not expect us to leave them here, did you?” Her eyes widened with horror. “But only a shadow staff are staying here! They cannot look after the dogs, let alone show them the love and attention they need!”

“Love and attention?” Lucien was shaking his head. “They’re just d--”

“Is everything alright?”

Emery . Although the voice spoke from behind him, Lucien recognized her voice at once. It was so immediately calming that he felt all the fight fade out of him at once, all the stress and worry about the move melt away. Never in his life had anything or anyone made him feel this way, and he immediately distrusted it.

Still, when he turned around to face his wife, he couldn’t help but smile down at her as she gazed up at him, her eyes twinkling slightly.

“Ahh, Duchess.” He cleared his throat. “Leah and I were just having a mild disagreement about the logistics of bringing the dogs with us.”

“I see,” she said, glancing at the dog that was now sitting calmly at Leah’s feet, staring up at them all with wide--and in Lucien’s opinion, manipulative--eyes. “Well, I’m sure it will be a bit of a crush with the dog, but it’s worth it for the reputation it will cement for her.”

“Reputation?” This argument caught Lucien off-guard. “What do you mean?”

“It shows a charitable spirit,” she said, smiling warmly at him, “that a lady of means would take in a stray--not to mention an orphan--and nurse him back to health. Most young ladies would have a dog of impeccable breeding, but Leah is different from the rest. She has a good heart and took in an animal that needed her, not just one that would be a good lap dog.”

Lucien paused as he considered this. Although he had a feeling his wife was spinning this take on the situation in order to convince him to take along the dog, he had to admire her cleverness. There was something convincing about her version of events. Bringing the dog would make Leah look as if she had a selfless, charitable nature--which, he had to admit, was true.

Emery bent down and rubbed the dog under the chin. He gave a low, pitiful whine that made Lucien’s heart ache. “He’s such an adorable ball of fluff!” she cooed. “There is no way he would cause any kind of scandal, even if he is a mutt. Everyone in London will love him!”

Leah, meanwhile, nodded fervently.

Lucien sighed. “She really should have a dog of impeccable breeding, though,” he said, even as he felt himself relenting. “It is highly irregular. Not to mention downright unfashionable.”

Emery’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she stood and tilted her chin up, giving him a defiant smile. “Leah is the sister of the Duke of Dredford,” she murmured, and the low, conspiratorial tone of her voice made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. “She decides what is fashionable. Not the rest of the ton . Trust me. A few weeks in London, and ladies will be trading in their lap dogs for strays.”

This elicited a small grunt of laughter from Lucien. She had a point. Although the last thing they needed was to convince the ton to accept a stray dog, when they were still trying to convince them to accept his and Emery’s marriage.

But as he glanced down at the dog, he couldn’t help but feel his heart melt a little. The dog really had become part of the family in the past few weeks. All of them had endeared themselves to the family, and Lucien didn’t like the idea of them staying behind here, where they wouldn’t be loved.

“Alright,” he said at last, shaking his head. “I have too much work to do to be arguing about this anyway. I still have to read through mountains of correspondence for both the business and our invitations in London.”

Emery tilted her head to the side and then reached out and touched his arm. Something about the gesture felt very familiar, and Lucien froze.

“Why don’t you go to your study and get that done?” she asked, her eyes gentle. “I can oversee the rest of the packing.”

Lucien stared at her. “Really? There is so much to do, and you don’t know anything about packing up the carriages.”

“How hard can it be?” she asked, shrugging. “And I have Leah to help me as well.”

When he continued to hesitate, she laughed and shook her head. “Don’t worry,” she said in a low, reassuring voice. “I have everything under control. I will make sure the carriages are packed up and everything is set to go so we can get to London and begin this next challenge.”

Lucien hesitated, unsure what to say. On the one hand, he didn’t like to give up control to someone else. It was always better to do something one’s self. And he was used to doing everything himself for a very long time. On the other hand, she seemed very confident, and he really did have a lot to be getting on with.

Yet, as she smiled up at him, he felt something loosen in his chest, as if a weight he’d been carrying around for years suddenly detached itself and floated away.

“Okay,” he said. “I suppose just this once I can allow you to oversee the carriages.”

“I’ll send word once we’re ready for you,” she said, dropping her hand. To his surprise, he instantly missed its reassuring presence on his arm. But he said nothing. Instead, he nodded and turned and walked back across the hall to his study, the same light feeling filling up his chest and shoulders.

This is dangerous , a voice inside his head hissed, as he opened the door to his study and left the chaos of the hall behind. In a few months, once Leah is married, you and Emery will go your separate ways. If you start relying on her now, then what will happen when she is gone?

But he pushed away this thought. I still have a few more months, he told himself. A few more months of having Emery in my life.