Moonlight and the Duke (Cherish and the Duke #2)

Chapter One

Lynton Grange

Devon, England

August 1817

“M y children are gone?” Connor Fieldstone, sixth Duke of Lynton, had just arrived home and was given no time to dismount before the fourth nanny he had engaged in as many months approached him with her bags packed and a letter of resignation in hand. “Nanny Fuller, what do you mean when you say that my children are gone?”

“They are gone. G-O-N-E, as in gone. Fled their rooms, Your Grace. The little savages are your problem now. I am tendering my resignation effective immediately. Good luck finding them.” She stuffed the resignation letter in his hand, and then climbed into a waiting wagon that would take her to the nearest coaching station.

Connor dismounted and went in search of his mother, the dowager Duchess of Lynton. Where was she? Gone too?

“She is shopping in town,” his head butler said, not looking very perturbed, since the children managed to run away at least twice a week and always miraculously returned in time for their suppertime pudding.

“Thank you, Brewster. I don’t suppose the children might have accompanied her?”

“No, Your Grace.” He gave a sad shake of his head. “They ran off about an hour after your mother left in your carriage.”

“I see.” The seacoast town of Lynton was one of the prettiest places in all of northern Devon, and Connor’s own estate, Lynton Grange, commanded one of its finest views. Why would anyone ever want to run away from here? Was this not an idyllic place to raise children?

Well, on a bright note, his children had not burned down the family home…yet.

Connor ordered his entire staff to conduct a search of the house from cellar to attic, and all the outbuildings. It stayed light until at least ten o’clock in the evening at this time of year, so he had hours of daylight left to find them. Still, he was worried. His boys were twelve and ten, but his daughter was only eight years old and could not keep up with her brothers.

They had done this often before, but their behavior had gotten worse these past three years since the death of their mother. He had not considered Mary a particularly good mother or wife, but it seemed even an apathetic mother was better than none at all. He supposed this was why his own—the dowager duchess who adored him and drove him mad with her meddling—was now obsessed with finding him a proper wife.

Well, one problem at a time. First, he had to find his children.

No matter how familiar they were by now with Lynton Grange and its surroundings, accidents happened. There were no guarantees they would return home safely after every escapade.

He was about to ride out with one of his hunting dogs to track them through the nearby hills, when he saw his neighbor, the lovely Eden Darrow, coming toward him in her rig. Well, he had no idea why he suddenly thought of her as lovely, for she had wild red hair and wore hideous spectacles that dulled the brilliance of her hazel eyes. Pencils usually poked out of her hair because she always carried them and a pad to jot down notes while on her nature studies.

Three smiling faces peered out from behind her, his daughter’s smile the biggest and brightest of all.

“Eden, thank goodness! Where did you find them?” He hurried forward to take his children in his arms.

“Papa! We missed you,” the youngest cried, wrapping her little arms around his neck as he lifted her and hugged her fiercely.

“Priscilla, you had me so worried.” He kissed her pudgy cheeks with heartfelt relief.

“We’re sorry,” the eldest, his namesake Connor, said as he stepped down from the carriage and joined Priscilla in hugging him.

“We were about to come back,” Alex, his middle child, sought to assure him as he burrowed between his siblings for a hug as well. “But it was a long walk, and Priscilla got tired.”

“Then Eden found us and gave us a ride,” his eldest added.

Connor felt a mix of relief and anger, wanting to hug the daylights out of his children, and at the same time spank them and send them off to bed without their pudding.

Eden watched quietly from her perch while they engaged in their joyous family reunion. “They were by the cliffs overlooking the beach. It is too dangerous for them to be playing there without adult supervision. I happened to be sketching goshawks when I saw them trying to steal an egg from one of the nests. So I brought them home with me and fed them biscuits and hot cocoa before returning them to Lynton Grange.” She glanced around. “Where is Nanny Fuller?”

“Gone. G-O-N-E. Gone,” he said, repeating the latest nanny’s words as she left.

His children cheered. Gad, they were little terrors.

But Connor was sincerely grateful to Eden for her care of them. “Stay for supper, won’t you? I’ll escort you home afterward.”

The children erupted in pleas for her to stay.

She emitted a soft breath. “All right. I’ll stay. But the three of you had better run up and thoroughly wash your hands. Connor,” she said to his eldest son, “see that Alex and Priscilla do a proper job of it. You are in charge and must set the good example. Soap and water. Hands fully lathered and scrubbed. I’ll be conducting an inspection before we sit down to dine.”

The children nodded before gleefully running into the house and almost knocking over Brewster in their haste.

Connor turned to Eden and cleared the lump of relief in his throat. “Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Those little fiends are quite precious to me.”

Eden shook her lovely head. “I know. They really are wonderful children. But their nanny situation is troubling. Another one lost? This is getting out of control.”

He was painfully aware.

But why had he thought of Eden as lovely again? Surely he was feeling gratitude and nothing more.

“We have a houseful of guests about to descend on us tomorrow,” he remarked. “There is no way in blazes I’ll be able to find another nanny to attend them for the entire week this infernal house party is going on.”

She laughed softly as he took her hand to assist her down from her rig. “Poor dear. That is a problem for you. Your mother seems to be obsessed with getting you married off.”

“She’ll never succeed. I am quite happy in my present situation.” He escorted her into the parlor to await the return of his children. “Nor do I have any intention of shackling myself to a little peahen who is young enough to be my daughter.”

“Ah, Lynton. You are quite deluded if you think you will stave off that determined dowager. You are, and shall forever be, her little boy. Do not judge her too harshly, however. She desperately wishes to see you happy.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “I am over forty years old and have graying hair. I am no one’s little boy .”

She sighed as she made herself comfortable on the settee. “You will always be that to her. She is a good mother and loves you.”

“I am too old to be mothered to death. I am a—”

“If you start spouting off about being a Silver Duke, I am going to kick you.”

He sank into a chair opposite her seat, casually tossing an arm over the back of it as he stretched his legs before him and relaxed. “Why should I not spout off about it? I am a Silver Duke, and proud of the fact. As it turns out, I just left Bromleigh and Camborne. We stopped in Brighton to visit Bromleigh’s cousin, Lady Shoreham. She happens to be throwing her own house party as we speak. Bromleigh and his cousin are determined to see Reggie Burton, his nephew and heir, married to a proper young lady.”

“Married? You are pushing Lord Burton toward marriage when the three of you are so desperately avoiding it? Is that not hypocritical of you Silver Dukes?”

“Not at all. Bromleigh is merely planning ahead. After all, unless he marries and sires sons of his own—which seems unlikely at this point—it is Reggie Burton who will become the next duke. Bromleigh is determined to see him well matched.”

Eden snorted. “Ah, the best-laid plans. I wonder how that will turn out.”

“Fine, I’m sure. It is an excellent plan and necessary to ensure the smooth transfer of the Bromleigh title. As a matter of fact, Bromleigh, Camborne, and I were just talking about how content we are as bachelors. Silver Dukes stick together, and none of us will ever get married…or in my situation, remarried.”

“Neither will I ever marry,” Eden said, her manner suddenly wistful. “The last thing I want is the disaster my parents have. I did not realize two people could bear so much hatred for each other.”

Lynton’s heart gave a little tug, for he knew how awful Eden’s upbringing had been. That she had come out of it as well as she had was a compliment to her fortitude and good sense. But it was a shame that their behavior had scarred her as badly as it had. She was kind, intelligent, and probably would have made some fortunate man a good wife.

She had rejected several offers, if the rumors were true. How old was she now? About twenty and four? Perhaps twenty and six. Not that she looked at all on the shelf.

In truth, she was quite pretty if one looked past those owlish spectacles and drab gowns that were serviceable and durable, and designed more for hiking up cliffs than sitting in parlors taking tea. They were not in the least fashionable. In fact, one might say they were defiantly un fashionable.

“I hate to agree with your mother about your children needing a nurturing hand,” Eden said, interrupting his perusal of her features. “Priscilla especially feels the lack of a mother. Having felt it myself, I know how important it is to a child’s happiness.”

A wild thought came into Connor’s mind, one he needed to discuss with Eden before his Mongol horde came thundering down the stairs and interrupted their conversation. “Eden, about this dilemma…and knowing how my children need a gentle hand to guide them…and seeing as how my mother is determined to put her deranged matchmaking scheme into effect starting tomorrow…”

“Yes?”

He leaned forward, quite excited about this new idea. “And seeing as I will not have a moment to myself as she relentlessly hounds me into taking a wife…we might help each other out here. Would you… Well, I know this may sound absurd to you. But would you… Seeing as my children adore you, and seeing as you would rather be anywhere but in your home whenever your parents are around… Would you consider…”

She pursed her lips and frowned. “Connor, are suggesting that I marry you?”

“What?” He sucked in a breath and his heart momentarily stopped. “Wait…no. I was asking you to be my nanny.”

The air turned oppressively thick as Eden gaped at him. “Your nanny? Your nanny ? You are asking me to look after your children while you flirt and picnic and dance, not to mention generally cavort with every peahen at your party? But I am to remain in the nursery tending to Priscilla, Alex, and Connor while you strut about like a silver cock in a henhouse? And this is helping me out how?”

“Um…” Well, he hadn’t really thought that part through yet. “Eden, wait… Don’t—”

He toppled to the ground as Eden kicked his chair out from under him.