“Why is it you assume Ruth will not have a child? She was in a fire, nothing more. It was her face that took the brunt of the harm. There is no reason she should not be able to have a healthy heir.”
His father placed a hand on Kenneth’s. “It is not because of her scar that I worry. You know many families in our society are not blessed with children or are gifted with only daughters. Your mother and I had eight children and only four lived. And of those four, you are the only son.”
“Besides,” his mother chimed in, having placed her cup back on the saucer. “Even if you are blessed with three children, your cousin is so vile a man, so obsessed with the Dukedom, you will never be free of him. He will always plot. If he attempts to go after Lady Ruth’s life now, who is to say he will not do the same in future?”
“Your mother is right. You will never be free of him. And if he is up to no good, and we can prove it, this might be our best chance to be rid of him.”
Kenneth nodded. “Very well. We will need the assistance of some of our servants, as you said. I suggest Charlotte Lancaster, Ruth’s maid.”
His father rubbed his chin. “Molly Cavanaugh. She has been with us for a decade. Her son, Cedric, is a stable hand, he too can be trusted. Wilcox, of course, my valet. And Rimbault.”
“Any others and we might as well advertise it in the parish church,” the Duchess commented but did not look up from the bun she presently lathered with butter.
Kenneth nodded at his father and rose, uneasy with the entire endeavor. He’d hoped his father would simply send him away, ban him from setting foot on the property again but it was not to be.
Alas, he had to admit it. His parents were not wrong. Lawrence was a simpleton, but one with an agenda. He wished to be Duke and Kenneth feared nothing would stop him. Nothing at all. Not even murder.
Chapter 28
Ruth stood in her chamber, dressed only in her chemise while Charlotte retrieved a warmer dress from the armoire. She looked down on herself, the bruises on her body were a variety of colors, making her look as though she truly did belong to a sideshow.
Some were an angry purple still while others faded to an orange-yellow, others mildly blue.
“The one on your side looks painful,” Charlotte commented as she returned, a long-sleeved muslin dress in a primrose yellow hue in hand.
“It is the most painful, but I suppose I was lucky, considering what might have happened to me. A few bruises and a headache are a small price to pay for a fall down the stairs.”
Charlotte stood in front of her with her bottom lip quivering. Suddenly, she exhaled, and a slew of words flowed out of her like a waterfall.
“I was so scared. I cannot tell you. When I saw you land on the floor and you didn’t move… Your limbs spread into such unnatural positions. I thought you had died right then. I thought I would never see you again nor speak to you. It was ghastly. Ghastly. And I thought when Lord Rotham saw you, he’d faint on the spot.”
Ruth raised her eyes and blinked. “You did? But why?”
Charlotte’s shoulders dropped. She’d reached Ruth’s side and assisted her into the dress with such care; Ruth knew the young woman was fond of her. She raised Ruth’s bruised arms so gently, it hardly smarted at all as she slipped into the dress.
Charlotte laced up the back, leaving enough space between the material and Ruth’s still tender skin to make sure there was no undue pressure on her bruises.
“Well, when he saw you, he dropped beside you onto his knees with such speed I thought he would dislocate his kneecaps. And his face… I’ve never seen a man grow so pale so quickly.” She paused and stepped around Ruth, canvassing her person. “If I may be so bold as to say this, he truly loves you. I have known it for some time, as have others. Even those who did not, could see it in that moment. The way he touched you with such tenderness and lifted you up.”
“He lifted me up? I have no memory at all of what happened after the fall. I only recall seeing the stairs fly by and the marble floor coming toward me. I remember the air being knocked right out of me, and I remember your voice. Then there is nothing until I woke from some truly disturbing nightmares and found it was the following day.”
The maid placed a white, silk scarf around Ruth’s shoulders and helped her into her matching gloves.
“He did. He carried you up the stairs along with your father while His Grace rushed for the physician.”
Ruth’s heart was full of love for the man. She’d heard his proclamations of love, she’d seen it in his eyes but to hear someone else speak of his tenderness, his affection for her, made her realize that it was all true, all real.
“Thank you for telling me, Charlotte.” The maid nodded and strut across the room to the armoire.
“Which of your bonnets would you care to wear? Mind you, it is frightfully cool outside for July. You’d think it was already winter, autumn at least.”
Ruth glanced outside. She was to go out for the first time in a week and a half today. Kenneth, having secured an official courtship arrangement from Ruth’s father, was to take her into the garden, accompanied by a maid as chaperone.
It would be her first venture outside since the fall, although not her first time being in the company of Kenneth.
Faith, Kenneth. How close we have grown in so short a time. From two people who were so wary of one another, to companions, friends, and now – almost married. And all of it in just a few weeks.
“Lady Ruth?” Charlotte called out her name and when she turned to look at her, the maid stood with a selection of three bonnets in her hand and a gentle smile on her face.
