Page 2 of Code Name Duchess


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“Leo,” Vicky’s tone changed entirely as she addressed her brother. Gone were the anger and irritability, and in their place was a genuine sweetness and delight at seeing their brother. Winnie understood, of course, she loved Leo, their elder brother and guardian, just as much. Or dare she even think it, more than her sister? She and Leo were closer in age than she and Victoria, but that was not why. They were alike, two peas in a pod, their mother used to call them.

Where Leo went, Winnie wasn’t far. This was true when they were children, and it was still true to this day.

Vicky placed her thin red lips on their brother’s cheek, and he responded in kind before planting a kiss on Winnie’s forehead. She looked at her brother, who towered over her, and sighed.

“Vicky let Pugsley out, and he chased the kittens.”

Leo turned his head as a frown appeared on his forehead. “Vicky, I told you to keep control of the dog.”

“I did,” she replied with some impertinence in her voice. “He must have escaped when I took a rest in the drawing room.”

“Perhaps if you did not stay out half of the night, you would not need to take such a deep rest in the drawing room in the middle of the day,” Winnie said.

“Winnie,” Leo drew her name out in the same way he always did if he thought she was getting out of line. Which, of course, she was. She had little patience for her sister.

Why must she vex me so? Why is it that me and Vicky cannot be more like Leo and me? How much easier would our life have been after Mother and Father died if only she could have been more amenable, more personable, and less brash?

“Must the two of you quarrel with such ferocity? It is as though you were two children, not grown ladies of high birth.”

Vicky shrugged. “I am not the one who started this quarrel. You perhaps ought to converse with our sister if you think such disagreements are not ladylike, for it is she who starts them time and again.”

She shrugged and did not even look at Winnie before marching back into the house. When she was gone, and the large French door closed behind her, Leo looked at Winnie.

“WinnWinn…”

Faith, her brother knew precisely that nothing soothed her quicker than the use of the old childhood pet name only he used for her.

“I do not understand why she is so peculiar. Sometimes I wonder if she is really our sister or if the nursemaid accidentally brought the wrong baby home from a walk in Hyde Park one day.”

Leo’s chestnut-colored eyes flashed. “Do not speak so unkindly of Vicky. She is not like you and me, but she is still our sister, and I know you love her as much as I do.”

“I suppose. I wish we could be closer, Victoria and I. And yet, we hardly speak even though we live in the same house and share the same name, the same table, the same fate. I hoped we would grow closer after Papa and Mama died, but it seems the opposite has been true. I cannot help it. We have different personalities. The best we can do is to be kind to one another.”

Leo wrapped an arm around her. Winnie, almost a head shorter than her brother, leaned against his shoulder.

“Soon either you or she will marry, and everything will change.”

Winnie sighed deeply as they sat on a bench under a mighty oak tree. They were fortunate to have as large a home as they did. Their father had been a Baron, and upon his death, Leo succeeded him as Baron Drayton. As far as the peerage went, Barons were the lowest ranking by far, and few had the good fortune to own a home as magnificent as theirs. While most wealthy Londoners lived in townhouses, theirs was a mansion in its own right. Of course, it was also their only home since they didn’t own a country estate like most peers did.

Their fortune did not come from lands or mines or even plantations overseas. Theirs came from the sugar-spice trades, and thanks to their father’s investments and her brother’s skill, they were wealthier than even some Earls.

“Perhaps it will be you who marries first. While Victoria enjoys the social circle, she does not appear inclined to court, or if she is, she has not shared it with either of us. And I…”

“You,” her brother said as he stretched his long legs out before him, his arms crossed behind his head, “you are madly in love with Seth and have always been.”

“Leopold Keating…”

“It is the truth. Have you not smelled of April and May since the very beginning of time? Or at least since that first night you set your eyes on Seth Dunn? Have you not dreamt of becoming the Duchess of Cambarton since you were but a young lady just out?”

She colored up and averted her eyes. Even in front of her brother, Winnifred couldn’t allow her feelings for her brother’s friend and business partner to show. Alas, Leo always read her like an open book, and there was nothing she could do about it.

“He is a charming man, even I must confess that. Whenever the two of us go anywhere together, he draws all the attention. Remarkable, given how mawkish and moody he can be. Seth is the one who is sought after and admired. I do not envy him. ‘pon my honor, I do not wish to have his responsibilities. It’s no wonder he is sometimes so sullen.”

Winnifred shook her head. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to be a Duke and become one at such a young age. Seth had succeeded his father to the title the year before her parents passed away, and she remembered the sorrow in his eyes, the weight that rested upon his shoulders and didn’t seem to lift for years. It was then, during those years they each struggled with their sorrows, that a spark awoke in her heart for him, and it had grown into a roaring fire over the years that nothing, not even time, could extinguish.

“It must be difficult for him, I agree.” Her thoughts wandered to the brooding young man who was never far from her mind. It was odd, while he and her brother were close, both as business partners and as friends, she never found occasion to be alone with him. Even in company, they did not converse much. He was in many ways an enigma, a mysterious man who existed in the same realm as her, and yet an invisible veil kept them apart.

She spoke to him on occasion, always in company, of course. He was charming when he wanted to be, witty and intelligent. However, their interaction was always superficial. It was no wonder. She was, after all, nothing to him but the sister of his friend. And he was a Duke. Despite their connection by way of Leo, they were as far apart within their class as any two members of the nobility could be. One day, she knew, he’d marry the daughter of a fellow Duke or a Marquess at least. He’d never have eyes for someone who was the mere sister of a Baron.