"Send the Plain One, He'll Reject Her," They Laughed — But the Duke Could Not Take His Eyes Off Her
Chapter 11
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And she had told no one, and she never would.Beside her, very quietly, the Duke said, "Thank you, Miss Larkin."Then he turned to the congregation. "I must thank my cousin Rupert," he said, and his voice was dry as autumn leaves, "for his choice of reading. He chose better than he knew."And the old vicar, who had been growing pinker and pinker in his pulpit, suddenly burst out, "Mr. Vere asked me most particularly not to tell His Grace of the change! He said it was to be a happy surprise!"Every face in the church turned towards Rupert Vere, and every face in that church understood exactly what kind of surprise he had intended. Rupert went scarlet, then white. He rose and walked out of St. Michael's alone, and the great oak door boomed shut behind him.By the next morning, he had left the county. The Dowager, it was said, had told him he would never dine at Halsingham again.Hester did not see him go. When the last hymn ended, she slipped out by the little side door into the churchyard and walked quickly up the lane towards the beech avenue before anyone could stop her.Her aunt's carriage would leave in the morning. She would go home. It was the only sensible thing to do.She had almost reached the end of the copper-colored avenue when she heard a joyful bark behind her. Bramble came bounding up the path, ears flying, and behind the dog, walking fast and steady, his hand resting on the dog's back, came the Duke of Halsingham."You heard the word 'useful,'" he said, "and you ran away. You didn't stay for the rest of the sentence."Hester stood in the avenue, with the copper leaves falling around her, and could not speak."Shall I tell you what I said to my mother?" The Duke came closer, until he could see her face. "I said to her, 'She is the most useful thing in my life, Mother. Useful the way the sun is useful. She makes everything else worth looking at.'""You don't have to say that," Hester whispered. "I know what you need: someone to read to you, someone to tell you where the steps are. I'd do it gladly. But I won't be married for my eyes, Your Grace. I've been useful all my life. I can't bear to be useful to you, too, and nothing more.""Hester." It was the first time he had said her name. "If I wanted eyes, I could hire a secretary for £60 a year. He'd read my letters perfectly well. He'd never once make me laugh about a dairy maid."She made a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob.