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The Duke Disguised Himself as a Footman to Meet His Bride — What He Overheard Left Him Speechless

The Duke Disguised Himself as a Footman to Meet His Bride — What He Overheard Left Him Speechless

Chapter 14

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Lord Ashby named Amelia her sister's guardian before the week was out, and for three months, Ashgrove Court changed beyond recognition. Amelia paid every servant's back wages from the first quarter's rents. Nan Bellow was made housekeeper, and the first thing she did was order a fire lit in the servants' hall every night of the year. Molly learned to read. Dr. Thorne came every Tuesday to check on Kit, who grew two inches, gained a stone, and broke a window with a cricket ball—which Amelia said was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard.Silas Crowther was tried at the Taunton assizes and sentenced to transportation for life. Basil was found in a gambling house in Calais with nothing but the clothes on his back, and nobody in England ever asked about him again. Mrs. Gaunt, for her confession, was spared the rope.Amelia did not go to the trial; she was busy. And every night when the house was quiet, she found herself standing at the window, looking at the empty road.In February, a letter came from Ambrose Pike, written in his careful, anxious hand. His Grace was well, Pike wrote. His Grace had ordered a fire lit in every servants' hall at Calderwood and had raised every wage on the estate. His Grace spoke to no one, rode alone every morning, and had asked twice whether the roads to Somerset were open.Amelia read it three times. Then she packed one bag, kissed Kit, left Nan in charge of the house, and took the mail coach north.She did not go to the front door of Calderwood; she went to the kitchen door and asked the cook if the house needed a maid.Ten minutes later, Lucien Harkort came down the servants' stairs at a run, his coat half-on, and stopped dead in the middle of his own kitchen."Amelia...""I said I'd never know whether I loved you or owed you," she said, her voice shaking. "So I spent three months owing you nothing. I paid my own wages. I saved my own sister. I ran my own house. And every single night, I still stood at the window looking at the road."She took a breath."You came to my house disguised as a servant to find out who I really was. Now I've come to yours to ask whether a duke might let a woman court him properly. Slowly. For as long as it takes."The whole kitchen had gone silent. Lucien could not speak for a moment."And if it takes a year?" he finally managed."Then I'll learn to polish boots."
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The Duke Disguised Himself as a Footman to Meet His Bride — What He Overheard Left Him Speechless

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