News
Storytelling

The Duke's Hound Hated Every Woman He Courted — Until a Young Lady Walked Through the Gate

The Duke's Hound Hated Every Woman He Courted — Until a Young Lady Walked Through the Gate

Chapter 7

Theme:
Font Size:
24px
His Grace the Duke of Ravenhurst regrets to inform Baron Marlowe that he has no wish to receive further correspondence from his family, and considers the matter of any supposed connection entirely closed.It was signed with his name, in a hand very nearly his own.The Duke stared at it as if the paper itself had spoken. "I never wrote this.""It bears your seal.""I never wrote this," he repeated, and his voice cracked in the middle, and he did not seem to notice. "I have not read my own post in three years."He heard it as he said it aloud for the first time.Then he looked at the last item in the muffler, the one Isolde had been holding back: a letter folded very small, sealed with a plain wafer, and across the front, in a boy's quick, looping hand, one word: Julian."I was too afraid to bring it after the reply came," she whispered. "I thought you had hated us from the start. But my father told me, near the end, that a dead man's last words were not ours to withhold." She wiped her face with the back of her wrist. "I have never opened it."The Duke sat down heavily at the desk. His hands shook, and he let them. He broke the wafer:
Julian,
If you are reading this, I have been a fool again, and you are cross, and I deserve it. Three things:
First, our cousin Percival has been robbing the estate for two years. I have the ledger, and Baron Marlowe has proof of the forgeries, and I can no longer keep silent. I ride tonight to meet Percival at the old hunting lodge. He begged to settle it quietly, as family. I will give him until Sunday to confess to you himself. Do not be hard on him. He is weak, and weak men are the most dangerous kind.
Second, I have been married since September to Isolde Marlowe. She is the cleverest woman I know, and I was afraid to tell you because I thought you would see a title where I see a person. I was wrong to be afraid. You are the best man I know, Julian. You are only the worst at saying so.
Third, be kind to Sovereign. He will do the right thing before any of us have understood what it is.
Your brother, always,
Edmund.
The Duke of Ravenhurst laid his head down on the desk, on top of the letter, and for a long time, the only sound in the room was the rain.Sovereign crossed the carpet and rested his chin on the Duke's knee. The Duke's hand came down on that great gray head. Something stirred at the back of his memory, and he lifted his face.
PREV NEXT

News in the same category

The Duke's Hound Hated Every Woman He Courted — Until a Young Lady Walked Through the Gate

12 Part