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West went to the nearest chair and sat heavily The upholstery was soft and velvety It was so quiet up here—how could it be this quiet with the clahttime London just outside the , and a damned club downstairs?
Wordlessly Niall brought hilass of water, which West didn’t want at first After he took a sip, however, a voracious thirst overca Niall took the glass, went to refill it, and came back with a small powder packet “Bicarbonate compound, sir?”
“Why not?” West muttered He unfolded the packet, tilted his head back to duue, and washed it down
As he lifted his head, he saw a painting on the wall, in a carved and gilded frame It was a luminous portrait of the Duchess with her children when they were still young The group was arranged on the settee, with Ivo, still an infant, on his mother’s lap Gabriel, Raphael and Seraphina were seated on either side of her, while Phoebe leaned over the back of the settee Her face was close to her htly mischievous, as if she were about to tell her a secret or h He had seen that look on her face, with her own children And with him
The longer West stared at the painting, the worse he felt inside, inner de at his heart with spears He wanted to leave, yet he was nothat chair than if he’d been chained to it
The duke’s lean forarded West speculatively
“Why was Larson here?” West asked hoarsely “How is Phoebe?”
That caused Kingston’s face to soften with sohter is well Larson took it upon himself to co Phoebe to marry hiht, presu to overlook his relationship with Miss Parris because of ate past Needless to say, he was disappointed by my reaction”
“You’ll be able to help Phoebe remove him as trustee?”
“Oh, without question Breach of fiduciary duty by a trustee is a serious offense I’ve never liked Larson’s involvement in Phoebe’s personal life or financial affairs, but I’ve held back to avoid accusations ofNow that there’s an opportunity, I’ll meddle as much as possible before I’m put back on the leash”
West sure in the portrait “I don’t deserve her,” heto
“Of course you don’t Neither do I deserve my wife It’s an unfair fact of life that the worst ht of West’s drawn face and slouched figure, the duke see to sink in tonight I won’t send you out in this condition—there’s no telling what trouble you’d find yourself in You’ll stay the night in this guest roo”
“No I’ back to my own apartment”
“Splendid What,for you there?”
“My clothes A bottle of brandy Half a jar of pickled carrots”
Kingston smiled “I’d say you’re sufficiently pickled already Stay the night, Ravenel I’ll send Niall and my valet to draw a bath and set out soe quantity of soap”
West awakened the next day with only blurry recollections of the night before He lifted his head frooose down pillow and blinked at his luxurious surroundings in bewilderment He was in a plush, remarkably comfortable bed with soft white linen sheets and fluffy blankets topped by a silk counterpane Di to bed with the help of Niall and the elderly valet
After a good long stretch, he sat up and looked around the rooentleman’s robe, draped over a nearby chair He felt more rested than he had in a week, which was not to say that he felt well, or anything close to happy But everything didn’t look quite so gray He put on the robe and went to ring the service bell, and the valet appeared with startling promptness
“Good afternoon, Mr Ravenel”
“Afternoon?
“Yes, sir It’s three o’clock”