He placed his hand at the base of Natalie’s spine. “Come. We’ll look for the scamp in the kitchen.”

“But … you clearly have an engagement tonight.”

“I’m meeting friends at my club. They can wait.”

“Your Grace!” Chumley said, his voice vibrating with indignation. “Pray permit me to tie your cravat.”

“I can manage it later,” Hadrian replied. “Now, don’t look so cross. I’ll make sure to tell everyone that I unwisely refused your artistry this once.”

With that, he guided Natalie out into the corridor. “Don’t mind the old fussbudget,” he said as they walked briskly toward a staircase. “He’s been watching over me since I was five. Sometimes he forgets that I’m capable of doing things for myself.”

The undercurrent of fondness in his voice touched her heart. “He was with you at Lord Godwin’s house while you were growing up?”

“Not at first, but he always came to fetch me whenever it was time to visit my mother. He joined me permanently when I was of an age to attend Eton. Beneath all his bluster, he’s staunchly loyal to the family. And like my mother he was very much against my courtship of Lady Ellen.”

He flicked a keen glance at Natalie, but in the wavering light of the candle, she didn’t know quite what to make of it. What did he mean by was?

Corralling her curiosity, she changed the subject. “Well, speaking of Leo, I don’t know how he could have managed to slip down to the kitchen without Flora seeing him.”

“There are half a dozen staircases in this house. Flora likely took the one for the servants, while Leo used another. I suspect he was curious about that bell rope, as I would have been at his age.”

Natalie hoped he was right. She held up the candle to light their way as Hadrian led her down a series of stairs and into the cellars. Here, the delectable scents of roasting meat and pungent spices drew them into a spacious kitchen, where pots steamed atop a large modern stove, presided over by a stout French chef who barked orders at the maidservants. Although the duke was going to his club and the duchess was dining out with friends, Natalie surmised that the staff must soon be eating their own supper.

Her attention went to a small cluster of servants near the far wall. To her relief, Leo was being boosted up by a footman so the boy could get a better look at the two rows of bells that ran the length of the upper wall. They were conversing and laughing, but as she and Hadrian approached, the chatter ended abruptly.

The footman set Leo back down on his feet and then bowed to the duke. “Your Grace!”

The others followed suit, the maidservants bobbing curtsies. They all appeared nervous at being caught in the dereliction of their duties. But Hadrian merely said, “I see you’ve found our little fugitive.”

Leo’s blue eyes shone like saucers. “Mr. Duke! Did you know that when you pull the cord in the schoolroom, it rings right here?” He pointed up at the bell marked Nursery.