Chapter 10

“I’m gonna be a cavalryman when I grow up,” Leo announced.

Having departed the stable yard, they were strolling along the gravel path that led back to the house. Natalie could see that the duke appeared to be in a more relaxed humor now that he had dealt with his cousin.

“A cavalryman?” Hadrian said in mock surprise. “What about your ambition to become a sea captain?”

“I’d rather ride my horse into battle. Then I can kill the frogs with my sword. Take that, you Frenchie! Argh.” The boy pantomimed stabbing the air, then crumpled dramatically like a fallen enemy onto the grass alongside the path.

A gleam in his eyes, the duke halted to gaze down at him. “Well, brat, at least you finally have your adversaries properly straightened out.”

Leo sprang back to life and sat up, his face furrowed. “What’s ad-ver-saries?”

“Your enemies. They are no longer the British, I see.”

The boy thought about that for a moment, then shrugged and skipped ahead of them, the embodiment of childish unconcern for adult matters.

“You may thank Susan, the nursery maid, for his transformation,” Natalie explained as they resumed walking. “She’s been entertaining him with hair-raising tales about Britain’s war with the French.”

Natalie had overheard them talking while the maid gave him his bath the previous evening, and then again this morning after delivering their breakfast. In a matter of only a few days, Leo was setting aside the land of his birth and altering his loyalties to align with his new home here in England. She felt a twinge of sorrow at the thought.

Hadrian gave her a commiserating look that seemed to penetrate her very soul. Reaching out, he gently squeezed her hand. “It was bound to happen, you know. If Leo is to live here as the grandson of an earl, he’ll have to conform to our way of life.”

His enveloping touch warmed her blood, scattering her thoughts, so she pulled her fingers free. “That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

He seemed amused by her retreat, one corner of his mouth lifting. “Point taken. However, adaptation is for his own good. So is proper behavior. He oughtn’t have left the schoolroom without permission.”

“I’ve already spoken to him about that.”

“Perhaps it would help for him to hear it from someone else, too. Hey, brat. Come back here.”

As Leo trotted toward them, pretending to hold the reins of an invisible horse, the duke guided Natalie to an oak tree beside the path. He waved her toward a stone bench that overlooked the house and the vast sweep of lawn. “Shall we sit for a moment?”

She hesitated, glancing at his shoulder, where blood had seeped through the makeshift bandage of her handkerchief. “What about your wound? Doesn’t it need tending?”

“It’s nothing. A few more minutes won’t matter.”

When she sank down, he settled beside her. Thankfully, the bench was long enough to allow a circumspect few inches between them. She oughtn’t be tarrying in his company, not after that sizzling encounter in the stable yard. His mere presence stirred a flight of butterflies inside her rib cage.