Chapter 10

Edwina stood up too. “Oh, dear,” she said. “How trying. Still, the boy will learn, won’t he? He’ll have to learn. He does look so like Johnnie.” And with that she also walked away, leaving Darcy and me alone.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I said, taking in every inch of that beloved face—those alarming blue eyes and roguish smile. “What an amazing coincidence.”

“Not really. It was I who suggested you might be the person to help the lad settle in.”

“But how did you get involved in this?”

“I was asked to go and find this boy right after I left you at Christmas. I couldn’t tell you, as I was sworn to secrecy.”

“You went all the way to Australia to find Jack?”

“I did.”

“But how did you get to Australia and back in three months?”

He grinned. “I flew.”

For a moment I thought he was teasing me. “In an aeroplane?” I asked.

“In a series of aeroplanes. London to Basel, train to Genoa, flying boat to Alexandria, another plane to Karachi, then stops along the way to Singapore, over to Darwin and a couple of puddle-jumpers to the sheep station in South Queensland. All in all, it took eighteen uncomfortable yet fascinating days, but was much quicker than a boat.”

“Golly,” I said. “And did you come back by aeroplane too?”

“No. Too dangerous. Planes have a habit of crashing. On the flight out, we had to put down in the Arabian Desert in a sandstorm, which was a bit unpleasant.”

“Darcy.” I put my hand over his. “I wish you wouldn’t always do such dangerous things.”

He took my hands and held them. “A fellow has to make a bit of money any way he can,” he said. “And I rather enjoy it.” Then he added, “God, you’re a sight for sore eyes.” Then his arms came around me and he was kissing me passionately. A small voice in the back of my consciousness was whispering that it wasn’t wise to be found making love in the Long Gallery of someone else’s house, but I couldn’t help myself. I found myself responding to his kisses with a fervor and urgency equal to his own. When we finally broke apart, his eyes were smiling into mine. “I must go away more often. You’ve turned into a hot little piece. I hope someone else hasn’t been giving you lessons.”

“I have been living a life of absolute purity and boredom, if you must know,” I said. “But it is so wonderful that you’re here. I do hope you can stay for a while. I have a feeling this won’t be a very comfortable place. Poor Jack. None of them wants him here.”

“He didn’t want to come, either. He’s not at all keen to be a duke. He suggested I impersonate him and take over the role instead.”

“I wonder what will happen if he turns them down?”