“Not at present,” the Duchess of Rothwell said.
Lady Worthington rose. “In that case, we should be about our days.”
Giff stood at the same time as Alice and held out his arm. She escorted him to the front door. “If you are going to Hatchards later this morning, I will see you there.”
“I will be. I must become knowledgeable about the selling of produce and other things.”
She grinned. “As long as you are not concerned with whisky, I have some expertise.”
He bowed and took her hand. “Excellent. I’ll see you there.”
Having sent his carriage home, Giff decided to walk back to Cleveland House.
As soon as he entered his chamber, he opened the note Lady Mary had given to him and unfolded it.
Intelligent
Kind
Like house animals
Like children
Make us laugh, and think we are funny
Interested in the plight of the poor and unfortunate
Must support us in our charities and other ventures
Passable looking
Allow us to be ourselves
Be able to support a family
Must love us in return
Be a friend
Alice’s list!
She’d been telling the truth when she said being a duchess or marrying a duke, or any peer for that matter, was not important to her. Giff fancied he met all the qualifications but one. Was he in love with her. He’d been in lust for a while, but even he knew that was not the same thing as love. How would he know? And could she love him? The only person he could talk to about it was his mother. Even though they didn’t always agree, his parents did have a love match. That gave him pause. Why had he not wanted one when everyone in his family had married for love? He folded the paper and put it in a secret drawer in his desk, then went to his mother’s parlor and knocked.
“Enter.”
“Madainn mhath, Mamma.”
“I see you are practicing your Gallic.” She grinned. “Madainn mhath, bhobain.”
He never knew if she was calling him her darling or her rascal. Both could apply at different times. “I need to know how I’ll know if I’m in love.”
She raised her brows. “Could we start at the beginning?”
He told her about being invited to breakfast and the conversations. “It was unusual, but right at the same time.”
“Well, I am not surprised. If you were paying attention, you would have noticed the same thing going on at meals at your grandparents’ table. Although, the voices were probably a great deal louder.”
That was true. Everyone had their say at the tables. “You’re right. I just took it for granted there. It seemed so different here.”
She pressed her lips together. “I apologize for not setting the example. It was one of the subjects your father and I did not agree upon.”
Although Scotland and England were supposed to be one country, it really was mixing two different cultures. “How did you decide whose traditions to use?”
“We sorted it out as we went along. For example, there is no point in trying to keep much of Hogmanay in England when one is doing it by oneself.”
But they opened windows and burned herbs in the fireplaces. “We do chase out the evil spirits.”
“Aye, that we do, but there’s no dark-haired man to come to the door at midnight to give us luck.”
Giff grinned. He usually remained home for Christmas and went to his grandparents for New Year’s, and as a redhead, he was kept far away from the front door until the dark-haired man appeared. “We celebrate Christmas more than they do at my grandparents.”
“I must confess, I did not mind adding the Christmas celebrations,” she mused. “Enough of this for the moment. Tell me what has been going on?”
“We see each other at Hatchards a great deal and have been talking and helping one another. She knows a lot about estate management. Yesterday, she had questions about sheep I could answer.”
His mother fixed him with a look. “This is a very strange courtship. You should send her flowers.”
He returned her look. “I did. She was allergic to them.” Thankfully her sister had told him. “I think I made it up to her by explaining how they came about.”
