“Go wake the others,” Elizabeth said quickly. What was wrong with everyone? She walked closer to the huge man with dark brown hair and a scraggly beard wet from the rain. She stepped back quickly when she smelled him. “Get out of this house!”
Instead, the children followed the two women up the stairs.
A few of them glanced down at her and giggled. One dark-haired boy of about ten looked down at her and whispered, “Will’s gonna have to let her go. She’s just mean.”
Elizabeth glared at them all and then turned her stare to the man leaning against the banister. “You had better get those children and leave the premises before I call the night watch.”
“Call whoever you damned well want.” He took a step toward her. “Is this not the Duke of Kendal’s London residence?”
“Yes, but certainly you’re not…” her voice trailed off. No, it was inconceivable. This ruffian was far too young to be Edward.
Finally, she heard the loud stomping of footmen coming upstairs like a herd of cattle. She leveled the thug a smug look. He raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. His smile took her completely by surprise. With even white teeth and small crinkles by his eyes, the man’s smile made her heart pound.
“Get this man and his children out of my house,” she ordered the footmen.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Two of the burliest footmen in service came forward and walked toward the man.
“Your house?” he said with a stifled chuckle.
“Yes.”
“I thought this home belonged to the Duke of Kendal,” he said as the two footmen pulled his arms behind his back. “Not so rough, boys. At least not if you wish to continue to serve in this household.”
“What are you blathering about?” Elizabeth asked.
“This is the home of the Duke of Kendal. Allow me to introduce myself. William Atherton, at your service.”
Elizabeth grabbed for a baluster of the handrail. Hearing the giggles of children, she glared up at them. At her hard stare, they ran toward their rooms. All but the two eldest women, who held her glare.
William Atherton was indeed Edward’s son. His only natural born son. Edward’s heir.
While hard to determine his features with his hair to his shoulders, a beard that desperately needed a shave, and a stench that would make a seaman proud, she didn’t doubt his claim. His dark brown eyes were almost black, the exact shade of the former duke.
“Where is your father?” she asked softly.
“The good Lord took him nine months ago.”
She breathed in deeply in an attempt to gain some measure of control. Finally, she stepped away from the stairs and curtsied to him.
“Welcome home, Your Grace.”
Chapter 2
Will
finally broke away from the footmen’s tight hold. “Thank you…”
The woman’s face flushed pink. “Elizabeth, Your Grace. I am the former duke’s daughter,” she replied in a halting voice.
“I see. A cousin of mine, then.”
“Very distant, but yes.”
“Wonderful.” The last thing he needed was one more mouth to feed. The past two years had been a struggle as he attempted to keep his family from falling apart during his father’s long illness.
“Those children,” she started, glanced up the stairs, and then paused.