The situation must indeed be dire, given the rush. He glanced over his shoulder toward the carriage and Jennings and was astonished to see his entire luggage being removed from the conveyance by the duke’s servants. He halted the butler. “I thought the matter was urgent and my visit was to be brief.”
He had hoped it would be over almost immediately actually, but Jennings was right—Templeton never did cut to the chase in conversation when he had center stage.
“Indeed, it is urgent,” Morgan claimed. “His Grace will explain everything soon, Captain.”
“His Grace?” He and the Duke of Rutherford had an agreement that he keep a distance from the Ford family at all costs, save for his immediate superior. “My orders were to present myself to the admiral.”
The butler winced. “Please, the Duke of Rutherford will explain. He must not be kept waiting.”
Chapter Three
How could a man in Felix’s position refuse a powerful duke like Rutherford a moment of his time? He could not unless he wished to become a captain without a ship and crew. Felix just hoped their meeting could be brief—very brief indeed. “Very well.”
Once inside the entrance hall, he tucked his hat under his arm and glanced around, eyes widening. He had known from gossip that the Duke of Rutherford’s Newberry Park estate was impressive, but such riches were beyond his wildest dreams. Four marble columns ascended two floors to support a domed ceiling that sparkled with gold. The man had surely spent enough on this chamber alone to build a dozen ships for the Royal Navy, or perhaps even his own personal fleet. No wonder the family had such influence in society. They could buy anyone and anything they wanted.
His advancement to command the Selfridge as post captain at three and twenty years was ample proof of that.
“This way,” Morgan said as he gestured to a side doorway.
Felix moved through a deserted sitting room and then into a large, cluttered book room. Finely bound volumes in floor-to-ceiling oak cases covered every wall, maps lay strewn haphazardly across tables, and at the far end of the room sat a small man almost unseen due to the chaos around him.
“Captain Hastings, Your Grace,” Morgan announced and then departed, snapping the doors shut behind him.
“Ah, Hastings. At last you have come to Newberry. You are late.” Despite the appearance of small stature, the duke’s powerful voice boomed through the room. He had not changed.
“Your Grace.” He bowed and strode forward, unsure of his reception but determined to meet the challenge. “I came as soon as the admiral’s message reached me.”
The duke waved his hand toward a chair. “Please take a seat.”
“Thank you.” He did and then studied the man before him properly once the room settled into a slow drift from side to side. Rutherford might be small and his gray hair might signify considerable age, but it was easy to conclude the duke was not a man to cross from the direct manner he was being scrutinized in return.
“I trust your journey was uneventful and the weather fair?” the duke murmured.
“Yes, I covered the miles without incident,” Felix assured him, growing puzzled by the duke’s affable tone. “I have not been to this part of the countryside before. ’Tis very beautiful.”
“It is indeed.”
The duke stared at him with one brow raised. “You have become the best hound in the Royal Navy. You have achieved everything you promised me you would and more.”
“I trust you are satisfied with our arrangement, Your Grace,” Felix said, shifting in his chair at the memory of their prior meetings. A meeting where he had agreed to give up half the captain’s portion of the prize for the duke’s political backing and the ship beneath his feet. He might answer to Admiral Lord Templeton, but he was the duke’s man till he breathed his last breath. It was in his best interests to be accommodating and polite. “I am well aware I could not have achieved so much without your continued support. You have my gratitude.”
The duke studied him directly. “Our bargain was a mutually beneficial arrangement. I asked you not to meddle in family affairs, but it seems inevitable.”
Felix stilled and then cursed the Earl of Rothwell’s soft heart. Last year, Laurence Ford, the duke’s grandson and a lieutenant aboard his ship, had eloped with a girl. Rothwell, another grandson of the Duke of Rutherford and Sally’s older cousin, would have helped Laurence just for the fun of tweaking his family’s nose since they largely disapproved of him. “I have done everything in my power to protect Laurence without the appearance of favoritism that would set him apart from the other officers. I can hardly be held responsible for his actions whilst on leave.”
The duke scowled.
He had actually known about the elopement as Laurence and Lady Cecily were fleeing for Scotland, so he had to tread carefully about what secrets he kept. In retrospect, he might have been able to stop the marriage if he had gone to Rutherford with the news immediately. But he had not actually thought it his place to tell tales. “I did not know he had married until his return to ship.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes, Your Grace.” There had always been a chance the wedding would not take place. The family might have caught wind of the matter, or Laurence himself might have changed his mind. Felix waite
d, biding his time to see if the duke absolved him of collusion in the scheme.
The duke pursed his lips and then let out a deep breath. “I have no concerns about your treatment of Laurence. A little hardship now and then builds character in a man. I suppose I will have to settle a small estate on him close to London and remove his wife there after the war. Laurence must live with his choice of bride on his return and rue the day he acted so rashly.”
Felix sighed in relief and said nothing to that. He was not acquainted with the woman Laurence had married and did not ever pass judgment on anyone in love. Rutherford had ambitions for his grandchildren that outweighed everything else.