A Duke by Any Other Name by Grace Burrowes Page 0,42

while away from home, he’d acquired a host of other problems. His digestion had become delicate, the result of years of odd dietary restrictions and tinctures forced upon him by his minders. He’d become unused to any human touch at all, leaping back if Nathaniel casually brushed his brother’s hand while passing over a book.

The worst affliction was a fear of open spaces. Robbie had asked to be dosed with laudanum for the journey back to Rothhaven Hall, and had insisted even then that all the coach shades be drawn for the duration of the trip. He’d spent months in his room, with the drapes again pulled tight against any glimpse of the open sky or vast rolling moors.

Then one day he’d opened the drapes and found he was unable to clearly perceive the far horizon. What followed had been two years of swinging between fear of the outdoors and a fascination with the limits of slowly improving distance vision.

Since his return home, nothing with Robbie had happened quickly, and as he’d noted, little progress had been made without multiple setbacks.

“You weren’t sure you’d be able to leave the garden,” Nathaniel said, collecting the cards. “That’s understandable.”

Though, God help Robbie, what if he’d become lost in the fog?

“I was doing my usual pacing of the perimeter walk one autumn morning, and the mist was so thick I could not see the manor itself as I passed the garden door. I opened the door, knowing that if you or Treegum were lurking at a window, you could not see me tackling that challenge. The privacy was…sublime.”

Robbie was awash in privacy. He had acres and eons of privacy, but he’d wanted yet still more, and ironically, the out-of-doors had provided that.

“You opened the garden door.”

“We don’t keep it locked. I don’t recall making the decision to open the door. I just did, and beyond it lay…” He completely ignored the cards Nathaniel dealt, his expression enraptured by a memory only he could see. “A soft, white nothingness. The quiet was wonderful, the peace.…I took a step through the door and the fog welcomed me. I didn’t go far, I could still smell the garden, but I traveled a new world that morning, Nathaniel. A new universe.”

Entirely by himself, when he could have fallen to the ground in a shaking fit at any moment and in a place where nobody would have thought to look for him.

“And you’ve been making that same trek on foggy mornings ever since.” Nathaniel picked up his cards and found another hand that could prove advantageous. He sorted out two cards for the crib and waited while Robbie did likewise.

“I went a little farther each day, and it’s as if I was traveling not only to the river, but also back to my boyhood. To the time before the accident, when I was mostly happy and healthy. My feet still knew the way, and the river is so beautiful on a misty morning.”

When had Robbie ever called anything beyond the walls of the Hall beautiful? Nathaniel was torn between rejoicing that his brother had taken yet another step toward freedom, and terror, because with freedom came horrendous risks to every member of the household.

“I’m glad you’ve found a reason to leave the garden, and Lady Althea has promised to warn her staff and tenants away from the river early in the day. She’ll find someplace else to walk at that hour, so you needn’t worry that she’ll come upon you again.” Though please God do not venture near the water.

Nathaniel would save that admonition for when the discussion was less fraught.

Robbie arranged his cards, the light in his eyes dimming as if an overcast had rolled across a sunny sky.

“I don’t suppose we could buy that patch of land by the river, could we, Nathaniel?”

Now I’m Nathaniel. “The timing is delicate, given certain considerations with which I’ll acquaint you, but her ladyship might be agreeable.” Though where would this end? Robbie’s penchant for investing had made them wealthy, but buying half of Yorkshire wasn’t a solution if they hadn’t the staff to look after all that property.

Robbie tossed out a card. “What circumstances, Nathaniel?”

“I’ve ordered an enormous load of stone for extending the garden walls out to the orchard. The stone itself as well as the expense of transporting it and raising the walls will be significant.”

“And you’ve also purchased seed for planting, a new plough, and a new seed drill. I know. That’s all well within our