Near the end of the meal, Katherine finally asked about the secret project her brother had been so diligently working on over the last week or so. As soon as it was mentioned, Frederick’s manner shifted and his eyes shimmered with excitement.
“It’s very nearly finished, actually.” He leaned forward with an expectant smile brightening his features. “Would you like to see it?”
“Are you joking?” she exclaimed with a laugh. “I’ve been dying to see what you’ve been so focused on.”
A few minutes later, Frederick led her into the guest bedroom beside his, which he’d converted into a workroom of sorts. The bed had been replaced with a large drafting table upon which were spread several blueprints and architectural sketches.
“Keep in mind that it will still require some finishing touches. But as of this morning, I feel like the main design is complete.”
As soon as she was close enough to see the drawings, she knew what they depicted.
Redbury Hall in Lincolnshire. Not as they’d last seen it—a soot-blackened half shell of their former home—but as a wholly new creation.
Katherine stepped silently to the table and carefully began to sort through the blueprints.
Her brother had taken what was left of their home and re-envisioned it. In expert detail, he’d designed a new wing to replace what had been destroyed. And though it held a hint of what the manor had once been, it was its own composition. New and fresh and beautifully harmonious with the still-standing structures.
“What do you think?” Frederick’s voice was soft and low.
Katherine met her brother’s gaze and smiled past the thick lump in her throat. “It’s wonderful.”
“You don’t mind that I changed so much?”
“Not at all.” She lifted one of the sketches. It was a depiction of the finished structure from the outside. Drawn simply with sparing lines and only hints of detail, it still managed to evoke an immediate visceral response. For a second, she could picture herself walking down the lane toward the manor. She could smell the wildflowers from the nearby pasture and hear the summer breeze dancing through the willows that lined the drive. And up ahead, their childhood home.
Brilliantly reimagined by the fifth Duke of Northmoor was this beautiful structure that perfectly combined the old with the new. Traditional with modern. There was an elegance and maturity to her brother’s design that really shouldn’t have surprised her.
“Frederick, I didn’t know you could sketch so well.” Her voice had softened with emotion.
“Oh, I can’t. Mr. Hale rendered the drawings for me.”
Shock passed through her and the sketch she was holding seemed to sear her fingers. “What?”
“I just told him what I envisioned and he sketched it all out.” Frederick tilted his head at one of the drawings. “He’s rather good, isn’t he?”
More than good. They were exceptional. Especially when one considered he’d managed to fill the images with nostalgia of a place he’d never even visited. And though it astonished her at first to discover such a hidden talent in the bodyguard, it didn’t truly surprise her.
“I suppose I was inspired by London.” Frederick’s voice was thoughtful. “The perfectly plotted streets and squares of Mayfair, but also the twisting alleys and lanes of the East End. I wanted to bring some of that balance and beauty to Lincolnshire. Though I love town and hope to spend a great deal of time here, Redbury Hall will always be our home. It’s also our family seat and will hopefully be the home of many generations to come.” Frederick displayed more of the sketches, each one showing the manor from various angles. “Rather than reform what was before, I wanted to honor the future as much as the past.”
Overwhelmed, Katherine turned to her brother and wrapped him in a swift and tight embrace. He allowed it longer than she expected him to, and when she drew back again to set her hands on his shoulders, she couldn’t keep the flow of pride from her voice.
“You’re an amazing young man, Frederick Blackwell. And I’ve no doubt you’ll be one of the best dukes the line has ever seen.”
His mouth tipped in a half smile. “If that proves to be true, I’d owe it to you, Kit. You’ve guided and supported me all my life. I hope you know how grateful I am for you.”
“No more grateful than I am for you,” she replied as her eyes stung. “You gave me purpose, Frederick.”
He glanced down. “I know.” When he looked up again, an uncomfortable feeling of inevitability rushed through her. “In relation to that, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say.”
“Of course,” she replied with a smile, despite the tightening in her chest, “you know you can say anything to me.”
“It’s just that...” His gaze slid back to the table, then bounced down to his feet, before rising up again to meet Katherine’s gaze. “I’m growing older, and with Father gone, I need to step up as head of the family. I don’t wish to leave everything in the hands of our estate manager as Father preferred to do. It’s time I became familiar with the accounts and all our holdings and properties. I’ve got ideas I’d like to implement on the estate in Lincolnshire and with some of our tenants in Lincolnshire, and I’d like to establish a real home here in London.”
His eyes flickered as he added, “Once all the trouble is resolved, of course.”
As her brother spoke, Katherine forced herself to conceal most of what she was feeling and embrace the new maturity her brother displayed. Though it arrived so much sooner than she’d anticipated, she’d known this day was coming and had been prepared for it mentally. Even so, the wealth of pride and fear and love she experienced
