Page 49 of The Duchess' Replacement

Sarah leaned back onto the desk, folding her arms in front of her.

What an odd thing to say.

She could tell instantly that the Duke ran a tight ship and he was not a very personable person. She surmised most of his staff feared his wrath although she had never seen him raise his voice, let alone a hand, to them.

Was it just his imposing nature that scared them into submission? Or was he truly an evil man that abused his help? She couldn’t see that being the case, but the truth of the matter was, she hadn’t seem him enough to garner a viable opinion of the man. Every time she thought she was closer to uncovering another truth about the man she married, she found herself with more questions than answers.

She heard huffing followed by low grumbles coming from the hallway.

“Your Grace? Are you in there?” Lizzie’s voice was muffled against the towering stack of material in her hands.

Sarah jumped up from the desk and ran towards the unsteady girl. “My goodness, Lizzie,” she laughed. “You didn’t need to carry it all in one trip!”

Lizzie huffed as she dropped the pile onto the sofa with a groan. “I’m sorry, Your Grace. But I’d rather not go up there again. I know William says it’s just like any other room in the house, but I take offense to that. We make sure every room in this house is spotless and taken care of.”

“If that were true then the attic would be spotless.” William joked as he effortlessly put a similar size pile down. He even managed to bring down the throw pillows she saw.

Lizzie scowled and mumbled. “Semantics. Every room that is occupied by humans is taken care of.”

“What is occupying the attic? Ghosts?” William teased.

Sarah laughed. “All right you two. Was that everything?”

The two nodded as Lizzie rubbed her arms. William stood tall, proud of his not only bringing down the heavy material without much effort, but for having the last word with Lizzie.

Sarah’s hands clapped together. “Perfect. That gives me more time to set up the curtains. William, are you able to help with that?”

William’s mood quickly soured. “Curtains?”

Lizzie elbow found the side of his stomach.

“Oh, I mean, yes. I can help, Your Grace.” He grumbled.

Sarah smiled warmly. “Thank you. And again, there will be no word from me of your help.” Sarah brought her finger up to her mouth and crossed an ‘x’ over it. “I promise.”

“Is there anything else you need from me, Your Grace?” Lizzie looked on expectantly.

“Yes, Lizzie. How are you with a needle and thread? I need some pillowcases made.”

Lizzie’s face lit up. “I am excellent, Your Grace!”

“Wonderful. I sent Samuels to look for Mrs. Bates but he hasn’t retuned yet. Would you mind going to look for her?” Sarah reached into one of the packages and brought out several yards of bright pink satin and a few rolls of ruffles.

“Take these and those pillows and see if you could cover them for me.”

“Right away, Your Grace.” Lizzie said with a wide smile on her face.

After watching Lizzie leave Sarah turned to William.

“Now let’s get to work hanging these curtains, shall we?”

Sarah and William worked late into the night. Samuels came in around midnight and shooed her to her rooms before she fell off the chair she was stabilizing on in order to hang the curtain by his desk.

She skipped breakfast the next morning and went directly to the study. When she opened the door her eyes were bombarded with bright fuchsia curtains with ruffle valences.

Oh my. They are bolder in the morning light than I had anticipated.

A jolt of electricity ran through her body.

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