Page 60 of The Replacement Duchess

“Is that so?” Miss Thornton asked, an eyebrow raised. “Perhaps I should ask him.”

“There is no need,” Diana replied calmly. “He is taking care of a few things. I am the lady of this household, and so there is no requirement for the Duke to know about how it is run. That is correct, is it not?”

Miss Thornton eyed her carefully. “I suppose it is,” she said carefully. “Very well. Follow me.”

Diana was sure that she would eventually have her secret discovered, and it frightened her, but she needed to know. If there was to be some dark secret hidden within the walls of her home, she needed to know so that she could escape. It was a prospect that she was not fond of, having to return to her father, but if it was necessary, then she would do so. Not only that, but it would mean that she had saved her sister from a truly terrible fate, one far worse than simply marriage.

And if there was no secret, then she could grovel and hope he understood. After all, there was nothing he could do now that they were married.

She hated that she had thought that.

“Now,” Miss Thornton sighed as she put the key in the lock. “It may be in disrepair. It has not been opened in a long time. If it is not to your liking, then we can lock it once more and pretend we never saw it. That is likely preferable regardless.”

Miss Thornton clearly knew that Diana was not being honest with her, and was simply not going to argue with the lady of the house, but that only worked more in Diana’s favor. They could forget all about it once she had seen it inside. That was most favorable, indeed.

“Thank you.” She nodded, placing her hand on the handle once more.

It was not too late. She could walk away, pretend it was all some joke and that she would never disobey her husband. She could find Colin and tell him she understood that he had his secrets and that she would not pry, but that was simply not her nature. She wanted to know. Sheneededto know.

And so she opened the door.

Whatever she was expecting to see, it certainly was not a pile of books on a desk. She looked around, and there were more books. There was a thick smell of old paper and dust but in a soothing way. It was homely, almost welcoming, but she felt as though she had walked in on something intimate. She was out of place.

She had betrayed her husband, expecting the worst of him, but rather than run to apologize to him, she thought of howwonderful the library was, and how much Samantha would like it.

It was as Miss Thornton said, they would walk away and nobody would need to know she had ever been inside.

It was better that way.

CHAPTER 17

All things considered, Colin had thought himself to be a forgiving husband.

He wanted his wife to be happy and had been willing to do anything to do that except open one door, yet with how Diana had acted in response, it was as though he had plunged a knife into her chest. It was but a door leading to a library and no more, and he could not for the life of him understand why she was so desperate to have her own way.

Then he wondered if she was thinking the same of him.

It was only a room. It was only a library. And yet he couldn’t understand why she had been so persistent. He had not given her any reason not to trust him, but that was exactly what had happened. His word should have been reason enough—he was her husband.

He shook his head. To her, he had overreacted, and he had to remember that. It did not matter that he had his reasons because he was not going to share them with her. All that mattered was that she was kind about it.

“Miss Thornton showed me the library,” she confessed at dinner that night.

“What?”

He did not use the more polite terms of ‘I beg your pardon,’ or simply ‘pardon,’ but ‘what.’ In all honesty, he had expected her to find a way to know what was behind the door, but he had not thought that she would have done so that quickly.

“Do not scold me,” she sighed. “I was unsure of whether or not to tell you at all, but I did not want to keep it from you. Besides, you would have found out about it, eventually.”

“Need I have words with Miss Thornton?”

“No, not at all. She did not even wish to show me. I told her that I had your permission, and practically forced her hand. If anyone requires a scolding, it is me.”

“Why did you do it?” he sighed.

“If you are angry with me, I would prefer it if you raised your voice now and had it be done with rather than you exploding later.”

“I will not be raising my voice. I am not the sort of man to do that.”

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