Page 69 of The Replacement Duchess

He did not send her away. Instead, he walked past her and down the hallway. Diana watched him go, not daring to talk to him anymore. It was not that she was afraid of what he might say, not completely at least, but because she was afraid of what she mightsay to him. She was angry, furious, and did not know what to do about it.

In spite of all that he had promised, he had taken his place as the husband, the one in charge, and forced her to be the wife who does not complain. It was the sort of wife that he had vehemently denied wanting, yet after a single argument, he had made her one. There was nothing that she could do—she was at his mercy, just as she had always been afraid of becoming.

Then again, there were things that she could do about it. She had not promised a single time to do as he had told her, after all. In all fairness, she was more than capable of doing whatever she wanted, as the only thing in her way was the Duke, and he clearly did not wish to speak to her.

Part of her missed him, missed having a friend that she could confide in without judgment, but another part of her knew that that was not his role for her now. He had expectations of her that she could not meet, not if she wanted to be who she truly was, and after so long of him wanting her to be herself, she decided that it was time to do so, whether he liked it or not. She would be a duchess in title only, just as they had discussed.

She was completely happy with that.

CHAPTER 20

Samantha,

I do not know how to write this. I have never truly had to engage in correspondence before, as you know. I hope that your letter is at least better than mine. I also hope that you are well and that Father is not being too insufferable.

I am writing to you because I need you. I do not know if you have been expecting a lovely letter filled with many reasons why I am so happy and enjoying marital bliss, but that is not what this is. The truth is, I need to see you because I cannot stand this. It began well, but now… Well, I shall tell you when you arrive. Truly, it is not life or death or anything of the sort, but I miss my sister.

We shall have a carriage sent to you, so there is no need to barter with Father. Do not worry about leaving him alone during your stay. If he cannot take care of himself for a few days, then that is his own problem. Please come.

I shall see you soon,

Diana.

There was an urgency to her words, but Diana felt completely collected as she wrote them. She was calm, her quill scratching across the parchment before being gently placed beside it. Reading her own words, she wondered if her sister would panic at all upon reading it, but she chose to believe instead that Samantha would open it, roll her eyes at her older sister’s dramatics, then prepare for her visit. She hoped that it would be like that, at least.

The letter was sent, and then she had to turn her attention to more pressing matters. Her sister would arrive in a week, meaning that she had a week to prepare everything.

Fortunately, her husband had truly taken to avoiding her completely and had left the household early that morning. She did not know where he had gone, and she did not much care either. His life was his own, meaning she was granted the same power. She summoned a few maids, who came into the room seemingly concerned for her.

“Are we in trouble, Your Grace?” one asked.

“Not at all.” Diana smiled. “On the contrary, I require your help. The three of you, I have noticed, are the most detailed in your work. That is precisely what I shall need for the next few days if that is alright with you.”

“Of course, Your Grace.” The second one nodded. “We are happy to do anything for you.”

“In which case,” Diana said, searching around the desk for a list before finding it and holding it out to them, “I shall need the three of you to locate these items. You may take the entire day if you wish. I want only the best, and so money counts for naught. If there is anything missing, return with what you can find and tell me so that I know what will be missing at first.”

“What are you planning to do, Your Grace?”

“We shall be completely redecorating the house, from top to bottom. The Duke has told me I can, and at last, I believe it to be a perfect time.”

The three maids had wide eyes, and she raised an eyebrow at them.

“Is it strange that I wish to do this?” she asked.

“Not at all,” the first maid said quickly. “It is just that, well, it was the late Duke who chose all of this. It has been this way for years. It shall be quite the change, I must say.”

“Well, I think it is time for change. It is time to forget about the past, though I am more than happy to keep anything that yourselves or the late Duke and Duchess were particularly attached to. I only truly wish to make this a home that I live in, rather than one I am visiting.”

“Of course, Your Grace.”

They left with the list, and Diana set about her mission for the day. She would be cleaning out that dreaded library.

Part of her wanted to do it out of spite, but she had to admit that it would be nice to do something like that and have Colin see it and forget all about what had happened. He had said that it was not his library, but it was not going to belong to anyone else, so it was neither his or hers, and they deserved a nice place to keep their books.

She stepped gingerly inside, immediately having to brush a cobweb from her gown as she entered. The inside was dusty, and she was well aware that there were spiders among other insects, but she ignored that fact. She wanted to get in and get her job done before Colin returned, so she had to forget any fears she had.

Diana wondered if she was doing the right thing each and every time she heard someone downstairs and froze, thinking Colin had returned, only to continue when she was sure it was not him. She knew that, if he saw her there, he would be furious with her, but she did not care. She could not care. She had to have something for herself, and this was what it would be.

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