Page 30 of Claimed By the Beastly Duke

“Let us check the east wing,” she muttered to her lady’s maid, eager to put as much distance between herself and the room that had evoked such emotion within her.

Once in the east wing, she ordered Abigail to open one of the rooms.

It was just like that room in the west wing—old and dusty. It had certainly not been opened in years.

She was just about to step out when she spotted an old music box by the settee. She felt a pang in her chest.

A child occupied this room a long, long time ago.

She yearned to pick up the music box, to inspect it, to turn the key and listen to the tune it would make. However, she shook off the urge before rushing out of the room.

“Let us go to the drawing room,” she sighed.

“You do not wish to check the third floor, Your Grace?” Abigail asked.

Ava shook her head. She had seen enough. If the second floor was so dusty and old, then the third and perhaps fourth floors would only be worse.

“I have seen everything I need to see. I shall have a word with the housekeeper. Every room in this house must be clean at all times,” she said.

As they descended the stairs to the ground floor, she took in the paintings that hung on the wall for the first time. There were only two paintings. One was of a large family—a duke and duchess and seven children. The other was simply a portrait of another duke.

Ava wondered if the first portrait was of her husband’s grandfather’s family or perhaps his great-grandfather. She itched to ask Edwin, but she decided against it.

“There is no painting of the Duke or his parents when he was young?” she asked.

“There used to be two, but His Grace had them removed shortly after his return from the army,” Abigail replied.

“Is that so?” Ava murmured.

She wondered what could have driven him to do such a thing. After all, Edwin did not seem to care for the decor.

The drawing room, at least, looked far better than the other rooms she had inspected. It was clean and certainly devoid of dust.

However, Ava still noted the outdated furniture, upholstery, and draperies. The furniture was dark and bulky with gaudy motifs. The upholstery was no better—a blue so dark it might as well have been black. The draperies were purple and so heavy that they completely blocked out the sunlight. Even worse, they were faded, and with the excessive fringes and braidings that hung from every corner, they simply held no appeal.

“The decor is simply too ancient and broody,” she remarked, making a mental note to change that as soon as possible.

Abigail only nodded in agreement.

“The drawing room would certainly look better with softer pastel colors and matching furniture in floral patterns. Perhaps I could replace the green rug with a lighter one to brighten up the room. And certainly a pianoforte by the window. How splendid would that be?”

“It would be an improvement for certain, Your Grace,” Abigail agreed.

Ava tapped a finger on her chin as she walked around. She could easily picture the sunlight filtering through the windows, bouncing off pale walls and filling the room with a warm glow.

She turned to her lady’s maid. “Please go fetch the housekeeper and butler,” she instructed.

She was determined to get started on the renovation of the house as soon as possible.

As she waited for Abigail to return with the other servants, she looked out the window at the garden. She frowned as she took in the dull grounds. They could certainly be better.

She headed next to the grounds. Ava had managed her father’s estate before her marriage. Therefore, she knew what to look out for.

As she walked the grounds, the birds chirping and the early morning breeze ruffling her dress, she took note of the pathway that led to the front door.

Again, she realized just how vast the Duke’s estate was. It was certainly bigger than her father’s little manor, and that excited her to no end. Now, she had a larger home to manage.

The grounds were rather dull, and the grass was all but dead. Even the flowers were no better. In fact, it seemed that the gardener here had only planted one type of flower, while the garden should be an explosion of beautiful, colorful flowers.

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