Page 37 of Her Bear of a Duke

She tutted, but she then gestured for Dorothy to follow her.

"Come along, then. We must order supplies."

They met with the steward in the servants' quarters, and Mrs. Herrington pulled a list out of a pocket and handed it to him. He read it over and then looked to Dorothy.

"Is there anything else you would like to add?" he asked. "His Grace informed me that you wished to make some changes to your room."

"Oh! Well, I– I shall need to think about that first. Is that all right?"

"Of course. It is entirely your own choice, you know."

He was smiling at her, and Dorothy could not help but do the same. It was as Morgan had promised her; they would be patient with her, and she had time to learn everything.

When they were done with the steward, they went to the drawing room and Mrs. Herrington looked at her with curiosity.

"I was not made aware that you wished to make changes."

"It has only just been decided. I was going to tell you myself, but I do not even know what it is that I wish to do as yet."

"Well, what do you wish to change?"

All of it, she thought, though she did not wish to say it that way.

"I would like it to be brighter," she explained. "For the most part. When it comes to my own rooms, I would prefer the colors to be a little less bright."

"I see. I have often thought that it was quite dark here, but it was what the late Duke wanted, and so nobody questioned him. When His Grace did not change it, I assumed that I was simply wrong."

"No, you were correct, as you are about most things. The Duke agrees, too, but he has not thought to change it. I do not think we need to change very much, only the walls and some of the furniture. What do you think?"

Mrs. Herrington nodded, and they agreed to take a look at some of the rooms and discuss what needed to change.

It was a pleasant encounter, Dorothy thought, and her housekeeper was nicer than ever to her. It was good to be treated like someone she respected, rather than someone she wanted to be rid of. As time passed, she realized that they actually agreed on more things than she had expected. Eventually, they came to her room, and when they entered, she saw Mrs. Herrington's grimace.

"This is… the late Duchess certainly had particular tastes."

Dorothy laughed gently.

"His Grace told me that it had not been her decision. The late Duke wanted to have her rooms be bright, but she never felt the same."

"Nor would I have. What would you like to have instead?"

"Green. A light green, with perhaps some floral wallpaper?"

"Yes, that would be much nicer. His Grace's father tried to be good to his family, but sometimes there was just no changing his mind. Fortunately, his son is more inclined to accept other opinions."

"I am pleased about that. I do understand and appreciate tradition, but sometimes they have to be broken."

"Is that to say that you break other rules?"

Dorothy looked at her kindly, not wanting to ruin the good time that they had had together but also not wanting to pretend that some things had not taken place.

"Mrs. Herrington, I know that you have been telling the Duke all of the things you dislike about me, including my pitfalls."

She reddened slightly, and Dorothy pitied her.

"I want you to know," she continued, "that I understand. I know that you have been doing extraordinarily well withthe household, and that my arrival was sudden and possibly unplanned for you."

"It certainly was. I knew that he would one day take a wife, but I had at least thought that I would have time to prepare. It is not your fault, Your Grace, and I must apologize for my behavior. I have been the only one running the household for years, as there has not been a lady in the household since the death of the late Duchess."

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