Page 31 of Married to the Earl

Dawson extended his hand, and Conor shook it. “A pleasure doing business with you, My Lord,” Dawson said.

“I’ll show myself out,” Conor said.

On the way to the foyer, he passed the kitchen. Astrid was still in there, up to her elbows in dishwater, and as she heard him pass, she turned to look at him.

“It’s done then, My Lord?” she asked, her voice inscrutable.

He nodded. “It is.”

She nodded back and returned to her dishes.

He regarded her quietly for a few moments, wishing he knew what was going on in her head. She wasn’t afraid of him. That concern had been laid to rest by today’s meeting. And he no longer felt he would be doing something wrong by marrying her.

But did she actually want to be his wife?

He couldn’t say.

She had said she did. But her body language seemed to be saying something different.

He wouldn’t see her again until the wedding. He would have to hope that on that life-changing day, he would be able to understand her a little better.

Chapter 13

“Astrid?” a soft voice said from behind her.

Astrid turned. The girl entering the room was a few years younger than she herself was, probably eighteen or nineteen. She was whip thin, with dull brown hair pinned up under a bonnet, and she wore a patterned dress of simple cotton.

Standing next to her, Astrid felt a little ridiculous.

Her own dress was so over the top that Astrid couldn’t believe it. She was afraid to rest her hands on the bodice, for fear of staining it or causing damage to it in some way. She had been standing for what felt like hours with her arms held slightly away from her body, waiting for someone to come and get her.

The girl flitted across the room. “I’m Betsy, My Lady,” she said. “Lord Middleborough has hired me to be your lady’s maid when you move to the manor, and he sent me along to help you prepare now.”

“Oh,” Astrid said, not sure what she was supposed to say to that. She had never had a maid before. “I’m not a lady,” she told Betsy. “You can call me Astrid.”

“Oh, no, My Lady, I really couldn’t.”

“Please, I’d prefer it.”

But Betsy was shaking her head fearfully, and Astrid realized she was getting them off on the wrong foot. “All right,” she conceded. “I suppose I’ll be a lady soon enough.”

Relief crossed Betsy’s face. “Yes, My Lady,” she agreed. “How can I help you prepare?”

“I…can you tie the back of my dress?” Astrid asked. She had been struggling for the past several minutes with the ties, trying to figure out how she was going to manage them by herself. She had no gowns in her own wardrobe that tied like this. All her garments were simple and could slip over her head.

For a moment, she felt envious of Betsy’s plain cotton dress.

“It’s a lovely wedding gown,” Betsy said, stepping behind Astrid. Astrid felt nimble fingers begin to tighten the bodice of her gown. “I assume it was custom made for you, My Lady?”

“It was,” Astrid agreed. “Although Lord Middleborough and the seamstresses did most of the work. I just stood there like a dummy while they fitted cloth to me.”

“Well, you look lovely.” Betsy stepped back. “There. You’re a picture, My Lady.”

“How many wedding guests are out there?” Astrid asked. She was feeling nervous. She woke up that way, butterflies clamoring in her stomach. Today was the day she would leave her father’s house. Today was the day she would move to a place she had never seen before.

Middleborough Manor.

She thought it sounded like a very cold, intimidating place. She pictured empty stone halls that produced echoes when she walked through them. She imagined whole days going by without the sight of another person.

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