Page 19 of Bound to the Heartless Duke
Nathan had never been good at making decisions on his own, so hearing that he had a solution was very unsettling, to say the least.
How could she be sure he wouldn’t make their situation worse with whatever solution he claimed to have found? What if his solution entailed a deal tougher than the one she had struck with the Duke?
The whole thing just left her anxious, and she couldn’t get her mind off the possibility that there was trouble ahead.
CHAPTER 5
It didn’t take Magnus very long to grow tired of living with only one servant around. He had been staying at Medlin Manor for a little over a week now, and he had had enough of doing some things himself. He needed a butler to oversee the general running of the house and ensuring his important correspondence found their way to him on time a cook to do all the cooking, footmen and servants at his beck and call—just the way he liked it.
He didn’t like having to traipse up and down the stairs several times a day to see if any correspondence had arrived for him, neither did he enjoy the odd selections of wine presented with dinner. It wasn’t as though he was spoiled, it just wasted valuable time he could use to face more profitable ventures.
And if he were being honest, he didn’t enjoy watching Lily do some of the housework.
He wanted to change that, too. She cooked and cleaned, and still managed to find time to embroider and read a book, all whilst searching for a husband.
A gently bred lady should not have to do all of that. Magnus could only imagine how much stress she was under, doing all of that just to help pay off her reckless brother’s debts.
Therefore, he sent a letter to Blackmore Manor, requesting servants to come over to Medlin Manor to attend to him for the rest of the month. He kept this from Nathan, of course (as he seemed to be avoiding him), and Lily.
After all, the likelihood of him seizing the manor at the end of the month was high—and only kept getting higher.
On the day his servants arrived, he waited around to see Lily’s reaction. She was confused and looked like she needed an explanation to understand what was happening. She had been away from the manor when the servants arrived, and was very surprised to be welcomed by his butler into her own home.
“Welcome home, My Lady,” Hastings said respectfully, as if he hadn’t refused her entry into Blackmore Manor only a week ago.
Magnus was standing by the drawing room, where he was able to observe her reaction. She looked around, her lips parted in surprise, not knowing what to say or who to question.
Was she feeling like she was in the wrong house, perhaps? Or was she just worried that he was slowly taking over the manor before the month was over?
Eventually, her eyes landed on Magnus and held for a second. Then, she hiked up her skirt and walked up to him.
“Your Grace,” she greeted, bobbing a curtsy.
“You have returned,” Magnus said. “I could not live with only one servant, so I brought mine here to attend to me.”
And to you, so you wouldn’t have to do anything from now on.
Lily blushed with shame and lowered her head. “Oh, I apologize for the earlier discomfort, Your Grace. We could not afford to keep our servants, so we had to let them go.”
Magnus noticed how she clenced her fists showing her shame and waved her off, turning away to give her some modicum of privacy to collect herself. “At least this would make things faster and much easier, while you can simply focus on trying to find a husband.”
He saw herglance up at him from the corner of his eye. “Oh… Right. Thank you, Your Grace.”
The new changes visbly came as a shock to her, so Magnus took it upon himself to watch her closely for the next few days.
Every morning, she stayed in rather than break her fast with them, and he took it to mean she couldn’t stand the fact that other people were preparing breakfast or she was mortified by him taking such liberties in her home without consulting her.
Even during meals, he noted how she would mostly keep her head down, and afterwards, go out for a walk in the garden. She never spent too much time outside before she was back in the house, quietly walking up and down the halls, as if she was looking for something to do that the servants hadn’t touched yet. She seemed lost, wandering without purpose.
Magnus wanted to speak with her, to know what she was thinking when she was roaming the house. But he didn’t know how to start that conversation. She seemed crestfallen, almost bereaved.
She hardly ever noticed him as he watched her; he was always a couple of meters away from her. Deep down, Magnus didn’t want to get caught watching her so… intently.
He followed her out one day, very quietly, curious to see what she was doing when she wasn’t reading or embroidering. He found her in the garden, standing by the fountain and staring at the water. She looked so still, so peaceful, that he thought to turn around and go back to the house.
He couldn’t see her face, as it was turned away from him, but he heard her sigh. He took another step forward, and his boot crunched on the stone, announcing his presence.
Lily spun around, her eyes wide.
