Page 90 of A Virgin for the Duke of Scars
“Emma,” she called.
The maid appeared in seconds, as if she had been waiting for a summons.
“Please have my things loaded into the carriage. I will take my leave soon.”
Emma looked forlorn at the reality of her imminent departure. Her shoulders slumped, and she moved slowly around the room. If she had to take her leave of the Duchess, she would do so, but she would not be happy about it. She said nothing, only nodded her head and scurried off to carry out her orders.
Theresa made her way back down the stairs to the sitting room, where she hoped to find Juliette and the Dowager Duchess. She would not leave them without a proper goodbye, even as pressed for time as she was. It would be better for everyone if she left before Aaron returned.
The Dowager Duchess was seated on the sofa, holding a needlepoint in her hands. She barely looked up when Theresa entered the room.
“Grandmama,” Theresa said, realizing for the first time that she did indeed think of the Dowager Duchess as her own grandmother. “I will be taking my leave soon. Do you know where I might find Juliette?”
The Dowager Duchess beckoned to the maid standing in the corner of the room. “Please have Lady Juliette meet us at the stables posthaste,” she instructed.
Then, she rose from the sofa and set her needlepoint aside.
“My dear, you do not have to go,” she said. “Even in a marriage like yours, there are ways to work things out. Arranged marriages are complicated, and my grandson even more so.”
“I cannot stay where I am not wanted.”
“You are wanted more than you know,” the Dowager Duchess assured. “You can’t see how much you have changed him, butIcan.”
Theresa said nothing; the words would not come to her. She took the Dowager Duchess’s arm and led her through the gardens until they reached the stables, where a carriage awaited.
“I appreciate you taking the time to teach me decorum and etiquette,” Theresa said, turning to face her. A traitorous tear rolled down her cheek, and she dashed it away. “Nobody else would have made learning to curtsy so much fun.”
“You are a delight to teach. It was my pleasure to do it, but you still have so much more to learn.”
Theresa nodded. The Dowager Duchess was right, but she would have to keep learning from her sister, her parents. The very same people who had banished her at birth.
She only hoped she would not embarrass them, just as she had once hoped not to embarrass Aaron’s family.
Juliette came running through the gardens at that moment and threw her arms around Theresa in an uncharacteristic display of affection.
“Please do not leave us like this,” she begged. “You are the first sister I have ever had, and I will miss you terribly.”
“I must go meet my sister,” Theresa said, hugging her back as tightly as her gown would allow. “I will not forget you. You have made this experience more bearable.”
“Please come ba?—”
“Theresa,” a commanding voice interrupted.
Theresa did not need to turn around to see who dared to interrupt such a moment. But she turned around anyway to look at her husband one last time.
Part of her wished that he was not wearing his mask, giving her exactly what she needed to stay with him. But a bigger part of her knew that it was a futile hope. If he could not trust her in the privacy of her chambers, then he would not remove his mask in front of everyone.
“What can I do for you, husband?” She asked, with more resolve in her voice than she thought possible. “I am about to take my leave, as you can see. Did you come to see me off?”
“No, I came to stop you.”
CHAPTER 28
Aaron called for the stable hand to saddle the feisty mare for his wife to ride. He would not insult her by taking her to their destination in a carriage. Theresa loved to ride, and he would honor that.
Plus, it would be just the two of them. Of that, he was entirely certain. They would face none of the judgment they had faced at the garden party. While some would see her riding out of town, the repercussions were minimal.
She was a duchess.HisDuchess. Their peers would surely make an exception for her.
