Page 19 of A Bride for the Beastly Duke
“Wait,” he said although he did not know why he had stopped her. He had no idea what to say to her, but he did not want her to think that he did not care for her. “My… apologies. WhenI get absorbed in something, it is very hard for me to extricate myself, and I get carried away. But you are right, I do have other responsibilities, and I do intend to see to them. You might not know this, but I am aware of all the banging and hammering, the moving furniture, and your voice directing it all. I hear it all from my chambers as I sleep, and I see the work done as I come down to my study. You are making this castle into a home, and I appreciate it. It has been almost twenty years since this place felt the female touch. That was when my mother left us. And so, I do not take for granted all that you do. I just did not realize that you needed to hear that from me.”
She continued to stare up at him, panting with rage. Then she nodded jerkily before pulling her wrist away from him and walking out without another word. Edward helplessly watched her leave, wondering if he should have said more or tried to stop her. He shook his head slowly.
Marriage is a lot more complicated than I imagined.
Reaching for the bell, he summoned the butler. “Get me Mrs. Sutton please,” he ordered Notley.
As the butler went to do as he was bid, Edward flopped down on his seat, staring at nothing. It was late, and the housekeeper was likely asleep, and Edward regretted that, but he needed to speak with her urgently.
She arrived, still wrapping her shawl clumsily around her night rail, her nightcap askew and blinking sleep from her eyes. Edward felt a pang of guilt as he cleared his throat. “Apologiesfor summoning you from your bed, but I have a question for you regarding my wife.”
Tina blinked a few times. “Yes, Your Grace?”
“Is anyone giving her any trouble? I know I did not say it outright, but she is my duchess and any order from her should be treated like an order from me.”
Tina’s brow furrowed in puzzlement. “Of course, Your Grace.”
“How are the renovations going?”
She cleared her throat. “Well, Her Grace has a lot of ideas, and it is certainly a lot of extra work, but she has hired several people from the village to help. There was some concern about feeding them all while they were here, but then she negotiated with farmer John about getting more eggs and milk delivered as well as buying more flour at the mill.” The housekeeper’s face brightened. “So, we have had enough to feed everyone plus a bit extra.”
Edward blinked in surprise. He had not even thought about any of that. “And what of Lady Lanton?”
Tina snorted. “Well, she has been doing her level best to be a nuisance to your new bride if I may be so bold as to say, but the Duchess has been giving as good as she gets,” she said proudly.
Edward nodded slowly. He was not sure there was anything he could do to make things better and certainly there was much he could do to make it worse. He took a deep breath. “Mrs. Sutton, is there anything that you or the household might require at the moment from me?”
Tina blinked a few times, looking quite taken aback at the question. “Well, I am sure I do not know, Sir. The Duchess would know better.”
Hmm, indeed.
He nodded to her, “Thank you, Mrs. Sutton. You may go.”
She gave him a half bow before turning to leave. Edward sighed as he sat back down. Having never thought to have the duchy come to him, he had never considered his role in its day-to-day running.Not until she had to thrust it in my face. Have I bitten off more than I can chew?
Edward did not know the answer to that.
Chapter Nine
What was I even thinking, confronting him like that?
At first, Ava felt relief at having ventilated her feelings to the Duke. But as time passed, she began to feel guilty for shouting at him. She realized that most of her anger was from thwarted expectations and not anything in particular that the Duke had done. She thought about seeking him out to apologize, but there was still so much to do, and he truly did make himself scarce. She barely saw the heel of his shoe as he disappeared into his study or his chambers. He woke in the evening and slept in the morning like a vampire, and it was difficult to pin him down.
Lily grew increasingly curious about his existence. “How come I have never seen him, Mama? Is he away?”
Ava huffed with tired amusement, “Indeed not, my dear. He is right here in the castle with us.”
Lily looked around in an exaggerated manner. “Where is he?”
Ava sighed. “He has much work to do, and so he spends long hours in his study.”
“Does he not eat?”
Ava could do nothing but shrug. She had no idea if Edward spent any time on meals. She had no idea what he did with his time since she did not see him. She could feel herself beginning to fume again and cut off that train of thought. She tried to remind herself about the respectability that this marriage had given her, and to ask for more was to be greedy, but she could not quite convince herself.
“Do you think you would like it if I sang in the choir?” Lily asked hopefully.
Ava tried her best to smile. “Well certainly, who would not? Your voice is beautiful, my dear; you need to share it with others.”
