Page 59 of A Rescue by the Rakish Duke
“We are well, Your Grace. Uh…” The old man trailed off as he looked at Damian nervously.
“Don’t worry about the duke. He might look sour most of the time, but he has a kind heart,” Gwendoline reassured him.
Damian simply raised his eyebrows, but she knew that he didn’t mind.
“We have not been doing well as of late, Your Grace. The crops in Willowbrook are not doing as well as in the rest of the duchy.”
“What methods have you been using, and were you rotating your crops?” Damian asked gravely, much to Gwendoline’s surprise.
“I-I don’t know, Your Grace. My sons and grandsons, like the other young men of Willowbrook, are the ones who have been working in the fields. I did hear something about poor drainage.”
“Mm. I will ask some of my men to look into it. I am surprised that I have not heard about these issues before. The other villages have been earning a lot from their crops.”
“Thank you, Your Grace. Your support will certainly aid Willowbrook,” the old man said, his voice breaking a little.
“You are most welcome. It is my responsibility to see to the needs of each village in Greyvale,” Damian murmured, slightly bowing.
The gesture of courtesy touched Gwendoline, and judging from the unshed tears in the old man’s eyes, she guessed he was touched, too.
After exchanging a few more words with the old man and his grandchildren, who came rushing to the group, Gwendolinenoticed a woman in her fifties approaching them. The woman had the same creased forehead and worried expression as the baker’s wife.
“Good day, Your Graces,” she greeted, bobbing a little curtsy.
Her hands trembled a little, but she seemed to grow more confident the longer she stood there with the group.
“Good day,” Gwendoline returned warmly.
“I’m Antonia, Charles’s daughter,” the woman said, gesturing toward the old man. “We are honored by your presence.”
“We are glad to be here.” Gwendoline smiled. “But I do want to know why the villagers seem nervous around us. Is it really because of my husband’s stern demeanor?”
“Your Grace,” Antonia began. “The villagers of Willowbrook are usually apprehensive about any visit from the gentlefolk. We know the duke can be, uh, serious.”
Damian cleared his throat but managed to affect a less-than-intimidating look. Gwendoline noticed that he attempted not to look at Antonia directly.
“Apologies, Your Grace,” Antonia nearly whispered, looking up at him. He merely nodded at her as if to urge her to continue. “The real reason people are nervous is the gossip that had been spreading about Your Graces.”
“About us?” It was Gwendoline’s turn to raise her eyebrows. She pointed at herself.
“Yes, Your Grace,” Antonia replied sadly. “When you were married, word spread that you and His Grace had eloped. There was a lot of talk about it. I swear I didn’t partake in it, Your Grace. I am not one for gossip. However, it was difficult to tell anyone that it wasn’t true when I myself wasn’t certain either.”
“I’m certain Montrose spread that story,” Damian grumbled.
“It doesn’t matter, Antonia. You can tell the rest of the villagers that whether the stories are true or not, we can at least show you that we are not terrible people.”
“I can try to change their views of you. Oh, you’re looking at them, Your Grace. Those are my children,” Antonia said when she noticed Gwendoline watching the little ones playing with a wooden top.
She motioned for the children to stop playing for a moment and come closer.
“Good day, children. I am sorry to disturb your playtime, but I must say that is a clever toy. Who made it?” Gwendoline asked.
A boy with a freckled face stepped forward. “My father did, Your Grace,” he answered proudly, his little chin tilted up.
“May I try it?” Gwendoline asked gently.
She was never much for games, merely because children had often teased her when she was younger. They thought she would be ungainly and unskillful, and she simply believed them and never tried.
The children giggled. Some of them covered their mouths, but there was no malice in their shining eyes. One of them, a girl of about four, even hid behind Antonia, feeling a little shy.
