Page 43 of An Arranged Betrothal with a Contrite Duke
“Right away, milady duchess,” she said.
Lydia headed over to the first shelf of books, grabbing a stack and looking through them. There were several on arithmetic and history, of course. In fact, they were the very first books that had helped Lydia find a love of history. She smiled as she looked at the books, setting them in a box she found on the old desk to designate that pile of books as the one she would take with her. She moved on to the next stack, finding a well of ink behind it when she moved it. She set aside the books, picking up the ink and wondering if it was empty.
As she uncorked it, her hand slipped, causing the dark liquid to splash onto her fingers.
"Oh dear," she muttered, dismayed by the mess.
Hester reentered the room just then, hurrying over to her.
“Oh, my,” she said with a giggle. “What a messy situation you have there.”
Lydia laughed heartily and nodded.
“It would seem so,” she said. “Can you continue working in here? I have a few books here and in that box that I wish to take. I must go get myself cleaned up now.”
Her lady’s maid giggled again and nodded.
“I would be happy to,” she said.
With a playful sigh, Lydia hurried from the room, trying to keep the wet ink from dripping all over her parents’ home. She sought out the butler, hoping he might have some turpentine to clean the stubborn ink stains. Yet despite the incident, she was utterly happy. She would have plenty of supplies to start the school off with. She might not even need to order any more right away. In that moment, she didn’t think she could be any happier. And she largely had her new husband to thank for it all.
Chapter Twenty-three
Lydia looked all over the house, unable to find the butler anywhere. She giggled to herself, thinking how ridiculous she must look to any other observing servants. She also marveled at how they all seemed to be invisible until they were summoned to perform duties specifically for their masters and mistresses. She had always loved the servants she and her family had. And Michael’s servants were just the same.
She entered the collection room, her eyes sweeping over the room, trying to figure out where else the butler could have gone. As she stepped inside, she noticed Coulton carefully dusting the delicate artifacts with a gentle touch. She smiled in appreciation of his dedication to preserving the family heirlooms. She gently cleared her throat so as to not disturb the focused butler.
“Forgive me for interrupting, Coulton,” she said sheepishly. “I was wondering if you could help me for a moment.”
Coulton stopped his cleaning, turning to face his old mistress. He noticed the problem immediately and fought to conceal a chuckle.
“I take it that some of the supplies were less than agreeable with you today?” he asked.
Lydia giggled, shaking her head.
“They certainly were,” she said. “And I was a bit less than careful.”
The butler chuckled again.
“Shall I venture to guess that you need some turpentine to try to remove all that ink?” he asked.
Lydia laughed again. Her cheeks were turning pink, but it was more out of amusement than out of embarrassment.
“You read my mind,” she teased, giggling again. “Do you mind fetching me some?”
Coulton nodded, giving her an affectionate smile.
“I shall seek it out straightaway, milady,” he said. “Just wait here. I shall bring you the turpentine and some cloths.”
Lydia reached for her habit to curtsey, realizing her mistake at the last second. She began laughing again, shaking her head.
“Oh, dear,” she said, settling for dipping her head to the butler. “Thank you, Coulton. I am very grateful to you.”
The butler bowed slowly before putting down the cleaning supplies he had held in his own hands. Lydia's eyes roamed over the collection, a sense of nostalgia washing over her. It was still hard for her to believe that she didn’t get to see those items, and her family, every single day. However, she was finally finding happiness in her new life. And hopefully soon, in her new marriage, as well.
She was just preparing to sit and wait for Coulton when she noticed an empty cabinet. It caught her attention idly for a brief moment as she tried to figure out what it was that had been there. It seemed strange to her that she couldn’t remember immediately. Perhaps, her father had rearranged everything in his collections’ room while she was gone. Or, could it be that since she hadn’t seen everything in the room for over two weeks that she simply couldn’t remember what had been there?
She headed over to the cabinet and nearby table, trying to recall what had once been there. She got halfway to the cabinet before pausing suddenly as she realized what it was that was missing. She took a deep breath to keep her own from trembling as she spoke.
