Page 18 of Wedded to the Loveless Duke
She finally went to shut the door and returned to the fireplace, where she dropped into an armchair to regain her bearings. What happened? How did she end up there? Worse, why did she feel so strangely disappointed that Phillip hadn’t kissed her after all?
A part of her wanted to go demand answers from him for what he had done just a few moments earlier, but she reined that part in and remained where she was. She didn’t need to have answers right away. If the answers were ones that would add to her state of confusion and hurt, she wasn’t certain she could bear it.
Best not to test the waters of our strange marriage tonight.
Rising again, she went to her bed and pushed down the covers, wishing she could make sense of the man she’d married. She had been so naive to believe he was an open book when they spoke during his visits to her father’s estate. He was hardly anopen book. Instead, he was a conundrum she couldn’t solve but desperately wished to.
What is my place here now?
If Phillip was telling the truth and she meant more than money to him, then what did that mean for her? A man who loves his wife is a man who pays closer attention to her dealings and affairs. Having observed members of the ton, she noticed that the more a man loved his wife, the more jealously he would guard her and the more fiercely he would try to clip her wings to keep her at his side. She noticed that that the men who had married only for the money would ignore their wives and would leave them to their own devices. If Phillip had married her because he actually wanted her, that might spell a true and final end to her freedom. If she had feared he would clip her wings before, she feared it ten times more now.
Still, he had been so gentle with her on their wedding day, even as she raged at him. He had hardly raised his voice, and he had only moved to take hold of her hand when she tried to slap him. It was unexpected. From the whispers she’d heard amongst theton’syounger brides, it was best not to anger one’s husband because it often led to outbursts, fights and perhaps even physical harm. Phillip had taken her verbal haranguing without any anger.
In fact, he had seemed terribly hurt by her words. She sighed and stared up at the canopy overhead. Why would he be hurt by her accusations if he was in it for the money she brought with her? It was obvious that his estate was in desperate need of therepairs her dowry could bring, and it seemed clear that was why he had married her based on what she had overheard. It made no sense that he would be stung by a truthful accusation.
Was there a chance he had spoken honestly when he told me I had missed the pieces necessary to see the whole truth?
She turned onto her side with a tired moan. It was too much for one day. Exhaustion tugged at her, and she was suddenly glad that Phillip had not acted on his desires but had instead insisted she go to bed. She needed rest more than she had realized, and the cool sheets were a welcome relief. Her eyes slowly closed as the fire began to go out, casting only a soft glow over the room and leaving the corners in shadows. Then, she drifted off, her dreams, in turn, troubled and soothing as her mind wrestled with the dichotomy of what she believed to be true and what she had witnessed that night even in sleep.
CHAPTER 8
When Eleanor woke from a good night’s sleep, she didn’t know where she was at first. The dark, heavy canopy curtains draped on all sides of the bed blocked most of the morning light, which was something she was unaccustomed to at her father’s house. She wondered groggily what had woken her and whether it was still the wee hours of the morning when a cold nose nudged her ear, followed by a familiar whine and a slobbery kiss.
“Bella?” She sat up and groaned. “What are you doing out of your cage at this time of the morning?”
Or is it evening?
As the grogginess faded, she began to realize where she was, and the events of the prior day came rushing back. She was in her bedchamber in Phillip’s mansion. She was married off yesterday to a man she barely knew.
Phillip—no, His Grace.
Eleanor could not bear to think of him familiarly after his betrayal. He had surprised her at the wedding and then again in her bedchamber the previous evening. She had no doubt that more surprises, demands and adjustments were in store.
Bella yapped at her, drawing her from her reverie. She patted the dog’s head and was about to climb out of bed when the curtain was pulled aside to reveal Isabel’s worried face. “Sorry, Your Grace, she was being quiet, so I thought she would be no bother.” The maid reached for the dog, who retreated with a baleful look at her.
“Never mind, Isabel. Bella is most welcome in my chambers at any time. Did my father bring her here?”
“No, Your Grace. His Grace did.” Isabel began laying out some gowns for Eleanor. “He had your wardrobe moved as well, but he went to fetch the dog early this morning. Truly, you are a fortunate woman, Your Grace! He must be very fond of you to go himself.”
Eleanor wrapped her arms around Bella’s wriggling body and buried her face in the dog’s soft white fur. “Indeed. Has he indicated what he would like me to choose for this morning’s attire?”
Isabel looked up from her task with a frown. “No, he has not. I was merely laying out the gowns I thought you might like best. His Grace indicated that you often wore the emerald silk onewhenever he went by to visit your father, and I thought you might like it or something similar.”
Eleanor did like the emerald gown, but it was now too closely associated with memories of Phillip, and she did not wish to be reminded of them. Not now, not after his betrayal. Those memories only brought her more pain when she considered how easily she had believed his pretty lies.
Still, Phillip had brought Bella. He had thought to fetch the little dog himself because he knew what Bella meant to her. Had she been too harsh in her judgment of him? She bit her lip and looked over the selection of gowns. “I will wear the emerald one, Isabel. Thank you.”
Isabel nodded and began putting the other gowns back into the standing bureau. “Yes, Your Grace. Do you require help with dressing?”
“I can manage all but the hooks at the back, Isabel. You may help me with the lacing on the stays, however.” Eleanor rose and pulled on the linen shift Isabel had laid out already. “I think the half stays will do for today.”
Isabel started working on lacing the white half stays immediately. Once the tasks of dressing and fixing her hair were finished, Eleanor felt much more prepared to face her husband. She turned to Isabel to handle one last matter before she sallied out to deal with whatever the day would bring her. “Isabel, you have done a wonderful job for me the last two days, and I appreciate that. I will need an abigail, and while you may nothave any experience being a lady’s maid, I believe we can teach you whatever you do not already know. What do you think?”
Isabel’s face lit up with a bright smile. “I would be honored, Your Grace!”
“Then I will inform Annie of the change in your work assignments sometime later today, and you will begin to assist me permanently from now on.” Eleanor rose. “We will see about a proper wardrobe for your new position as soon as it can be arranged.”
“Thank you, Your Grace!” Isabel curtsied. “You have done me a great honor, and my family as well.”
