Page 21 of Her Duke By Accident
Alicia laughed loudly, a hand over her stomach as it consumed her. She covered her mouth, glancing at the duke as she struggled to stop her laughter. He stared at her with raisedeyebrows, a slight twitch in the corner of his lip. Suddenly, the duke let a small smile grow, and he chuckled.
“I suppose you’ve got me there,” he mused.
“I think it’s sweet,” she said.
The duke met her gaze. “Sweet?”
“To be afraid of them,” Alicia replied. “It is okay to be afraid, Your Grace. I was, once.”
“You were?”
“Even when she found them, they were quite big,” she explained, smiling at the nostalgia. “And even though she knew she wanted to take care of them, Penny was scared too. They could stand taller than us if they really wanted to. It was my father who made it less frightening. He played with them as though he had known them since birth.”
The duke smiled. “Your father sounds like he was a good man.”
“He was.”
“I understand,” he quietly said.
“Understand what, Your Grace?”
“Your sadness.”
Their gazes locked. Alicia felt her chest rise and fall as he held her stare, an intensity in his eyes that she did not recognize. Her lips parted as she searched for the words to say, but he looked away before she could.
Despite a silence filling the carriage once more, there was something else there, a different kind of tension that brought a heaviness to Alicia’s chest. She breathed deeply, turning her gaze towards the window as she felt the duke’s steely stare look over her for a moment.
The duchy upon which Matthew resided over was quaint and lush of forestry. As the carriage went through the villages leading up to the estate, Alicia leaned to stare out the window. She wondered how much of the land she needed to become comfortable with as the duchess. A pit grew in her stomach at her lack of knowledge surrounding her new position.
“You look ill,” Matthew stated, matter-of-factly.
Alicia eyed him warningly. “This is a large duchy, Your Grace,” she said, gripping her stomach.
He sighed, gazing out the window. “You will see it all in time.”
“Do you—” she swallowed the nausea that rose up, “—enjoy hunting, Your Grace?”
Matthew raised his eyebrows. “Hunting?”
“There looks to be acres of forests,” she said.
“My tenants use it more than me.”
Tenants,Alicia repeated in her head. She grew dizzy.
“Good lord, my lady,” Matthew muttered. “You look positively green. What on earth is the matter?”
Alicia tried to force a smile to her lips. “Nothing, Your Grace. It has been a… bumpy ride to your estate. I’m not used to such long rides.”
“We are almost there,” he said skeptically, now keeping a cautious eye on her.
Within moments, the ground underneath the carriage changed and grew smoother. Alicia’s stomach quieted down, even though her anxieties grew at the idea of being in the estate alongside the duke.
The carriage rolled to a stop at the stairs that led up to Garvey Manor. The duke exited quickly, holding the door open and holding out a hand to help Alicia out. As she stepped beforeher new home, Alicia gaped at the size of the estate. There were manicured gardens lining the front of the manor, and statues and fountains positioned in the front courtyard.
Garvey Manor was too wide for Alicia to catch a glimpse at how much the land stretched on. Besides, the sense of overwhelming responsibility hung heavily over her head and distracted her from feeling any awe and wonder.
The servants waited outside for them to approach, lining the series of stairs that led to the entrance. A few footmen retrieved Alicia’s luggage from the carriage, bringing it into the manor before she even began to climb the stairs.
