Page 26 of Her Duke By Accident
“That can’t be possible.”
“She is fond of everything under the sun,” he repeated. “Whether it be the trees or the ants crawling up their trunks, she will find something to love.”
“We will have to arrange a meeting between our sisters, Your Grace.”
Matthew surprised himself with a laugh, a loud laugh that filled the room. “So my sister could have reason to bring strays into Garvey Manor?”
“Oh,” she replied with a giggle, “you might grow fond of dogs, Your Grace.”
“Do you think so?”
“Why not?” she asked. “They are loyal companions who would always protect you and your loved ones.” Alicia’s eyes went wide. “Wouldn’t you want that?”
Matthew stared down the table at her and felt her fishing for that connection once more. The urge to allow it, to remove the wall that separated them was more tempting than he wanted it to be. He pressed his lips together and spoke through clenched teeth. “We will find a time to introduce them,” he said instead.
Alicia hid her disappointment well if that was what she felt. “Thank you, Your Grace.”
Matthew kept his hands behind his back, staring out the window into the dark evening while he waited for the duchess to take her leave.
“Might we,” Alicia said, clearing her throat, “might we be tolerant with one another from now on?”
“Tolerant?”
“At ease,” she said.
“I don’t?—”
“I am not trying to trick you, Your Grace,” Alicia tiredly said. “I only want to sleep this night knowing we can make this companionship work.”
Matthew looked upon her for the last time that evening, and bowed his head, unable to deny her a simple thing that sounded appealing enough to him as well.
“Yes,” he replied. “You may have this.”
Alicia breathed a sigh and stood from the table, giving him a small bow. “If you’ll excuse me, Your Grace,” she said. “I will take my leave and retire to my bedroom.”
He stood, bowing his head back at her. And the new Duchess of Garvey left the dining room, leaving Matthew to stand there, alone, wondering if he could truly allow himself to be tolerant of her.
CHAPTER 8
When his father passed, Matthew didn’t have the heart to change much about his study. Though he inherited everything within it, including the constant responsibility of being a duke, there was nothing for him to change. The paintings were the same as before he was born. The shelves were filled with the same books, with new editions stored elsewhere in the manor. All that changed was Matthew.
Matthew paused in his writing, struggling to formulate cohesive thoughts to his sister, Lucy. His heart slammed against his chest.
The sun was rising, and breakfast would soon be served in the dining hall. He knew, at this moment, the light would be streaming into his new wife’s bedroom, the servant entering the room silently to pull the curtains back. His wife would awaken with the memories of the night before still bright in her mind, and she would be expecting a calm man to be waiting for her.
He needed Lucy to return. He needed someone else, someone familiar, to wash these feelings away, to bring him back tonormal. Matthew lifted his gaze, meeting the eyes of his father’s portrait hanging above the mantel. The old duke watched him with judgment and shame, at the letter he wrote. Pleading for his bastard sister to return to Garvey Manor and rescue him from spending time with his duchess.
Matthew finished writing the letter.
He knew his sister well, and she would return at the first sign of trouble. He sighed.
At least she would be back.
When the sunlight peered through Alicia’s window, she did not feel as much unease as she did on the day of her wedding. There was a slight excitement, a curiosity to tour the gardens offered by the duke. She spent the morning bath staring into the water in an anxious silence.
“Your Grace,” Juliet, the lady’s maid, said in a sing-song voice from behind the partition.
Alicia smiled, looking over her shoulder. “I am all finished, Juliet.”
