Page 38 of Her Duke By Accident
“Don’t patronize me.”
“The only one who holds this wall up between the world and Garvey is you, Your Grace,” she said. “It does not have to be this way. Ghosts and memories and secrets do not need to haunt your halls. They do not need to haunt you.”
“Do not try and romanticize my decisions,,” Matthew sternly said. “If I do not want a ball, there will not be a ball. This is a private home, and as the duchess, you should do well to respect that.”
Before Alicia could say anything else, the doors to Garvey swung open, and a tall, slender man wearing a neat suit was invited inside. He tipped his hat towards the duke.
“Ah, Mr. Dixon,” Matthew called out.
“Do you need a few more minutes, Your Grace?” Mr. Dixon politely asked. He tipped his hat toward Alicia this time. “A pleasure, Your Grace.”
Alicia nodded her head to him, but did not speak.
“Not at all, Mr. Dixon,” he said. “There are taxes to be collected.” He looked at Alicia once more, but she did not meet his gaze — not that he expected her to. “I will be back this evening.”
Matthew marched toward the door with his advisor in tow, and willed himself not to look back at his wife before shutting the manor doors behind him.
In the evening, as the sun began to set and money was counted, Alicia slowly made her way to the duke’s study. Dinner was being prepared, and would be ready within the hour, but a tug withinher told her to speak with Matthew before, when they could be alone. Despite her racing heart, Alicia rapped her knuckles against his door, pushing it open when he gave a short sound.
Matthew abruptly stood from behind the large desk when she entered, his white sleeves bunched up at his elbows. “Alicia,” he said, surprised, before clearing his throat and standing up straight. He dug a hand through his hair, smoothing it down. “Your Grace,” he said, calmly this time, “I will be at dinner.”
“I–I know, Your Grace,” Alicia replied. She took a few steps into the room, closing the study door gently behind her. It smelled of wood and fire. “Was this your father’s study?”
“It was,” he said quietly.
Alicia knew she caught him off guard, coming in when he was clearly distracted. Perhaps it could work in her favor. When she looked back at him, all she could see was an exhaustion that weighed him down. “Are you well, Your Grace?”
“Of course. It was merely a long day in the villages.”
“Right,” she said. “Did it all go well?”
“Are you—” Matthew paused, raising his eyebrows, “—discussing finances with me?”
Alicia crossed her arms. “Would that be an issue, Your Grace?”
“It is nothing for you to concern yourself with. The collection went well; it is why Mr. Dixon accompanies me. There is nothing of it that should be of importance to you as the Duchess of Garvey.”
She laughed to herself. “I admit I did not come to ask you of the finances, Your Grace. I only wished we could put aside our previous grievances with a young lady around.”
Matthew frowned. “Do you mean your insistence of a ball?”
“I mean your argumentative nature of it,” she said. “I don’t understand why every conversation we have turns into something of a fight.”
“I don’t think it turns into a fight.”
“And there,” she said with a disbelieving laugh, “you wish to argue with me once more!”
“Duchess… ”
“I only want for things to be civil between us,” she interrupted. “For us to have a companionship that is built on a friendship, where we can rely on one another. That if you need to talk?—”
“Why must I always talk?”
“I–I don’t understand what you mean, Your Grace.”
Matthew straightened his vest, walking around the desk till he stood directly in front of her. “Why is it that you insist I talk to you about everything and anything? Do you not like to be left out? Or is it because you think I am wounded, something you can heal or put back together?” He laughed to himself. “I do not need friendship. If there is nothing else I might assist you with, I’ll see you at dinner.”
Alicia watched as he bowed his head, and walked back toward his desk, taking a seat behind it and looking back over his work. She stood there, silently, just staring at him till she realized he was not going to pay her any more attention. Alicia sighed, not feeling the fire within her to keep trying that evening.
