Page 12 of His Wild Duchess
“Best consider holding your tongue,” the Duke teased, pulling the curtain back from the window. “We have arrived.”
As the Duke opened the door, Penelope remained there, shutting her eyes to take a deep breath. Everything within her shuddered, and the adrenaline mixed with nervous energy turned her legsinto a trembling mess. She repeated the only thing that made her steady again.
Only two months, and then, Penelope would be free. Tied to the Duke in name, perhaps, but free in truth.
The Duke’s townhouse was in the center of a bustling and busy community. Shops were not far away at all, and the theater was even closer. A few other townhouses neighbored the one they were going to be staying at, drawing even more people to the area. The carriage stopped in front of a pastel green house, the lawn neatly trimmed and bright with summer blossoms. A beautiful tree stood before the townhouse, the sun casting a delicate shadow across the building.
The Duke left the carriage first, extending a hand for Penelope next. Following him out, Penelope flinched at the chatter around them. Members of aristocratic society walked beside the streets, arm-in-arm with each other, chattering and mingling. Eyes slowly came their way as the hounds left the carriage, both of them looking around the yard curiously.
“Perhaps,” the Duke said, catching on to the eyes that lingered nearby, “We should carry on inside.”
Penelope recognized the look on his face very well. It was the same way everyone else in her family reacted when it came to the dogs. No matter how much they enjoyed animals or just dogs, there would always be a stigma around them. Society viewed them as unfavorable, an odd companion to give to a woman. Andin the Duke’s predicament, he only needed things that society deemed acceptable.
Penelope steered the hounds towards the door, following the nervous footman. Despite not agreeing with it, she knew that her ticket to independence lay in the Duke’s achieving his goal to his satisfaction. Penelope figured the cottage would no longer be included in their deal if he didn't gather enough societal support through the marriage.
The footman paused at the door, inching away from the hounds.
“What’re you doing?” the Duke called out impatiently. “For heaven’s sake, let us inside.”
“O-Of course, your Grace, I-I just thought I’d warn you about…” the footman trailed off, sidestepping to avoid being sniffed. “All the creatures inside.”
The Duke stepped forward, moving around Penelope to look her in the face. “Allthe creatures inside?”
Without waiting for the footman, the Duke ripped open the front door.
Chaos exploded out from the townhouse’s foyer. Howls and barks echoed off the walls, the clattering of paws against the tile floor sounding like angelic music to Penelope’s ears. Armed with leashes and collars, the townhouse staff tried to wranglethe animals. Above it all, where the staircase began, sat a striped tabby cat, tail flicking menacingly against the ground.
Penelope breathed in deeply. “Home.”
“What the blazes!” The Duke ran into the house, trying to catch the attention of the staff. No one could pay him mind; they were all too focused on the problem in front of them. The dogs chased each other, slipping beneath tables and almost knocking portraits off the wall. A few of them even turned to the clueless staff, their hindquarters high in the air as they tried to instigate play.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Penelope called out to him, laughing as Brutus and Titus ran to join in the fray. Despite being the eldest out of all the dogs, they never failed to play with the younger animals, jumping and chasing as if they were puppies again.
“H-How many are there?” the Duke shouted.
“Six!”
The Duke turned to her, aghast. “Won’t you do something about this?”
Penelope laughed again, taking in another moment of the fun before it had to all go away. Putting her fingers up to her lips, Penelope sharply exhaled and released a high-pitched whistle into the air. Almost simultaneously, the dogs paused in theirplay, all turning their attention towards Penelope. Even the cat, who sat quietly on the stairs, turned its ears to her.
As they sat, the staff collectively breathed a sigh of relief, returning fallen possessions to their proper places. Penelope walked further into the townhouse, greeting the animals one by one. Afterward, she spun around on her heel and gave the Duke a mocking curtsey.
“Satisfied, your Grace?”
He crossed his arms. “Not even close.”
Penelope quickly ignored him, and turned her attention to the staff that lingered nearby. “My apologies for the chaos my companions caused,” she said, giving them a smile. “They are gentle creatures and began their lives as strays. New people bring them joy, and all they wanted to do was play.”
The staff collectively looked around, eyeing the animals warily.
“The wolfhounds, Titus and Brutus,” she walked to them, patting their heads, “are the eldest and calmest.” Penelope then turned to a large dog whose black coat shone beneath the light. “This is Antony, a mastiff. He is quite large and equally protective.” After she pressed a kiss to his snout, Penelope crouched down to the smaller creatures. “And these are the foxhound siblings, Priory and Pat. They were abused at a young age and used as hunting dogs in a despicable way that I will not repeat here.”
The foxhounds nuzzled their dark snouts into Penelope’s hair, pulling a laugh out of her.
“And we mustn’t forget the spaniel, Ali.” With long fur and matching long ears, the spaniel was the smallest and most regal out of the dogs. Penelope rubbed a thumb beneath the dog’s ear before turning to the single feline. “Lastly, there is the striped tabby cat, Butternut. She is quite a solitary creature but occasionally enjoys some company.”
Penelope stood, facing the staff once more. “Now that’s out of the way, my name is Penelope. It is a pleasure to meet you all.”
