Page 20 of Matters of a Duke's Heart
That is what he envisioned, and it terrified him.
Still, he had to do what was right. He had proposed this arrangement, and he must see it through and make her life as content as he could. She would never go without anything she desired, and she would have several estates at her disposal.
They couldn’t live apart, of course, for she would always need to be near Alexander, and live wherever Spencer did, but there was comfort in knowing she could go elsewhere if she wished. For short periods of time, of course.
She will be fine, he told himself..
He approached his wife, held out his hand for her. I will be fine. “May I lead you to our table to begin the wedding breakfast?”
Chapter 7
The carriage rolled away from London’s city streets, past the grand townhouses, and toward the countryside in the distance.
Felicity had barely spoken to the duke all day—a fact that hurt her more than she cared to think about—and she glanced over at him in confusion.
“My mama told me that you live in Marlen Row,” she said.
The duke’s eyes flicked to hers with cool neutrality. “Yes.”
“Well, we have just passed it.”
“I know,” he answered, eyes narrowing. “It is customary for a man to take his wife to his countryside estate for their honeymoon to ensure privacy away from the ton for a while, to become more acquainted.”
That silenced Felicity for a moment. “Oh,” she finally said. “And we… we are to have a proper honeymoon?”
Those eyes didn’t look away from her, and she found her stomach curling with nerves and an unsettling intrigue. “No.”
“Right,” she whispered. “That is very well, then. I suppose it makes sense. Has Alexander already been taken to the country estate?”
“Yes.”
She waited for him to ask her something in return, or to at least elaborate on where they were going, but he remained silent and simply looked away from her. Felicity slumped back against the carriage bench. Over the day, her gown had grown stifling, and her mind had wandered painfully every time she had looked up at her new husband.
He looked at her with so much resentment she could not stand holding his gaze for very long.
But… perhaps beneath the resentment was pain of his own, masked impeccably, but noticeable at times. She made no comment on it. It was not her place. Only… the pain kept her considerate of him. Felicity was miserable, but perhaps he was, too.
Perhaps he disliked this arrangement as much as she did. She understood why he had needed to arrange it, but why her?
Why had she needed to be the one to give up her prospects of genuine love? Admittedly dwindling but given up none the less.
“What is your countryside residence called?” Her next attempt was met with silence for long, tedious seconds. It was so suffocating that she regretted even trying to strike up conversation.
After another moment, the duke answered, “Bluebell Manor.” Felicity couldn’t help but look at him, hoping and waiting for more. He stared back at her before looking away once again, making everything awkward. To her surprise, he did elaborate. “My mother moved into it when it was simply Langdon Manor, but she planted so many bluebells—to the dismay of my father, who told her she ought to do more duchess-like things rather than gardening—that they grew everywhere. We ended up calling it Bluebell Manor out of habit. My father had it legally changed for her upon one of their anniversaries.”
It was an unexpected insight to his family history.
Felicity murmured, “it sounds like he cared for her.”
The silence remained that time. Her new husband didn’t correct or deny her observation.
The ride to Bluebell Manor wasn’t as long as she thought, with Langdon not being very far from London’s outskirts at all. Felicity couldn’t help but sneak glances at the duke, her worry carving a hole in her that she didn’t think would be patched up with her own assurances.
Who was this man?
Who was the Duke of Langdon, or the man beyond the title?
He was ever so cold, and she decided early on in their journey to give up trying to get him to talk. He had offered one piece of information, and she had noticed how it hadn’t involved himself.
