Page 32 of An Accidental Bride for the Duke
“I would,” she said rightly as she sat down. “But you caught me in a good mood.”
She couldn’t keep herself from smiling, and to see Philip smile back had her smiling further. He was so different to the man she had married less than a week ago. A change had overtaken him, one that she couldn’t pinpoint exactly but was glad for.
“So, tell me,” Philip began once they settled in. “Where did you get off to today. On your little adventure.”
“Oh, yes. Well, it occurred to me this morning that I’ve done just about all the exploring of the manor that I can. You know…” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Within reason.”
He rolled his eyes. “All the snooping, you mean.”
“If that is what you call it,” she scoffed. Iris had not been back to the eastern wing since that first time. She told herself it was because she felt no need, knowing that to be a half-truth.
The reality was that she didn’t want to push the boundaries of the duke’s limits, testing his rules to see if they still applied. She was certain they did not, wanting to believe that he was passed such nonsense. But that she wasn’t willing to ask him or see if this was the case was perhaps a sign that things weren’t quite as simple as she was leading herself to believe.
“Go on,” he said with laughter. “Where did you go?”
“To the local village,” she said. As she did, she looked about for a butler to pour her a glass of wine as they often had a glass or two with dinner each night. But as she did so, she noticed out the corner of her eye Philip turn rigid.
“The village?” he said, tone turned sharp suddenly.
“Yes…” She frowned as she looked at him closer, noting how tense he had suddenly become. “If you are worried about me going so far on my own, there is no need. It is just the half mile down the road and I figured it to be perfectly safe.”
“No, that is not…” He clicked his tongue. “Did you tell anyone where you were going?”
“Mr. Tibbitt,” she explained.
“And I am to assume that he told you of my feelings concerning you visiting the village.”
“He did…”
“And yet you chose to go anyway.”
Iris could sense the shift in the atmosphere of the room. Despite it being well lit, it seemed to darken around them. There was a weight in the air, coming from the duke who was scowling with annoyance. And where Iris attempted to smile it off, chuckling too because she was certain she was misreading whatever this was, it only made things worse.
“Mr. Tibbitt told me of your objections,” she said carefully. “Just as he told me that you made them when I first arrived. I simply assumed that perhaps your opinion on the matter might have changed since then.”
“And why would you think that?”
“I…” She searched Philip for what she hoped was humor, that he was teasing her. “Why would I not? I thought we had decided that this was my home and I should treat it as such.”
“The village is not your home.”
“But it is a part of your duchy,” she pointed out. “And as your wife, that makes it a part of mine. What harm is there in me exploring the village and meeting your tenants—I would have thought you’d expect such a thing.”
“You should have asked me first,” he grumbled darkly. “Instead of assuming.”
She blinked and leaned back, still taken by the way he was reacting. “There really is no need to worry or… or to be upset.” She spoke carefully, not wanting to turn this into a fight. Weren’t they passed this point by now? “In truth, I had a lovely time of it. I met a few farmers, some of the locals, and I even asked the local modiste if she would be interested in coming to the manor soon and outfitting us with new clothes for the Season.”
“You what?” he groaned. “Tell me you are joking, Iris.”
“Of course I am not,” she said with slight exasperation. “All I was doing was trying to be friendly. Not that it was very hard, for most who I met were rather lovely.”
He scoffed. “I am sure they appeared that way. They are rather good at pretending.”
“What does that mean?”
“The villagers are not…” His jaw was clenched, and she could see the anger building inside of him. “They are not nearly as friendly and welcoming as they would have you believe. They know howto act as such, for you are my wife and they know better than to offer you anything but subservience. But they are not your friends.”
“I never said they were.”
