Page 24

No matter!

Rebecca had other things to worry about, mainly finding Mrs. Anderson. After all, if she was to be a duchess, she needed to ensure she did everything perfectly.

She had already let her parents down, she didn’t want to let William down too.

She would also be delighted if she ran into William. It would be wonderful to have a chance to get to know her new husband, but she was sure he was a busy man.

She would understand if he didn’t have time to see her today.

There was no point in pushing it. He was likely already disappointed in her. Pushing it would only make him feel worse.

Rebecca could only hope he would come to tolerate her in time. Still, at least he didn’t seem to be out right cruel to her.

She could live with that. She just needed to get used to it.

Not only that, she knew she should be grateful for it. They had already done far more for her than she deserved. He had a beautiful room, plenty of food to eat. Asking for anything more than that was selfish of her.

Still, thinking about it too much made her feel too overwhelmed, so she decided to focus on the manor herself. Once she did that, she couldn’t stop noticing just how quiet it is.

It made sense that it was calmer than her childhood home, but to her confusion, she hadn’t seen anyone. It almost felt like the whole estate was deserted. She was starting to wonder if she was the only person inside when she came across a man she didn’t recognize.

“Good morning,” she called, walking over to him.

“It’s closer to afternoon by this point,” the man laughed. “You must be Rebecca.”

“I am. And you are?”

“I’m Patrick, William’s solicitor.”

“Is it really almost afternoon?” she frowned.

“It is. It was close to eleven forty five last I checked.”

“I see,” she frowned.

“Is something wrong?”

She shook her head. “Nothing I can’t handle. Can I help you with anything?”

He laughed. “I feel like I should be the one to ask you that. You seem rather lost.”

“I’m just still learning my way around the place.”

“I imagine it is going to be an adjustment,” he studied her with a strange look in his eyes. “How do you found the place so far?”

“It's bigger than I was expecting.”

“I see,” he studied her for another moment. “Well, if you don’t need anything else, I will let you get back to your walk.”

“Wait!” she called out before she could think better of it.

He paused, turning to her with an intrigued look on his face. “Yes? Did you need something?”

She hesitated. Why had she done that? What was she supposed to say now?

“I was just wondering if you knew where everyone is?” she asked, voice soft and hesitant.

“What do you mean where everyone is? I’m sure they are off doing their work.”