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She nodded, following him down the hall. Neither of them said a word as they took their seat at the table and the food was brought out.

“Have your meals been to your taste since coming here?” William asked when the silence had stretched on for far too long.

“Yes, thank you. Everything you have put together for me has been absolutely wonderful!”

“It would be all right if you had any requests thought. In fact, I think you should. Why don’t you talk to Mrs. Anderson and put together a menu for dinner in a few days.”

“Are you sure I can do something like that?”

“You are the lady of the house. It is well within your rights to set the menu. One could even argue it is your responsibility.”

She chewed her lip. “Does that mean I should have been doing that from the beginning?”

“It means if you want to do it, you should feel comfortable to start.”

She lit up like he had given her the world. “Then I will speak with Hellen tomorrow.”

“Good, that seems like a good start.”

Rebecca smiled at him. “How was your day today?” she asked.

“It was fine.”

“What all did you get up to? Did you do anything fun?”

“Just work,” he sighed. “There isn’t much to say.”

“Right,” she said, falling silent.

He shifted around for a moment before asking, “ What about you?”

“What about me?”

“What did you get up to today?”

“My friend Penelope came to visit today, she was the one who encouraged me to take the role of duchess a little bit more seriously.”

“Have the two of you known each other long?”

“We have. All but grew up together really. Our homes were right beside each other. We used to slip into the garden and she would sneak over the fence almost every day.”

“The two of you must be rather close then?”

“Oh yes, we are. She’s probably the person who knows me best in the world.”

“That must be nice.”

“It is. Do you have someone like that?”

He tilted his head to the side, thinking for a moment. “Yes, I suppose I do.”

“Who is it?”

“His name is Patrick, he’s my solicitor.”

“The one who approached my father.”

“The one who told me to consider looking for a wife in the first place.”