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Fortunately, she was welcomed in immediately.

“I do believe that was the Duke of Gloryfield,” one gentleman said, looking directly at Samantha.

“And if he is the duke,” the lady beside him nodded slowly, “you must be his duchess?”

“That would be me, indeed, yes,” she smiled meekly. “As of today, that is.”

“Ah, your honeymoon!” the lady said, narrowing her eyes at her with a grin. “A splendid occasion indeed. Where is he?”

“He is retiring to his bedchambers, I believe.”

“And leaving his new duchess to us wolves?”

“I insisted. He is no doubt tired after all of the effort he put into the ceremony, but I wish to meet people.”

“You must have been kept in an awful lot by your parents,” she noted. “Come, sit with us. I have never been seated beside a duchess!”

“I am hardly a duchess,” Samantha laughed as a drink was poured for her. “Such a title was bestowed upon me today, and I am yet to even see my household. It is not exactly as though I am settled into my role yet.”

“That counts for nought,” the gentleman laughed. “You have the ring thus you have the title thus you are the Duchess of Gloryfield, meaning that my wife is most honored to sit beside you.”

“It is an honor to meet all of you, truly,” she replied with a smile.

It then dawned on her that she would never see these people again; they were miles from her new home and were unlikely to be titled in any way, but they were nice to her, and that was something she was not yet accustomed to, no matter how kind Lady Penelope had been at the party.

“You are right,” she continued. “My parents were certainly not of the ordinary sort. My mother died when I was an infant, and my father… Let us just say that he did as well as any man that did not wish to be a father could do.”

This made the men laugh, but the women sighed softly.

“Then let us hope that yourself and the Duke show a little more kindness to your children, yes?” the lady suggested.

“We certainly intend to.”

There it was again, the way the lies fell from her so effortlessly. Was it truly so wrong of her to give people false hope that they would have an heir? They likely did not care at all, and yet there was almost a sense of duty within her to make them believe that she would be a good duchess.

She had to be a good duchess.

“If you ask me,” another gentleman began, “it will be a nice change of pace to have a Duchess of Gloryfield once more. We all remember what happened after the other one passed away.”

“What happened, if you do not mind my asking?” Samantha asked, avoiding the fact that he had spoken of duchesses as if they were commodities.

“Well, the Duke was… You know how the Duke was.”

She did, to an extent, but suddenly everyone fell silent, and it seemed as though nobody wished to discuss the matter anymore.

“Would you like to have a talk?” the lady asked. “Just the two of us? I would so love to speak in private with a real duchess.”

“You certainly hold dukes and duchesses in high regard,” she laughed. “Certainly, I would love to.”

The two ladies left the table and went to the dining room. A plate of sandwiches and fruit was brought to them, and the lady pushed the entirety of it towards Samantha.

“I am not at all hungry,” she smiled. “This inn is known for bringing more and more food out whether you ask for it or not. You, however, must be starving.”

“I am,” she sighed. “I did not have any time at all to eat today.”

“I remember my wedding; it was the very same,” her new friend laughed.

“How long have you been married?”