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“She has taken a tour for herself,” he explained. “It is not to say that she does not wish foryouto show her, as she very much does, but I thought it would be best if we gave her time to see it all for herself first.”

“Oh! Well, that is perfectly fine too. I shall not begrudge her some exploration. She is spirited, then?”

“Very much so, and I value it a great deal.”

“In which case, she might be able to breathe some life into this place. Very well, I shall leave the two of you be. You have some papers addressed to you in your study, and Lord Drowshire has requested that you and your bride join him for dinner in four days. I was unsure whether or not to accept it on your behalf, and so I did not.”

“That was the correct thing to do. I shall have to discuss it with my wife although she will likely be more than willing to go if it means she will see Miss Penelope.”

His staff had met Penelope before, as she had accompanied Oliver to a ball the late Duke was hosting. The staff adored her; his father did not. Thus, nobody was allowed to openly like her at all. It was not fair, but it was how things were. Regardless, Penelope never seemed to care very much at all.

Graham had always admired her for that.

“You ought to find your wife,” the housekeeper smirked. “The estate is certainly large, and it would be no surprise to me if you lost her entirely in it.”

“Especially with it being so dark in here,” he observed. “I shall begin my travels, and then, I can begin my paperwork.”

“And I shall have Cook prepare your dinner. Good luck, Your Grace!”

Luck was certainly something that he needed on his side.

Fortunately, he did not have to look far for his wife. Unfortunately, it was because she had seen the one room that he was hoping not to have to discuss. The drawing room. It was the one room where his mother had been allowed to do things she wanted, even if they were very minor. The walls were still dark and faded, much like the rest of the house, but there were flowers in it and extra candles for light. It had been the only thing she had stood firm on in her marriage and the only thing that she could not be forced into submission about.

“Your mother wanted these, didn’t she?” Samantha asked softly.

“It was the only thing she ever wanted enough to argue with my father,” he sighed. “It is silly, isn’t it?”

“Not at all. I think that she must have been desperate for even the smallest bit of happiness to have wanted it so badly. It is good that she was given at least that.”

“That might be why every time I think of her, she is in here. It was the only room in the house I could bear to be in because it was hers. I couldn’t imagine her anywhere else but here.”

“Not even in the Duchess’ room? I am yet to see it, but surely it is —”

“The same as the others,” he said quietly. “Exactly the same. My father insisted on it. That is why it may only be some flowers and candles to us, but to her they were everything.”

“A flicker of rebellion,” Samantha noted. “I admire her for that.”

“As do I. Speaking of women you admire, Miss Penelope shall more than likely be at a dinner we have been invited to by Lord Drowshire. I believe you would want to accept the invitation, but I wanted to ask you first.”

“I am grateful that you asked, but you were right. I would love to go.”

“Wonderful. The housekeeper is aware of your exploration, so take all the time that you require.”

He slipped away before she could say a word to him about breaking their agreement.

CHAPTER 18

Her husband could be unpredictable, but Samantha was starting to enjoy that about him.

What she did not enjoy, however, was the monotony of the household. Everything was dark and drab and not at all pleasing to the eye. She was tired of it before she had even made it halfway through the house and gave up soon after. She would only have to see it once more with the housekeeper, and if she had to see everything twice over, it would simply be too much.

Fortunately, the grounds had to at least be green. There were flowers, meaning she could learn about them in time and at least fill her days withsomethingwhilst her husband found his place there once more.

The grass was damp, and even though it was not the proper thing to do, Samantha could not resist taking off her shoes and feeling it beneath her feet. It was cooling, connecting her to the world once more in a way that her new home did not. Soon enough, she was lying on her back and looking up at theclouds, no longer thinking about where she was and who she had become.

“What are you doing here?” A harsh and deep voice came.

Samantha scrambled to her feet only to see a short and rotund man before her. She tried not to smirk at him.