Page 59
Story: The Unwanted Duchess
“It may not be evident, but I was never raised by my father to marry a duke. He had his expectations, of course, but he simply did not have the time.”
“And what of your mother?”
“She passed away when I was an infant. The only person that was there to teach me was my sister, and she and I had to navigate it all together. So no, my beliefs are not those of a true duchess, but I am here, and I would like it to be this way — that is, I wish to help you.”
“My apologies for the loss of your mother,” he said quietly. “Very well, what do you propose we do this afternoon?”
“I believe that it is something long overdue, but you may not be too impressed that I want it to be done. It is time to cut away the vines from the shutters of the Duchess’ room.”
She was expecting his face to turn darker or even for him to grumble about his work, but instead, he smiled at her. He immediately began walking towards his tool storage, Samantha on his heels.
“You truly are nothing like the late Duke, are you?”
“If what I have heard about him is true, then I should hope not. Did you like him?”
“I respected him. We all did, of course, but if you were to ask me if I liked him… I cannot in all honesty say that I did. Forgive me for being unkind or standoffish with you. We are all excited to have you, but we are wary all the same.”
“Did you expect me to be like him?”
“We do not know. His Grace is nothing like his father, and he never has been, but all the same, when you have a duty to find the perfect duchess, and his father had instilled his values into his sons, we could not be too sure.”
“Well, rest assured that the Duke and I have no plans to be like him. We want you all to be happy. I so hope to live in a home that is filled with contentment this time.”
He looked at her sympathetically, and Samantha wondered if she had said too much.
“All right,” Mister Davis said boldly as he began cutting away at the vines, “how much do you wish to be cut away?”
“It is hard to say, for I do love how they make the walls look, but I do not want them to damage the structural integrity of the bricks.”
The groundskeeper paused.
“What did you say?”
“The structural integrity,” she repeated. “Allegedly, the vines can grow into the bricks and damage them.”
“How do you know that?”
“I read about it,” she shrugged. “But it is as I said, they look lovely. Perhaps, to aid in the upkeep of the household, we could cut them back a good deal? This is the back of the house after all, and so it will not be seen as often as the front.”
He smiled at her and nodded.
“As you wish, Your Grace. Now, before I begin, has the Duke given you permission to do all of this?”
“He has outright told me to change anything I wish. With that in mind, you shall now also have my permission to do as you please with the gardens. I trust you completely with them, and so anything that you wish to do can be done.”
“I would like that very much, but I must warn you that my tastes are quite different to that which you see now.”
“Wonderful. I assume that the way it is now is exactly the same as how the Duke had it?”
“To the letter,” he noted. “It has looked exactly the same for the last ten years.”
“Then that is all the more reason to change it. You can do as you please. My only request is that you find some more exotic flowers for the greenhouse so that I may study them.”
“You certainly seem to enjoy your studies, Your Grace.”
“Of course! What else could I have done to fill my days? I only wish that I had been a man so that I might have attended university, but the Duke is going to see to that personally.”
He laughed, but not at her. He then shook his head with a smile.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59 (Reading here)
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94