Page 16 of A Duchess Disciplined (Dukes of Dominance #1)

CHAPTER 15

C atherine kept her head high and her shoulders rolled back as she walked through the park, Hester and Hannah following close behind. She looked like a proper duchess, as she had promised to be. Given her whispered remarks about being unladylike, William had anticipated something appalling.

Still, her promise left him feeling on edge. Many of the ton were at the park, and a large number of them seemed to be gossiping about William and his new bride. He saw how ladies’ eyes cut towards him, as they murmured to one another behind their fans, and nearly every gentleman they passed gazed too hard at Catherine before grinning at him, as if to say, ah, you have a fetching lady.

“Lovely weather,” Catherine said.

It was a droll choice of topic but entirely appropriate, so William supposed he did not have the grounds to complain.

“Indeed, it is,” William replied. “The first beautiful day in a while.”

“How could you know? You never leave your study.”

That remark was a little less proper but admittedly deserved. “My study has a window, darling wife. I can see that the sky has been dreary and overcast for the past several days.”

“You must still look up from your papers to see the sky,” she replied, her eyes bright with amusement.

“I will confess that my eyes do wander from my work on occasion,” he said. “In those moment, I look at the sky.”

“I see.”

“I like the rain sometimes,” Hester said. “The sound of it is soothing, and there is nothing as beautiful as watching lightning strike in the distance.”

“Lightning is terrifying,” Hannah said, wrinkling her nose. “I do not understand how anyone can derive enjoyment from it.”

“You never understand my enjoyment in anything,” Hester replied. “Just as I do not understand your fondness for embroidery.”

“What about you?” Hannah asked, turning her attention toward Catherine. “What do you enjoy?”

Catherine pressed her lips together, thinking. “A great many things, I suppose. I will confess that I have never been overly fond of embroidery, but I admire ladies who are skilled with needlework. I have seen some truly exquisite creations.”

Hannah beamed at Catherine, seemingly quite satisfied with that answer. “Well-constructed embroidery is an unparalleled artform,” she said. “I think there ought to be museums of it.”

“Museums?” Hester asked dubiously.

“Indeed,” Hannah replied. “There are museums for statues, paintings, and waxwork. Why not embroidery, also?”

“What a novel idea,” Catherine murmured.

William did not understand why there ought to be a museum dedicated to embroidery, a skill which most ladies developed, but if Hannah wished to imagine one, he would say nothing against the idea.

“Perhaps, you shall create one,” Catherine said.

Hannah nodded and furrowed her brow. “I would need much time to embroider enough pieces to fill an entire building.”

“Indeed, you would,” Catherine replied. “I would offer you my assistance, but I am quite slow and regrettably uneven with my stitches.”

“Maybe I could have other ladies helping me, though,” Hannah said. “Those who are not quite so reckless with their stitches.”

Hannah did not seem to realize that she had just indirectly insulted Catherine, but when William looked at his wife, searching her face for any sign of vexation, he found only frank amusement.

“I suppose I could help,” Hester mused. “Although I am not usually fond of embroidery, I should like to inspire others to understand the beauty in nature as I do. Perhaps, I could embroider illustrations of fauna, much like I record in my herbarium.”

“I think that would be a lovely addition to the museum,” Catherine said.

“Or perhaps, you might all use your enthusiasm for embroidery in some other manner,” William said. “Mother used to visit seminaries for young ladies when she was in London. The women in such institutions would probably enjoy spending an evening embroidering with proper ladies.”

Of course, it would not really be the entire evening. William imagined that Catherine and his sisters would make proper quarter-hour visits.

“How thoughtful, Your Grace,” Catherine said. “But I do not see why a lady could not found an embroidery museum. The work of women is as worthy of admiration as that of men, is it not?”

William smiled thinly. “And embroidery is admired. Households would be quite lacking without it.”

“If it is sufficient for a noble household, it is sufficient enough to grace a museum,” Catherine replied sharply.

“Ladies ought to concern themselves with the home,” William said, “or else, with representing their husbands. It does not suit a woman to do something as immodest as to promote her wifely skills in such an obvious manner.”

“No?” Catherine asked. “But when young ladies go on the marriage mart, we are expected to flaunt our talents for many suitors and to promote ourselves over other ladies. Why should it be shameful if a lady wishes to do something for herself?”

William looked at her for a long moment, unsure what to make of this strange, young lady. She liked to argue, which ought not be an attractive trait in a woman, but he found himself growing increasingly… charmed by her strange tendency to fight and argue with all his well-reasoned thoughts.

“If you wish to do something for yourself, you may embroider as many linens as you like, my lady,” he said, “but there is no need to advertise how industrious you are. Doing so is at odds with a modest woman’s nature.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Bold of you to presume that I am modest, my lord. You must not know me well at all.”

Hannah and Hester glanced at the two of them, their expressions a strange mix of excitement and confusion. William grimaced, trying to decide how much of Catherine’s witticisms he was willing to tolerate. Their bargain had been that she would be a proper duchess in public, and the park was a public place. Her suggestions were not entirely appropriate, but William also did not find them overly offensive.

Besides, the ton walking past on their morning strolls did not seem as though they were paying much mind to his conversation with Catherine. And Hannah and Hester did seem more enthusiastic than he had ever seen them. They seemed to like Catherine, and that was what he had wanted, was it not?

Well, no. He had wanted for Catherine to teach Hester and Hannah to be proper ladies and to—someday—help launch them into society. William had not wanted Catherine to encourage outlandish dreams like a museum for embroidery, and yet he could not deny that his sisters seemed livelier in Catherine’s presence than they had been in a long time. Catherine was…good for them, if not exactly in the way he intended.

“For the sake of the dukedom, I should hope that you are more modest than you claim,” William said in a warning tone.

“I assume that you recall our agreement,” she said, her eyes narrowing.

“I do,” he replied.

Their eyes met for just an instant. Catherine’s gaze was fierce and determined; she had no intention of conceding. William’s lips twitched in amusement as he imagined means of persuading her to accept his point. His mind conjured images of Catherine tossed across his lap, squirming and moaning as he administered the promised correction.

“We are in public, my lady,” he said, “in case you failed to notice.”

“Perhaps, the fault lies with you. I do not recall you ever offering a definition for what constitutes as a public situation.”

“Being willfully contrary is not an attractive trait in a lady,” William said dryly.

“No?” Catherine asked. “I do not see why you ought to be bothered by it. On the contrary, I strongly suspect that you would be bored if I always agreed with you.”

William grimaced. “You are much mistaken,” he said. “If I wanted someone to argue with me, I would talk with my solicitor.”

Catherine’s lip thinned into a line. It seemed as though she had no retort for him. Pleased with his victory, he let himself relax a little. Thus far, she had only made a few improper remarks, and he knew she could have done far worse damage.

“Oh, look!” Hester exclaimed. “There are so many ducks!”

Indeed, there were. They had reached the small pond towards the center of the park, and several brown and white ducks waddled about and flapped in the water.

“I have always found ducks to be amusing animals,” Hannah said. “I enjoy watching how they walk.”

“They are amusing,” Catherine agreed. “When I was a little girl, I made a sport of chasing them.”

“You did not!” Hannah exclaimed, sounding scandalized.

“I should hope not,” William agreed disapprovingly.

Catherine cast him a cross look. “There is little harm in chasing a few ducks.”

“There is great harm in it,” he argued. “It is terribly undignified.”

Catherine looked displeased with him, but rather than arguing, she remained mercifully quiet. William found that he liked this side of her, the woman who quietly acquiesced to his desires, but the pleasure of her obedience was nothing compared to the fissure of excitement that he felt when she disobeyed him. He was a contrary man, and sometimes, being contrary was a curse.

They walked a little longer along the path, and William idly noted they were alone. If his sisters were not present, he might have been tempted to engage in some exercise other than mere walking. The path turned just ahead, and there was a small cluster of trees, where one might hide and engage in more intimate pursuits.

“You seem to believe that everything is undignified, my husband,” Catherine said.

“Whereas you seem to believe that dignity or the lack thereof does not matter,” William replied.

“I would argue that your perspective is more harmful than mine,” Catherine said. “At least, it sounds significantly less enjoyable.”

“Propriety is not meant to be enjoyable.”

“Maybe it should be,” she countered.

“What propriety should or should not be does not matter,” William said. “We live in the real world, Catherine.”

Rather than looking frustrated, as he had expected, Catherine looked sly. A cold sense of foreboding swept over him. He sensed that she was planning something, but he had no sense of how he might counter a reckless action.

Without warning, Catherine yelled. She ran across the grass towards the ducks, her arms spread wide. “Join me!” she exclaimed as she chased the ducks.

They quacked wildly and waddled away, their wings spread wide. Catherine laughed as she bounded after them. Heat rushed to William’s face, fury coiling inside him.

With a bright laugh, Hester darted after his wife. The two ran after the ducks together, sending the fowl waddling away, alarmed quacks coming from their beaks. William inhaled sharply.

“Wait for me!” Hannah exclaimed, laughing.

His wife and sisters ran after the ducks with reckless abandon, chasing them around and around the pond. William’s nostrils flared, and he dug his nails into the palms of his hands. His patience was a quickly fraying thread as he watched his duchess flounder into the mud. The ducks fled from her, some taking flight. Their wings dully beat the air.

Catherine had done this just to vex him. William was certain of that. His pulse jumped, and his palm twitched. After what felt like an eternity, during which he was all too aware of how suddenly one of the ton might appear, Catherine dropped her skirts and doubled over with the force of his laughter. His sisters grinned at one another.

“You should have joined us!” Catherine exclaimed, laughing as she looked at him.

William clenched his jaw. “This will not happen again. You should be ashamed of behaving in this manner. It is entirely unbefitting of a duchess.”

Her laughter ceased. She straightened her spine and met his gaze evenly. He saw a challenge there: so what are you going to do about it?

Oh, Catherine had no idea.