Page 7 of Her Lion of a Duke (Dukes & Beasts #3)

Of all the things that could happen in the world, Cecilia had never once expected that she could fall for her husband.

Leonard was a good man, a kind one, but she had never planned to fall for any man, let alone her friend. She did not want to. She wanted to remain his friend and nothing more. Their marriage was simply an alliance.

And yet…

And yet she could not stop thinking about the warmth of his hands when he covered her with his coat.

She had been freezing, and she did not understand how he could emanate such heat.

She wished that he had not smiled at her as he had done it, that he had thrown the wretched thing at her out of duty.

She wished she did not like him so much, because it made everything far too complicated.

When she returned to her room, she laid the ribbons out before her. She had bought several in pink, blue, yellow, green, purple, and orange. She took the blue one for herself, as it was her favorite, and then pointedly set the pink one for Dorothy.

She was tempted to give her the yellow ribbon to tease her about the awful gowns she once had to wear, but she decided against it.

Instead, she gave the yellow one to Beatrice, the orange one to Clara, and the purple one to Emma.

They would be arriving in a matter of days, and she had suddenly begun to feel nervous about their arrival.

Clara had accepted the invitation in the end, and though Cecilia was pleased to see her favorite ladies all at once, she dreaded the questions about her marriage. They were very perceptive, and though she enjoyed her own playful interrogations, she knew that she would not like theirs half as much.

“Will you be doing any preparations before their arrival?” Leonard asked her at dinner that night. “I know that they will be here soon, but there are a few things we can arrange.”

“Not as of yet. If we begin arranging too many things at once, they will only be half completed, and that would look worse. The manor is not even in need of anything, only a few touches.”

“As you wish, though I shall arrange for the candles to be replaced with new ones and fresh flowers to be brought.”

“Perfect.” She nodded. “Which reminds me. How are we going to find that boy’s mother? I do hope that he is not in any trouble for what he has done.”

“I am going to locate her while you make preparations for your friends’ visit. Do not worry about it—although you are, of course, most welcome to come with me.”

“No, it is all right. It can be a small adventure for you while I guard our post.”

He laughed softly, giving her a mock salute.

At last, things seemed to be returning to normal. They spoke easily with one another, and all she had to do to maintain that was pretend that she was not falling for him.

It was easier said than done, but she was capable of it. If hiding how she truly felt meant an easier marriage, then that was what she would do.

She spent the following few days making sure that everything was as it ought to be. It kept her distracted, so she welcomed the challenge.

As promised, the candles were exchanged, and flowers were displayed lovingly, and already the manor was becoming warmer.

There was still quite a way to go, but it was enough.

Her friends would not notice, and even if they did, they would not comment on it.

They had been there before, except for Clara.

Even so, on the day of their arrival, she found herself wringing her hands.

Beatrice was the first to arrive. Without thinking, Cecilia threw her arms around her and embraced her tightly.

“You look wonderful!” Beatrice smiled. “Life as a duchess clearly suits you.”

“It would appear so. Come, I shall send for tea.”

They sat in the drawing room and waited for the others. Emma and Levi arrived next, explaining hastily that they had left their children with their nanny for the week, as they did not want them to be a bother, and then Dorothy arrived with the same explanation.

The two gentlemen left to find Leonard. Clara arrived shortly after, and conversation shifted from Dorothy’s newest addition to her glasshouse to Beatrice’s new cake flavors, of which she had brought several.

Each tried one, Cecilia once again hoping that her friend would marry someone who would nurture that side of her.

“Have you any suitors yet?” she asked. “I suppose you are having a far easier time without me guarding you.”

“Not as of yet,” Beatrice replied meekly.

“Beatrice will not dance,” Clara explained. “She and I have quickly become friends, but each time I am taken to the dance floor, she refuses to join me.”

“I have not yet danced! I do not know what will happen. I may well fall on my face and be horrifically injured.”

“Or,” Emma countered, “you may find yourself a husband. I would argue that it is a risk worth taking.”

“Yes, well, not all of us are granted clandestine meetings and gentlemen friends.”

The three ladies chuckled. Emma had met her husband at Leonard’s house party, Dorothy had had her marriage arranged by her parents, and Cecilia just so happened to have married her only male friend.

“It may seem unfair,” Cecilia noted, “but refusing to speak to anyone is not exactly going to work in your favor, is it?”

“I will know when I am ready. Until then, I am perfectly happy alone with my bread and cakes.”

Cecilia noticed that, if anything, Beatrice had actually grown thinner, but she did not mention it.

“As for you,” she said, turning to Clara, “have you found a respectable suitor?”

“There are several.” Clara blushed. “My mother cannot believe it. She says that we almost run out of biscuits each morning, seeing how many callers I have. Frankly, I do not know what to do with all of them.”

“Send them away,” Cecilia joked. “Surely there must be one whom you particularly like?”

“Well, there is Lord Haversham, but Mother says that I can find better than an earl. I believe she wants me to marry a duke, the way you did.”

“And is she aware of your affections for Lord Haversham?”

“I believe so, but you know how she can be. She wants the very best for me.”

“Love, I would argue, is the best for you. You deserve nothing less.”

“Is that what you have found?” Emma asked.

Cecilia could swear she heard Clara whisper words of gratitude. “What do you mean?”

“Well, all of this has been quite unexpected. You have known Leonard for years, and yet you have only just decided to be his wife. I would have thought that you would have made this decision long ago.”

“I did not want to be his wife years ago.”

“Then what has changed your mind?”

Emma had always been the only one willing to press Cecilia for information. It was the reason why they were very good friends, but sometimes Cecilia wished Emma were not as strong-willed.

“I decided it was time to grow up,” she responded plainly. “It was all well and good saying that I did not need a husband, but I’ve always known how the ton works. I needed security, so I found it. Leonard needed a wife, so he found one. Truly, there is nothing more to it than that.”

“You were also protecting me,” Clara added. “There was talk of my prospects being harmed by having a bluestocking for a cousin.”

“Precisely. I did what I had to do. That is all this is.”

“If you insist,” Emma said flatly.

The gentlemen passed by at that moment, laughing about something, and Cecilia smiled at once. She liked the sound of Leonard’s laughter; it was something she was hearing more of the more time she spent with him.

She quickly composed herself, but it was too late. Beatrice had already seen her reaction.

“There!” Beatrice hissed, once the men were out of earshot. “You cannot fool me, Cecilia. You are terrible at hiding things.”

“I do not know what you are referring to.”

“Come now, I would recognize that look anywhere. When I go to a tea shop, I spend what feels like hours looking at everything wistfully. I know what I want, and I know what I cannot have, so I pretend not to look at the things I cannot have at all. That is exactly the look you had just now.”

“I was looking at him like he was a dessert?”

“Like you were pretending not to like him. There is nothing to be ashamed of. He is your husband.”

“I would not be ashamed if that was how I felt, but it is not. He is my friend, the way he has always been, and I do not see that changing.”

“What if it does?” Clara asked. “You would tell him, I assume?”

“Of course, I would. When have any of you known me to keep silent? I cannot do it. It pains me terribly.”

Cecilia dramatically feigned an ailment, and the ladies laughed, but once again, she noticed Emma studying her.

Once, it had been the other way around, where Cecilia was quite convinced that Emma was falling for her husband and Emma was denying it, and she knew that she was doing a rather terrible job of hiding it from her.

“Oh!” Dorothy squeaked, suddenly rising to her feet. “I almost forgot. Morgan and I bought you a wedding present, but with such short notice, I had to wait for today to give it to you.”

“Oh, Dot, you did not need to do that.”

“I know, but you are my first friend to marry while I am a duchess, so it brings me joy. I shall be just a moment.”

She vanished in an instant.

“I also have gifts for all of you,” Cecilia admitted, “though they are very small.”

“You are hosting us,” Clara sighed. “You do not need to do anything more.”

Dorothy reappeared and pressed a box into her hands. “We wished to find something for both of you. This is yours.”

Cecilia opened it to reveal a dressing case.

Hers contained jewelry compartments and perfume bottles, and Dorothy explained that Leonard’s contained razors and grooming tools.

Each was engraved with the Pridefield family crest. They were beautiful, incomparable with the simple ribbons Cecilia had purchased.

She thanked Dorothy profusely before producing her own gifts. She handed them to her friends, and they smiled brightly and fastened them into their hair without second thought. Dorothy seemed particularly grateful to be given a soft color.

Cecilia turned to Beatrice, who was toying with her hair, and nudged her.

“When you next wear a yellow gown,” she explained, “I want you to wear these ribbons in your hair to match it. Can you do that for me?”

“Of course.”

“Good. I would also like you to talk to a gentleman when you do. Consider it something to bring you good luck.”

Beatrice did not seem as certain about that part of the deal, but she agreed nonetheless.

Cecilia was pleased that her friend was at least willing to try. She was also pleased that the conversation had veered away from her marriage.

The gentlemen returned later that evening, in time for dinner. Cecilia sat beside Leonard as he told her about their day. They had gone into the village and, at last, found the little boy’s mother.

“She was very kind,” he noted. “She tried to refuse at first, stating that her son had done what was right, but she gave in eventually. We agreed that she would not say anything to her son, as he had done a very kind deed, and we do not want to make him believe that he had done something wrong.”

“Wonderful. I am pleased that it was not too much trouble for the three of you either.”

“We rather enjoyed it. It was, as you said, an adventure. It also gave me the chance to buy you something to put in your new dressing case.”

Cecilia blushed, knowing that Leonard had been told about the gift she had received. After dinner, he took her to his study so that there were no grand displays. He gave her a delicately wrapped package, and a rather heavy one at that.

She opened it to reveal a silver necklace with gems the same shade of blue as the ribbons in her hair. She gasped, admiring it, then gave him a look.

“I knew that you would keep the blue one for yourself.” He chuckled. “It is your favorite color, after all.”

“Did you truly remember that? I do not believe I have ever told you.”

She turned her back to him so that he could fasten the necklace around her neck.

“You have not, but I could tell. You wear it more than any other color, and when you looked at the ribbons at the market, your eyes fell on the blue ones first.”

Cecilia thought that there was a sort of intimacy to him remembering her favorite color, but it was more than that. She had never needed to tell him, because he watched her so intently that he already knew.

She wondered just how much about her he had already deduced, and how accurate he had been. She turned back to find him still smiling, gesturing to a mirror so that she could look at herself.

And when she saw her reflection, she realized that she was smiling too.