Page 20 of Her Wolf of a Duke (Dukes & Beasts #1)

CHAPTER 20

E mma had not expected much of her marriage, which was why she did not object to anything Levi said.

He had not needed to marry her, and yet he had, and so she had to show gratitude for that whether she truly felt grateful for it or not. She wore her gown, she walked down the aisle, she smiled and she greeted and she enjoyed herself to the best of her ability.

But when he told her that he would be leaving her alone, and that she would never have any children to care for, she could no longer keep her smile. She fell silent until the carriage arrived at Lupton Manor, when she thanked the footman for helping her out of the carriage.

She couldn’t help but be in awe of the grandeur. Lupton Manor stood tall, its stone walls imposing. Rows of tall windows were arranged in perfect symmetry, and ivy climbed the face in tendrils. Emma’s eyes traced them upward, as the green faded to blend in with the drab grey stone.

Despite its size, however, there was a quietness to it, the kind of stillness that came from standing for so long without a single change. Emma wondered if her new life was to be the same; quiet and still, but imposing all the same.

The staff were lined up outside of the house to greet them, and so she wore her biggest smile. She wished to make a good impression, especially if she were to spend the entirety of her life there.

“This is the housekeeper,” Levi explained, “Mrs. Telson. She will be the one to show you the home later, as well as introduce you to the staff. I am certain, however, that you will come to know them all in your own time.”

“Of course.”

Mrs. Telson, fortunately, seemed kind. She was a short woman, rather old, but her smile seemed real, not at all like the forced ones she had seen in servants before. It would be nice to have an ally, at least.

Her affairs were brought into the home, and at once Mrs. Telson began to take her on a tour. Emma noticed, however, that her husband was already making his way out of the door.

“Where are you going?”

He froze in the doorway, not quite able to meet her eye.

“I am needed elsewhere.”

“On our honeymoon?”

“Yes. My affairs do not cease to exist simply because I am married.”

“Affairs?”

At last, he looked at her. Emma was aware that her staff were looking at her with pity, but she ignored them to the best of her ability.

“Business affairs,” he explained quickly. “Mrs. Telson will take care of you.”

With that, he was out of the door. Emma sighed, following Mrs. Telson as they toured the estate.

It was a beautiful home, one that she never would have assumed a man had decorated. It was too soft, too fashionable. The walls were different shades of pale colors, wallpapers adorning some of them. The furniture was new, and clearly expensive. She was aware that her husband, and by extension herself, was very wealthy, but she did not know quite the extent and she almost did not want to. It would be more money than she had ever thought possible, she knew that much.

“Do ignore His Grace,” Mrs. Telson said gently as they stood in the light purple drawing room. “He tends to spend a lot of his time away. It has nothing to do with you, he is simply a busy gentleman.”

“I do hope that is the case.”

They continued their tour, but something was not making sense to Emma. The Duke was sociable, and he enjoyed company. He liked the attention, and he was good in conversation, and so truly there was no reason for him to remain so distant, especially when they had been forming a friendship. It was only when he had to propose to her that all interest fell away.

The thrill of the hunt, she thought, but never the catch.

They avoided Levi’s mother’s wing entirely. Mrs. Telson thought better than to bother the lady, and Emma did not hesitate to agree. His mother had not seemed happy at the wedding, which had no doubt been because she knew the circumstances under which they had married, and therefore likely thought very little of her indeed.

Upon the end of the tour, Mrs. Telson had to leave and tend to other matters, but she welcomed Emma to do as she pleased. It was strange being alone in such unfamiliar surroundings, but she would soon adapt. It was what she had always done.

She went to the library, taking the first book that she saw and returning to the drawing room with it. When she returned, a plate of biscuits had appeared along with a pot of tea. She smiled, and took a biscuit, being careful not to leave any crumbs anywhere. She was sitting too straight, and breathing too lightly, but it was hard to feel at home when everything was so unfamiliar.

“I remember that look.”

Her head turned rapidly to see Levi’s mother in the doorway. She was looking directly at her, no real softness in her eyes.

“Do forgive me,” Emma said quickly, jumping to her feet and curtseying.

“Whatever for?”

“Well, I assume that this is your tea that I have taken for myself.”

“Heavens no. If I wanted a tea I would have one sent to my own wing. I had them prepare this for you. I knew that my son would not care to do it. You must know that if you want something, you need only ask for it.”

“I know. I simply feel undeserving of it all. I did not mean for any of this to happen.”

“Of course not. Nobody ever plans to be the Duchess of Lupton. No woman’s ever truly considered that a happy ending.”

The lady joined her, and it was then that Emma noticed that two teacups had been brought. She abandoned the book beside her, wondering why the Duke’s mother cared to speak with her.

“My apologies, but I have not heard that before.”

“Of course you haven’t. It would not be something that is said aloud, as it would ruin the family name. Just know that, whatever happened, it was not your fault. The title of the Duke of Lupton comes with a curse, you see, and they all fall victim to it eventually.”

Emma blinked. A curse? Such a thing would have had rumors, she assumed, but there had never been even a whisper about it. Perhaps this was merely her way of frightening the new duchess?

“Would you mind explaining it to me?” she asked. “The curse.”

“It would be for the best, yes. You ought to be prepared. You see, this particular line of dukes dates back several generations, and each time the eldest son has the same fate. He becomes angry and resentful, and he wants more power than any man should ever have. They always say that they will be different, but they never are. They always become the same sad and angry man as the father they so hated.”

“That is so profoundly sad. Do they not realize that they can change?”

“That is precisely the problem. They cannot. It gets them all eventually, and the ones that fight against it suffer the worst. It is easier for them to simply not try.”

Emma thought about that, and wondered if her husband was even aware of his curse at all. If his mother thought it truly was easier to never fight it, then perhaps she did not tell him about it to begin with. It would mean, then, that he could never try to be different, as he never knew that there was something to change in the first place.

“I had so wanted a daughter, instead,” his mother continued, sighing wistfully. “I had thought that, if I never produced an heir, the line would end with my late husband, and all would be well. Instead, His Grace arrived. I know that I was a terrible mother, but I could never face him. He has his father’s eyes, you see, and every time I look into them…”

“You see his father.”

She nodded sadly, taking her teacup and sipping it.

“All this to say, you mustn’t blame yourself for what he will become soon. It is not your fault, and to an extent it is not his, either. It is simply how it is for the Hunters, and there is no changing that.”

They continued their tea in silence, and Emma tried to find reasonable explanations for what she had been told. She wanted to believe that it was all coincidence, but it had been every Duke of Lupton’s fate eventually. Her husband would be no exception; he would therefore be a terrible husband and there was no changing that.

He must have known about it, Emma realized. That was why he did not want to marry, and why he refused to have any children. He had tried to stop himself from continuing the dreaded curse, but he had already made a fatal error and now was married. That meant that she was now a part of it, and she would eventually be subjected to the very worst of what a man could do to his wife, if his mother were to be believed.

“I did not ask you your name, by the way,” the older lady said after a while.

“It is Emma.”

“A very pretty name. Mine is Eloise. You may call me that, if you wish. I know that I do not hold any affection for my son, and you may think that I am evil because of that, but in spite of everything I think we could be good friends.”

Emma nodded, hoping it could be the case. She had always wanted a daughter, so at least she had that on her side. It did not, however, change the fact that her husband would hate her, if he did not already.

“And what of your mother?” she continued. “I do not believe I saw her at the ceremony.”

“She passed away years ago,” Emma explained, suddenly feeling quite unwell. “My sister and I were very small. Sarah was but two years of age. My father did not take the loss well. He blamed her entirely, of course, and said that had she been stronger, the illness would have subsided and she might have given him an heir.”

“By the sounds of it, it might be for the best that he never had a son. My father was much the same as yours, I assume. Daughters count for nothing, and a son is everything. Unfortunately for him, he had six children and we are all girls. I couldn’t tell you where any of my sisters are now, though.”

“Did they all marry?”

“I do not know. I was the oldest, and so I was sent away to make the best possible match. From there, my husband did not allow me to speak with any other ladies. They would fill my head with thoughts, he said, which was not allowed under any circumstances. I never found them.”

Emma pitied the lady, even though she had a feeling that she had not been a good mother. She must have had dreams before, just like Emma had, and they had been ripped from her.

After their tea, Emma went out into the gardens. She needed the air, and she needed to be reminded of her friends. She wandered, trying to name the flowers as Dorothy did, but she was not as good at it as her friend. She watched the sun set, the bright yellow turning to orange and then red, and finally disappearing entirely and leaving the sky a deep blue. She left for dinner then, and ate alone.

“The Dowager Duchess takes her meals alone,” the butler explained.

“And the Duke?”

The butler seemed unwilling to answer.

“We hardly see him, Your Grace. He spends his days out.”

“Where?”

“His… his club, Your Grace.”

Emma sighed. Of course he would spend all of his time in his gentlemen’s club, no doubt enjoying those times where ladies became available. She had heard all about the escapades there from her father, who frequented them often himself, and it made her think of her husband flirting brazenly with other ladies.

She hated that the thought upset her, but that did not change things. Whether she liked it or not, her husband would only change for the worse. It was clear to her, more than ever, that she was destined for a loveless marriage and a lonely life. It was only a matter of time before what his mother had warned her about became true and he no longer allowed her to speak with her friends and her sister, and he became a monster. She did not want to believe it, but she could not help but be wrapped up in the chaos of it. She had always been so sensible, and yet for the first time in her life she felt herself believing in something so ridiculous, something she would have once scoffed at.

It did not help that three days passed, and she did not see him once. She did not want to care, as she knew precisely what their marriage was, but she did. She wanted her husband, she wanted her friend, and no amount of willing such desires to go away changed things.

And so, on the third night, sitting in the pale blue parlor room and holding a book that she could not bring herself to read, she wept.

She cried for the life that she could no longer lead, for the life that her sister would have that she wouldn’t know enough about, and for the friends that would inevitably be seen as bad influences that she was forbidden from seeing. She deserved it, she decided, for acting the way she had, but that did not make it easier to withstand. If anything, it only made it more difficult as she had nobody to blame but herself.

She was alone, and there was nothing that she could do about it.