Page 9

W here am I?

Alicia came to wakefulness in seconds, sitting bolt upright in bed and staring around her in confusion.

This was not her bedroom. The sounds and smells of the house were all wrong, and the tall silver birch trees outside her window were foreign.

Slowly, her thoughts settled, reminding her that this was her new home. But the abrupt change was not something she had been prepared for.

It could not have been long after dawn, the sun on the horizon hazy and sending bright pink streaks across the sky.

The drapes at her window obscured the clouds that had gathered, but they were white and fluffy, and they did not suggest upcoming rain.

Pushing the covers off her, she padded across the cold floorboards to the window and looked down at the grounds.

Despite it being her second day at the manor, it all looked beautiful. The grounds stretched beneath her window like a tapestry, waiting for her to explore it.

There was the glimmer of water in the distance and the twitter of birds in the branches. She watched a blackbird flutter by, a crow answering its call with a screech of its own.

Before she had gone to bed the night before, she had found a book on birds in the library. Unable to sleep, she had researched several species that were common in English gardens, determined to put her plan into action the very next day and bore her husband with endless speeches about them.

She had learned many things that she had not known before, and she was proud that she could tell the difference between a starling and a sparrow now.

Shivering in the cold room, she approached the fire, holding her hands out to the dying embers from the night before. As she stood there, her eyes drifted to the chair behind her, and she suddenly felt very warm.

The Duke’s visit the night before had been entirely unexpected. She had assumed he would avoid her after they had gone to bed. Instead, he had shown up at her door, his cravat loose, his coat gone, a tight waistcoat over his muscular torso.

Alicia was not too proud to admit that she had barely been able to take her eyes off him.

The man may be unfeeling and cold, but he is irritatingly handsome.

Shaking off the memory, she pulled on her robe and rang the bell, hoping that the servants in the manor rose as early as her father’s household.

Sure enough, Rose soon opened the door, beaming happily at her as she always did.

Alicia often found her maid’s enthusiasm and youthful exuberance tiring in the morning. But today, she welcomed it. Her own melancholy mood and feelings of uncertainty about what lay ahead were assuaged by Rose’s happy chatter.

As they moved through their morning ritual, Alicia found herself lost in the comfort of her old routine. She chose a simple cream muslin gown for the day, reassured by the familiarity of it. But as she laid it on her bed, she caught Rose’s look.

“What is it?” she asked.

Rose shook her head. “Nothing, Your Grace,” she said, backing away from her.

The title sounded strange to Alicia, who was used to a far less formal relationship with her maid.

Rose had always called her Lady Alicia , and hearing Your Grace made her anxiety spike.

“Rose, I would ask that you speak your mind as you have always done. I may be a duchess now, but I have not become someone else overnight.”

Rose immediately moved to a wardrobe on the other side of the room that Alicia had ignored until that moment. When she opened it, Alicia gasped, walking over to it and running her fingers over a multitude of fabrics within.

There was damask, brocade, velvet, and silks. The colors were vivid, vibrant, and far finer than anything she would usually wear in the day.

She glanced at Rose. “Where did these come from?”

“I believe they were made for you before the wedding, Your Grace,” Rose said simply. “The housekeeper informed me that they were ready last night.”

Alicia turned back to the gowns hung in neat rows inside the wardrobe. Feeling overwhelmed, she eyed them before turning back to Rose.

“Which would you prefer?” she asked.

Rose’s eyes lit up at the unusual question. She stepped forward almost hesitantly, and when Alicia nodded to her, she selected a deep green and gold gown with beautiful beading all over the sleeves.

She raised her eyebrows, and Alicia nodded again, glad to have the choice taken out of her hands.

“The Duke has requested that you join him in the breakfast room,” Rose added as she took the gown to prepare it.

Alicia stood helplessly beside the wardrobe, unable to process all the changes that were happening in her life.

He wishes to eat with me, then. He no doubt hopes to assess my table manners.

Once dressed, she had to admit that the gown was beautiful. It was what she might have worn to a ball in the past, but with her new title, she now understood that a muslin gown would not do, even for day wear.

She sighed, running her fingers over the fine fabric.

I could get used to this aspect of my new life.

Nodding to Rose, she headed downstairs, realizing belatedly that she did not know where the breakfast room was.

She needn’t have worried, however, for a footman bowed to her as she stepped off the stairs and held out an arm to show her the way.

The white panel door ahead of her had touches of gold all over it and shimmered as she approached. The handles were enormous, almost the length of her forearm, and she looked in amazement around the room that was revealed to her.

The breakfast room was not overly large, but it was stunning in its simplicity. Wide doors took up most of the wall ahead, leading to the terrace. Sunshine poured inside, glancing off the accents of gold all over the room.

The furniture was bright and reminded her of spring. There was cream fabric across the chairs and the curtains, with dark red accents on the cushions and the tassels that tied them in place.

Her mind turned to the plan she had concocted with Bridget and Katie. It would break her heart to change this room; she loved everything about it, but perhaps she could add a gaudy cushion or two that would not be to the Duke’s taste.

She continued toward the terrace, where a circular table had been placed outside, a white tablecloth covering it.

Stepping out onto the terrace, she enjoyed feeling the sun against her skin and went to sit down.

The Duke was already there, seated with his back to her, relaxed in his chair, looking down at his lands thoughtfully as she took her seat. He glanced up as she did so, his eyes running over her gown approvingly.

“You found your clothes, then,” he said, taking a large bite out of a piece of toast.

“I did. Thank you, they are quite beautiful.”

His eyes lingered on her face for a moment, and then he turned back to his food.

Alicia’s breath caught as she took in the view before her.

Her father’s country estate would always have a special place in her heart, but this was far larger and grander than she had ever seen.

And I am now the mistress of it all.

“What do you plan to do today?” the Duke asked eventually as she helped herself to some toast and marmalade.

It was very pleasant having breakfast outside.

“I will familiarize myself with the household. The housekeeper has offered to give me a tour of the manor, and I intend to take her up on it this afternoon.”

Alicia expected a response, but the Duke seemed to have stopped listening.

Buttering her toast with vexation, she noticed a bird sitting on a bramble just above the balustrade.

Recognizing it from her book, she hid a smile as a maid poured her some coffee. She threw out an arm wildly, startling the maid. Even the Duke jumped, which pleased her greatly.

She pointed a finger, ensuring it looked most unladylike.

“Look, Your Grace. A jay!” she shouted in exaggerated excitement. “I so love their plumage.”

The Duke turned in his seat, his shrewd eyes finding the bird almost instantly.

“And a beautiful specimen he is, too,” he replied. “I see him often around the glasshouse. He likes to eat the insects that burrow out of the lawn from time to time. Intelligent little thing, isn’t he?”

Alicia stared at him, her knife hanging limply in her hands.

Is that excitement on his face? At the sight of a bird?

He turned back to her, his expression shuttering again as though he had forgotten how he should behave.

“But there is all manner of wildlife around the estate,” he muttered dismissively.

“I so love birds,” she simpered, attempting to make herself sound as stupid as possible. “A robin can quite cheer one up on a dreary winter day, I tell you.”

But instead of disinterest, there was a spark of something else in the Duke’s gaze now.

He arched his eyebrows. “I did not know you were interested in ornithology, Duchess.”

Alicia found herself speechless at the warmth on his face. He was not smiling—she wondered if he even could—but there was a more friendly quality to his demeanor than she had yet seen.

“I… It is a new interest, I confess. But I am intrigued by them, nonetheless.”

She waited for him to respond. Instead, he watched her, his dark eyes roaming over her face and hair.

There was something achingly intimate about that assessing gaze, as though he were looking into her soul and could tell that she was lying.

She had opened one book on birds in her life and had fallen asleep in the middle of the second chapter.

“Have you ever seen a buzzard?” he asked.

Alicia shook her head. “No. Well, they were pointed out to me from very far away, but that was when I was younger.”

“We have a family of them living across the river at the other side of the estate,” the Duke continued, sipping his coffee and looking out toward the water sparkling in the distance. “I shall take you there.”

It was not an offer, but more of a command.

Alicia found herself all the more irritated that a thrill ran through her at the sound of it. Apparently, she did not mind taking orders from her new husband.

How galling.

The Duke was as good as his word. Once Alicia had eaten her fill, he rose from his seat, waiting for her to join him.

She had expected that once he had finished eating, he would leave her alone as he had at the wedding breakfast, but it seemed that he really wished to spend some time with her today.

She worked quickly through one more slice of toast, eating more than she would ordinarily, the salt of the butter and sweetness of the marmalade a riot on her tongue.

Perhaps it was eating breakfast in the full sunshine or the calm and quiet of the place, but it was one of the most enjoyable meals she had ever had.

The thought was rather alarming.

I am supposed to be plotting my escape, not relishing the solitude.

The walk down to the river was equally pleasant.

The Duke was far more relaxed in private. He was still stoic and showed very little emotion, but the set of his shoulders was softer, his gait languid, almost lazy.

The grass beneath her shoes was wet, and she could feel it soaking the fine fabric of her gown.

“How long have you lived here, Your Grace?” she asked when the silence seemed to have stretched for far too long.

“Seth,” he said rather grumpily.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You do not refer to me as Your Grace, Duchess. My name is Seth. I am your husband, am I not?”

“So it would seem,” she said stiffly.

She almost fell over when his lips quirked up into a ghost of a smile.

Who is this man? Where is the austere Duke I met in my father’s house, informing me that our marriage would be one of convenience?

She kept walking beside him, his smile having lifted her spirits far more than she ever thought it could.

There was a small bridge that crossed the river. It had been made from long planks of wood that had been plaited together. Moss spread down the banks, and making them rather slippery, and the Duke offered her his hand as she climbed up to cross.

The water was crystal clear, minnows darting beneath the rippling surface. Alicia could have stood there for hours, staring at them happily. It was good to stand and allow nature to exist around her after the turmoil and upheaval of the past few weeks.

“There!”

She looked up to find the Duke— Seth —pointing to the sky, his huge bulk appearing smaller somehow, like a boy.

“Do you see it, with the white patches beneath its wings? That is the male, I believe—probably out hunting for rabbits. I hope he catches one, or we will be overrun by Michaelmas.”

She squinted upward, a hand shielding her eyes as she watched the bird flying overhead.

It was far lower to the ground than those she had seen in her youth, enormous feathers stretched at the wing tips, gliding effortlessly in the air.

“How tiny its movements are,” she noted, astonished. “It barely moves its tail and glides to the left and right on a whim.”

A long silence behind her made her look over at Seth, who stood gazing up at the bird, that same little smile on his face.

“When I was a boy, I often thought he was lonely,” he said softly. “But now, I think he enjoys the privacy, with only the wind for company.”

Alicia swallowed as her throat tightened.

It did not sound as if the Duke were speaking of the bird now, and she thought back to their wedding and the empty pews on his side of the church.