Page 18 of His Stolen Duchess

The cold clung to her as she walked away from the water.

The Duke had pulled her from the lake that day and saved her from drowning, but she still wasn’t entirely free. She’d agreedto this marriage because it would quiet the scandal, because her uncle expected it, because her choices had been few.

She had agreed, but at times, the weight of it still pressed on her. The feeling wasn’t so different from being caught beneath the lake’s surface.

Still, breathless, with no obvious way out.

Chapter Five

“Come in,” Georgina called after a knock came at the door to her chambers.

A young woman walked hesitantly into the room. She had her head bowed, and meekness enveloped her. She reminded Georgina of Dottie, and a pang of sadness coursed through her chest.

“Good evening, Your Grace. I’m Bridget, your lady’s maid. I’ve been sent to check that everything is to your liking, and to inform you that supper is ready.”

Georgina looked around the bedchamber, which was much larger than what she was used to.

“The room is wonderful,” Georgina replied. “Thank you for checking up on me. Will you accompany me to the dining room? I don’t know exactly where everything is just yet.”

“Of course, Your Grace.” The maid hadn’t looked up once. “If you’d please follow me.”

For a brief second, Georgina glanced at the adjoining door between her chambers and the Duke’s before they left the room.

“Um, Your Grace,” the maid said as she walked half a step ahead of Georgina. “I have been instructed to lead you to the sitting room to dine.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, Mrs. Kettleworth thought you would be more comfortable there instead of alone in the dining room.”

Georgina felt a lump grow in her throat. “Yes, of course. I would not want to dine there all by myself. And the Duke?”

“His Grace is dining in his study,” Bridget replied. She quickly added, “He does that often. It is not only tonight that he has decided to do so.”

Georgina smiled at the maid’s attempt to soothe her. In a way, she was relieved not to be dining with the Duke. She’d already tried to make small talk with him during the coach ride, and he hadn’t been interested. What would they talk about over supper? With the absence of conversation, she might as well dine alone.

“Just in here,” the maid said. “Everything is ready for you.”

Georgina entered the room to find a footman waiting with a cart. A plate was covered with a large metal dome, keeping the food inside warm. Her stomach began to rumble when she smelled the aroma coming from the hidden food.

“Venison, Your Grace,” the footman said. “With elderberry jelly and roasted potatoes.”

Georgina licked her lips and made her way to the small table by the window that had been set. She worried on her way over that the window would give her a view of the lake, but she still hadn’t oriented herself in the manor yet, and she saw an apple orchard beyond the glass.

The footman placed the plate before her, then began to wheel the cart toward the door.

“Wait!” Georgina called.

The footman stopped.

“No, sorry, Bridget,” Georgina called to the maid who was also leaving. “Will you sit with me and keep me company?”

Bridget hesitated. “Of course, Your Grace.”

“Ah, you must also be hungry.” Georgina turned her attention back to the footman. “Will you have the cook make up another plate of the same and bring it here for Bridget?”

The footman’s eyes widened, but he acquiesced. “Of course, Your Grace.”

“Your Grace, I couldn’t possibly—” Bridget began.