Page 20 of His Unexpected Duchess (Hearts of Whitmores #2)

CHAPTER 20

N icholas nodded to Lady Lisabeth as they passed the table she was sitting at.

Her lips curled into what he supposed was a smile, but he wasn’t quite certain. She turned her gaze away to speak with the lady on her right. It wasn’t a cut direct, he decided, but her behavior was still odd.

He had only spoken with her for a minute before inquiring about his wife, and learning that she was refreshing herself. Standing near the door, he had waited at least five minutes for Joanna to reappear. She appeared flushed and uncomfortable but was determined not to say anything.

“It seems to be a full party,” he told her quietly as they continued toward the terrace. A large tent was set up beyond several round tables, where women could collect flowers from the garden and make bouquets. “Plenty of people.”

Joanna was hardly listening. “Hm? That’s nice.”

He glanced at her, wondering if he had done something wrong. She clutched her skirts in her free hand and glanced around anxiously. The look in her eyes told him something was wrong. But what?

“We can leave if you like?”

“That’s interesting.”

Resisting the urge to sigh, Nicholas pulled her closer to him and patted her hand. That stirred his wife enough that she looked at him in surprise.

“Is something wrong? It must be awkward to appear like this at a party. I did apologize for being late, didn’t I? If not––”

She shook her head. “No, no, it’s all right.”

But he wasn’t convinced. “Are you certain?”

Already she was turning away from him. “Oh! You’re not the only one who arrived late. Charlotte is here. Can we go greet her?”

“Of course.”

Nicholas wondered if his cousin knew anything. He led his wife to the tent, where she and Charlotte greeted each other and hugged. Lady Theodosia stood nearby, but she didn’t hesitate to come around as well, asking for his support even though she had her cane in her hand.

“I always feel stronger with a handsome man on my arm,” she said teasingly. “Joanna, really, I don’t know how you let him out of your sight.”

Flushing, Joanna couldn’t seem to look Nicholas in the eye. His lips twitched with amusement.

“I am a fortunate lady, yes,” she stammered.

“And I’m fortunate to be in the company of three beautiful women,” Nicholas chimed in. “Shame on you lot, outshining the flowers. I pity the poor, wilting petals between the three of you.”

Lady Theodosia laughed loudly. “Oh, you are a flirt! How I miss you, my dear boy. Were I but a few years younger…”

“What? You are perfect the way you are. Light as a feather and devilishly sweet,” Nicholas reassured her.

“I am neither, but I shall accept your compliments with grace. It is, after all, your wife who you are meant to spend the rest of your life wooing.” Lady Theodosia gave him a wink. “But free me now. I insist on having lilies amongst my flowers.”

Joanna dropped the ribbon she had picked up from the table a moment ago. “Oh, I can fetch them for you. The white ones, yes? I saw them when I was looking amongst the orchids.” She stole a glance at Nicholas, and he knew she remembered their short interaction with the ghost orchids. She blushed. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

“Perhaps I’ll come with you,” he offered, eager for another chance to be at her side.

“In a moment,” Lady Theodosia interjected. “I need your help with the ribbons. My eyes are not what they used to be. Charlotte, bring forth the three pink ones.”

As his wife took her leave, Nicholas found himself rather put out to be left behind. He watched her go before reluctantly turning back to his cousin and Lady Theodosia.

“These are very lovely ribbons, you know,” Lady Theodosia noted, drawing his attention to what Charlotte brought them. “Beautiful but stronger than one might expect. We’ll need very sharp scissors to cut them. Really, there are many things in this life that are just as beautiful and strong.”

Nicholas didn’t count himself a fool—the old woman was up to something.

He raised an eyebrow at her and then at Charlotte’s innocent expression. “Such as?”

“Perhaps your wife,” Charlotte piped up helpfully.

“Ah, yes. Joanna is a doll. I can hardly imagine her strength. Such grace that she has as well.” Lady Theodosia plucked one of the ribbons off her goddaughter’s hands and rubbed it between her fingers. “But ribbons are fickler than people, methinks. Some beauty refuses to fall.”

What the devil is that supposed to mean?

Nicholas looked sharply at Charlotte. But his cousin had shifted her gaze to Joanna, who was heading back toward them with three white lilies in her hands, and then looked away. The two other ribbons were put back, and scissors were brought forward.

“I agree, Lady Theodosia,” Charlotte proclaimed. “But even strong ribbons may fray. It is important we don’t let that happen.”

Riddles.

Nicholas rubbed his chin thoughtfully, offering an imperceptible nod. There was a riddle here, indeed. The trick was to understand what exactly they meant. Something was beautiful, but… what? Injured? Cut? Broken?

“My Lady, I have brought you your flowers.” Joanna forced a smile on her face. “Are these enough?”

“White lilies symbolize rebirth, you know, amongst many other things,” Lady Theodosia informed her with a bright smile. “Isn’t that lovely? I personally enjoy restarting at the beginning of every year. We only have so many chances to restart our lives and begin anew. Of course, a wedding is a perfect way to do that as well.”

Nicholas shot her a look before turning back to his wife, who shifted from foot to foot and gave him a hesitant look. Her lips even quirked up as if she was smiling.

But the truth was there in her eyes.

The riddle fell into place. He saw the truth of the matter there. Though he couldn’t explain or understand what he had missed—for there was still something left unsaid between the women—he could see through his wife’s false smile to know that something had indeed happened.

This would explain the awkwardness. It wasn’t their late arrival, since more guests were filing into the gardens. It wasn’t his rank as a duke, since Adrian was nearby as well, probably fetching a rare flower for his wife.

Rather, Nicholas feared, it was his wife.

At the other end of the tent stood Beatrice, Joanna’s stepmother, alongside Lady Lisabeth. They were speaking to each other, their heads bent together as if they were sharing secrets. It almost looked innocent.

Almost.

But Nicholas had learned so much about his wife these past few weeks. He understood where her pain lived and what was bound to hurt her. Such as the woman who had a hand in raising her.

I understand that something happened, but what? And how do Charlotte and Theodosia know about it? Even others were stealing glances at Joanna. How could I have missed whatever happened? Joanna is strong. She’s stronger than I had expected. But this is a blasted garden party. What could have taken place here? Something happened to Joanna. I wonder if everyone knows. Did it happen in front of everyone?

Although Nicholas tried to keep his composure and let his wife tell him when she was ready, he ran out of patience faster than he had anticipated.

“I suppose this is nice. Do you like it?” Joanna asked him haltingly while working on her bouquet.

The bouquet was fine; the message was a scramble and the flowers were staid. They were the most common picks amongst the lot of them. There was no originality, nothing that spoke of her personal touch. She kept looking around as if she was seeking permission from everyone else.

It was yet another sign that she was out of sorts.

Nicholas let out a low growl that made her jump. “I’m done.”

Glancing up, Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t even made a bouquet, Nicholas.”

“That’s why I’m done. The men hardly make one. That’s why you’re making two,” Nicholas added before turning toward Joanna. “But we only need the one. We have plenty of flowers at home.”

Joanna blinked before furrowing her brow, slowly comprehending what he meant. “But the party will not end for another two hours…”

“Then everyone else can enjoy the party. But we must take our leave. I sent your carriage home. Say your farewells, and I’ll have our phaeton brought around,” Nicholas informed her before stalking off.

Everything inside him itched. He didn’t like the way his skin prickled, telling him that something was wrong. There had only been so many times in his life when he felt this way. Facing bullies in school, losing his mother, then losing his brother and father… and this. He couldn’t explain how or why the sensation came about, only that it required action from him.

He had to do something.

“I cannot believe we are leaving so early,” Joanna muttered when she joined him in front of the phaeton, struggling with her bonnet. “It was rather rude.”

“I couldn’t care less.” He hoisted her into the carriage.

She clung to her seat as he climbed after her, grabbed the reins, and led them away from the house.

Joanna hesitated, glancing between him and the horses as they turned onto the street. “Is something wrong?”

“That’s what I was going to ask you.” Nicholas watched out of the corner of his eye as she went still. “It did, didn’t it?”

“No, I…” she trailed off.

Nicholas sucked in a deep breath. “Joanna, please…”

Joanna straightened up to look out at the road. So she wouldn’t have to look at him, he could tell.

It hurt. The fact that she wasn’t comfortable talking to him about something that troubled her hurt. A knife, perhaps small but still sharp, twisted in his chest. He sucked in another deep breath.

“People will talk about why we left so early. You weren’t even there for an hour,” she said at last.

Shaking his head, Nicholas grunted. “I couldn’t care less. None of those people matter.”

“Not even Charlotte and Theodosia?”

He shot her a look. “They matter. You know they matter, Joanna. I wasn’t being… If you could just…” He paused to exhale deeply. “Don’t try to distract me right now. Perhaps you could for a moment, but I will come back to the main issue—something happened. Before I arrived, wasn’t it?”

She swallowed audibly. “Perhaps.”

Attempting to speak as gently as he possibly could, Nicholas asked, “Will you please talk to me?”

“I… I don’t really want to,” Joanna admitted.

That still hurt, but Nicholas convinced himself that it was a step in the right direction. She knew something had happened, and she knew she could talk. She simply didn’t wish to. Reliving anything uncomfortable wasn’t the most enjoyable experience.

I could give her the time to recover, I suppose. But what if it festers? What if it breeds discontent between us? I cannot help her if she will not speak with me. And she must learn to trust me. We need a union with trust, at least.

Nicholas found he would rather have much more than trust, but he pushed that thought away. It didn’t matter how beautiful or lovely he found Joanna right now. He could worry about that another day.

It was this moment that he wanted to fix with her before they could carry on in another direction.

“Joanna,” he pushed gently. “I am your husband. I care about what happens to you, and I want to know what took place. Did someone hurt you?”

“No. No, it was nothing like that. It really was nothing,” she insisted.

He glanced down to see her tugging at her gloves and wrinkling the soft cloth. This felt like a window to her heart, and it only made his chest ache, for he was unable to soothe her. She was distracted and out of sorts.

“My stepmother was just… I think she really wanted us both there.”

Nicholas mulled this over. “It is her friend’s garden party, and it is still a private affair. Perhaps she wanted bragging rights to having us there.”

“Perhaps. But… I think I insulted her when I mentioned receiving a late invitation. She isn’t even the hostess.” Joanna frowned. “She shouldn’t have scolded me like that. Especially not in front of everyone.”

His body tensed. “She did what?”

“She simply… It’s just her way. Beatrice.” Her lips twisted at the name. “I cannot believe she was so rude to me in front of so many people. I don’t understand it. I was only trying to… Well, I don’t know anymore.”

“What exactly did she say?”

Joanna shook her head. “I won’t tell you. It hardly matters, Nicholas, and in truth, it wasn’t even that rude. But her tone and those eyes of hers… She was trying to be mean to me. Why do I let her?”

Cursing under his breath, Nicholas shifted the reins to one hand to take her hands in the other. “You should have told me when we were still there. I would have defended you. I could have said something––”

“To whom? Lady Lisabeth agrees with everything Beatrice says. And Beatrice would have only been rude to you too—most likely,” Joanna muttered. “It wouldn’t have helped.”

“I promised I would always protect you.”

A grim smile crossed her lips for just a second. “Thank you, but I don’t need protection from my own family.”

Although Nicholas wanted to retort, he fell quiet, pondering her belief and related experiences. He hadn’t really needed to do much to protect his wife before. Or anyone else, really. But he wanted to be that person. And he should have tried harder for her.

However, I couldn’t have punched a lady. I couldn’t harm one if I tried. But I could have done something, surely. A sharp word, perhaps. A hard look at the very least. I’m confident I could do that, at least. Still, would it have been enough?

Nicholas’s experience with his family had been more positive than anything else. He understood the need and command to honor one’s parents. But Joanna and her parents… One had neglected her, and the other was only too happy to lash at her like a serpent.

What was he supposed to do in these situations? How could he protect his wife better?

Questions flooded his mind as he tried to pull himself together. He just knew he couldn’t let this happen again. Knowing that they would be attending her stepmother’s ball soon, he knew he would have to be prepared to protect her.

How he would go about that, however, was still a question he didn’t have the answers to.

Nicholas wished once more that his father and brother were still alive. They would have known what to do in this situation. They could have told him how to take care of Joanna.