Page 13 of My Blind Duke (The Twisted Dukes #5)

“ O h, sister! I have to say, you look remarkably well. I am quite relieved to see that you are fine.”

Prudence smiled warmly, feeling her heart practically glow at the sight of her older sister. It was as though all the worries and stress she had absorbed within the last few weeks melted away at the sight of her.

“No need to fuss over me. I am quite well, dear sister,” Prudence assured. “You did not have to come all this way to verify that, but I am glad to see you nonetheless.”

Marina Marner, the Duchess of Harper, and Prudence’s older sister scoffed, rolling her eyes in mild disbelief.

“Of course, I needed to visit. You did not inform me of the arrival of your late husband’s heir via letter. I had to find out from gossip sheets, Prudence. Are we not family? Should we begin to rely on the public to feed us the information we should already be privy to?” Marina questioned, her voice carrying a hint of sternness.

It reminded Prudence of when she was little. Marina had always been her role model. She had their mother’s full attention as the eldest. Johanna was dead set on achieving perfection with her eldest daughter, and she spent a lot of time teaching and mentoring Marina on how to be a proper lady.

It left Prudence alone and often overlooked, so she would play pranks and cause a lot of trouble because she hardly got any attention otherwise. Marina often scolded her in her mother’s stead, pleading with Prudence not to develop bad habits that would be difficult to break.

“ You are far too lovely, to have your name and reputation soiled by poor behavior. But that is what will happen if you do not cease these silly acts, ” Marina had told her once.

Prudence had argued that she did not think her name or reputation mattered with how their mother barely seemed to care about her and the statement had hurt Marina deeply. After that, Prudence tried to do what she could not to cause her sister any hurt or discomfort.

Feeling guilty, Prudence spoke up gently,

“I am sorry, Marina. It was wrong of me not to have informed you of his arrival right after it happened, but I am afraid I let it all get away with me. It has been rather catastrophic here on this property ever since his arrival, and I just have not been in the right frame of mind.”

Marina sniffed, leaning back in her seat as she picked up her tea cup.

“Well, at least you are aware of your offense. I expect there will not be a repetition.”

Prudence grinned, knowing she had been forgiven.

“There will not. How are you? And what about that troublesome brother-in-law of mine? Still on his best behavior, I hope.”

“I am well. Quite preoccupied with my household, as usual. With mother’s return back to Scotland, I have been focused on ensuring my children have not pick up any… odd mannerisms from their delightful grandmother. Aaron is fine – far too busy, as always. He has an important business trip coming up soon, and he suggested I tag along with him. Practically begged me to – you know him, he is not the social kind. That is one of the reasons I came to see you, actually. We will be gone for only a week with the children, but I did not want to leave without seeing you first,” Marina replied, taking a sip of her tea.

Prudence felt the smile on her face twitch slightly as she tried not to let envy dig its roots too deep into her heart.

Her sister’s husband, Aaron, was absolutely smitten with his wife. He once said that his sole purpose in life was to worship the ground she walked on. Marina often acted as though she was not fazed by his rather blatant display of affection, but deep down, she was just as in love with him as he was with her. If not more.

And I have never known what that is like . To be loved so deeply and inherently. To love back just as much, or probably tenfold. Her late husband had claimed he loved her, but there had been something that seemed to be missing whenever he said as much. As if his heart was elsewhere.

Prudence had assumed perhaps the lack of reciprocation from her end was the missing piece of the puzzle. She had liked Anthony a decent amount and was prepared to spend the rest of her life doing what she could to either grow her feelings for him or simply come to terms that this was the best she could ever get.

After his passing, she had come to assume that perhaps she was not meant to be loved.

She still wanted it though, still felt empty sometimes. Until…

“But none of that is truly as important as how you are,” Marina continued. “Tell me what you have been up to. What is this I hear about Anthony’s heir?”

“What about him? I much prefer hearing about my nieces and nephews,” Prudence deflected, wondering if her sister would catch on to it.

“Prudence, I need to know what is happening with you . How are you with this change of things?”

Prudence shrugged, looking down at her tea that she had not touched yet.

“I… I am fine. As I said earlier, things have been rather hectic lately. The entire household is on edge, thanks to all the changes the new duke has been orchestrating. We are overwhelmed, but it would do us some good, I think,” she assured her sister.

“And the duke?”

“The duke?”

Marina huffed in annoyance. “What is he like? Has he given you any trouble at all since his arrival? Tell me everything.”

It was all Prudence could do not to wince, doing her best to ignore the warmth crawling over her skin.

She had hoped to avoid this because she did not wish to speak about the duke. Speaking about him meant thinking about him and as of late, her thoughts had been all but wholly consumed by him.

Prudence prided herself on being graceful and proper to a certain degree despite her rather troublesome youth. Yet, after her tryst with the duke, she seemed to have lost her mind. She kept tripping, making silly mistakes, and getting lost in her head. It was humiliating and ridiculous, and she blamed him entirely.

Why did he have to confuse me so? One moment, he said he wanted me out of the house. Another, he was running his hands over me, pleasuring me and imprinting his touch on my skin.

“He is a… challenge. He has made attempts to have me removed from the property, but I stood my ground, and now I suppose he has given up. He has not brought it up in a little while. Ultimately, he is not as bad as I first thought,” Prudence hurriedly said, trying to be as vague as possible.

“He tried to displace you? He cannot do that! This is as much your house as it is his. You were married to the late duke. They cannot simply have you removed! Would you like Aaron to interfere? Teach him a lesson?”

“No!” Prudence said quickly, trying to ward off the idea immediately. “There is no need for that. As I said, he seems to have given up, so there is nothing to worry about. As for what I am entitled to… this is now his house, to be fair. But my solicitor is investigating the matter to see if I am entitled to a property of my own as the duke’s widow.”

Marina looked uncertain that was the case.

“Are you sure that is all there is? You seem rather skittish. Has he threatened you? Is he being difficult?”

There was no acceptable way of letting her sister know that the only threat William posed was to her body and sanity. In ways unlike the ordinary. So, she pursed her lips and shook her head.

“All is well, I assure you.”

“But you seem… awfully distracted. I did not want to give the rumors any mind because I know you. You are my sister and a noblewoman. But I have heard talk of you taking lovers. Hosting… improper parties. I do not believe any of them, but if even a little bit of it was part of the truth–”

“It is not!” Prudence cried, horrified.

Especially since it was not true until recently. Until he touched her…

It seemed her assurance was not doing much because Marina looked as though she was not quite convinced everything was all right. However, before she could press further, Melanie came running into the garden where they were, heading straight for Prudence.

“Goodness, Lady Melanie! Is everything all right?” Prudence queried, concerned by how hard the child was breathing.

“Well–” Melanie stopped, noticing the duchess had company. “Good afternoon. My sincerest apologies for interrupting.”

Marina smiled kindly. “It is fine, dear. Who–”

“Ah,” Prudence cleared her throat, feeling strangely nervous. “This is Lady Melanie, the duke’s daughter. Melanie, this is my older sister, the Duchess of Harper.”

Melanie flushed as Marina’s attention fixated on her wholly. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace.”

“Likewise, darling,” Marina smiled before turning to her sister. “I was not aware the duke had a daughter.”

“He does. This little treasure,” Prudence smiled softly at Melanie.

“What about her mother? How does she feel about your presence in the same house as her husband and daughter?” Marina asked.

It was a reasonable question, but it still shocked Prudence, who immediately glanced at Melanie, scared that the girl would be upset by the question.

But Melanie merely shook her head, her expression impassive as she said, “My mama passed away years ago, Your Grace. It is just Papa and me now.”

Marina stared at her, aghast. “Oh, poor thing, I am so sorry. I did not mean to–”

“It is all right. I am aware that not everyone knows.” Melanie smiled at her kindly.

Prudence felt proud of the little girl, somewhat relieved that the conversation had taken a less dangerous route. She finally paid some attention to her tea, relieved when she found out it was still lukewarm.

“You seem like a very bright and pretty young lady. I am sure your mama is proud of you in heaven,” Marina told the child gently.

Melanie nodded innocently and Prudence continued to sip her tea.

“I hope she is. But I do hope Papa will marry again. I would so love to have a mama and siblings.”

Prudence choked on her tea.

Both Marina and Melanie stared at her as she coughed into her handkerchief, blinking back the tears that had sprung to her eyes.

“That is… that is for your papa to decide, no?” she wheezed breathlessly.

A light flashed through Marina’s eyes and Prudence knew she had been caught. However, just as her sister’s lips parted, Clementina stormed into the garden.

“Where is she? Where is that menace?” the elderly woman screamed.

Melanie ducked down behind Prudence but Clementina had already seen her.

“Enough of your foolish games! You are always so bold when you cause problems! Face the consequences the same way, with the bravado you seem to have an endless supply of.”

Melanie shook her head and clung to Prudence as she stood.

“What is the matter? What did she do?” The duchess asked amicably.

“What did she do? Crossed the line, as always! I caught her fiddling with my priceless figurines! She was clearly about to steal them!”

“That is not true!” Melanie cried. “I just thought they were pretty! I picked one up because I wanted to see it up close. I did not know they belonged to you! I tried to apologize, but she did not listen and made Henrietta chase me around the estate. I was scared she would hit me if she caught me.”

“A good lashing is what you need, you spoiled ingrate! Wasting your time running around and causing trouble while your father works hard to fix our home! Children are meant to be demure, and I am certain he regrets keeping you around. You are no better than a street urchin–”

“That is enough, Lady Clementina! I will not stand here and watch you speak to her like that. She made a mistake and apologized. You have every right to be possessive and protective of your belongings, but not to the point where you berate a child for admiring them. You seem to easily forget that from us all, you are the lowest in rank. She deserves your respect, even if she does not obtain your kindness. Do not make me take matters into my own hands, or you will be very sorry for each misstep you made,” Prudence said, glaring at Clementina.

The older woman looked shocked for a moment, then she sneered.

“Look at you, setting yourself up as her advocate. Do you intend to curry favor from His Grace? Or are you merely sick of your meaningless existence as a motherless widow and now wish to insert yourself into the family of another? You are not her mother, and you should perish any hopes. Instead of playing these silly games, I suggest you start packing your things. Because the duke is working to send you out of this house. And if we are fortunate, he will put you in prison, right where you belong!” Clementina spat.

“How dare you speak to my sister that way, you–” Marina spoke up in her defense, but Prudence quickly lifted her hand.

Clementina walked away with an indignant sound and Prudence sighed in exasperation.

“Who does she think she is? I remained silent about her accusations against you after your husband’s death, but this is where I draw the line!” Marina declared.

“Leave it be, sister. She does not scare me. If we pay her no need, she will know that nothing can be done because she has no power. I am sorry you had to witness that.”

Marina continued to fume, and Prudence let her be, knowing better than anyone that she had every right to be angry.

Then she turned to Melanie to make sure she was okay.

“My lady, are you all right–”

“I will not let it happen. I will not.”

Prudence blinked down at the child.

“What do you mean, Melanie?”

“I will not let Papa send you away. I-I will talk to him. I will make sure you stay,” Melanie said, her eyes alight with determination.

Prudence was touched by the young girl’s care for her and she put her arms around the child in a gentle embrace.

Is he really looking for reasons to send me away? Even after he said that he would not?

She did not know what to think. But she knew one thing. What the duke would eventually decide was out of their control.