Page 5

Chapter five

Beatrice

Beatrice allowed her husband to lead her toward the dining room, where he said Mrs. Jenkins had prepared a wedding meal for them.

The priest was staying to enjoy the meal, so Beatrice would not be alone with her new husband just yet, but he was leading her across the house, her hand resting on his arm, and she had never felt this way before.

She wasn’t even sure she could describe how she felt, only that her stomach felt a little odd, and she wasn’t sure if she would be able to eat any of the dinner that had been so carefully prepared for them in celebration of their wedding.

She had a husband now, and once the papers were sent to Riyel, she would officially be Lady Beatrice Dunham of Eldenwilde. Her throat felt tight. What would her father and her friends say?

Her father probably wouldn’t even notice, except that she wouldn’t be there to cook a meal for him when he was in the Northlands.

But Dietrich and his mother and Thea were sure to have opinions on the matter, and she wasn’t sure what their opinions would be.

On one hand, she could see Thea being excited for her, and on the other hand, she could see Thea being appalled that she had married a man she barely knew.

As for Dietrich, well, he was likely to be upset that she’d gotten married without him there, and his mother would also be sad about that. The fact that Danise and Dietrich had missed her wedding hurt more than she had expected it to, but perhaps someday she would be able to have a simple ceremony with Lord Dunham that their loved ones could attend.

Although he didn’t have any loved ones, so perhaps it was selfish of her to want a ceremony for her loved ones to witness. He had to have friends, though, right? It wasn’t as if he’d been entirely alone for the past fifteen years or so since his parents had passed.

She couldn’t remember exactly how long it had been. She had only been maybe ten years old, and the death of two nobles was not something that affected her life much at that point. She might have remembered more about it had she known that someday Lord Dunham would hire her…or that one day she would be his wife.

They turned into the dining room, and he pulled out a chair for her. The heavy skirts of the new dress were more than she was used to, and she was grateful for the help. As she slipped into the chair and adjusted her skirt, Lord Dunham’s hand brushed against her shoulder as he pushed the chair in, and she had to stop herself from jumping.

It would take time to get used to him being so close to her.

“Lady Beatrice,” the priest said, suddenly drawing her attention from across the way. “I hope that you are well and that your library has been doing well?”

“It has been,” she said kindly. The library did not have much in the way of religious texts, so the priest was not often a visitor, though occasionally he came in for one of the tomes on gardening. He had been a staunch advocate for the library when it first began and many in town were unsure of how they felt about it, and she appreciated the support.

“What will happen to the library now?” he asked, glancing between the two of them.

“I would like Lady Dunham to appoint her successor,” Lord Dunham said as he settled into his own chair at the opposite end of the very long table. “I don’t suppose you’ve thought about it yet?” he asked, looking at her.

“I am hopeful that Eugenia may be interested in the role,” Beatrice said.

The priest nodded. “Yes, she would be well-suited to the task,” he said. “It would not take her from anything she’s currently doing, and she does enjoy seeing everyone in town.”

“It would require her to stay in one place for more than a few minutes,” Beatrice said with a grin, “which might be difficult for her.”

“That is true,” the priest said. “However, if we can convince her that enough people will come to her, that might do the trick.”

Beatrice nodded. “We shall see. I have no high hopes for her to actually stay put, but it would be nice if she did.”

Colette, the maid who had helped her earlier, entered with another girl Beatrice hadn’t met yet. She would have to make friends with all the staff as soon as she could; if she was to be the mistress of Eldenwilde, she wanted to know all her people.

The maids began serving them food, and Beatrice smiled and thanked them, noting that Lord Dunham did not. Perhaps there was something to be said for the rumor that her husband was not the friendliest, though she’d seen nothing yet that could convince her he was as callous as the villagers would lead her to believe.

That was another stumbling block in her plan to convince Dietrich and Thea that she was fine—if only her husband had a better reputation in the community. As it was, she would have to do some convincing.

But she had been the first librarian in a town that did not value literature, and she had grown used to convincing people. If the people that needed to be convinced were Dietrich and Thea and her father, at least she knew what would make them more easily swayed, as opposed to the townspeople who did not give her such an advantage.

The meal passed quickly, with no one saying anything, just eating as quickly as possible. Before she knew it, Lord Dunham and the priest had gone back to his study, and she was alone.

She took a moment to take a deep breath as she looked around her new home.

The idea felt strange. This was home now?

She would have to go home at some point to get her things. Not that she would need clothes or any of the kitchenware that she used, but she wouldn't want to leave her books behind. They didn't deserve such a fate.

Even if her new husband had promised her a library.

Oh, the word “husband” felt strange.

She had a husband now.

Her, Beatrice Montgomery, the librarian whom no one in town had ever been interested in—except for Roan.

Beatrice didn't care, though. It was no longer her problem. Because she was married.

Beatrice took a deep breath and rose from her seat. She wasn’t going to just sit here waiting for him to come back. Lord Dunham had been apologetic as he had led the priest away to do some paperwork, but he hadn't thought to tell her what she should do once he left her, and she had little idea what she should do to occupy her time.

So, she would explore.

As she opened the door, she nearly ran into Mrs. Jenkins. The friendly housekeeper smiled at Beatrice and said, “I was just looking for you, Lady Dunham. I thought perhaps you would like a tour.”

Beatrice nodded. “That would be lovely, Mrs. Jenkins.” As much as she wanted to protest the new title, she had a feeling Mrs. Jenkins was not going to budge on it. Perhaps she was right—she would have to get used to it eventually. Even if the idea still seemed strange.

She followed Mrs. Jenkins through the hallway and did her best to pay attention as she was ushered through a sitting room, through the foyer, and toward Lord Dunham’s study.

“And where is the library?” she asked. She had been so distracted earlier, she had no idea where the library was actually located.

Mrs. Jenkins smiled and led her to the library beyond the study, and Beatrice opened the doors to take it in once more without the distraction of her impending marriage.

It truly was the most stunning thing she’d ever seen in her life.

And this library was hers?

“It’s impressive, isn’t it?” Mrs. Jenkins asked as Beatrice sighed happily.

“It is,” Beatrice said, already itching to disappear into a chair and read a book.

“Would you like to see the kitchen too?” the housekeeper asked.

“I would,” Beatrice said, nodding. “I would like to meet everyone if that’s possible.”

“Of course, my lady.” Mrs. Jenkins led the way through the servants’ door and toward the kitchen, where everyone stopped what they were doing to stare as she announced, “Everyone, this is the new Lady Dunham.”

There was a whirlwind of introductions, too many to remember, and a few moments later, Beatrice was being led from the kitchen back into the dining room, a full circle of the first floor complete.

“I must return to my duties, but before I do, let me show you to your room,” Mrs. Jenkins said. “Now that you've had a little more of the house shown to you, it might be helpful to orient yourself to your room again, too.”

Beatrice agreed that it would be helpful and followed Mrs. Jenkins up the grand staircase from before. As they entered the stunning room she had been in earlier, she turned to the housekeeper. “This is truly my room?” she asked.

Mrs. Jenkins smiled. “It is. Now, we haven’t a lady’s maid on the premises, but one of the girls, Guinevere, is talented with hair and such. I've asked her to come take the position of your lady’s maid for the time being, and we can decide in a week or so if you'd rather have a formally trained maid from the city. She’ll be up in the morning to take care of you, and I’ll help you with anything you need tonight.”

“I’m sure Guinevere will be lovely,” Beatrice assured Mrs. Jenkins. She had no need of a lady’s maid, except maybe to do up her dresses if they were all as complicated as the one she was currently wearing. “Do you suppose Lord Dunham would mind if I joined them in his study?”

Mrs. Jenkins gave her a smile. “I’m sure he would be delighted to see you.”

Beatrice doubted that. The man barely knew her.

But since she knew him more than she knew anyone else here, and Mrs. Jenkins had her own work to do, it seemed best to go see him and discuss what she should do with her days.

She had no experience with being a lady, and thus far hadn’t been told much of what she was expected to do in that role. Some clarification would be useful before she decided to spend all of her days in the library reading.

Perhaps she could ask for some paper to make a list of everything she needed to do. She needed to make sure her library was taken care of, her things were fetched from her house, and her friends were told where she was.

Yes, a visit to the study was in order.

And maybe she would get to pet the kitten she had spotted earlier.

As she made her way back down the grand staircase, her heart pounded in an unfamiliar rhythm. The feeling surprised her. Why should she be nervous? She was only going to Lord Dunham’s study, a room she had been in plenty of times before.

Though this would be the first time she would enter the room as his wife.