Page 14 of The Beast’s Duchess (Duchesses of Inconvenience #1)

Chapter Twelve

C hristopher was out in the garden, alone.

In truth, he’d been alone for years, but somehow now it hurt.

It wasn’t like he could escape Veronica’s presence in so many ways.

It always felt like he would see her just around the next corner.

It was all the worse because it seemed like things were finally going well, like they were finally on the same page.

Now, she couldn’t seem to stand being in the same room as him for more than was strictly necessary.

Her rejection stung more than he would like to admit.

Though, to be fair, it wasn’t entirely Veronica’s fault. He had been avoiding her as much as she was avoiding him.

But still, when he had tried to avoid her in the past, she had sought him out to try and talk to him anyway.

He spent most of his day in his study where no one could find him. When he wasn’t there he was in the garden.

One day, as he was making his way from the garden, Mrs. Carter approached him.

“Has Duchess Ashton given you any news?” she asked carefully.

“News about what?” he said, not wanting to admit that he hadn’t seen her since they returned with the dogs.

She sighed. “I was worried about that. Veronica’s family will be coming to visit soon.”

“What?” Christopher gasped. “When?”

“A little less than two weeks.”

“So soon. I see,” his thoughts raced. He could be seen to be avoiding her in front of her family, neither could she, but what if she would prefer to keep contact between them to a minimum even while they were staying with them?

“Is there anything you would like me to do in preparation for their visit?” Mrs. Carter asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“No, he said, shaking his head. “I’m sure whatever Veronica requested will more than have it covered.”

She studied him for a moment. “I see. Well then, I suppose if there’s nothing else, I will let you get back to it.” Despite it sounding like the end of a conversation, her face made it clear she expected him to say more, but Christopher didn’t.

Instead he simply nodded before making his way inside and to his study.

Back in his garden a few days later, Christopher was still dwelling on it. He thought of little else in all honesty.

He knew it was silly. He knew he should just talk to her, but all Christopher could think about is the way she had looked at Shaggy when she first saw him.

He couldn’t help but feel like she had been looking at him—wounded, alone, forgotten.

And without a moment of hesitation, she offered the dog a home, love, someone to look after him. From what he had seen and heard, she and Shaggy were all but inseparable. Of course she spent plenty of time with Teddy too, but Shaggy would happily trot along behind her anytime he could.

He wondered if she would offer that affection to him if he just tried, but maybe not.

After all, she hadn’t spoken to him more than a handful of times since they came back that day and when she had, it was always stiff and distant.

Now, her family was due here any day now.

He sighed to himself. He could only hope it wouldn’t go too badly. He would need to be on his best behavior. He needed to ensure she wouldn’t regret the fact that she was here.

“Oh, sorry,” he looked over to the voice that had broken him out of his thoughts.

Veronica was looking down at him, both of the dogs at her side.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked before he could think about how it sounded.

“Taking the boys on a walk,” she said quickly, crossing her arms. “What about you? What are you doing here?”

He shrugged, gesturing around him, “Just what I usually am, working in the garden.”

“Right,” she rubbed the back of her head. “I suppose I should have realized that.” She paused for a moment, then started to turn away from her. “I suppose I should let you get back to it.”

“Wait,” he called out before he could stop himself. He very nearly reached out for her. Thankfully he was able to stop himself from doing that. He couldn’t imagine it would go over well.

She paused, turning back to him, “Yes?” there almost seemed to be something hopeful in her eyes, but that had to be his own wishful thinking, wasn’t it?

“I wanted to make sure you had everything you needed for your family’s visit.”

“Yes, I should think so. Mrs. Carter has been helping me get everything in order.”

“Good, that’s good. I’m glad to hear it. How long until they are expected again?”

“Only another day or two.”

“Right, well, I hope you have a good visit with them.”

She smiled. “Thank you. I’m sure I will. It will be nice to see my sisters again.”

“I’m sure. Well, I will let you get back to your walk. Have a nice afternoon.”

Her lips parted as if to say something, but then she turned and all but raced away.

Fool, Christopher condemned himself. Why had he done that? He had so much he wanted to talk to her about, so why hadn’t he tried?

She might have walked away, but she might have stayed. She might have been willing to simply stand with him and talk.

He hadn’t even given her a chance. He made the choice for her.

Christopher spent a little bit more time in the garden, resolve forming in his mind.

He would talk to her at dinner. It had been a while since he’d been able to bring himself to dine in company.

She wouldn’t be looking for him any longer; perhaps he should send word ahead of time that he wanted them to have a meal together.

As he made his way back to the house, he resolved to do just that.

And so, later that evening he found himself pacing the dining room, waiting on her. The silence echoed in his mind. What if she didn’t come? What if she came, but ate in frosty silence and only spoke to him, not with him?

But before he could worry about that too much, the door opened and Veronica stepped inside.

His breath caught in his throat when he saw her. “You came.”

She crossed her arms, a tight smile on her face, “Of course I came. It has been a while since we’ve had time for a dinner together.”

“I–” He swallowed. “Please, have a seat.”

She did just that then the two of them were served their food. As they ate, silence stretched between them. Christopher had so many things he wanted to say. He wanted to ask her how she was doing, why she had been so busy, if she had been avoiding him, but couldn’t bring himself to say any of it.

Instead, he just sat there, eating and avoiding her eyes almost as much as she was avoiding his.

In the end, she was the one to speak first. In a quiet voice, she said, “Thank you for allowing my family to stay. I’ll try not to let them interrupt your routine too much.”

“It’s your home too, and I was happy to help. And you don’t need to worry about them too much. I doubt it will be that much of a disruption.”

Veronica shot him a disbelieving look. “You’ve never been around a house full of girls before, have you?”

“Obviously not.”

“I can assure you, it may seem like there won’t be many of them, and they can’t get up to that much, but as soon as you see Milly, you’ll know better.”

“Then I look forward to the chance to learn.”

“We’ll see how you feel about that when the time comes.”

“Is there anything I should know before they arrive?” he asked.

“Like what?” she frowned.

“Anything you might want me to do or expect of me.”

She shook her head. “Like I said, I don’t want this to affect your routine more than it has to.”

He studied her for a moment, “But do you-” he hesitated.

“What is it?”

“Do you want me at all the meals or would you prefer to have time alone with your family?”

“Of course I want you there!” she said, seeming almost shocked by his question. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“I wasn’t sure if you would want to spend time alone with your family.”

Her frown deepened. “We’re married, aren't we?”

“Of course.”

“Then that makes you part of this family too. It only makes sense for you to be there.”

“I suppose,” and for a moment, he let himself start to hope.

He wanted to ask more. He wanted to know if she meant that or if she was just trying to appease him, but he didn’t do any of that.

But he found he was unable to. Instead, he shared a conversation with her, simply enjoying the evening.