Page 18 of The Duchess and the Beast
“It really is unpleasant, isn’t it?” Lucy clicked her tongue, her eyes sweeping over the sprawling yet neglected gardens of Greystone Castle. “One can tell His Grace has lived alone most his life.”
“Oh, it isn’t all that bad,” Virtue lied, grimacing when she came upon a leaning wooden archway that seemed a light breeze away from collapsing.
“It is worse than bad. I would say all it requires is a woman’s touch, but...” She clicked her tongue again. “Perhaps burning it down and starting afresh would be a wiser choice?”
Virtue snorted lightly. “You might just get your wish if His Grace ever decides to join me out here. Given our track record, I suspect our next heated exchange might very well set the hedges ablaze.”
“Let me know if it comes to that,” Lucy chuckled. “And I shall make myself scarce. The last thing I want is to be caught in the midst of a lover’s spat.”
“The Duke? A lover? Faith, I would sooner win the affection of a feral wolf than melt his icy heart,” Virtue sighed.
The two ladies had decided upon promenading through the notorious Greystone Gardens earlier today, even if the term ‘garden’ flattered the sorry state surrounding them. Although it was magnanimous in size, enveloping the entire estate like a small forest, it had long succumbed to such a state of neglect that Virtue could think of cemeteries that she had visited with more life to them. The flowerbeds were parched and mostly barren, the shrubs were withered and falling apart, the grass was a tapestry of decay, and the trees stood as lifeless specters without any leaves to boast of. Amidst the summer season too! The only compliment one might afford this garden was its fitting symmetry with the castle it encircled and the master it served.
The Greystone Castle was a vast fortress, a tremendously sized bastion made of gray stone towers and high-standing walls,and a keep that was twice the size of the manor that Virtue had grown up in. Tall, grim, and foreboding, it in itself was surrounded by a dry moat and a stout wall of solid stone, beyond which was a sprawling forest that ringed the estate in full. She had been told how isolated her new home might be, but she could never have guessed it to be this cut off from the outside world.
“It simply requires a touch of… color,” Virtue mused as the two ladies walked a stone-laid path through the dead hedges. “And perhaps a generous amount of water.”
“It demands a lot more than that, unfortunately,” Lucy sighed.
“Well, it is not as if I have anything better to dedicate my time to,” Virtue shrugged lightly. “And besides, perhaps His Grace might come to appreciate the effort.”
Lucy's expression softened with understanding, as she ceased her skipping and joined Virtue’s side. “Ah, so that is where your true motivations lie. In that case, I would be honored to be of assistance in this…” The maid took one final glance around the gardens, “formidable endeavor.”
As the two women walked, a peculiar sensation washed over Virtue—the unmistakable feeling one gets from being watched. Subtly, she glanced back beyond Lucy’s shoulder toward the castle, immediately spotting the Duke watching her from one of the high towers above. He stood, half-concealed in shadow, perhaps believing himself unseen. Yet there he was, gazing downupon her like some distant wraith, his presence almost certainly fixed on her from the moment she had stepped outside.
She was careful to maintain the pretense of ignorance, but now that she knew he had been watching, Virtue allowed herself a secret smile and felt a small tingle run down the nape of her neck at the thought.
Despite what had happened between them, Virtue wasn’t such a fool to think that the Duke held any real animosity towards her. He might have been avoiding her. He might have been trying to keep her at arm’s length, perhaps even isolating her as if he wanted nothing to do with her. But she could see the signs, for she recognized them in the books that she read. Not to mention how obvious he was being when he wasn’t behaving so strangely.
Hewantedher.
Last night, when he had mistakenly thought that she had approached him so as to be lured into his bed, she’d noticed the way his body had flushed and how nervous he had suddenly become. Then there was the charged encounter in the carriage—the intensity in his gaze, the electric touch as he cautioned her against delving into his past. He was indeed wild, a creature of deep passions, yet she believed he was not beyond her reach, should she choose to draw him in… should she choose to tame him.
It was a strange thrill, one unlike anything Virtue had ever experienced before. Not even around Lord Prescott. But she didn’t mind it one little bit. There was a daring pleasure init. She allowed herself a small smile, purposefully accentuating the sway of her hips a touch more now as she walked. If the Duke desired to watch her from the window, why not give him something to watch?
A sudden thought sparked in Virtue just then. “Oh, Lucy, I have been meaning to ask—did you not ride here with Lord Wellington?”
“I did indeed.”
“And the two of you conversed along the way?”
“Only sparingly. He didn’t seem too thrilled about sharing a cramped carriage with me and several trunks.”
Virtue’s interest peaked. “And did he mention anything of His Grace?”
Lucy arched a brow. “Regarding?”
“Perhaps how he and the Duke forged their friendship? I understand it involved his brother, but His Grace wasn’t very… forthcoming.” Her mind flashed to the previous day and a warmth spread up her body.
“I am afraid not,” Lucy said. “The only insight Lord Wellington offered was that His Grace isn’t quite as he seems, so to not judge him as such—oh, and that kindness reciprocates kindness,which is as odd as it is obvious.” She sighed. “I didn’t ask what he meant exactly, mostly because I sensed he didn’t want me to.”
“Good to him...” Virtue nodded her understanding, smirking slightly at a daring thought that came to mind just then. “I think I can manage that.”
And she could at that. Yesterday had been a test, one that she had failed miserably. But the Duke had failed also, and not because he was a cruel and callous and evil person whom she would do better to avoid. The way she saw it, he was as nervous as she, not very good with people at all, and likely still trying to figure out how to behave around her. She had tobelievehe wanted more from this marriage than simply sharing a home together. She had tobelievethey stood a chance. She would not lay down and accept just any given fate without working to mend it first.
She spent the rest of the morning wondering how she might approach her husband and what she might say. Each time reminding herself not to push him or ask questions he didn’t want asked. At least not until they were on closer terms. And if he said the wrong thing, to try and keep her cool and not snap as she had. They were both new at this, and it might take a little more work than she had initially expected.
What she hoped was that when the supper bell rang, he might join her. In her impatience, she even thought to send Lucy to find out if he would. But shockingly, as she started her exploration of the castle, a journey that she knew would takehours for it was a truly breathtaking expanse of wings and towers and halls, the Duke found her himself.