Page 9 of The Duke and the Hellion Bride (Duchesses of Convenience #7)

Chapter Nine

D iana was not surprised to find that on her first morning living in Albury Estate that she would be breaking her fast alone. Indeed, after being thoroughly rebuffed last night, she had expected it. Not that this made the situation any easier to deal with. Or less confusing.

When she entered the breakfast room, dressed in a modest morning dress, seeing the room to be empty, she did not waste time asking if His Grace would be joining her. She was not such a fool as that. Rather, she seated herself toward the head of the table and instructed the staff to make her a plate.

So, this is what I can expect from now on, is it? A husband who wants nothing to do with me? Why, exactly? Perhaps if he would speak to me, I’d have an answer.

Diana had spent most of the previous evening running through her head what had transpired between herself and her husband, trying to figure through what she had done wrong and at what point exactly His Grace had decided he wanted nothing to do with her. No clear answer came to him, for the circumstances yesterday were as unclear as could possibly be.

Ultimately, she was forced to contend with the likely fact that His Grace was committed to this marriage of convenience and truly he only wished for this marriage so she might help raise his two nieces.

Speaking of which...

“Adeline! Josephine!” Miss Brooks swept into the dining room suddenly, a frantic look painted across her aged face. “Adel -- oh! Your Grace,” she started and came to a sudden halt. “I am so sorry. I did not see you there.”

“Is something the matter... Miss Brooks, wasn’t it?”

“That is me, Your Grace.” She offered a quick bow. “And no, no. It is nothing I cannot handle. I should not have disturbed you.”

“Nonsense.” Diana waved her away. “You are searching for the girls, I take it? What has happened...” She smiled playfully. “Have they run off on you?”

Miss Brooks flushed. “We are supposed to be taking reading lessons, and I instructed both Adeline and Josephine to meet me as soon as they were dressed. But they are nowhere to be found, and I fear...” She flushed further with embarrassment. “I fear that they have purposefully absconded.”

Diana laughed. “I used to hate reading lessons when I was a little girl. I empathize with them.”

“It is not for you to worry yourself with,” Miss Brooks said quickly. “I will find them. This is not the first time they have acted in this way. Please...” She turned to leave. “Continue.”

“No, no,” Diana said as she rose from her seat. “If the two girls are hiding, I dare say it will be much faster if we look for them together. Do you not think?”

“Your Grace, there is no need...”

“And yet I am going to help you anyway.” She swept down the length of the table. “Now, tell me, where is it that they like to hide? My guess is that they have their favorite places? If we split up, we will find them in no time.”

Miss Brook could not help but smile. “That they do. They are not so clever as they like to think. Albeit they are just as troublesome.”

It was thus that Diana spent the morning searching for Josephine and Adeline with Miss Brooks. There were five places in the manor which the girls enjoyed hiding, and Diana took two of them to herself.

The first was the library, for it was a maze of tables and couches and bookshelves, so easy for young girls to scurry away in. She looked through every nook and cranny that she could, finding no trace of the two girls.

The next location was the stables outside, and that was where she struck gold.

It was the moment she ducked her head inside the stables that she heard the girls whispering to one another in the back corner, tucked away in the furthest stall. When she heard them, Diana smirked to herself, realizing suddenly that this was a perfect opportunity.

The concept of motherhood was new to Diana, and she’d had little time really to decide what type of mother she might be. Not that she was to be a mother to these girls, more a mother-figure, a female elder for them to look up to. But that only confused the matter further.

Her only experience in such a thing being her own mother, whom she loved dearly but was strict and no-nonsense and not at all in line with how Diana thought she should approach the situation.

If she wanted these girls to listen to her, they had to like her. And if they were going to like her, she needed to give them a reason to. And so, she decided upon a game...

“I wonder where they might be,” she said loudly as she started across the stables, toward where she heard them whispering. “Oh, where could they be?”

She heard them gasp. One of them told the other to be quiet. Diana’s smile grew as she came closer.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are...” Closer she came to their hiding place. “Clearly, this is not the right place to look,” she continued. “If I was hiding from the wicked Miss Brooks, I would not be such a fool to hide here.”

She crept closer to the stall, standing right on the other side. The girls were both silent now, holding their breaths, surely praying that Diana would move on. But she did no such thing.

She crouched down just a little. She set her expression to one of menace. Then she pounced around the stall, throwing the door open, and holding her arms out as if to trap the two girls from running past her.

“Got you!” she cried out.

“Ahhhh!” Adeline, the youngest of the two cried out.

“Run!” Josephine pushed her sister forward.

“I don’t think so!” Diana was quick to spread her arms and keep them from fleeing. “That is not how this game works! You’re cheating!”

Josephine came to a sudden halt. “Ch... cheating?”

“We are playing hide and seek, are we not?” Diana asked as if she was serious. “And I must admit, while you two are wonderful hiders, I am an expert seeker.” She shrugged. “You never stood a chance.”

“What is she talking about?” Adeline asked her older sister softly. “We are not playing – ow!” she yelped when Josephine pinched her.

“Yes, we are.” She widened her eyes at her little sister to keep quiet. “Which means...” She smiled conspiratorially, as if she was in on it. “... that we get to hide again. And you cannot peek!”

To this, Diana laughed. “I do not think so.”

“But you just said --!”

“I know what I said,” she cut the little girl off. “I also know that as I am the one who found you, I have won. Perhaps tomorrow, you will do a better job of hiding because really, this is not a very good spot.” She winked. “If you are lucky, I might even teach you how to hide so that nobody will ever find you.”

Josephine narrowed her eyes. “Why would you do such a thing?”

“Why would I not? Miss Brooks might not like it when you hide like this, but I think it is fun. Don’t you?”

She could see how confused the two girls were. Could they trust her? Was she trying to trick them? They had no idea what to think, which Diana counted as a good thing.

“Now, seeing as I found you, I get to decide what we do next. Is that fair?”

Josephine still had her eyes narrowed. “Maybe...”

“There is no maybe about it. I am the winner and as the winner, I think it would be fun if we...” She shrugged. “Found Miss Brooks so we might continue in today’s reading lessons.”

Josephine’s eyes went wide. “I was right! You are tricking us! Miss Brooks sent you to find us!”

“Should we run?” Adeline whispered to her sister.

“You could try it,” Diana said, making sure to block the way. “But I am very fast.” She pumped her eyebrows and pulled a face and Adeline, only eight, could not help but giggle. “Believe me, I would love nothing more than to play with you all day, but Miss Brooks scares me also. And if I do not send you back...” She shuddered. “I do not know what she would do.”

Josephine did not look convinced. “She does not. And if you do wish to play more, all you need do is tell her.”

“Ah, yes, that is true. But life is not all games, and sometimes we must study even if we do not want to.”

“But --”

“How about this.” Diana held up a finger to silence the two girls. “Return with Miss Brooks now and spend the rest of the morning in study. If you do that without causing a fuss, we can continue to play hide and seek for the rest of the afternoon. Although it is as I said, I am an expert at this game and neither of you two stand a chance.” She winked and pulled another face.

It was working... sort of.

Adeline was clearly amused by Diana, and she crept out from behind her older sister as if to show that she was happy with this compromise. But Josephine was distrustful and still she narrowed her eyes at Diana.

“You are trying to trick us again.”

“I promise you, I am not.” She held her hand over her chest. “I swear that come a few hours' time, I will show the two of you what it means to hide so you will never be found.”

Slowly, she could see Josephine coming around to the idea. Strange that Diana wished so hard for the approval of a ten-year-old girl but she felt that if this worked then it would be a huge step forward in their relationship. And where it was not the sole reason, she was doing it... it did make her stomach flutter just a little to imagine how pleased the duke would be to hear of this.

“There you are!” Miss Brooks called from across the stable. “Girls! What is the meaning of this!” Miss Brooks stormed toward them.

“I found them,” Diana winked at the two girls and spun about to intercept Miss Brooks. “And now that I have, they have both agreed to come with you to study. In fact, they were insistent.”

Miss Brooks blinked. “They... they were?”

“Isn’t the right, girls?” Diana spun back to look at the two girls.

“Y -- yes,” Josephine said. “We are.... we cannot wait.”

“Yes!” Adeline said, tripping over herself to stand beside her sister. “We lost the game. Yes?” She beamed at Diana. “And now, we must study.”

Miss Brooks narrowed her eyes at the two girls. “Yes, well... you best hurry inside then. You know how your father feels about you being outdoors. Go!” She shooed the two girls who were quick to scurry away.

On the way out, Adeline made sure to look back at Diana and smile. Josephine however... she still eyed Diana with a sense of reservation. She will be hard to win over. But this was a very good start.

“That was very well done,” Miss Brooks said as soon as the girls were out of sight.

“Excuse me?”

She offered Diana a coy smile. “His Grace was right about you, it seems. Very well done, indeed...” She tittered to herself and began to cross the study.

Diana stayed where she was, her stomach swarming with feelings of pride. Such a small thing in the grand scheme of this marriage but a huge step in the right direction. And that compliment paid to her at the end, Diana was tickled pink to think that the duke would be impressed.

Not that I care... she told herself, knowing that the duke’s esteem was all she cared about. If only the same could be said of his feelings toward her.

* * *

It was shortly after noon when Diana made her way toward the sitting room where she knew the two girls to be engaged in their lessons with Miss Brooks. She had made the girls a promise and she intended to keep it.

“What is this?” she asked as she entered the room to find the two girls hard at work.

Adeline looked up immediately and beamed. Josephine was a little slow to do so, and she didn’t beam, so much as she did frown as if she were confused.

“Lessons, Your Grace,” Miss Brooks explained. “Which I must say, are coming along rather well.”

The two girls were seated at a table, each with a book in front of them, while Miss Brooks walked back and forth behind where they sat in instruction. By the looks of things, Adeline was in the middle of reading a passage, but she closed the book and went to stand.

“Adeline,” Miss Brooks stopped her. “We are not finished.”

“I am afraid I must contradict you,” Diana sighed. “For today, I think, we can take a short break from lessons.” She winked at the two girls. “What do you say?”

“Yes!” Adeline cried out.

Josephine was still unsure. “Re -- really?”

“I promised you, did I not?”

“Your Grace...” Miss Brooks looked caught in two worlds. “I must protest – His Grace was adamant that the entire day be given to the two girls and their lessons. He would not approve.”

Diana hesitated on this point, wondering for a moment what the duke would say if he found out that she was overriding the girls’ lessons for playtime. But she also reasoned that it was more important for now to earn their trust. And besides, the girls were still of that age where they needed to learn to have fun as much as anything. To grow up without enjoyment was a sin, in her mind, and if she allowed them to play and live a little, that would see them open to her.

Besides, one afternoon could be missed.

“Oh, I am sure he won’t mind,” Diana said. “And besides...” She winked at the girls again. “What His Grace doesn’t know, won’t hurt him.”

“And if he does know?” a deep voice spoke from behind Diana.

Diana jumped in fright and spun around, taken by complete surprise to find the duke standing there watching.

She felt her face flush red as memories of the last time the two spoke swept over her. Despite her best efforts, she could not look at him, for to do so found her eyes tracing his lips, and then she remembered how they felt on her own and her heart began to race.

“Uncle Magnus!” Adeline was on her feet. “Dia – the Duchess has said we can take the afternoon to play. Can we? Please?”

“She has, has she?” He eyed Diana with an expression she could not read. Staunch and determined, like a bulwark standing against the coming tide. Was he impressed? Was he angry? She wished she knew.

Diana forced herself to be brave. “I have,” she said, standing up to him while ignoring the way her stomach fluttered. “My feeling is that to study all day without being allowed some time off is... is counterproductive. Surely, a few hours missed will not be such a bad thing? It will give them time to relax.”

“And is that what they need? To relax?”

“They are girls,” Diana said. “And girls need to have fun.”

“They need to learn.”

“Which they will do,” she shot back without pause. As with the last time the two spoke, she found herself unable to keep her tongue at bay. It was as if she enjoyed provoking him. “Later. I promised them that they could spend the afternoon outside playing. You would not make me a liar, would you?”

He stayed by the door as if scared to enter the room. As he did, his dark green eyes flicked between Diana and the two girls in decision. Diana did what she could to hold his stare, to not back down. She was right in this, she knew. And he needed to see it.

“No,” he said finally.

“But --”

“I said no,” he said again, this time with bite. “The time to play is later. And I will remind you...” He fixed Diana with a warning glare. “You are not here to be the girls’ friend. You are to be their mother. I suggest you start acting like it. Now...” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Is there anything else?”

“I guess not,” she said, a curled lip so he could see how upset she was.

“Good.” And with that, he turned and strode from the room.

“See,” Diana heard Josephine whisper to her sister. “I told you she was lying.”

Diana felt herself growing angry. Deep down, she knew that she should heed the duke’s words for this was his home and the girls were his nieces. If he wished for them to study, who was she to say otherwise?

I might not be their mother, but I am here to help raise them as one should. An aunt, perhaps? A mother-figure who they can trust and hopefully one day love. Surely, that means I should have some say?

In the back of her mind, good sense told Diana to take the loss and try for a win another day. But she was stubborn. And she was also annoyed at the duke for treating her so poorly. Not just now, but since she arrived. His message was confused, and she was through being confused by it.

“Girls, up you get,” she said. She turned and clapped her hands at them. “Come on then.”

“Wh - what?” Miss Brooks stammered. “Your Grace, His Grace asked that --”

“I heard him well enough,” she cut through Miss Brooks. “But he is not here anymore now, is he. I am...” She pumped her eyes at the two girls, her expression wicked. “And I say it is time to play. That is unless you would both rather study...”

Adeline was out of her chair in a second. Josephine, struggling to decide if she wished to be cantankerous or trust Diana finally, was a little slower.

“That’s what I thought,” Diana beamed. “Now, I seem to remember a large oak tree in the back garden. I would race the two of you there but surely I am too fast for either of --”

Adeline flew from the room as if she was carried by a wind, giggling the whole while. Josephine, again a little slower, was unable to hide her smile as she rushed after her sister.

“Miss Brooks...” Diana fixed a warning look on the governess. “I trust this will not be a problem?”

Miss Brook sighed and shook her head. “You are their mother, not I. Although I cannot speak for what His Grace might say.”

“Good, because I can.” Diana nodded once and then turned to hurry after the two girls. Her heart raced as she did. Part happiness, for she knew now that she had the girls on her side. Part fear, for she wondered how the duke would react. And part... something else, for she was excited to see how the duke would react as no doubt when he found out what she had done, he would be angry.

Let him be angry. At least that way he won’t avoid me as he has been doing. And that thought excited Diana more than anything.