Page 15 of The Duke’s Return (Dukes of the Compass Rose #2)
Looking the housekeeper in the eye, she murmured, “I entirely understand your concern. While I may not be in the middle of such matters, I do care about all of you here. The duke will do all he can to make amends one way or another, Mrs. Waverly. I swear it.”
“You are too kind.” Mrs. Waverly sniffed and then inhaled deeply to put herself to rights.
She straightened her shoulders. “What a fine duchess you are, my lady, if I might be so bold. The sudden flurry of your union had many of us very curious, especially after the duke’s rambunctious upbringing.
But he was very fortunate to have found you and wed you. ”
“You are bold, and I much appreciate it,” Genevieve assured her with a warm smile. “I know we’ll do whatever we can to assist everyone in the village. And on that topic, might I inquire of the post today? And I should like a desk.”
Mrs. Waverly closed the doors behind them on their way out. “There is a lady’s parlor just on the floor beneath us. We peeked in there for a moment, do you recall? It needs some airing out but is usable.”
Remembering the dark place with only a single window, Genevieve shook her head. “Actually, what of the table in the library? I don’t believe I saw anything there when we walked around.”
It didn’t take long to return to the large library where the shelves were only half-filled. There was also a slight scent of mildew. After setting up a few instructions to have the books checked over the next couple of days, Genevieve was seated at the small desk with a half dozen letters.
Mrs. Waverly had left her be, so Genevieve had the room all to herself.
She sorted through the letters alongside the most recent accounting books that the housekeeper agreed to share.
Curious about the household structure, Genevieve found the notes very sparse and not exactly helpful at a glance.
But she held out hope to learn something eventually. Meanwhile, the letters were helpful.
Two of the six were bills regarding sows and yearlings, which she set aside to discuss with the housekeeper at a later time.
There was one letter that was already an invitation; someone had found out they would be in the county.
Though Genevieve’s first inclination was to toss it away as she so frequently did, she held it to tuck beneath the other three letters.
“If a letter is addressed to the duke,” she mused softly, “surely it is also addressed to the duchess? I’m sure Julian would appreciate the help.”
There was no one to refute her, so she opened those as well.
All of these ones discussed issues of the tenants. She read through the letters thoughtfully, and began to take notes––especially since the last one was by the vicar. Although the man had clearly written all three of them, the latter was the only one meant to be his own voice.
He had tracked dates and discrepancies, she noted. Having been gifted a pen and ink well, Genevieve crossed dates and made a few helpful notes in the corner of each page.
Paper was a luxury she doubted many could afford in the nearby county, so it had been used in the hopes of these men being heard. Genevieve respected that fact. Not wanting to waste time, she waited just long enough for the ink to dry on all three letters before going off to find her husband.
Noting the sun in the sky was already making its descent for the day, Genevieve could hardly believe how quickly time was passing.
Her feet picked up speed for a minute before she forced herself to slow down; there was no reason to hasten.
Life was slow in the countryside, after all, and she had no plans to worry about.
The thought had her smiling as she wandered through the house for some time before eventually locating the master study.
“Come in,” she heard Julian say through the cracked open doorway when she knocked. He was shuffling through some papers on the desk while surrounded by countless folders and more papers. Her eyes fell upon the glass of brandy and his rumpled hair.
I wonder if he is still out of sorts from this morning.
“Genevieve?”
She blinked, caught off-guard by his use of her name. “We never discussed using one another’s Christian names,” she said before she could help herself.
Julian paused to raise an eyebrow. It was always an eyebrow with him. His gaze darted out toward the open doorway behind her before he met her eyes a second time, the message clear. Then she recalled using his name only hours prior with Mrs. Waverly.
“Is this a battle you wish to fight at this time?” he asked quietly.
“I suppose not… Julian,” she murmured in reply, testing the use of his name on purpose.
The moment left her bewildered with an odd feeling in her stomach that she didn’t know what to do with, so she tried to ignore it.
“I haven’t come to fight at all, of course. I only thought you should read these.”
Still holding several papers in both hands, Julian frowned at her offering before gesturing with his chin on where she could rest them.
“Put them in that pile for now. I won’t get to them yet.
This is an absolute mess. I don’t know what my man was thinking, but I have something to teach him about filing, I’m afraid. ”
It was strange hearing irritation in his voice. Genevieve had the sudden urge to brush the curls away from his face to make everything better.
Clenching her hands at her side, she said, “I’m sorry to hear that. Can I be of any assistance? I can keep a clean study.”
“No, there’s no need.”
“Very well. I’m here should you need the assistance. And I would highly recommend you read those letters before the day is out, Julian, because their contents could prove fruitful with whatever you do next."
He paused from skimming a look at another page. “Fruitful? Genevieve, really, this doesn’t concern you.”
Hearing such an offhand dismissal left Genevieve rather affronted.
Already she was here to help him. There was no reason for the duke to limit her areas of support, especially when she knew about managing business and people.
Even if she wasn’t a duchess who attended many social functions, she was still a duchess who helped manage a household in London.
“I’m only trying to help you,” she started.
But he shook his head. Exhaustion seemed to drip through him with a clearly sour mood.
“I don’t need you sorting through my mail or telling me what to read.
This is my responsibility, my obligation.
It’s not your affair. All you have to do is ensure we are––” he lowered his voice as the doors were open “––as presentable as possible to prove we are capable and committed to each other and Southwick.”
So Julian was telling her that she was only there as an ornament on his arm to prove he was capable. The words were clear even if he didn’t say them all out loud.
Hands balled into fists as she stared him down. “I am doing everything I can. But I cannot carry you where you fail. You have a part to do as well.”
Like taking care of your tenants.
“Very well.” Julian looked like he bit into something acidic. “I didn’t mean to insinuate… There is only so much I am asking of you, Genevieve. To play the part of my duchess. Can you please do that?”
She supposed that might be the best apology she was going to get from the man in power. Listening to the thrumming of her heart, she stared at Julian to contemplate her options for a while. She must have waited long enough because he finally set the papers down to stare up at her.
“Fine.” Genevieve managed a smile. She had been trained early in wearing fake smiles, though it seemed to get harder these days. “Tomorrow night, we have a ball to attend.”
The grim expression on Julian’s face shifted with surprise. “Tomorrow? That’s too soon. We couldn’t be expected to…”
He trailed off when she gave a shake of her head and carried on saying, “It is soon but not too soon. Not when we have a short timetable for enjoying Southwick,” she added meaningfully.
This garnered another short stare down until Julian nodded. “Very well. I’ll tell my valet.”
“And I’ll talk to the rest of the staff,” she said before he could take over the conversation any longer.
Growing antsy with the man who was clearly out of sorts, Genevieve decided to wrap it up.
She also decided she was going to take supper in her room so Julian couldn’t trick her into laughter or smiles this time.
“Before the ball tomorrow night, make sure you read these letters. I’ve made some notes on them for you to rely on as well to aid you. Good evening, Your Grace.”
Not letting him get in another word felt enormously freeing as Genevieve hastily took her leave.
The hall had much more air. She inhaled deeply, moving down the hall to go find the servants.
One of her dresses would need to be aired out and the stables would need to be made aware.
Additionally, she wished to write a response to their host on the morrow and have someone deliver it before nightfall.
I do so love having something to do. A life of leisure is pleasant enough, but it is the small tasks that help me feel satisfied in this life.
Off Genevieve went, feeling much more organized about her life as well as herself. She considered her conversation with her husband while she walked, considering how she had taken her leave. Hopefully, he would read her notes before long.
I know what I am doing. After all, I am still a duchess.