“There’s nothing for me to do here,” Diana admitted after a pause. “Your home runs smoothly, Duke—Matthew, far more so than mine did. And I’m not involved in its management. And I have no other things to do.”
Matthew considered her response for a long moment and then voiced a thought that had only just occurred to him. “This house is somewhat small, and I had thought… perhaps now would be a good time to look for something larger. Would you care to join me? And perhaps you may have a say in decorating it.”
“A say?” she echoed, that small smile widening a little.
His heart swelled at the thought that he coaxed that smile from her. That he made her happy.
“Let us not get too ahead of ourselves, Diana. Having a say in things is enough. Need I remind you that you have already taken over the decorating ofthishouse? And some of your choices have been… questionable, to say the least.” But he, too, smiled as he said it, and for once he didn’t allow his father’s words, the ones that continued to echo in his head, to bother him in the slightest.
“A new house, Margaret! He wishes us to select a new house together. It is … well, it is most exciting.” She couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice if she wanted to and Margaret smiled in acknowledgement of it.
“It shall be exciting, My Lady. And you shall have a say in the choosing of it.”
“And in the decorating of it as well,” she announced. “He has already said so.”
“Have you an idea of what you shall look for in a house?”
“Oh … I am sure that he shall select the houses that we will look at and I shall hope that one of them will suffice for what I prefer.”
“If he has asked you to accompany him in looking at houses then surely he is interested in your opinion on the matter. He would not have asked otherwise.”
“Indeed,” Diana agreed, but she wondered. Had he asked her to accompany him because he truly valued her opinion? Because he wanted her to have a say? Or was he simply trying to make her … well … she couldn’t think of another reason that he would invite her.
“If he did not wish for your opinion, My Lady, he would have chosen a new home on his own.”
“Yes. Yes, he would have,” Diana agreed, her smile returning as she considered it. The fact that he had asked meant something. And since there was no reason for him to ask but to have her opinion that had to be it. And hadn’t he said he wanted her to have a say in the decorating?
“Perhaps he is coming around more than you think.”
“Perhaps, though if he is it is still quite slow.”
“He is not known for being a very open and trusting sort,” Margaret warned and she had to admit that was also true.
The things they had read in the scandal sheet prior to her betrothal … well, those certainly gave voice to the idea that he was not a friendly soul.
But then there was Isabelle. Isabelle who seemed absolutely convinced that he was a good person. A kind person. Someone that she could be happier to be wed to.
And hadn’t she seen signs of that herself?
“Are you all right, My Lady?”
“Just … thinking. There is a great deal to consider about my husband, after all.”
“Are you pleased?”
“With my husband? I do not know that I would say I am pleased as yet. I would say that he has proven to be a sight better than I had resigned myself to. But there is a long way to go before I shall say that I am truly pleased with my choice.”
But then … as she considered all of the little things that he had done since she had arrived … perhaps it was not so far removed as all that. Perhaps there was a greater chance of her being pleased with him than she thought.
After all, he had sent someone all the way to Waterburry House just to find out her favorite foods. And he was set to add those foods to their own usual meals here as well, on purpose just to please her.
“Why do things have to be so complicated?” She asked Margaret who simply laughed.
“Ah, life is always quite complicated, My Lady. And having a husband … well, that shall certainly be complicated as well. Especially one as … trying as His Grace can be.”
Even as she acknowledged Margaret’s words she vowed to herself that she was going to be more open to whatever strides he seemed to be making. No mater how small they might seem.
Chapter Eleven
