Alaina had long since come to terms with her sham of a marriage. Oh, to be sure, it had taken many tears and a great deal of time for her to reach a place of acceptance, but that did not mean she would be grateful for the man to return out of the blue—that she would fall to her knees and kiss his dusty boots in gratitude for his presence. She was no fool. She recognized that life as she had known it…as she hadmadeit to be…these last eight years was as good as over.
And it was all Sterling’s fault.
She didn’t doubt that he’d attempt to take her in hand. For all she knew, he’d try to mold her to his needs, stuff her back into the tiny little box he’d supposedly found attractive enough to wed all those years ago. Alaina had fought too hard against her training and society’s dictates to allow that to happen…but she had the distinct suspicion Sterling, too, would do everything he could to see his own goals through.
She stomped over to the immaculately made bed and proceeded to unleash her wrath upon an unfortunate pillow. She pummeled it until her hands ached and she collapsed upon it, face-first, to release a muffled wail of frustration.
Why now?
Why did he suddenly have to reappear and throw everything topsy-turvy?
She’d finally found peace and happiness in her own life and, once again, Sterling would toss all her good intentions to the flames of his whims. It wasn’t the least bit fair.
Then again, Alaina had learned that fairness wasn’t often in the cards.
Not for women.
A fair life would have meant her husband had cared enough not to abandon her to the wolves.
A fair life would have meant her husband would have stayed to protect her and honor their vows.
There was a light scratch at her bedchamber door. She bid the person to enter, but it came out more like, “Mmmurfferr”, against the smothering feather pillow.
“Well, aren’t you a sight?” came her maid’s cheeky tone as she slipped into the room.
Alaina lifted her head; golden ringlets had come loose and cascaded into her field of vision. “Please not now, Penny. I haven’t the strength.”
Only a few years older than Alaina, her maid, Penelope, had become one of her closest confidants in those early months of her marriage-turned-abandonment. When she’d been too ashamed to leave her home or accept callers, too dejected to eat and too restless to sleep, the maid had stepped in to be sure Alaina took enough sustenance and cheered her with stories of her childhood on her grandparents’ farm just south of the city. Penny had faithfully stayed with Alaina during the seclusion of her farce of a honeymoon and comforted her when even Alaina’s own family was unsure how to handle the embarrassment of the situation. The Earl and Countess of Brendt were known for their strict adherence to social propriety, but their daughter’s situation was unprecedented. What man disappeared on the wedding night without consummation? It was decided—rather, they decided for her—that the date of the duke’s departure would remain a closely guarded secret. If anyone asked, Alaina was the true wife of the Duke of Morton.
And they’d promptly treated her as such…leaving Alaina to find her way without the guidance of her husband.
This relative abandonment by her parents also meant young Alaina desperately needed a confidant. A companion.
Enter Penny.
While the line between master and servant remained, it had been blurred enough that Penny felt comfortable enough to poke at Alaina’s occasional dramatics. Only, this time, Alaina wasn’t so sure her behavior was all that unwarranted.
The maid’s sandy brows rose as she bustled through the room, gathering things to prepare Alaina for dinner. “I suppose you’d rather dine alone than with His Grace, then?” Despite her words, she didn’t stop her preparations.
Alaina released a definitively unladylike snort. She’d rather chew off her arm than face Sterling again so soon.
But she’d been raised properly, and her good breeding wouldn’t allow her to ignore her husband’s homecoming…no matter how unwelcome his presence was. Besides, as much as it galled her, this house did belong to him.
“I’d give anything for it to be this morning again,” Alaina sighed and righted herself, tucking her wayward curls behind her ears.
“Is everything so different, then?” Penny asked as she retrieved Alaina’s cornflower blue dinner gown and held it aloft for approval. Alaina nodded. The gown was one of her favorites and she knew she’d need every bit of armor she could if she was to survive this meal.
“How could it not be?” Alaina groaned. “We’ve an intruder in our household.Everythingis about to change.” She pushed herself to her feet and plodded over to her dressing table. Dropping down to the stool with a huff, she proceeded to remove the pins from her hair so Penny could redo her unruly coiffure.
There was no mistaking the maid’s jocularity when next she spoke. “I could be mistaken, but isn’t this actually the duke’s household?” Leave it to Penny to voice Alaina’s earlier thoughts.
Alaina’s unamused gaze met her maid’s in the mirror as she began to unlace her dress. Doubtless, the servants were atwitter about Sterling’s return. They’d all been without a lord for so long, it was natural for this drastic change to cause a stir. In Sterling’s absence, Alaina had found her footing in running the household, and she liked to think everyone got along quite well; however, the dynamic would be inevitably different with a lord in residence.
“We’ve all managed just fine without His Grace. I don’t see why a good thing must come to an end,” Alaina grumbled, knowing full well how childish the comment sounded, but she was past the point of caring.
The maid tilted her head in understanding, but the wry twist to her lips told Alaina that Penny hadn’t been entirely convinced.
Alaina rose and allowed Penny to finish undressing her. As she stood in her shift and drawers, a thud sounded on the other side of the wall. Her head whipped around to the adjoining door to Sterling’s suite of rooms and her heart leaped into her throat. She’d never before heard noises from that room and it was more than a little unnerving—as if a spirit was just now making its presence known. In a way, she supposed it had. The discarded bones of her marriage were even now rattling, demanding her attention.
