“I suspect you would like to have the afternoon to yourself,” he suggested.
He expected a comment about the fact that he hadn’t so far demonstrated much concern for what she would like. It would have been fair. But she simply nodded. “That would be appreciated, Your Grace.”
“You will find the housekeeper just inside, and she can see to any needs you might have,” Leonard said. “Should you need me for anything, let a member of the staff know. Welcome to Desford.”
He strode away from her, barely able to believe the day’s events.
CHAPTER 6
So this was it? He was really going to leave her to face her new home all on her own? He really wasn’t going to do anything to help her settle in?
Apparently, he wasn’t. She watched him walk away, eyes wide with shock. Then she turned back to the carriage which had been packed full of her possessions this morning on the assumption that she would be coming to this estate as Peter’s wife, not as the Duke’s.
Her things were already being unloaded by a group of footmen, none of whom met her eye or said anything to her. As she watched, her trunk was carried into the house. She supposed it was being taken to her new accommodations and that she would find her things there—but what of Prudence herself? Was she to stand here until someone came for her and told her what to do? Was she supposed to go into the house and figure it out for herself?
Fortunately, she didn’t have long to wait. A matronly woman in her mid-fifties came hurrying out the front door. She had a warm smile on her face, and Prudence nearly burst into tears at the sight of it. She was embarrassed to be having such a reaction, but this was the first touch of kindness she had experienced all day.
“Lady Prudence,” the woman said. “Welcome to Desford. We’ve been expecting you. I am the housekeeper, Mrs. Mills. Shall I take you to get settled in?”
“That… that would be very kind of you,” Prudence managed.
Mrs. Mills nodded. “Would you feel up to a tour of the house? Or would you like to go straight to your bedchamber and rest?”
“Maybe a small tour would be helpful,” Prudence said. Having choices was always comforting to her, and she appreciated being able to decide what would happen next. Besides, if she stayed out of her room for a while, she would give the footmen a chance to bring all of her things up, and then it would likely feel a little more like home when she got there herself.
“Very good,” Mrs. Mills said. “Now, I confess I haven’t seen your husband yet. I see that the Duke brought you here. Did Lord Hall give any instruction as to what you were to do in his absence? Did he say when he might be expected? I wouldn’t want to overstep if your husband has plans for how he would like your first night here to be handled.”
“Oh.” Prudence swallowed hard. She had not anticipated having to explain this—but then, of course, how was the housekeeper to know? Everything had changed so quickly. “I—there was a change of plans,” she said. “I’m not married to Lord Hall.”
“You’re not?” Mrs. Mills frowned. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“Lord Hall… well, he changed his mind about the marriage,” Prudence said. “And the Duke stepped in and married me in his place.”
“So, you are married to the Duke?” Mrs. Mills’ frown deepened. “That is unexpected.”
“For me as well,” Prudence said. “I didn’t imagine such a thing would happen, but it seemed as if His Grace was unwilling to take the risk of anything bad being said about the family. It would have caused a scandal had word gotten out that Lord Hall had abandoned his duty, so the Duke chose to marry me instead.”
“I see. Well, if this is true, then I must welcome the Duchess of Desford to her new home,” Mrs. Mills said, recovering quickly from the surprise. “You are to be the lady of the house, then. It will be even more important for you to understand the inner workings of this place and to meet your staff as well.”
“I know this must be a shock,” Prudence said, feeling rather ashamed and guilty for reasons she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “I’m so sorry to have changed the plan.”
“Oh, nonsense,” Mrs. Mills told her. “The change was not of your making, was it? I know how these things go for young ladies. I doubt you had very much choice in the proceedings at all, did you? But I can assure you, His Grace is not a bad man. He is rough around the edges to be sure, and he can be a difficult person to get to know, but I have been in this house from the time he was just a boy, and I promise you, he is harmless. Your life here will be safe and secure. And the staff and I will ensure that you have everything you need, so you won’t have to worry about that.”
“Thank you,” Prudence said quietly. “I greatly appreciate it, Mrs. Mills. I confess this has all been a bit of a shock, and I’m rather embarrassed to be here under these conditions.”
“Well, you shouldn’t feel embarrassed,” Mrs. Mills said. “After all, His Grace would not have married you if he hadn’t seen something worthy in you, would he?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Prudence murmured. “I think he did it for the sake of avoiding shame more than anything else. And I can understand that desire of course. I just feel as though everyone’s plans were forced to change because of me, and that’s a difficult thing to deal with.”
“You mustn’t blame yourself. It’s not as if it’s your fault Lord Hall ran away from your engagement! You know, between you and me,” Mrs. Mills added, lowering her voice slightly, “Lord Hall has always been quite irresponsible. I’m not altogether surprised to hear that something like this took place, and I doubt the Duke is very surprised by it either. He knows the kind of manhis brother is. I suspect, Your Grace, that there was a part of him that anticipated this very turn of events—and that’s why he was so prepared to offer a solution when it happened. He must have known there was a possibility that it would. Do not blame yourself. If you ask me, you are the unfortunate victim of these circumstances.”
Prudence couldn’t see it the same way. Still, she was grateful to have the support of the housekeeper. “Thank you, Mrs. Mills,” she said. “I’m glad you’re here at any rate. It’s nice to have someone who I know can at least begin to see things my way in all this.”
“I promise you, there will be many members of the staff who are on your side,” Mrs. Mills assured her. “You have a friendly group of people here who want nothing more than to make things easy for you as you settle into your new life. I understand you’ve had a shock today, but that doesn’t have to be representative of what things are going to look like for you going forward. Life at Desford can be perfectly pleasant, and I’ll consider it my privilege to help you make sure that it is.”
Prudence nodded.
“Now, where shall we begin our tour?” Mrs. Mills mused. “I suppose it makes sense to conclude at the bedchamber, so why don’t we go to the sitting room first? You’ll see all your guests there—assuming you have guests, that is. Are you a social creature?”
