Arabella raised a hand to ward her off. “I don’t need to hear you tell me again that you don’t want a relationship with your husband,” she said. “You’re a married lady. You can make this decision for yourself. But as your sister, I wouldn’t rest if I didn’t know I had provided you with all the information you might need. I want you to know how to create a relationship with your husband in case you change your mind and decide that’s something you want. I want you to have the ability to win him over. That’s all. We don’t need to talk about it anymore.”
Prudence nodded. “I understand,” she said. “You’ve always done everything you could to protect me and take care of me, Arabella. I know that. I appreciate it. Thank you for talking to me about this.”
Arabella looked satisfied.
But Prudence knew that the conversation had been a waste of time. She was glad she’d had the chance to make Arabella feel better by listening to her, of course, but she also knew that nothing her sister had said would ever be put to use. She had no intention of using her charms to try to convince Leonard to stay in London with her.
In fact, the sooner he was gone, the happier she would be.
CHAPTER 10
“Mrs. Mills, where is my husband?” Prudence asked.
She was in the sitting room with a handkerchief she’d been embroidering clutched in her hands, and it had just occurred to her that she hadn’t seen her husband all day. That was somewhat maddening. Had she really been brought here to sit around embroidering handkerchiefs?
“I believe the Duke is in his study,” Mrs. Mills said. “He was there a few hours ago and asked for his breakfast to be brought to him. I haven’t seen him since, so I must assume that’s where he still is though I don’t know for sure. Would you like me to take a message to him?”
“And why would I need to send a message to my husband?” Prudence wanted to know. “Am I not allowed to go to the study on my own and pay him a visit if I wish to speak to him?”
“It’s certainly not up to me what anyone is allowed to do,” Mrs. Mills said hesitantly. “I would warn you that His Grace is not fond of interruption when he is working, however. He may not take kindly to seeing you. It might be better to communicate via a messenger, and I would be more than happy to go and speak to him about anything that’s on your mind.”
“I’ll go myself,” Prudence said. “The truth is, Mrs. Mills, I’m bored. I didn’t expect to feel this way. I thought I would enjoy the free time around here. But this house is so big and empty, and there is little for me to do.”
She set down her needlework and made her way toward the study.
For the last few nights, her secret men’s clothes had called to her. She’d ached to take them out, slip them on, and try to sneak out of the house the way she had always done before she had been married.
But every time she thought of doing it, something stopped her. Prudence didn’t want to admit to cowardice, but shewasworried about what might happen if she were caught. At the very least, the clothes would be taken from her, and Leonard would take steps to prevent her from sneaking out in the future. It was better to wait until she felt confident of what she was doing, even though the waiting drove her mad.
She paused outside the door to his study, wondering if she dared knock.
The thing that worried her was what might happen after she did so. Would he let her in? There was every chance he would and that the two of them would have a nice conversation. But he might also tell her to go away and that he wasn’t to be disturbed. She didn’t want another argument. She didn’t want to hear her husband explain, yet again, that he wanted her to be happy here—while making no real effort to ensure her happiness.
“Did he send you away?”
It was Mrs. Mills standing behind her, and her tone was sympathetic. Somehow, it drew a true answer out of Prudence. “I haven’t knocked yet,” she confessed. “I haven’t been able to summon the courage.”
Mrs. Mills pressed her lips together sympathetically. “Are you sure it isn’t something I can help with, Your Grace? If you require something to entertain you, to help fill your hours, I might be of use to you. I know that you tire of your needlework, but there are plenty of things a lady can do to pass the time—a duchess in particular.”
That was an intriguing notion, and it was enough to turn Prudence away from the door in front of her. “What do you mean?” she asked. “Is there something I ought to be doing?”
“I wouldn’t have saidought to, but we did speak about preparing the house to receive your guests. Maybe you’d like to spend today going around and showing me the changes you’d like to have made. Once you feel the place is ready for guests, you caninvite your family over, and that ought to help with some of the boredom you’ve been feeling—am I right?”
Prudence couldn’t help but smile. “You’re very right,” she agreed. “Thank you, Mrs. Mills. I’m so grateful to have you here. You’ve made everything so much easier—so much more pleasant.”
It didn’t escape her notice that the housekeeper relaxed as they walked away from the door to the study. She had alarmed Mrs. Mills by claiming that she was planning to disturb her husband at his work. Would Leonard really have reacted that badly to a knock on his door?
Maybe it’s a good thing I decided not to do it if he’s going to be like that about it.
She followed Mrs. Mills back to the sitting room and began to go into detail with the housekeeper about the changes she hoped to see and how she thought they would make the manor a more inviting place, but in the back of her mind, she was still outside that study.
“This is a record of the finances His Grace has allotted for you,” said Hawkins, the butler. “And here is the ledger so that you can keep track of expenditures.”
It was more money than Prudence had ever dreamed of having control of and certainly more than she needed. “And I can do whatever I’d like?”
“Within reason, I should think,” Hawkins said. He offered her a smile. “His Grace might object if you started a circus on the grounds.”
Prudence laughed. “I’ll bear that in mind,” she said. “May I review a copy of the current household expenses to see where other funds are going?”
