There was a grit to the duchess that Dominic was impressed by, glad to see she was seeing the problem through and not hiding away.
“Do you think the stoppers will hold?” Verity murmured as the ladder was removed.
“For tonight, I think. Roger will take another look once the weather dries,” Dominic said as he shifted back toward the corner of the room where she was standing. It was one of the driest spots left. He crossed his arms, wet and uncomfortable, but relieved that the worst was over. “How is Danny?”
“The splinter is fine and his hand is bandaged,” she murmured. She chewed her lip while studying the space. “But I’m concerned about this room. I don’t know how much we can salvage, Dominic, I’m sorry. The wood will be ruined and could warp. It could mold. We might need to…”
Nodding, he acknowledged the lump in his throat and the truth he’d been ignoring. “Rebuild. I’ve done it before. I can do it again.”
“We’ll do our best to restore everything we can,” Verity vowed.
There was honesty and care in her tone, a tenderness that left him uncomfortable and amazed. Strangers they might have been yesterday. Even now. And yet… He met her gaze and nodded. “Indeed. We shall.”
Something had changed today between them. He felt stripped of his secrets, laid bare in the now empty and ruined sunroom. His wife had seen a part of him he never meant to reveal. It brought her closer to him, allowing her a step closer to his soul.
He didn’t trust it. He didn’t trust her.
CHAPTER 16
Melting eagerly into her hot bath, Verity closed her eyes while she felt the stress of the evening washing free of her skin. She’d needed a moment like this after the garden party. And definitely after the storm’s ruination of their sunroom.
Her shoulders finally began to relax. Running over her memory of the evening, she pondered Dominic’s command of the room. His care to save everything about the space.
Most dukes would simply replace everything since restoring it will take just as much effort and expense. But he cares. Not simply because its his, but because everything in that room means something to him.
There were so many questions to ask.
A knock at the door disturbed Verity’s mental list of questions she would someday surely ask the duke. She shifted, sinking lower. “Come in.”
“Hello, Your Grace,” said her maid with a cheerful smile as she came in. “I’ve a missive from Lady Isabel and your linens if you’re ready to dry off. The duke mentioned having a quiet supper to follow if you would like to join His Grace. He asked for a reply?”
It was everything she needed. “Very good, thank you. I’ll take the missive if you can say we’ll be there in a quarter hour.”
A doubtful look crossed Lucy’s brow. “That soon?”
She rethought it with a small chuckle. “Very well. We do need to dry my hair. An hour, please.”
“Very good. Here you are.” Lucy waited until Verity had dried her hands on the linen before handing over the paper. “I don’t think Elspeth will be available this evening.”
Verity didn’t like to think about ever losing her maid. They knew each other too well. Her maid could read her mind and helped her constantly with the gossip journal. Having a cousin working in the Hemphill house as a scullery maid left Lucy, and thus Verity, with very good access to learning the loud gossip and the quiet. Elspeth earned some extra coin at least twice a month sharing whatever she might overhear in that house.
“I understand. The garden party would have ended early, along with a few other affairs,” Verity said aloud after already thinking it through. “It’ll be understandable to have a short journal to post.”
“Very good, Your Grace. I’ll return in a trounce.”
While her maid left to alert the household and the duke when Verity would be available for a late supper, she read through the missive.
Isabel was one of three friends who shared with her such gossip. Not that they necessarily knew what she was up to. Since Isabel had married a prince abroad, it was necessary for Verity to have made more connections.
It had taken time to establish such an opportunity. First in learning these ladies and second in deciding how far they could be trusted. Others had not passed the test.
Over her few years in being out, Verity had made casual comment prior about being offered to share what she learned to have a voice in society and a little extra coin. The other ladies were bound to pin money from tight pockets in their families. An extra pound could go a long way for some of them. When they asked for more information, she’d agreed to look into it––and then to direct them as the middle party if they should deliver what they knew, she’d pass it along accordingly with an exchange of the promised payment.
No one actually knew it didn’t go past Verity. She’d done well in presenting her proper image amongst the Ton, knowing she didn’t trust or care or read any gossip.
We all win, really. I keep my secrets and I still make a pretty penny while helping these young ladies keep a little more money close to the chest.
Verity read the short letter and barely finished by the time Lucy had returned to her side.
