Page 29 of A Highland Duke to Claim Her Heart

Ewan inclined his head in acknowledgement.

“Anyway, she tells me that the new duchess has gone above and beyond in the first few days of her tenure. She is, apparently, learning all the names of the servants, having the house thoroughly cleaned and updated, making sure that it feels light and modern, and going over all of the accounts with the housekeeper. She is settling into her role as mistress of the castle with grace and efficiency, according to Miss Ashworth.”

Ewan nodded slowly. “That is what I suspected.”

Alaric raised an eyebrow. “But you do not know? Have you not been communicating with her?”

“Well…”

Ewan swallowed. In truth, he had not spoken much to his wife in the three days since they had been wed. The last few days had been… confusing. To say the least.

It had been a very long time since he had shared a bed with a woman, and sharing one with her had brought up feelings thathe had never expected to feel again. Feelings that did not sit comfortably with him.

There had been longing in him when he had woken to find her sleeping so peacefully next to him—longing for closeness, and to know her, and to curl his body around her and feel her breathing gently.

But he could not allow himself to feel those things. Those things led only to heartbreak and misery, to years of guilt and punishment.

He could not let himself go there.

And so he had spent the next three days avoiding his wife. At least, avoiding her as much as he possibly could without giving offense. He did not want her to feel hurt or lonely. But he also could not allow himself to think about her in such tender ways.

Not if he was going to maintain the shred of happiness he had finally managed to find for himself after everything that had happened with Margaret.

“You have not been speaking with her much, have you?” Alaric shook his head. “Miss Ashworth did mention that, as well.”

“She did?” Ewan’s stomach gave another uncomfortable jolt. He did not like the idea of people whispering that he was ignoring his wife. “Did Cassandra say something to her?”

“I do not know,” Alaric said. “But she said that the duchess did seem rather lonely, and that she spends much of her time with Mistress Annabelle.”

Ewan considered this. His throat felt strangely dry, and he recognized all too well the feeling that was now coursing through him: It was guilt.

“Perhaps you should try spending more time with her,” Alaric said gently. “I know that things were not always easy with Margaret, but the duchess is not your late wife. She seems very different. Much more… cheerful. And ready to throw herself into any problem that arises.”

“She does seem resourceful,” Ewan said slowly. He took a deep, steadying breath. He knew that Alaric was right. Three days was too many to not spend any time alone with his wife.

“Very well,” he muttered. “I shall make sure to speak with her more today.”

Alaric shook his head. “Who knew it would be so hard to get you to spend time with your beautiful wife?”

Ewan’s eyes narrowed. “Tease me more, and I might askyouwhy you are spending so much time talking to Miss Ashworth.”

Much to Ewan’s satisfaction, that shut Alaric up.

Later that afternoon, Ewan went to seek Cassandra out. The housekeeper had told him that she was in the nursery with Annabelle, but as he approached, he heard a sound that had not filled these halls in a very long time: Annabelle laughing.

It wasn’t that his daughter never laughed. Now and again she would giggle, or laugh politely at something, or begin to laugh and then quickly cover her mouth. But what he heard now was nothing like how she usually laughed. This laughter was raucous and without limit. She was almost screeching with joy, in fact, and as he drew closer, he even heard the unmistakable sound of her snorting.

Snorting?

His first thought was that snorting was unladylike. Immediately, he heard Margaret’s voice filling his head:If it is a girl, she must be ladylike.

His late wife had been supremely concerned about their daughter turning into a proper young lady. When she had grown sick near the end of her pregnancy, this was her greatest fear:That without a mother to guide her, her child would grow up wild and uncouth in the Scottish Highlands.

Which was why Ewan had always tried to demonstrate to his daughter how best to be a lady. Even though she was only seven, he knew it was what her mother would have wanted.

But as he approached the nursery, he could not help but think how wonderful it sounded to hear the child laughing without restraint.

She sounds like an actual child, not a lady.