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Chapter 14
Though she didn’t need to be, Diana was working in the garden the next day. After all the hard work she’d put into the garden, she didn’t want to see it all go to waste. Her new lady’s maid, Miss Chaucer, assured Diana that the servants could take care of the garden, but Diana found working the earth with her hands to be very relaxing.
Diana was feeling all sorts of emotions she never thought of before. She remembered the way Fitz had kissed her in the gardens, the feel of his hungry lips upon her still causing waves of heat to swarm through her body as she worked in the garden. She could make the excuse that her cheeks were red because of her work even when it was her own thoughts causing these feelings to rise up in her.
Diana remembered feeling Fitz’s hand roaming over her back and shoulders, the feeling of his fingers in her hair. And more than anything, she remembered what it felt like to caress his manhood in her hand through his trousers, the length and thickness of him making her nervous to perform her wifely duties. Surely a man that large would only make her body hurt when she longed to feel the pleasure of him. On the night of their wedding she’d have to enquire more from him about what it felt like to make love before the act began. She needed to be prepared for what she was about to experience for the first time and hoped that it wouldn’t terribly hurt.
More than just the thoughts of desire that went through Diana’s mind as she pulled weeds from the garden was the image of what her life would be like once she was married. She could easily see her parents happy as no one had to worry about becoming poor and there would be plenty of servants to tend to their needs as they continued to grow older. She was looking forward to seeing her siblings in a few days and gaining their opinion of her now that she was ascending the ranks and surpassing them.
There was plenty she was gaining from this arranged marriage, and even though she knew that the Duke only wanted children, she wondered if perhaps there could be more to that statement. They clearly desired one another, but would they ever feel more towards each other than lust?
She was willing to perform her wifely duties and thought it would be rather nice to have children to tend to. But could she and Fitz ever come to love one another much like she saw how her parents loved one another? Fitz had already made it clear to her that he was still deeply in love with his late wife. However, perhaps his heart could be large enough for her as well?
Diana stopped in her work for a moment to ladle a spoonful of water from the bucket beside her. She sipped the water into her mouth and drank plenty before turning back to her work. Cook would have plenty of vegetables today as she realized how much pleasure she still had from creating and growing things based on her own hard work and determination.
Already the money Fitz had given her family was doing wonders for all of them. But if they had plenty of money and she didn’t need to worry about the things that normally consumed her days, then what would she do with herself now that she had all this leisurely time?
A part of her mind wanted to jump back into the thoughts of pleasure she was sure to experience with Fitz. But she knew that it wouldn’t take up all her time. Perhaps the first few days of their marriage might be spent in the Duke’s bedchamber, and she figured that was the real reason why her parents were willing to wait to move into the manor so they could have some privacy. But there would be time on her hands until they did have children. And she wasn’t sure if she could spend each day reading.
“Perhaps I’ll start a new garden,” Diana said to herself. “There is plenty of land, and I can create another vegetable garden, one that could be even bigger than this one.”
Diana smiled to herself, thinking that for the first time in a long while she was truly happy. She no longer needed to worry about money; she was about to marry a man she knew to be a true gentleman and someone she was eager to explore all manner of pleasure with. And there was a wide range of possibilities before her. As she picked vegetables for Cook, she counted down the days once more to the upcoming wedding day and giggled with excitement like a young schoolgirl. She was certainly feeling carefree.
~*~
Fitz rode in his carriage towards the early afternoon with the intent of finishing an irritable chore. He’d made the decision to pay Natale a visit and speak with her concerning how she’d approached Diana the day before and how he wouldn’t tolerate such behaviour.
They might share a particular love for Marian, but that wasn’t enough for Natale to act in the way she did or in which she’d spoken to Diana. After all, she was the wife of an earl while Diana would soon be duchess.
Fitz watched the scenery pass by the carriage window as he looked for the first scenes of the Gunther estate. He’d only been to the manor once when Natale and her husband were first married soon after his marriage to Marian. But as the carriage turned up the lane towards the estate, Fitz leaned forward to get a better look out the window because the estate was nothing like he remembered.
Fitz saw all manner of disrepair and neglect as the hedges along the lane had grown so considerably that it was like passing a giant wall made out of thorns and bushes. The hedges only seemed to stop as the carriage neared the front of the house. It was a dark oak manor that held little warmth when gazing upon it. He wondered whether the reason that Natale seemed so discontent with her own life was because she lived in a very dark and foreboding place.
As his carriage came to a stop in front of the manor, a footman came forward to open up the carriage door and escort him inside. There, he was greeted by the butler and seen into the sitting room. Even though the grounds outside the manor were not well kept, the inside was quite lavish.
The floors were polished marble along with the staircase and the handrails leading to the second floor. The walls were all papered with an intricate design that was far more luxurious than his own estate. Handcrafted furniture unlike anything Fitz had ever seen lined the hallways with various trinkets of porcelain displayed on top.
Fitz was led to the sitting room and continued to view the space with wonder. He was sure that Lord Gunther couldn’t afford such finery. Yet here it was for all to be openly displayed. And it only made Fitz more curious as to why the inside of the manor was so well designed when the outside was left to overgrowth and neglect.
“For a moment I thought I was dreaming when the butler came to tell me you’ve come to pay me a visit,” came Natale’s voice as she came into the room after him. He turned and faced her, surprised by the lowcut gown she was currently wearing. It left little to the imagination as he looked at her, the gown fitting and exposing her décolletage in a very French fashion.
Her cheeks were red as though she’d been in a hurry, and as Fitz listened to the sound of the front door open and close rather quickly, he had a faint idea what Natale had been up to before his arrival.
“Diana told me what did you yesterday. I’ve come to tell you that I don’t appreciate what you told Diana or how you bribed her to break our engagement. I will only say this once, Natale. You are to leave Diana alone.”
“My my, you’re already on first name basis with Miss Casey,” Natale said, fluttering her eyelashes as she sauntered towards him.
“Of course. We are to be wed in a few days.”
“Or so I’ve been told.” Natale came up to him and placed her hand on the side of his face, her perfume rather strong and unpleasant. Fitz moved from her reach, going to behind an armed chair to provide distance between him and the woman.
“Where is your husband, Natale? He should know what you attempted to do,” Fitz said as he did his best to control his temper.
“I told you, Fitz. He’s in Town with his mistresses. Tis the reason I haven’t borne a child because he prefers whores over me,” Natale said as her voice darkened. Fitz had never heard a woman speak in such a manner, and for a moment he truly felt sorry for Natale.
“Yet you seem comfortable enough in this palace you’ve created for yourself. I’m sure you find others to warm your bed when you so desire it. I’m sure you were previously occupied when I first arrived.”
“Oh Fitz, you were always so clever,” Natale said as she licked her lips seductively.
