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“Besides, my wife and I are long overdo some time alone, and I have left the country estate untended for long enough.”
“I am sure that the servants are tending to it well, brother,” Emily insisted, sounding as though she was trying to talk him out of it. Of the two, Emily was always the most likely to object to his plans, merely because she hated when they were not all together.
Being the youngest, she had always felt safe whenever it was the three of them against the world; she had said as much to Anthony right before he had first departed for his work within the army, and it was a conversation he would never forget.
With a smile, Anthony leaned over the table and reached out to grip Emily’s hand, preparing to reassure her, but it was Elizabeth who spoke up first. “I am sure that our brother has much business to attend to that cannot be handled by a mere servant.”
Was that a cringe that just passed through Lady Rose at his sister’s words? Anthony couldn’t be sure, but he watched her out of the corner of his eye for several moments before he acknowledged his sister’s words.
“Elizabeth is right,” he admitted with a deep sigh, “I have much to do.”
That was when Lady Rose finally spoke up, blurting the words, “Then perhaps I ought to remain here and chaperone your sisters?”
The colour drained from her face, and the way her lips parted suggested that she was absolutely beside herself with shock that she had said the words aloud.
Anthony gritted his teeth and looked at her from the corner of his eye for a moment longer before turning his full attention to her and responding firmly, “There is no need. I have already corresponded with an aunt who has agreed to come and chaperone my sisters wherever they might be required.”
He did not miss the way his wife gulped, her throat convulsing as if she had a hard lump in her windpipe. Her face continued to look deathly pale, and Anthony wondered whether she might try to talk her way out of going to the country with him.
Determined not to let that happen, fearful of how painful it might be to his heart if she did, he quickly continued, “Besides, I wish to have my new wife with me so that I might show her all that we are to share together for the rest of our lives.”
He forced a smile, and although she returned it, Anthony couldn’t help noticing the hard set of her jaw and the tension in her shoulders that suggested she couldn’t be further from happy.
“I … I … are you sure?” Lady Rose asked; her voice was little more than a whisper, and Anthony saw that her hand, resting upon the table with a fork perched between her fingers, was shaking. “I would hate to put your aunt out when I am already here in London.”
“As is she,” Anthony responded quickly, perhaps a little too quickly. He gritted his teeth and discreetly sucked in a deep breath through his nose, unable to understand why she affected him so badly.
After being avoided and practically ignored by her for the last few days, Anthony couldn’t help feeling as though he wanted to give up trying. After all, he had never wanted this marriage in the first place. “We shall be leaving first thing in the morning, and that is the last I shall hear on the matter.”
Lady Rose’s mouth opened, closed, and then opened again as if she wished to protest but had no idea what to say. He was relieved when she finally closed her mouth once more and lowered her head, her gaze falling to the plate before her as she gave him a curt nod of acceptance.
She remained utterly silent as his sisters began to murmur among themselves about how much fun they would have while they remained in London.
A part of him worried that perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to leave his sisters alone in London without him, but he quickly reminded himself that they weren’t going to be entirely alone. In fact, they might well be on better behaviour with their aunt watching over them, especially if she was as strict as he remembered her to be.
It is I who shall have my work cut out for me,he realised, watching his wife out of the corner of his eye again. She was using her fork to poke at a piece of cured meat on her plate.
Her expression was quite unreadable, though her eyes were far too emotional, and from the looks of them, she wasn’t pleased at all. It hurt to know that she looked so upset simply because she knew she would be travelling to the countryside with him in the morning.
I shall do all I can to make you comfortable,Anthony vowed to her silently,but I shall never touch you again unless you wish it.
Anthony could only hope that she would have a change of heart after the way things had gone a few nights earlier. Knowing that such a beautiful woman was beneath his roof and his wife to boot, he couldn’t help feeling urges she appeared to be entirely unaware of.
As if she sensed him watching her, Lady Rose lifted her head, and for a moment, their gazes locked. At that moment, Anthony wasn't so sure that she did not feel the very same urges as him.
There was something in the glint in her eye the moment she realised he was watching her, something that tugged on the corners of her lips for just a second. It was gone all too quickly for the duke to truly decide what it had been, but he had seen it, and it left him with far more questions than it had answered.
Only time will tell,he decided, more certain than ever, that his decision to remove himself and his wife to the countryside had been the right one to make.
Chapter 20
"The foolish, insolent girl!" Lady Cecily exclaimed not for the first time the moment that the Comte St Clair announced to her and Lady Clara that their suspicions had been confirmed.
Though Clara would never admit it, especially not to her uncle, mother, or even Penelope, she had been relieved upon learning that her boarding pass and ticket to England had been stolen. Though upon learning of its disappearance, she had not known who was responsible, just a week later, she could personally thank Penelope for ensuring that she would not have to go.
"And you are certain that it is her?" Lady Cecily continued where she was pacing up and down the library before the Comte. Although Clara had not been invited to this meeting, she was no stranger to eavesdropping, sneaking about the house, which had once been her home but now felt more like a prison.
Ever since her father's death and the appointment of her uncle as Comte, she had felt like a chess piece, a pawn to be used whenever he so wished. It was a relief to know that, at least for now, Penelope had taken that power from him. Clara felt as though she could breathe for the first time in months.
