At least, it had sounded good over an hour ago...
“I am looking forward to trying all her pies!”
“Oh don’t let her hear you say that, Your Grace! You will be eating nothing but pies till next summer! Anything for an excuse to entertain again!”
“I take it that you don’t have visitors.”
“Oh certainly not! His Grace would surely not allow that.”
This was not news to Veronica; after all, no one had seen the duke in years. But no one truly knew why, just that he disappeared from society.
She stopped in the middle of the hallway they were retracing on their way to the unexplored wings of the castle. Her husband had been too much of a mystery for far too long.
“What happened to him?”
“I- I- I beg your pardon?”
“I may not have known him well—in fact, we have shared no more than two conversations. Yet, it is so clear to me that he is so unlike the young man I once talked with. So what happened? What made him like this.”
“I do not know,” Mrs. Carter said, though her eyes betrayed she knew a bit more than nothing. Veronica’s brows drew together and the older woman continued: “I am after all just a housekeeper. He does not exactly have heart to hearts with me over tea and crumpets.”
That she could believe, though she did not think she was getting the whole truth. “But you know more than you let on. If I am to be the lady of this house, I would like to know I can trust my housekeeper to tell me what I need to know to be successful. Please, Mrs. Carter, if you know something I must know.”
The housekeeper took a deep breath, and pulled her into one of the drawing rooms they had previously visited.
“All I know is that he changed after the fire. He spent months rehabilitating from all the burns_”
“Burns?”
The memories flooded her mind. The sudden heat, the light that blinded her and the smoke that made it hard to breathe. The flaming beam he lifted off of her...
“I never knew...”
She absentmindedly rubbed her collarbone, where her own scar from that night marked the flesh.
“He hides them well, besides the worst of the scarring was avoided.”
“He got them trying to save me didn’t he?” Veronica’s eyes were wide, her heartbeat escalating as she formed a final conclusion. “That is why he has been avoiding me. He got hurt saving me.”
“Oh Your Grace, I am sure that is not why_”
The housekeeper went on, though Veronica knew that was the reason. She could see it in how he regarded her. Like it hurt to look at her.
Eventually the housekeeper managed to get distracted and started talking about potential improvements the house needed as they moved further into the eternally winding castle.
“Errr, Your Grace? Did you hear me?”
“I am sorry, I got lost in thought, could you please repeat yourself?”
“I merely said that this concludes our tour.”
Veronica knew she was lost in thought, but surely she would not forget whole sections of the castle!
“We still have not seen the West wing, or even where that corridor leads.”
“Ah well... you see Your Grace, there are some parts of the castle very few are allowed in and so we have not had the chance to make everything presentable for a whole tour of the castle...”
“We don’t have anything else to do, might as well carry on!”
