She made several confident strides towards the door.
“Please, Your Grace. I believe there are some structural issues with that part of the castle too, it is forbidden to go there! Surely you would not endanger yourself!”
“I am sure I will be fine!”
Veronica was so close to the door when the butler appeared through a doorway. “Ah, Your Grace, Mrs. Carter. His Grace requests your presence at dinner.”
“Oh! Oh my! You are not dressed for dinner! I was so taken with the history of the place I completely dismissed the time!” The housekeeper rushed her towards what she knew was the direction towards her private quarters.
But not before she caught the stocky woman shooting a quick, grateful smile at the butler.
I must find out what he is hiding behind those doors.
Once she was dressed, her curiosity got the best of her. Veronica got to her feet and slipped from the room, creeping her way down the hall and straight to the forbidden east wing.
As soon as she crossed the threshold into that part of the house, Veronica found herself starting to understand why Mrs Carter had said it might be best to wait on the tour.
Veronica didn’t think she’d ever seen a place so dark or gloomy. The rooms were cleaned, but even from the doorway, it was easy to see that it had fallen into disrepair.
Stones beside the doorway were beginning to crumble. Inside the maze of a wing, there were hardly enough candles and the windows didn’t provide nearly enough light. And a staircase had crumbled in some spots, making it hard for her to climb to the second floor.
Never the less, she couldn’t stop now. Then she turned a corner and found herself in a room that seemed far cleaner and better looked after than the ones leading up to it.
It was a large study she could only assume belonged to Christopher.
Veronica hesitated. She knew she shouldn’t be here. This was his space. She doubted he would be happy to find her here, but this could be her best chance to get to know him.
So she took a deep breath and pushed the door further.
What she found inside made her frown. She wasn’t quite sure what she had expected, but it wasn’t this. Perhaps more signs ofthe coldly enraged stranger who had met her at the altar, but this room seemed to paint a different tale.
Everywhere she looked were sentimental objects. The walls had balls from childhood games and books from days spent at school. Drawing clearly made by someone who had just learned to paint.
Old letters sat in a box on the desk, paper creased from being folded and unfolded, and ink smudged away where someone had held them as they were read over and over again.
One of the letters caught her eye. Its surface was disturbed, as if someone had crinkled it up and then carefully smoothed it.
Veronica hesitated. She knew she shouldn’t. It was bad enough that she was in his study in the first place.
So why was she moving towards it?
It took her a second to recognize it, but there it was. Her signature at the very end of a brief letter, where her very own handwriting announced her wedding.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing in here?” a voice thundered from the doorway.
She whirled around to see Christopher glaring at her, his eyes hard.
Chapter Five
Christopher shook his hair back into place, savoring the way the wind had whipped it free from where he sat on the back of his horse. Nothing served to clear his head quite like riding did.
By the time he made his way back to the manor, he felt like he could handle whatever his new bride threw at him. He removed his hat and flexed his stiff fingers before taking off his gloves, revealing the scarred tissue underneath. He massaged and stretched them till he felt comfortable moving them again.
He had spent months rehabilitating them after the fire, and while the scarring was not as bad as it could have been, there were days that were especially hard on them. Windy days, cold days when the skin tightened and reminded him just what he had lost.
He had managed to unbutton his coat, vest and cravat when the butler knocked at the door.
“Welcome back, sir. How was your ride?” He asked.
