She closed her eyes, but all she could focus on were the sounds she could hear from around the estate.
Her childhood home had always been so loud and so full of life. Even at night, if she closed her eyes and listened, she could hear her sisters whispering long after they were supposed to go to sleep. There would be the sounds of the city outside.
But here, in the countryside, in an all but deserted castle, there was nothing.
Veronica didn’t know it was possible for a place to be so silent.
It was disconcerting. She found herself desperately listening to hear something, anything. Any signs of life.
But all she heard was silence.
Chapter Seven
“Do you know somewhere I could get a dog?” Veronica asked while the pair exited her room the next morning.
“Your Grace?” Daisy asked, pausing in her work, lacing up her gown.
“It’s rather quiet here. I thought it might make me feel more at home if I got a dog. Is there somewhere nearby I could get one?”
“Perhaps you should talk to His Grace about this. He might be able to help you,” she said carefully.
She was starting to suspect that whenever she or Mrs. Carter said that it was more because they wanted them to talk than to actually make sure she asked permission.
Especially since, besides Veronica keeping her distance from his side of the castle, he didn’t really care about what she did: in the house or her life.
“I don’t think I need his help for this. I was just hoping you might know someone in the village I could go to.”
“I suppose I can ask, but anything I find would hardly be a dog of good breeding. He would be far better suited to helping you.”
“But I’m not after a dog of good breeding. I could care less about the dog’s background. All I want is a little friend to keep me company.”
“I suppose I can understand that, and His Grace is so often busy with work. I would hate for you to get lonely.”
“So, you’ll help me?”
Daisy hesitated for a moment before finally she nodded.
Veronica lit up. “Thank you!”
“I’m just doing my job, Your Grace, but you should speak to His Grace about this before I bring the dog on the grounds. I would hate for it to cause any strife between the two of you.”
She tried not to roll her eyes. “I do not know if you haven’t noticed, or if you feel hesitant to voice what you already know to be true, but there is already strife between us.”
When Daisy said nothing instead of another‘as you say, Your Grace’she exhaled and stopped in the middle of the hallway.
She moved over to one of the windows and looked outside. It was so gray and empty. When she looked to the horizon, all she saw was fog, rocks, and trees. She couldn’t even see the town she knew had to be somewhere in the distance from there.
Though Daisy insisted while getting her ready that the gardens were truly stunning.
“Please be frank Daisy. What is it you wish to say?”
“Just that, there was always bound to be an adjustment period for the two of you, as a newly wed couple that didn’t know each other well before the marriage. I feel like you have not given each other the chance to get adjusted to this new life, let alone figure out who the other person truly is.”
The familiar pang of regret and confusion kept her quiet. This was a topic that she was still figuring out herself, so she only muttered a “Thank you for your honesty.”
“I am glad you welcome it, Your Grace.”
She walked to the window overlooking the grounds outside, where she had asked Daisy to take her to have a look.
