Still half asleep, his grip on her wrist slackened, and his face smoothed. Aurelia drew up a chair, propped her chin on her palm, and simply watched him.
Such an outlandishly handsome man…
She had never come into such close confines with a man this young and elegant before. He looked to be around thirty, with fine lines on his forehead, but his skin was smooth save for that. There was stubble on his jaw and cheeks.
Had he not left his room all day? While she had been grousing about his avoidance of her, had he been abed, sick? She regretted her quick judgment now. Still, she could help here, in the middle of the night, and for that she was grateful.
When the cold compress on his forehead grew too warm, she replaced it. She stayed with him—forquitesome time—with only a novel for company, when the dawn light shone through the curtains and his fever finally broke.
When he lay still and quiet, she left the room, abandoning her candle without thinking, lost in her thoughts and exhaustion as she groggily ambled back to her bedchamber. Instead of calling for Jane, who had surely gone to bed rather than wait up for her, she merely collapsed on her own bed.
Sothatwas the duke…
That was the man she had married.
A shiver of excitement coursed through her. Close by, he was more striking than he had been at a distance, and he had not been avoiding her; he had been ill.
All was not lost after all. And now, she had an excellent feeling about finally meeting him.
Thanks in part to her late night, Aurelia slept in and entirely missed any chance of a breakfast with the duke.
By the time she emerged from her bedchamber, it had passed noon, and she partook of a small luncheon in the blue room, as she suspected would become her habit.
Over the course of the afternoon, she met the staff, right down to the scullery maids, and made a note of their names and occupations. Having lived and worked below stairs—in a manner of speaking—before, she had some insight into beneathall the velvet and silver, and the hierarchies that took place there.
Not that she could say so aloud. Certainly not to Fellows. And definitely not to Mrs. Hodge. If either of them suspected she’d ever been anything less than a proper lady, she rather thought they’d have her packed up and carted off before the duke had time to object.
If Mr. Arnold hadn’t found her in her previous occupation, and if it hadn’t been made plain to her that her situation was, in part, the reason for the duke selecting her as his wife, she would have assumed he was also ignorant.
What sort of duke wished to have a wife likeher?
She would find out soon.
Her chest bubbled with excitement as she finally made her way to the dining room when it came time for dinner. Just as she had suspected, the duke was standing there already, his hands tucked neatly behind his back. He turned to look at her, and she got her first experience of the duke’s attention fixated on her. His eyes were a dark brown, piercing, and slightly narrowed as they took in her face.
Did he think her pretty? Was she living up to his expectations?
She dipped into a curtsy. “Your Grace. My name is Aurelia.”
“Yes, I’maware.” His deep baritone was clipped, and he gestured to the chair at the opposite end of the table. They were so far apart. No doubt that was what civility dictated, but she wished she could take hold of civility and toss it away. At least for today.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” she said as she sat.
“My apologies for not doing so sooner. I found myself somewhat… under the weather.”
“That’s all right.” She smiled a little to herself. “You were practically delirious.”
He stiffened. “Pardon?”
Was this something she should never admit to? Was she not supposed to have seen him when he was ill?
“When I cared for you last night,” she frowned. “Do you remember nothing?”
“I thought I dreamed—” He shook his head, his expression sharpening. The irritation in his eyes stabbed at her. “Did Mrs. Hodge not tell you that my wing is forbidden?”
“She did,” Aurelia murmured, so shocked that instead of gratitude, he was offering her ire. She could only gape at him. “But I could hear you groaning, and you were evidently in pain.There was no one else to sit with you until your fever broke. What was I supposed to do?”
His fist clenched subtly on the table. “You ought to have left well enough alone.”
