“Well, of course.” He was surprised by her reaction. “Why wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s just that I never have.”
“Your father didn’t provide a lady’s maid for you?”
“No, and not for my sister either,” Isabella said. “We tended to one another.”
“I see.” He was beginning to understand why it was so urgent to her to secure her sister’s future. “Well, you’re a duchess now and my wife—of course you’ll have a lady’s maid. I’ve already made a hire, but if she displeases you, we can dismiss her and find someone else. I didn’t want you to be without assistance during your first days.”
“I’m sure whoever you’ve chosen for me is fine,” Isabella said quickly. “What’s her name?”
“She’s called Caroline. She’s a few years older than you are. I thought that would be helpful as you’re settling in.”
Isabella was silent.
“Is that all right?” Arthur asked.
“It is. I just…I appreciate that you took the time to think about what I might need,” Isabella replied. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Well, of course,” Arthur said. “It’s my responsibility.”
“I suppose we don’t know very much about one another,” Isabella observed.
“No, I suppose not.”
“Well, that’s all right,” she said. “The rule, I mean. I’m happy to give you the space you need while you’re working. We won’t have any problems on that score.”
“Good,” Arthur said. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“What are the other rules?”
“The second rule is this.” Arthur drew a breath, knowing that his first rule had been by far the easiest one for her to accept. “You must never ask me questions about what I’m doing out of the house.”
“What do you mean?”
“Not even questions like that,” he said. “Starting from this moment, you mustn’t ask me anything about my business when I leave Windhill Manor. You must not ask me where I’m going or where I’ve been, who I’m seeing—nothing like that. You must simply accept that these are things you won’t be able to know and that they aren’t any of your business.”
“If I’m your wife, aren’t they my business? Don’t I have a right to know what my husband is doing?”
“No,” he said bluntly. “You have a right to know what I choose to share with you, and this is something I don’t choose to share. Once this carriage ride ends, I’ll expect you to abide by this rule going forward. Whenever I leave the house, you mustn’t ask me questions. And I don’t want you asking the staff about my comings and goings either. If you feel curious, you must simply find a way to push your curiosity aside.”
“Very well,” Isabella agreed. “I suppose, if that’s the rule, I’ll have to abide by it.”
But there was a shrewd look on her face that made Arthur wonder whether she was taking him seriously at all.
Of course, she isn’t a very obedient person, he thought. Someone who excelled at obeying the rules that had been set out for her would never have made up a lie the way she had. If she was obedient, she would have capitulated to the life her father had wanted for her—and the Viscount hadn’t seemed very interested in preparing any sort of good life for her at all.
And an obedient person would never have fought for her sister in the way Isabella was.
He liked her disobedience. It was one of the most fascinating qualities about her. But he didn’t want it to apply to him. She ought to obey him, and he would make sure that she did.
“You mentioned three rules,” she said. “So far, you’ve only given me two. What’s the third rule?”
“Ah,” he said. “The third rule is the simplest of all, and I expect you won’t have any questions.” At least, he hoped she wouldn’t. “You must never enter the attic.”
“I can’t go into the attic?” She sounded mystified.
“That’s right. Never.”
