She might be harmless. But maybe she wasn't.
At any rate, he knew that he would sleep with one eye open for as long as they shared the same house. He wished he didn't have to be here with her, but it was a necessary evil, at least for the timebeing. But soon enough, he would get her married off, and then she would be somebody else's problem. Her guilt or innocence would no longer be a matter for James to concern himself with.
He reached one of the guest bedrooms—he couldn't bring himself to occupy the room that would have belonged to his cousin—and went inside. Collapsing on the bed, he let out a sigh.
Things were going to be very strange while he was living with the duchess. He hoped the matter would resolve itself quickly so he could return to his normal life.
Until it did, he would simply do his best to tolerate her presence—and she would have to do her best to tolerate his. It was the only way forward for either one of them and he knew it.
Though he knew he ought to have gotten up to undress before he fell asleep, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was too exhausted from the day's events. With a deep exhale, he allowed his eyes to slip closed, and sleep overtook him.
CHAPTER 4
Victoria awoke to a loud scraping sound, one she was unable to comprehend.
She sat up in bed. A weight settled on her heart as she remembered the events of the previous night. The duke's heir had finally appeared. It was the worst thing that could possibly have happened. And now he hoped to force her to marry.
The truth was that he could do it, and Victoria knew it. He was right to tell her that he had a responsibility to her. Of course he did. If he intended to get her out of the house, many people would have said he was being generous by arranging for her future.
Victoria herself didn't feel that way about it. She would much rather have been returned to her father's home, or to Cressida's. But she also knew that she was not their responsibility. Itwasthe new duke who ought to make the arrangements for her.
Perhaps he could be persuaded.
He hadn't seemed a terribly reasonable man when she had met him last night. But then, she hadn't been at her best either. She recalled the way she had thrown herself at him and tried to hit him. A defensible act, she thought—she'd believed him to be an intruder, after all! But even so, it wasn't the way she would have chosen to present herself.
They had clearly gotten off to a bad start. Maybe it was something they could amend today.
She got out of bed and dressed, taking care to make herself look as sweet as she could. She tied her auburn hair back off her face and wore one of her best everyday gowns, a pale pink one that always seemed to brighten the green of her eyes. She examined herself in the looking glass—surely no one would be able to believe that this was the face of a murderer. Surely the duke would take one look at her in the daylight and realize how foolish those rumors had been.
She heard the scraping noise that had awoken her again and frowned. Whatwasthat?
Opening the door to her room, she went out into the hall. The sounds she'd heard were even louder out here, and it was easy to follow them—they led her to the study.
She paused outside the door. This was a room she'd rarely entered since the late duke's death. She had no reason to go in, and she found that it reminded her of him in an unpleasant way.It still stank of his favorite liquor, even after two years had gone by—she suspected he must have spilled his drink in here more than once and that it had seeped into various places.
But it was obvious that something was taking place inside that room, and she needed to know what it was. She opened the door.
The duke—the new duke—stood in the center of the room. He had been joined by two servants Victoria didn't know. He must have brought them along with him, she realized, and that added a whole new layer of discomfort to the situation, because now she found herself sharing a home with more strangers. It made her skin crawl to think of all these unfamiliar men under the roof that had just yesterday been hers and hers alone.
Then she took in the room itself. Many of the furnishings had been pushed up against the wall. She stared. "What's going on in here?"
"Good morning," the duke said. "I didn't see you at breakfast."
"Breakfast hasn't been served yet," she said, mystified.
"Of course it has. Breakfast is at seven o'clock sharp."
"Seven? I eat breakfast at nine."
"That's going to change now," he said. "Breakfast will be served on my schedule. I'm sorry you weren't informed—I'll have thekitchen prepare something for you. But beginning tomorrow, you can join me."
"I don't get up that early," she said. "I just woke up. And I like to take my time in the mornings, not rush around."
"It will be good for you to form new habits," he said. "After all, when you marry, you will have to adapt to the way your husband lives."
"What are you doing to the study?"
"I don't like these furnishings," he said. "I'm having them removed, and I'm going to bring in new ones."
