Penelope felt a strange feeling in her chest. For all his anger, he still seemed to be concerned about her well-being, at the very least.
Penelope looked away, toward the window. “No, I suppose I didn’t get much of a rest last night. Do you know if Odette is doing any better?”
“She has not left her room since she arrived,” Nancy replied . “I suspect she is still upset, though I imagine she will be fine as time passes.”
“And what of His Grace?”
Nancy hesitated, then came to stand behind her, hands resting lightly on her shoulders.
“I have not seen him this morning either,” she admitted, adding , “Are you worried about seeing His Grace?”
A dry laugh escaped Penelope’s throat. Was she worried?
“I am not sure what the right word to use here would be,” Penelope admitted. “Uncertain, perhaps. I do not know how he is going to behave today.”
She had made such progress in the last few weeks in her relationships with Alexander and Odette, but now it seemed as though one incident had set her back entirely.
“I’m sure he’s calm by now, Your Grace,” Nancy offered carefully.
“I doubt it.” Penelope sighed, “I have never seen the duke so angry before.”
“His anger is only an expression of his love,” Nancy argued. “You should not be wary of it; it is how he expresses himself.”
“There are gentler ways to express oneself,” Penelope muttered only loud enough for her to hear. “Last night, he couldn’t stop looking at my wound, almost as if it offended him.”
“Or rather, it frightened him to see you hurt,” Nancy added.
Nancy’s hands went into Penelope’s hair, picking up the comb to work through the curls as she prepared her for breakfast.
“I do not know how he feels, really,” Penelope mused, thinking out loud. He was truly the most confusing person that she had ever met .
“If I were to guess, Your Grace,” Nancy said, hands still working through her hair, “I would say that he loves you a lot.”
Penelope paused. The words sounded so alien, even though she wished for them to be true.
“It’s just that maybe he is not yet used to how it feels,” Nancy added.
“Or maybe I’ve made it harder.”
“No,” Nancy said firmly, “You only did what you had to do. He’ll see that.”
Penelope wasn’t so sure. She rose from the stool, smoothing the front of her gown.
“I’ll see him at breakfast,” she murmured. “If he’s willing to see me at all.”
Some moments later, Penelope made her way down to the breakfast table. Nancy followed her like a shadow, ensuring she did not miss a single step or lose her balance.
“I really am fine now,” she said to Nancy as they entered the morning room for breakfast.
“I am only making sure, Your Grace.”
She dipped into a curtsy then, and Penelope followed the direction of the curtsy to find that Alexander was already sat at the breakfast table.
He isearly.
“Good morning,” she greeted cautiously, trying to read his unreadable expression as he sat at the head of the table. There was only the two of them at the table. “Odette did not show up this morning?”
Alexander did not return her greeting. He only gestured for her to take a seat.
