So, the duke was prim and proper. That was a given, for a man of his stature. But still, Penelope hadhopedin secret that he was a bit wilder than what he appeared.
“What of his friends?”
“His friends, Your Grace?” the maid repeated. “Well, to be honest, I do not know them much. He does not like to invite them over too often.”
“They must meet him at the club,” she mused to herself. She decided to stop pestering the poor maid with detailed questions about her own husband, but she was not done talking yet. “And the rest of the house? I haven’t seen much of it .”
“It is grand,” Nancy commented. “There’s the library, of course, which you might be interested in visiting. The west wing’s rarely used. Only opened when guests arrive.”
“West wing?” Penelope repeated, intrigued.
“Yes, it’s beautiful,” the maid nodded. “Though His Grace does not prefer us to go there.”
“I see. So where do you recommend I go when I’m trying not to lose my mind with boredom?”
“The gardens, if the weather holds,” Nancy laughed softly. “Or the stables, if you ride.”
“Ah, that was more of something my sister liked to do,” Penelope said. Suddenly, she missed Isadora more than ever. “Maybe I can take up the hobby now finally, if only to get her to visit me.”
“That would be a most splendid idea,” the maid nodded, smiling. “Though, you are not short of company here, too. It’s a strange place at first, Your Grace. But you might find it grows on you.”
Penelope met her eyes in the mirror and offered a faint smile.
“We will see about that,” she said. It was only her first day, and it wastoosoon to say what the future held for her in this estate.
Penelope dressed herself, and made it down to the table for breakfast. It was empty, to her surprise.
“Am I expected to have breakfast by myself?” she asked one of the staff members, who nodded sympathetically in her direction.
“His Grace has own times for his meals,” the butler responded.
“And what of the young one?” Penelope said, reluctantly seating herself.
“Lady Odette is quite unpredictable when it comes to showing up for meals,” came the response. “The lady prefers to eat in solitude, and very rarely shows up for meals.”
Penelope raised an eyebrow, glancing at the spread of breakfast in front of her. Everything done to perfection. Except that there was no one for her to share the breakfast with.
“Very well, then,” she unfolded her napkin across her lap.So this is what married life looks like.
Not that she had expected anything else. Alexander had made it abundantly clear: this was a marriage of convenience, not companionship. Still, part of her had assumed she wouldn’t spend the better part of her first morning in the estate only conversating with the staff.
She looked at the empty seat on the far end of the table.
“I am wondering if His Grace prefers to take that seat out of preference or,” she bit down on her lip, “or if it is because he wishes to put as much distance between him and I as possible?”
“His Grace has… long preferred distance at the dining table, Your Grace,” he said with practiced diplomacy. “Though I daresay you are not the first to wonder about the reason.”
“Is that your way of sayingeven youhaven’t figured him out?” Penelope turned slightly.
“It is a work in progress, surely,” the butler nodded. He was polite, as expected. But he gave her just enough to get the wheels in her head turning.
“And how long have you been enduring him?”
“Seventeen years, my lady,” he replied at once. “Though one might say I’ve grown fond of the challenge.”
Then, maybe Penelope would grow fond of it as well.
“What of the young lady?” Penelope asked. The butler looked up with a slightly more reserved expression than before.
