“Excuse me!” she demanded. “You can’t just walk away from me, you know.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I can’t?”
“Well—you shouldn’t! These are my first moments here in this house. Don’t you want to show me around? Do you expect me to just walk in and fend for myself completely?”
He turned to face her. “I do have a staff,” he said. “There are plenty of people who will be able to assist you.”
“Assist me—you’re my husband! Do you mean to tell me that you have no intention of assisting me? You mean to leave it up to the staff, is that it? I suppose I’ll just see you at dinner, since your only expectation of me is that we see one another at the table?”
“I’m glad you remember that,” he said coolly. “And yes, I will expect to dine with you, beginning tomorrow night—you may have tonight to yourself to adjust to your surroundings.”
“Well, that’s very generous.”
If he registered the sarcasm, he gave no sign. “Do you need anything else from me?” he asked. “Or will I be permitted to go on my way?”
“I can’t tell you what to do.”
“Well, it’s good that you realize that, at least,” he said.
And before she could stop him, he had disappeared into the house, and she knew she hadn’t a hope of chasing him down.
She stood there for a moment, looking back at the carriage and then at the door that stood open before her. It seemed as if he wanted her to follow him in, but she didn’t feel any sense of welcome or homecoming, and for the first time, she really understood why her sister had chosen to run from this.
If he showed any warmth, any compassion—any sense of what this might mean to me and what it might be costing me—but he won’t. He doesn’t know how to show those things. He probably doesn’t even feel them. He has a wife, and that’s all he cares about. I’m a thing for him to acquire, not a real person.
She shivered. It was a terrible feeling. And now what—was she just supposed to walk up those wide marble steps and through the front door, as if she belonged here? As if this was her home? How could she do that, when itwasn’ther home and she didn’t belong here? How could she just walk in? It would be so awkward.
But what choice was there? She couldn’t stand outside forever. She could get back into the carriage, she supposed, but nobody was going to take her home. This was the way things were now.
She approached the front door carefully, as if frightened a beast might emerge and give chase.The only beast in there is my husband, though, and he certainly isn’t going to chase me down. I’d be lucky to have him acknowledge my existence at all!
She drew a deep breath and stepped through the door.
The foyer was massive, the ceiling so high above her that she felt as if she was still outside. In her own home, this was a darkened area, lit only by candles, but here, there were big windows allowing light to spill into the room.
“Your Grace.” A woman bustled across the foyer. She looked to be in her mid-fifties, with pale brown hair that was shot through with strands of grey. She had a smile on her face that made Caroline want to fling herself into her arms. At least someone here was warm and kind.
“I’m the housekeeper, Mrs. Mays,” the woman said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m at your service, should you require anything.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Mays,” Caroline said.
“I’m sure you’ll be wanting a tour of the house?”
“Yes, that would be lovely.” Caroline was beginning to recover from the shock of having been so abruptly abandoned by her husband. “I’d like to see the place I’m going to be living.” She had to admit, it was nice, and for the first time since she had arrived here, she found that she actually did feel welcome, at least by Mrs. Mays.
“It’s a real pleasure to have you here,” Mrs. Mays said. “We—the staff, that is—are all sure you’re going to be a wonderful addition to the household. It’s time we had a lady’s touch in this place. Well, you’ll see what I mean. The sitting room is a good example.”
They had been walking along as Mrs. Mays spoke, and now she threw open a pair of double doors and stepped back so that Caroline could survey the space.
Caroline frowned. “Is this room no longer used?”
“Not formally,” the housekeeper said. “But the duke so rarely has social visitors that he might as well go ahead and retire it. He has guests from time to time, but only on business.”
That made sense to Caroline—after all, her family had never been invited here, even when he had been engaged to her sister. The room looked as if it hadn’t been touched in years. A fine layer of dust sat over everything, and the temperature was a little bit cooler than the rest of the house. She didn’t need to be told that no fire had been lit in this room for some time.
She turned in a slow circle, taking the place in. “I’m not sure I’d know what to do with it,” she said.
“Well, Your Grace, you wouldn’t have to do much at all. I think your mere presence will help the staff see that they have a reason to clean this room and make it ready for proper use again,” Mrs. Mays told her. “Of course, that will be even more true should you ever choose to have guests. I imagine you’d like to have your family to stay eventually.”
