He smiled and nodded. “Well then, I do hope that your riding habit has been made.”
She jumped to her feet. “I shall go and find out right away. If not, I hope Amelia has something I could borrow.”
Silas bowed his head. “I shall be waiting for you right here.”
Silas felt quite pleased with himself for having happened to suggest an activity that lit Helena up so brightly. He sent one of the footmen to get the horses ready as he waited for her to return.
He was surprised to find that he was rather nervous about spending time with her. He wasn’t really sure how he was supposed to act.
She came down quite quickly, dressed in a honey brown riding habit with a black skirt. Her hair was done up in an elaborate braid that fit under her riding hat. She was a vision.
He offered his hand and she smiled as she took it. They walked out of the house and found the horses waiting just outside the door.
He helped her up before getting on his own horse. “I thought I might take you for a tour of the property. Since you’re the Duchess, it’s only fitting.”
He watched her keenly to see her reaction, but she just nodded. He led her down to the gate before turning down a pathway that would enable them to ride the entire length and width of the property.
As they rode, he explained to her how the farm worked.
“We have cows that produce milk for the entire district and chickens for eggs that supply not only the district, but London as well.”
“You oversee all that and work for the Crown, too?” she asked incredulously.
“Not all the time. I have a very capable steward who does that for me.”
“I see. What else?”
“Well, as you may have guessed, the entire village is on my land, and the villagers are all my tenants. As Duchess, I shall expect you to join me on quarter days. It’s not just about paying rent, you see. The tenants take the time to air their grievances or requests, get their questions answered and such. I am in the middle of building an aqueduct that will supply the entire village’s water. It’s an innovation that was suggested to me by the blacksmith, and I think it will really revolutionize the local economy.”
“That is…” She shook her head. “My parents were also landlords, but they seldom bothered with the tenants in any way. My father was too busy with what I thought were his books and his interests. As for mother… well…”
He nodded. “Yes, your father loved theories. He was very good at finding the wherefores of things. I never really knew your mother.”
“Well…” she shrugged. “You’re not missing much.”
“Such a big gap between you and your brother. Did you lose some siblings in between?”
“I could say the same of you and your sister.”
“Indeed,” he said drily. “Well… my father was away a great deal fighting in the war, and later, I found out that he was working for the Crown as a spy. I assume he and my mother did not have much opportunity for baby-making.” He grimaced. “Much as I do not want to think about that.”
She laughed. “Well, I think that my parents weren’t that interested in each other at the best of times. I’d say it was a miracle that they even hadanychildren.”
“Why did they marry?”
She shrugged. “I think that my mother wanted the title and the prestige that went with being a countess. Her father was a shipwright. Fairly well off, but a lowly baron.”
“And your father?”
“I think he just gave in to her persistence. He didn’t like it when people got emotional and tended to give in rather than risk that. All she would have had to do was throw a tantrum.”
He gave her a look. “I see.”
“I’ve had five years to think about the relationship deeply. I’ve got through periods of imagining my mother somehow molded by my uncle into doing what she did. I’ve had time to go over every single interaction I ever watched between my father and my mother. In the end, I had to acknowledge that they weren’t very affectionate with each other. Of course, at the time, I justassumed that’s how married people were.” She looked at Silas. “And perhaps that is how married people are. I shouldn’t like to think so.”
He sighed. “I think every married couple is different. Certainly, many do not marry for love. I had a great uncle who was rumored to have killed all his wives. I have no evidence supporting this, aside from the fact that he buried five wives before his own death. It is a strange institution.”
“And what of us? What are we to make of our marriage?”
