The townsfolk believed he was cold and uncaring, but that was just because they didn’t know him like she did. Any man who would establish a library and pay her to spend her life in a room full of books couldn’t be a beast.
No, he might be surprising, but he wasn’t cold and uncaring because he didn’t go into town.
Perhaps, as his wife, she could help him to change his image in town. She could start by going to town tomorrow to tell Thea and Dietrich that she was married to Lord Dunham.
She grinned at the thought as she leaned forward and threw the door open, gasping at the sight before her. The room was large enough that even the enormous bed with a canopy and four posts that towered high above it couldn’t fill it.
This was to be her room.
The room was fit for a queen, or at least a lady…which she was shortly to become.
She spun around, taking in the large, airy room, and her mouth dropped open when she realized that the room also contained three large bookcases filled with an assortment of books.
She hurried over, greedily taking in all the books that were about to become hers when she became mistress of the estate. She would have been lying if she said this marriage thing didn’t seem worth it for the books alone.
She was still taking in the soft, velvety exterior of one particularly gorgeous leather tome when there was a rap at the still-open door and a middle-aged woman wearing a gray dress and with streaks of silver in her hair bustled in.
“Hello, dear,” the woman said, her eyes bright and warm and her voice cheery. “I'm Mrs. Jenkins, the housekeeper, and I am here to help you prepare for your wedding.”
The words, stated so matter-of-factly, made Beatrice giggle.
“Is everything all right?” the housekeeper asked with a smile.
“Only, when I left my house this morning, I didn't expect to be getting married, much less to Lord Dunham,” Beatrice explained.
“I can only imagine, dearie,” Mrs. Jenkins said. “When I married my husband, I was fully in love with him, and even then, I was nervous. I'm sure you must be even more so.”
“Will you tell me about the man I am marrying?” Beatrice asked as the housekeeper hurried over to the wardrobe and opened it to reveal that it was overflowing with dresses. Beatrice's eyes widened yet again. If this house and these people didn't stop surprising her, she might permanently appear to be an owl.
Where had all these dresses come from?
“Lord Alexander is a kind and just man who has had a hard life,” the housekeeper said, clicking her tongue. “I am very glad that he has found a wife who will accept him as he is and help him with this next phase of his journey.”
The housekeeper's shrewd eyes looked her over. “You're about the same size as his mother—God rest her soul—so fortunately, we should be able to find something in here for you to wear for the ceremony. You'll not want to wear your wet things. What he was thinking, not sending a carriage for you...” she said, clicking her tongue again. “And my Jenkins didn't remind him! I'll have a word with him later.”
Beatrice startled at the realization that Mrs. Jenkins must be married to the butler, Jenkins.
She allowed Mrs. Jenkins to help her dress quickly in a stunning blue gown that laced up in the back and showed off her figure. “This color reminds me of the dress you were wearing,” the housekeeper said as she finished lacing it, “so I thought it might help you as you go from the old to the new.”
“Thank you,” Beatrice said, smiling at the woman in the mirror as she pulled out a pair of slippers and set them on the floor. Beatrice slipped her feet into them, her feet instantly warming.
The housekeeper pulled a brush out of the drawer and undid the braid that was falling apart. “I am not talented when it comes to dressing hair, but I can brush it out and it will look beautiful.”
Beatrice stood patiently and waited as the housekeeper finished, tying part of her hair back with a blue ribbon that matched the gown.
“Are you ready to become Lady Dunham?” the housekeeper asked gently as Beatrice inspected herself in the mirror.
She looked like a lady.
Whether she was ready or not, she was on her way to becoming the new Lady Dunham, and her life would never be the same.
Chapter four
Alexander
Beatrice entered his studywearing a dress in a stunning shade of blue that had once belonged to his mother, and all the air left Alexander's lungs in one fell swoop. If he hadn't been expecting her, he might have thought it was an angel walking into the room.
But instead, it was his bride.
