“Ah, there she is,” he crooned as he reached his daughters. “Risen from the dead, it seems. At least it feels that way, for how long it has been.”
Rose rolled her eyes as she hugged him. “It has not been that long, Father.”
“Perhaps it just feels that way.”
“You’re in an awfully good mood.”
He chuckled. “That I am. I just received a letter from my accountant, and it looks like your Bride Price has come through. His Grace, as he promised, did not change the terms he agreed upon with your sister.”
“Did you think he would?”
“That man?” her father scoffed. “I would have thought I’d have a better chance of squeezing blood from a stone than convincing him to part with even a cent more than what he could get away with.”
Rose was slightly taken aback by the comment, only to decide that she should not be. She had to remember that she was the only one among them who knew the Duke as more than a cold and calculating businessman, and that she alone knew there was another side to him.
“I am happy to see you in such high spirits, nonetheless.”
“Yes, well,” Her father glanced quickly at Marianne, and she saw a glare flash behind his eyes. “I have every reason to be.”
“Oh,” She turned and looked between him and Marianne. “Has something happened?”
“No, no.” He put an arm around her and started leading her toward the manor. “Just speaking in hyperbole.”
As he led her, Rose looked over her shoulder and found that Marianne was not following. Nor was she watching them. She cast her gaze down at her feet, and her shoulders were slumped with sadness. Something was clearly wrong.
“Father,” Rose started as they entered the home. “Is something the matter with Marianne?”
“No,” he said. “Why would there be?”
“I am not sure, she just seems a little put out.”
“She has no reason to be.”
“But –”
“Enough of that,” he dismissed her. “We have better things to speak of than your sister. Come, there is much to do.”
Rose thought to push, while knowing there was no point. If there was something the matter with her sister, only Marianne would tell her. And only when they are alone.
I will find and speak with her later. Surely, whatever my father needs of me, won’t take too long?
Oh, how wrong she was.
Rose ended up spending the entire day locked away in her father’s office, working with him on a trove of random investments, calculations, and quandaries. If she did not know any better, she would guess that he hadn’t done a single second of work since she married the Duke, and that he was just waiting to get her home so that he could put her to work.
It was funny to Rose that she used to enjoy days like this one. When she had lived at home, helping her father with his work had made her feel both important and necessary. She’d had no doubt that the house would fall apart without her, and that as much as anything was why she had dedicated her life to helping him.
Now, things were different.
She still enjoyed helping her father, and she still took much pleasure in proving herself capable and needed. Only, as she worked across the length of the day, she came to realize that such work no longer brought her the joy that it once had.
This is no longer my home. A strange thing to admit, but also a relief. Despite how I feel about my marriage, that is undoubtedly where I belong, and this right here is exactly what I needed to prove as much.
Nonetheless, Rose became lost in the work, and it wasn’t until her father asked if she wished to stay for supper that she realized what time it was.
“Oh!” she jumped from her chair. “Is it that late already?”
“What’s the matter?” her father asked. “Do not tell me, the Duke has you on a leash?”
