One evening, she was making her way to her room when she almost bumped into Evan in the hallway. “Sorry,” she said awkwardly, taking a step back before she ran headfirst into his chest.
“You’re not to blame. I should have been looking where I was going.” He stared at her intently as strained silence descended on them.
She cleared her throat. “Have a good night,” she said before trying to move past him.
He quickly blocked her way. “Are you not joining me for dinner downstairs?” he asked.
“Not tonight.”
Frustration flashed across his face. “Why not?”
She lifted her chin defiantly. “Because I want to eat in my room for a change. You certainly have done so.”
He looked sheepish for a moment before his expression fell back to neutral. “But tonight I’m eating downstairs. We should stick to the routine we have chosen.”
“No,” she said. “Sometimes it is best to change routines to better suit our needs. Just like how it would have been beneficial for everyone if Lilly had eaten dinner with us.”
“That night was a disaster.”
“You should have given it more time,” she said.
He sighed, looking frustrated. “I am trying, Marina.”
She knew he was. He was trying to make peace with her by having dinner in the dining room. And he was always trying to be a better father to Lilly, even if they disagreed on parenting methods. But she was not in the mood to say so. “You shouldn’t have given up after one bad night.”
He glared at her. “How many bad nights does it take for you to realize it wasn’t a good idea?”
She scoffed and shook her head. Part of her wanted to start shouting at him, but an image of her mother flashed through her mind, and she decided against it.I’m tired, and this is going nowhere.“Goodnight, Evan,” she said stiffly before pushing past him and walking down the hall.
She happily took dinner in her rooms after that encounter. She attended breakfast with Lilly, but Lilly preferred having tea by herself and her stuffed animals while her nanny silently supervised. Marina had a feeling it was because Evan took tea alone in his room, and she was mirroring his actions. Sheremembered going through a phase of pretending to read the paper while she drank tea, just like her father did, after all.
A few days passed just like this, with the two of them ignoring each other. With every passing day, Marina grew more irritated. “This is ridiculous,” she muttered to herself as she ate dinner by herself in her own rooms. “We are acting like children instead of reasonable adults.”
At the same time, she remembered how she had pushed him to spend time with Lilly and her, even to the point of marching into his study and making him go fishing with them. She was tired of being the one constantly reaching out and making the effort.
It is his turn to reach out now. If he does not wish for such a thing, then we will simply have to be strangers forever.
Evan could not concentrate on his work. He needed to look over tenant reports and other estate matters, but it was difficult for him to focus when his thoughts constantly turned to his wife and daughter. He looked at the time. The two of them were on their walk with Prince William now.
“I’m not the one avoiding her,” he muttered. “Not anymore at least.” He hated to admit it to himself. Yes, that first night or two, he had taken dinner in his rooms, too upset from the fight to have any desire to face his wife. But after that, he started eating downstairs, only to find out she was avoidinghim!That irked him to no end.
“I suppose I could find her during the day,” he said to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. “But then I would be disrupting her day with Lilly, along with my own …” He could practically see Marina rolling her eyes at such an excuse.Maybe I’m still avoiding her after all.
As he was moping, there was a knock on his door. “Enter,” he said.
Carlson came in with a tray of tea. “I thought you could use something to cheer you up, Your Grace,” he said. “Considering the time of day, I thought a spot of tea would be a better decision than a glass of brandy.”
“Thank you, Carlson,” Evan said. “I do not know why my mind has been so scattered lately.”
“Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Her Grace is taking her meals in her rooms now,” the butler said, raising an eyebrow. “And you’ve been taking your meals on your own.”
“Why should that matter?” the duke asked. “There have been plenty of times over the years where I have eaten dinner in my room, and it did not affect my ability to do work.”
“That was before you were married, Your Grace,” Carlson said.
“It never mattered in my first marriage,” Evan grumbled.
“I believe we both know that the current duchess is a much different kind of woman than the late duchess, Your Grace.”
