“Potatoes, your Grace?” Luton asked.
Daniel waved his hand to indicate that he would pass on the potatoes, then looked across the table once more. He watched her long, slender fingers pick up a napkin. He now understood how she was able to play the piano so well. They were unadorned and he felt a tug of shame that in his fury he had given her his grandfather’s ugly ring instead of his grandmother’s beautiful ruby. She lifted a mouthful of beef and then licked her lips as a drop of sauce touched them. He was surprised to find the small gesture strangely appealing; perhaps if he kissed her before bedding her Daniel would be able to rake up some enthusiasm for consummating their marriage.
“Did your mother play, your Grace?”
“Yes.” Daniel did not elaborate, as he had no wish to discuss the matter further and especially not with the woman he had been forced to wed.
“I’m sorry.” She said the words in a rush, almost as if they tasted foul
“For what?”
“That you were forced by your father to marry me.”
What the hell was he supposed to say to that?
“Tis done, therefore we must make the best of it.” He made his words dismissive, wanting to put an end to the conversation before his simmering anger had a chance to boil.
“Will you take tea in the lemon parlor, your Grace?”
“Thank you, no, Luton,” Daniel said, climbing to his feet. The tension in the room was becoming unbearable and he had done his duty so now he could leave. “Duchess, I bid you good evening,” he said to the floral arrangement, behind which she sat. He then turned and left the room.
Daniel had never been a coward, yet here he was still at Stratton and his wife remained a virgin. He should have visited her room last night after their meal; instead, he had chosen his own bed where he had slept a deep, dreamless sleep until dawn. Disgusted with himself, he walked into the stables, hoping a hard ride would clear his head. The sound of his stableboy’s laughter made his lips twitch and he wondered who had evoked such a reaction in the lad who was usually so serious.
Daniel stopped in his tracks as he heard a voice say, “I hid behind a bush once and lobbed a rotten apple at my eldest brother as he cantered past.”
“And what happened then, your Grace?” he heard Holby ask.
“My brother fell sideways into a conveniently located puddle. And I don’t mind telling you it was one of my finer moments.”
Could this really be his timid wife speaking so freely to one of his stable hands?
“Do you not like your brother?”
The duchess was silent for several seconds and Daniel wondered if she would answer the boy’s question.
“It is wrong of me to say so, Holby, but I do not care over much for my elder brothers. However my youngest, Reggie, is wonderful and I miss and worry about him very much.”
He could hear the longing in her words.
“How come you and your youngest brother are nice and the others aren’t?”
“Well, Holby, the thing is we have different mothers so Reggie and I are thankfully different inside and out.”
Daniel’s mind flicked back to his wedding and seeing the youngest Winchcomb looking pale and drawn as he stood beside the carriage as they prepared to leave.
“Posy’s ready for you now, your Grace. But I’m not sure as you should be riding out alone.”
“It is sweet of you to worry, Holby, but I have been riding alone my entire life. I see no reason to stop now.”
She said the words so easily as if riding unaccompanied was something every young lady did. Daniel knew that, in fact, this wasn’t the case and put another black mark against the Winchcomb men.
“I will accompany her, Holby, if you will saddle Dickens,” Daniel said as the boy led Posy from her stable.
“Your Grace!” the duchess gasped.
Daniel frowned as both his stableboy and wife turned to face him with identical expressions of horror.
Green. Her eyes were green, or were they? Damn, she’d lowered them again before he could be sure. Her hair was once again covered in a silly cap but he had noted that her eyebrows were dark so possibly her hair was, as well? Looking around the edges of the cap, he searched for a stray lock but could find none.
