CHAPTER3
Callum had felt Valaria’s discomfort from the moment he saw her.It was plain on her face, in her gaze, which she darted away from his constantly.He’d written it off as grief, perhaps even her finding it difficult to see him when they had both been so close to Silas.
But now something else entered that remarkable blue-gray stare of hers.Something cold.Something hard.A wall came down between them in an instant and he found himself regretting that she felt a need to build it.Especially since he was almost certain that her reason for erecting it was…fear.
She feared him.And he had no idea why.Their past interactions had never been cruel.He could recall them all down to the very detail.So why would she be fearful?
“I assure you, Your Grace, there is no need for yourinterference,” she said.
He flinched at her emphasis on that word before he pushed to his feet and moved away from her.Perhaps she only needed a moment to gather herself, to think about his offer of support.While he did so, he looked around the parlor.He’d been too distracted by her presence to do so earlier.
The room was sparsely decorated beyond the furniture, but it was a pleasant room.Sunny and comfortable.“It is a lovely home,” he offered.
She drew in a long breath.“I am still settling in.But I believe it will be.Surely, though, you must see that my comfort has been seen to, Your Grace.”
“But not by Franklin,” he said slowly, facing her.“Was it your brothers?”
She folded her arms.“Why are you so determined to pry into my affairs?”
He wrinkled his brow.“I’m not.”
“You very much are, asking all your impertinent questions.”
“I’m only concerned about your well-being, Valaria.”
She shook her head.“You ought not to call me that.”
“You are correct.I apologize, Your Grace.”He saw her flinch at the honorific.“It seems you like your appropriate address as duchess just as little.”
She pushed from the chair and pivoted on him.“And none of those things are your business,Callum.”She arched a brow as she said his first name.Hearing her say it was overwhelming, even if she meant it as a curse rather than a kindness.“I can be as impertinent as you.”
“If you wish to call me by my given name, it troubles me little, Your Grace.I would like to be your friend, and many of my friends call me Callum.”
“We aren’t friends,” she insisted.“You were Silas’s friend.Now, perhaps you mean your intrusive behavior with the best of intentions.I will grant you that.”
“With great difficulty, it seems,” he said softly.
She ignored him.“I am comfortable in my new home.I am not sorry that Franklin has taken his place and will likely never intrude upon me again.As for my brothers, they will also not bother me.”
He tilted his head.“When I inquired about them, it was to ask if you had their support.”
Once again, a flash of pain washed over her lovely face.God, it was a lovely face.She cleared her throat.“I am fine, Your Grace.I need no support.Not fromanyone.”
She lifted her chin, her spine ramrod straight.She looked everything an icy queen.Except that her lower lip trembled ever so slightly.A tiny indication of her vulnerability.Of her emotion.
She motioned to the door.“I do thank you for calling, Your Grace.And for your sentiments and your offer of support.”
She was dismissing him.And he moved toward the door and the foyer with her at his heels.But when they reached the exit, he turned and looked at her carefully.“I would like to call again, Your Grace.”
Her nostrils flared and her fists tightened at her sides, but then she inclined her head.“There is no way I could refuse such a kind offer.But I do hope you’ll make sure your courier actually delivers your request to call next time.”
“I will,” he assured her.“Good day, Your Grace.”
“Good day, Your Grace,” she repeated.
He stepped out into the warmth of the late spring air and drew a deep breath of it before he got into the waiting carriage.He pulled the curtain back as it began to move and saw her standing on the top step, watching him, arms folded and breeze stirring her brown locks around her cheeks.
He settled back against the carriage seat with a sigh.Perhaps he ought to have left it at that.The duchess did not wish his assistance and she had a right to her privacy.
