All the while, there was that niggling sensation in the back of her mind. A warning that… that she was missing something. What it was, she could not say. Why it was there, if only she knew. Whatever it might be, she wondered if it had anything to do with the duke…
He wanted nothing to do with her, but did she want more to do with him?Her first instinct was to say no, but deep down, with all that had happened today and all she had seen of him, she knew it was nowhere near that simple.
But then again, nothing about this marriage was.
Nine
“Will you be joining Her Grace and Miss Olivia for supper, Your Grace?” Albert asked Ronan from the doorway.
“Of course not,” Ronan snapped. He hadn’t meant to do so, and he was not angry at Albert for asking the question. What angered him were his own feelings, that despite what he told himself, there was a small part of him that almost wanted to do so…
“And what of breakfast the following morning?” the elderly butler pressed.
Ronan was sitting behind the table in his office, pretending to work because he needed a means to distract himself from the day’s events. Head bowed, he looked up and snarled at Albert, figuring that was all the response that was required.
“Just so I know what to tell the kitchen staff,” Albert assured him, his smile friendly and knowing. “I thought it best to be thorough about these things.”
“I have explained the circumstance to you already, Albert,” Ronan growled. “And once ought to be enough.”
“I am afraid my mind is not what it once was, Your Grace. Perhaps another explanation, just to assure I don’t make any further mistakes.”
Ronan had known Albert since he was a boy, and it was perhaps the only relationship that Ronan coveted because it was the only one which had stood the test of time. The only one which proved that not all relationships were doomed to failure…
For that reason, Ronan could not begrudge the man for pushing the way he was doing. Especially considering that for ten years, he had been happy to do as he was told. He’d never suggested Ronan ought to leave the castle and re-join society as Ronan knew the old man wanted for him. He only ever wanted what was best, and when he’d learned of the marriage, he had become excited and eager, never saying it outright, but clearly believing such a circumstance was necessary.
“Tell me, Albert, what might have my father have done in this same situation?”
“As I have told you a hundred times, you are not your father.”
“That is not an answer.”
The old man sighed. “Likely, he would not have consented to the marriage in the first place. He was not one who cared about what those thought of him, unless it was fear and subservience.”
“Still not an answer, Albert.”
“He would have done as you are doing.” Albert looked at Ronan flatly. “Likely, he would have made the situation unbearable for Her Grace so that she felt she had no choice but to move out.”
“There you have it then.”
“So…” Albert was still hesitating by the door. “You wish for me to ignore Her Grace’s requests? To make it clear to her that this is not her home?—”
“Of course not,” Ronan barked and glared at the aged manservant. Albert did not back down, raising a single eyebrow in question. “This is Thalia’s home now, and I expect you to treat her and her daughter as is appropriate. They are under my protection, Albert, and whatever happens to them is a reflection on me.”
“As I said…” A slight smile took the butler’s face. “Not like your father at all.”
“You are also to ensure that I am not to be disturbed by them,” Ronan growled, feeling a need to divorce himself from thenotion that he was better than his father. Just because he wasn’t the same type of monster did not mean that same monster was not lurking beneath the surface. “If they ask after me, refuse them. If they try and see me, stop them. Is that understood?”
Albert said nothing. He watched Ronan glower with a cool expression, a wisdom behind his eyes because he likely understood exactly what Ronan was trying to do.
“Answer me, Albert,” Ronan said darkly.
“It will be done, Your Grace.” A short bow was offered, and the butler slipped from the office.
Ronan sighed and bowed his head again, doing his best to focus on his work. It was old lease agreements that he was poring over: requests from his tenants to improve on their deeds, some even trying to end contracts where better ones were being offered.
It was his fault that all this was happening. For years, Ronan had ignored his duties and shirked his responsibilities because he wanted nothing to do with the world and the people in it. But such acts as that were now having a negative effect, a weakening of his reputation and the belief that he could be taken advantage of.
In that way, this marriage was good for him. It served as a reminder to the ton and its people that he was far from forgotten and still powerful in this world. That was, after all, why he’d attended the ball in the first place.
