“Yes, Your Grace,” they chorused, looking rather pleased.
Mrs Greene seemed to approve of her words as well, because she clapped curtly, then she stepped back to stand near Jane.
“Now that you have meet your staff, Your Grace, I believe it is time to get to know your house,” the woman announced, leading Jane out of the kitchen.
She began to guide the young duchess through the halls of the house, showing off different rooms and explaining their purposes. Young Reuben had a study of his own, a few doors down from his room, mostly used during his tutoring lessons. There was also a nursery on that floor, but Jane barely paid any attention to it after the housekeeper opened the door and there was hardly any colour to be seen within the walls.
It did not look as though a child had been raised there, at least for the first year or two of his life.
The lack of warmth Jane had noticed the day before had grown into something much more concerning as she discovered that the house lacked a woman’s touch. As a matter of fact, it seemed absolutely starved of it. Although the furniture was well-kept and every nook and cranny was neat, it appeared that no one had particularly tried to put together some semblance of elegant decor.
As they continued to walk around the house, Jane took note of certain areas that needed work in her mind, studying places that required changes or even a little bit of sprucing up.
Even though... this marriage was meant to end eventually, it was clear just how long the estate had been without a duchess. And she was determined to fix things up a little bit, at the very least, before she turned her attention back to Reuben.
“This is the library, Your Grace,” Mrs Greene stated as she opened a large set of doors, stepping aside so Jane could walk in first.
The room was as grand as all the others she had seen, but it held more splendour with its domed ceiling that was adorned with a mural of a flower garden. Jane felt her jaw drop in awe as she looked up at it, her feet taking her further into the room.
“My goodness,” she breathed, lowering her gaze to the bookshelves and she ran her fingers over the spines of the closest books.
There were so many, as far as the eye could see. Her family had a library as well, a collection her father had inherited from his own father, and loved to boast about because it contained many first edition publications of famous books.
And just by standing in this room, by inhaling the scent of leather and well-loved pages, she could tell her father’s collection could not compare to this.
“The late duke was an avid lover of literature. It was said that he loved to host parties on behalf of authors who were preparing to release their new works and they would be invited to read or speak about it. They were quite a lavish affair,” Mrs Greene nodded sagely.
“I can imagine,” Jane sighed, still admiring the titles she could see.
It would take a lifetime to read even half of these, even more.
Perhaps, she thought with a smile,that is why Reuben has already gotten started.
“And the duke? Is he also a lover of literature?” Jane questioned, ignoring the heat crawling up to her cheeks at the thought of her husband.
Mrs Greene paused thoughtfully for a moment, then she shook her head.
“Not as much as his father was or his son is. But ever so often, he does prefer to spend his time in that corner with a pot of peppermint tea, brewed specially with a dash of cinnamon,” the housekeeper replied, pointing at a spot near the fireplace, where a dark blue settee sat.
It was near a window, so Jane imagined it must be a favoured location within the library, given its proximity to the warmth from the fireplace and the light and air from the window.
“I wonder if the old duke misses his books. Does he visit? Does the duke’s family ever visit? To see Reuben?” Jane asked, shifting her gaze to another bookshelf.
Mrs Greene stared at her in confusion for a few seconds, then she sighed sadly.
“It would be hard for the old duke to care about his grandson, much less his belongings, when he has long since passed, Your Grace. The only family the duke and Lord Reuben have are each other. And well, you.”
The news was so unexpected, Jane felt her thoughts stutter for a moment.
“No one else? B-But... how?” she queried quietly.
“They had fallen prey to a 0 that had been making its way around then. It had claimed everyone in the family – the old duke, his duchess, his first eldest two sons and daughter. They had onlybeen sick for three days before they began to pass. By the end of the week, they were all dead. His Grace... he had been fighting at war during that time and upon receiving the news, he returned to inherit the dukedom and carry on the family name,” Mrs Greene told her, the older woman’s voice weighed down with sadness.
Jane felt her heart clench painfully in her chest at the thought of what the duke must have felt... likely injured and struggling to survive in a battle field, only to receive news that his whole family had perished.
It must have been difficult, for him to even come to terms with the inheritance he had obtained, at the expense of the ones he loved. She wondered how he had managed to keep his head up thus far, unable to imagine what she would do if she had been the one to face such devastation.
Perhaps... that was part of the darkness she had seen within him. Only, it wasn’t darkness, but deep, heavy grief and pain in someone who had lost so much.
