Page 65 of Her Wily Duke

After much discussion, Lady Hazelworth chose to remove herself to the Dower House, which stood close by on the Hazelworth Hall grounds. She declared that the opportunity to redecorate a house entirely to her own tastes was too good to pass up, and that it would allow her a new start in life ‘unburdened by memories’. Benedict wondered, as she said it, just which memories it was that she wished so strongly to forget – but he was too much of a gentleman to ask.

Over that hectic two weeks, his mind kept going back to his conversation with Ariana, by the riverside, when she had admitted her past love and her confused feelings. He ached for her, especially as her father’s death had come so hard on the heels of that discussion – perhaps, now that they were officially in mourning, and the very visible activities like the funeral were dealt with, they would have more chance to spend time with each other, to find a way to true happiness.

***

Although neither of them quite recognised it at the time, the conversation by the river marked an irrevocable shift in their relationship. During the few weeks after Lord Hazelworth’s death, they began spending more and more of their time together, hesitantly at first, then with more confidence as the days went by.

Ariana was baffled by the change in her feelings towards Benedict, confused by how different he seemed from the first few months of their marriage, and by how different she herself felt.

Telling him about David had been hard, but it had lightened the weight of guilt within her – a weight which had been further lifted by her mother’s quiet words in the parlour, after the funeral. Still, she was glad when the day of Helena’s visit arrived.

When she told Benedict that she was going to the Harbottle estate to see her friend, he gave her the strangest look, but did not ask further. She wondered exactly what that look had meant, even as the carriage took her on her way. The fields were dusted in snow, the trees stark and bare, yet she felt hopeful, nonetheless.

Miss Helena Everard was the kind of friend one might not see for years, and yet whom one might instantly feel at home with upon seeing again. When Ariana was admitted to the Harbottle residence Mr Harbottle was rather obsequious, and she suspected that he did not see her, but only the fact that a Duchess had come calling. Mrs Harbottle was more relaxed, and escorted her to a parlour where Helena sat, reading.

Over tea and cakes, Ariana related her growing attraction to her husband, despite the unpleasant manner in which their marriage had begun.

“I didn’t think it was possible when we were first married,” she said, “but I think we may be becoming friends.”

“Just friends?” said Helena shrewdly, mixing some honey into her tea, “or more than friends?”

“Maybe more,” said Ariana with a shiver of something compounded of hope and apprehension.

There was no knowing where they might end up if the relationship continued on its present course. Far from avoiding him, Ariana actually found herself looking forward to spending time with him. There were moments at night when she even hoped that he might put down his correspondence and talk to her more, and occasionally gaze at her with the quiet warmth of a man who loved without needing to say so in words.

“The way he looks at me sometimes,” she said, “I can’t believe I never noticed how handsome he was at first. Or maybe love has made him handsome, I don’t know.”

“I think sometimes a person grows in our estimation the more we get to know them,” said Helena. “The imagination finds them suddenly beautiful.”

Ariana was a little offended by the suggestion that it was only her imagination that made Benedict handsome, but she conceded the point.

“I think any other husband would have given up on me long ago,” she said. “I owe him so much.”

“What is it that you think you owe him?” asked Helena from behind the rim of her teacup.

“Loyalty, I suppose. He’s been unfailingly loyal and persevering, even when he didn’t have to be. He already knew that he would have the estate when Father died - which was what he wanted, or why would he have agreed to Father’s bargain in the first place? We could have easily drifted into being just two strangers who lived in the same house.”

“It must feel strange to find yourself falling in love with your own husband. I suppose that not everyone has the luxury of falling in love before getting married.”

Ariana nodded. It felt like the most wonderful joke, one that the world had played on her. Having been married to a man against her will, she had awoken one morning to discover that she was suddenly glad to have married him. They had both been changed by the experience of marriage. Benedict was quieter, calmer, more devoted and more patient than he had been at the start. And she was less withdrawn, less stubborn, less frightened, less likely to dart out of a room at the noise of approaching footsteps. There were moments when Ariana felt a growing suspicion that she and Benedict might save each other.

“If the marriage is really what you say it is,” said Helena, “then I’m happy for both of you. But Ariana, I want you to be careful.”

“Careful?” she said in a nervous tone. “Why?”

“Because, as I’ve said before, in my letters, everything that you wrote of him in the past suggests that Benedict is a controlling, domineering person who will do anything to get his own way. Men don’t suddenly undergo a transformation in character for no reason. I worry that Benedict’s heart remains the same as it ever was. It’s only his methods that have changed.”

“I’m still not sure I understand what you’re saying.”

Ariana spoke in an aggrieved tone, afraid that she did, in fact, understand exactly what Helena was saying. She felt instinctively defensive whenever Benedict was disparaged.

“I mean that he may have found subtler methods for getting what he wanted from you,” said Helena. “And if that was his aim, then he has succeeded beautifully. He’s garnered your full co-operation.”

“Only because he’s earned it,” said Ariana, now deeply annoyed. “He’s done what he needed to do, if he wanted my love and support - he loved me first.”

“I only say this because I worry about you,” said Helena. “I’ve known you for a long time. I’ve seen how easily you can be overruled by someone with a more dominant will. I know how hard it is for you to argue on your own behalf. I don’t want you to spend the rest of your life being governed by others.”

“If I had married anyone else, I might share those concerns.”