by Abby Ayles
She had indicated she was going to stay until Lady Agatha recovered, perhaps even longer. With a heavy heart, he knew he would not be able to keep that from happening. He doted on Lady Agatha and anything she wanted, he would be sure to provide.
He was thrilled to have Lady Agatha back at Thornwall Castle, where they had both spent their best childhood years. He had missed her, especially when his mother died and he was forced to spend the last two years at Thornwall Castle all alone after Lady Agatha was sent to live with their aunt.
They had lost their mother when she died of apoplexy two years ago after losing their father to old age four years before that.
He’d missed her before his mother died but it was worse after. After the elder Duke passed, he was saddled with great responsibilities and when his mother was gone, with Lady Agatha not there, he had no one to share his troubles with.
Instead, she gave him advice through correspondence, which was the only thing they could do for a long time. Finally, she returned home three months ago and he could not be more pleased. He was filled with sorrow and regret that he had not been able to prevent her horse from throwing her.
He had not been there when it happened.
The Duke of Thornwall already held a deep sense of regret and mourning. His father had passed six years previous, his mother two years previous and he still mourned the death of the first love of his life, who he lost in a housefire a month before their wedding. Four years passed since that fateful day and he had never fully recovered.
As for the woman behind him, he was aggravated at her insistence. She was far too pushy. If her behavior influenced Lady Agatha in a negative way, he would have her removed from their home immediately.
He would not allow anyone to hinder the recovery of someone he cared for more than anyone else in the world.
“Look at those paintings, Phoebe.” He heard Lady Elizabeth speaking softly to her companion. “Are they not the loveliest things you have ever seen?”
Her voice was soft and smooth when she was not speaking to him. He felt another jolt of resentment. It had not been he who lost his temper without getting the facts of the matter first. He had, indeed, been worried about Lady Agatha.
After his initial meeting with Lady Elizabeth, he felt no better about her arrival. His worry had only mounted. A beautiful face meant nothing when a woman carried bitterness inside her.
It seemed odd to him, though. Lady Agatha had said she was warm and carefree. Lady Elizabeth always had a ready smile, according to his sister, and lit up a room when she entered. That did not describe the woman who had confronted him in the courtyard of his own castle.
“They are quite beautiful, my lady,” the companion replied in a kind voice. She certainly did not seem to think Lady Elizabeth was unpleasant.
He listened to their conversation, staunchly walking through the large foyer toward a maid who was dusting the statues his father had imported from Africa. Two staircases leading to the upper parts of the castle were on both sides of the foyer.
“Milla, take Lady Elizabeth to Lady Agatha’s room,” he said when he was close enough.
The maid stepped down from the stepladder she was standing on, nodding at him.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The Duke of Thornwall turned to Lady Elizabeth. “You may go with Milla. Your companion is welcome to have tea and snacks in the kitchen, if she likes. I will have some sent to you and Lady Agatha, as well.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.” Lady Elizabeth turned to Phoebe. “If there is anything you need, please let me know. I would like to speak with my friend for a while.”
“Of course.” Phoebe responded as though she had expected nothing less. She smiled at Lady Elizabeth in a friendly way. “Enjoy seeing your friend again, my lady. I know how much you have been looking forward to it.”
They parted ways as Lady Elizabeth followed Milla up the stairs to their right.
She glanced back, saying, “Your Grace, if you will please let Phoebe know where the kitchen is. I am quite sure she does not know.”
If the Duke of Thornwall had not been so irritated, he would have heard the amusement in her voice. But he did not hear it, nodding at her in reply without saying a word.
Phoebe sent her a grateful glance, however, which the Duke of Thornwall caught sight of just as Lady Elizabeth turned to follow the maid up the stairs.
He looked down at the young companion. She was a pleasant-looking woman, probably in her mid-thirties. He wondered what type of life she had led that would lead her to the position she now held.
“Please follow me,” he said in a gentle voice. She had not irritated him. He would not take out his aggravation on an innocent person.
His grumpy feeling had not dissolved. He decided to go to the library as soon as he showed Phoebe where the kitchen was.
He went through the dining hall to the door just behind the long table. It had been a lonely table for a long time. He was sad that he was once again eating the evening meal alone. Until Lady Agatha was mobile, she was eating in her room.
There was enough room for thirty-two people at the table.
And he ate alone every night. Once again.
Chapter 4
The Duke of Thornwall dropped himself in a cushioned chair with one of his favorite books. He hoped it would bring him out of his bad mood. He tried to read for a bit but his mind would not get off the woman upstairs, bothering his sister.
What was she saying to her? Was she being pleasant?
Surely, she was. She had treated her companion as a friend. It was one of the few things about her personality that he considered a plus for her.
He grunted, dropping the book in his lap, open to the page he had been trying to read, his irritation creating a tightness in his chest that he did not like.
The door opened slowly, drawing his eyes to the person entering.
An older woman entered, looking around the room with squinting eyes. The Duke of Thornwall felt a warm sensation slide through his irritation. He stood up, forgetting the book was on his lap.
“Ursula. Good afternoon.”
“Good afternoon, Your Grace.” The woman shuffled into the room. He had always trusted Ursula. He met her when he began to court Sophia and discovered she was his betrothed’s governess.
She had not been young when she worked at the Argyle estate as a governess to the younger siblings of Lady Sophia. Her health had gone down since the housefire that took Lady Sophia from them. Immediately after the fire, the Duke of Argyle had dismissed most of the servants, Ursula included.
He had immediately hired her. During his courtship with Lady Sophia, he had come to trust her. He considered her as a good friend, rather than a servant.
“Please sit. You look tired.”
The old woman lifted her gray eyebrows and lifted one side of her lips. “That is not a compliment, Your Grace.”
The Duke of Thornwall grinned. “I did not mean to insult you, Ursula. Please sit. You look like you could run the length of the courtyard and back without trouble.”
This made Ursula laugh, which cut through his grumpiness even more.
She came over and sat near him. He did not return to his seat until she was off her feet.
“You do not look well, my son. Your face is red and you look quite angry. What has happened?”
“I am worried, Ursula, I must be honest with you.”
“I prefer it that way.”
The Duke of Thornwall lowered his chin to his chest. He could feel the heat on his face. When he hesitated to continue, Ursula prompted him, saying, “Please continue, Your Grace. What worries you?”
“We have a visitor, Ursula. She is a friend of Lady Agatha’s. Her name is Lady Elizabeth Owens. Her mother and father are the Duke and Duchess of Winterset.”
“She has arrived?”
The Duke of Thornwall frowned. “Did you know she was coming?”
Ursula grinned, her wrinkly face suddenly brightening in an amused way. �
�Oh, Your Grace. You told me yourself to be expecting a visitor for a short time. This has been planned for some time, has it not?”
The Duke of Thornwall nodded, looking down again. “I suppose I did tell you she was coming. Or Lady Agatha may have. She has arrived and I… I do not find her to be a pleasant individual.”
“Oh dear. That is quite surprising. It is not like Lady Agatha to befriend an unpleasant person.”
The Duke of Thornwall did not want to admit that he was probably being too harsh on Lady Elizabeth but his mood was dark. She had not made a good first impression with him. He was not one to hold someone to the first impression they gave him. He was just finding it difficult to shake the sight of her stomping toward him, an angry look on her face.
When she was not scowling, she was a beautiful woman.
Even when she was scowling, she was still attractive, he thought with amusement.
“Tell me what has made you feel this way. Has she not just arrived? I saw the coach coming in.”
“I had thought about having her go into town and stay at the Inn. I am afraid she will disrupt Lady Agatha’s recovery. When her driver did not come to open the door immediately, she left the coach to confront me.”
Ursula lifted her eyebrows. “How so?”
“She did not know who I was. She has never seen me before. Any woman with a good mind should have been able to tell that I am not a servant. She confronted me as if she thought I was, demanding to see the ‘lord of the castle’. I informed her that she was speaking to the lord of the castle.”
“And what was her response? Surely she became polite and respectful.”
“She did not.”
Ursula gazed at him. He could sense her sizing him up and down.
“You were defensive, I am assuming.”
“I had a right to be. She was rude and brash. That is not ladylike. I fear she will influence Lady Agatha in a negative way, perhaps slow down her progress.”
“Your Grace, I am surprised. You were planning to send her to an Inn? When she has traveled so far to see her friend? Lady Agatha would have been sorely disappointed if you had turned her away.”
The Duke of Thornwall looked at Ursula with resentful eyes. “She is rude and… and pushy!”
Ursula was still smiling. She shook her head, closing her soulful eyes before looking back at him. “Thornwall. I have known you for many years. I know you are not the same as you were years ago, when you were with Sophia. I know you hold great pain because of her loss. You must be hospitable to the young lady. She is a good friend to Lady Agatha.”
“I am not certain of that.”
“Have you not spoken to your sister about Lady Elizabeth?”
The Duke of Thornwall grunted with a frown. “I have. Of course I have.”
“Then I must admit, I do not understand how you can be so sure of her negative affect on Lady Agatha when it is clear how much your sister adores her friend. Lady Elizabeth will be good for Lady Agatha. I am sure of it.”
“How can you be sure?” It was a genuine question. The Duke of Thornwall often depended on the opinions of others to help him make good decisions. The Thornwall village below would not run smoothly if he made all the decisions himself. He did not live there and could not possibly understand the life of a villager.
He had appointed several village men to a council to help him be the best lord he could be. He hoped the people in Thornwall were pleased with the way things were going for them. Truth be told, if they were not, the blame rested solely on the shoulders of the men on the council.
He relied on them to tell him the truth for the sake of their village as a whole. If something was not going right, they were to tell him. If they did not tell him, there was no way for him to know. He could not fix something he knew nothing about.
“I have listened to Lady Agatha speak of Lady Elizabeth many times. She has never spoken an ill word about the woman. They have been good friends since they met almost two years ago. These are things that Lady Agatha has told me, Your Grace. I do not lie.”
The Duke of Thornwall shook his head. “I would never accuse you of lying, Ursula.”
“Do you want to know what I think the problem is here?”
“I do. Please tell me.”
“You are not trusting in your sister. Do you truly believe she would make friends with someone rude and brash? When has she ever consorted with people like that?”
The Duke of Thornwall pulled down the corners of his mouth. “I suppose she never has.”
“No, she never has.”
“You must trust your sister and give Lady Elizabeth the chance she deserves. Perhaps she was tired from the long journey and only wished to get here so she would no longer be traveling in the carriage. Perhaps she has been extremely worried about Lady Agatha and saw your behavior as a delay in her plans. There are any number of reasons why she behaved the way she did.”
“I do not want her to hinder Lady Agatha’s recovery.”
“I understand that, Your Grace. I truly do. But she is a friend to Lady Agatha. My advice is to give her another chance.”
The Duke of Thornwall was not sure he wanted to do that. Ursula had made some valid points. Perhaps Lady Elizabeth was tired. Perhaps that had affected her behavior.
He left the library a half hour after his conversation with the old woman, whom he had hired without actually giving her a job. He paid her a monthly salary just to have her around. She reminded him of his lovely Sophia.
Thinking of Sophia made The Duke of Thornwall’s heart ache. Had she lived, she would be the Lady of the castle and he would not have to deal with Lady Elizabeth at all. It would his wife’s job to entertain women, especially with Lady Agatha bedridden.
He went up the steps, looking up toward his destination.
Do you want to know how the story continues?
Click on the link below
http://fannyfinch.com/AmB008
Also by Fanny Finch
● Book 1: Saving Lady Abigail
● Book 2: Engaging Love
● Book 3: A Forthright Courtship
● Book 4: A Love Worth Saving
● Book 5: Love Letters to A Lady
● Book 6: The Duke’s Cautious Governess
● Book 7: A Lady’s Choice
● Book 8: An Earl for Her Hopeless Heart
● Book 9: Last Chance for the Charming Ladies
● Book 10: A Second Chance for the Broken Duke
