“Of course,” Deborah said, and the two ladies made their way up to the balcony.
“It is a beautiful night,” Emma remarked, looking up at the sky. “As children, my brother and I would come here often on nights like this. He would tell me a lot about the stars, as he had developed a special interest in them.”
“Oh, I did not know that His Grace was fond of astronomy.” Surprise colored Deborah’s voice.
From what she knew of the Duke thus far, all his interests had some sort of practical advantage to them. He liked reading about great men in order to learn how to be a better duke. She didn’t know what the stars had to teach him about his dukedom.
“My brother has many layers to his personality,” Emma admitted. “At first glance, he appears to be strictly a man of duty. But there’s a rich inner world underneath that demeanor, one that he scarcely allows anyone to access.”
Deborah nodded in understanding. “I have always been fond of the stars as well,” she admitted. “Looking at them makes me realize just how big the world truly is.”
“Oh, I’m not sure if I share the same sentiments,” Emma said. “They make me feel very small.”
“But isn’t that a good thing?” Deborah asked. “If the stars appear so small from a distance, then imagine how minuscule we must appear. There is a certain freedom one experiences when they have that realization.”
“That we are minuscule?” Emma raised her eyebrow.
“Yes.” Deborah nodded eagerly. “In the grand scheme of things. It makes you take life a little less seriously.”
“Oh, you are truly beginning to sound like my brother now.” Emma laughed.
“I do not agree.” Deborah’s brows furrowed. “I can scarcely see him admitting to anyone that we should take life less seriously. If anything, he would urge us to take it a lot more seriously to fulfill a sense of duty.”
“Perhaps the views are different,” Emma conceded. “But he is the same way in that he loves to philosophize about life. He is a deep thinker, just like you, even if the conclusions of your philosophies are opposite.”
Deborah considered her words for a moment. She had aptly described the two of them: similar in nature yet somehow completely opposite.
It explained the constant push and pull she felt whenever she was around him.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Tabitha was wearing a slight frown on her face as she sipped her morning tea. Both Nicholas and Deborah noticed and exchanged a look.
“What has gotten you down, Grandmother?” Nicholas asked, taking a seat beside the older woman.
Tabitha let out a long, drawn-out sigh and then set down her teacup, her frustration evident in her tone. “Her Grace has arranged for a walk in town today that all of us should participate in.”
“Why, that is a lovely idea.” Nicholas perked up immediately. “The weather is lovely today, and I’m sure Peter and Emma will appreciate this opportunity.”
“It is good for the married couple to-be.” Tabitha nodded. “But it means that I will have to spend time with the Dowager Duchess.”
“Oh, Grandmother,” Deborah chimed in, her face full of understanding, “are the two of you still not getting along?”
Tabitha shrugged her shoulders. “I would much rather spend the time doing anything else than in her company.”
“I am sure that isn’t true,” Deborah tried to reason. “Surely there must be something the two of you can agree on.”
“Don’t you see, Deborah?” Nicholas pointed out. “The problem is as clear as day.”
“And what might that be?” Deborah knotted her eyebrows in confusion, prodding her brother for an explanation.
“Both our lovely grandmother and Her Grace are used to being the head of the household. They clash together in a tug of power, neither one willing to relinquish the control.”
Deborah listened to her brother’s words carefully. He seemed to be making sense, for once.
“I hadn’t thought about it that way,” she admitted.
“It is going to be dreadful,” Tabitha groaned once more.
