“I’m not,” Theodore insisted. He walked away toward the stable door but was reluctant to step out again into the rain.
The nearest door into his house was across the courtyard, only the cobbled ground of the yard was now awash with puddles. One stable boy ran past so quickly to hide inside, that he nearly slipped. Fortunately, he narrowly avoided falling flat on his back and made it safely into the house.
Gabriel reached Theodore’s side, still with that amused smile in his expression.
“What has she changed then?” Gabriel asked, his voice more patient than his expression suggested.
“The parlor has changed completely.” Theodore shook his head. “She has made the walls a dusky sort of pink.Pink, Gabriel. The furniture is now all dark mahogany. The bill landed on my desk yesterday.”
“Was it so bad?”
“Not as bad as it could have been, no,” Theodore muttered, though he wished he could be irritated this as well.
The longer Margaret was in his home, the more irritated he found himself becoming on a daily basis. It wasn’t just thisenforced, shared breakfast with her, but the knowledge that around whichever corner he turned, she could be there.
In one week, all the staff seemed to be her best friends. Even when Yates came to give Theodore his tea or assisted him with the carriage, he sang Margaret’s praises. It was very annoying.
It didn’t help matters that whenever Theodore saw Margaret, she was smiling.
She really does have a very pretty smile. It’s incredibly irritating.
“There’s also the dining room. She has taken down all the landscape paintings in that room and has asked if we can commission a portrait of her sisters to go up instead.”
“What is so wrong with that?” Gabriel asked, now also peering out at the rain in an uncertain way. “That room has always been so impersonal. It would be a way to give the room a deeper meaning. Are the walls being changed, too?”
“Yes, they are. She’s asked for the damask walls to go and for it to be painted cream. She lined up the ornaments over breakfast the other day and asked me to point out all the ones that I liked. We’d keep those and she’d get rid of the rest. There is barely anything left in the room!”
“It sounds to me as if she gave you the choice to keep anything you wanted.” Gabriel elbowed him, trying to get him on side, but Theodore refused to be cheered.
“It’s too much,” Theodore said sharply. “It’s my house.”
“It’s hers, too.” Gabriel lost his smile. “Maybe it is just a marriage in name and nothing more, Theodore, to you, but in the eyes of the law, Margaret has nothing but you. She has no home but yours. How else would you have the poor woman live?”
“You’re just protective of her because she’s your sister-in-law,” Theodore muttered uneasily.
“Perhaps so, but you should be more protective of her as she’s your wife.”
Theodore rather felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach. Angered that Gabriel was reminding him of his duties, he huffed, rather like one of the horses in the stable, then strode out into the rain and across the cobbled courtyard, with Gabriel close behind on his heel.
They said nothing as they entered the house. They both shed coats which were quickly taken by Yates, who seemed to be holding onto a small smile as he struggled to lift his gaze to meet Theodore’s. Now recognizing the mischievous look that Yates had been holding onto every day for the last week, Theodore sighed.
“What has she done now?” he addressed Yates.
“Nothing much. It’s just a small change.”
“What change?” Theodore grunted.
“Erm…” Yates didn’t need to answer though.
Some distance back in the corridor, Margaret walked through, heading for their drawing room. Behind her was a draper, who carried such sublime white curtains on his shoulder, Theodore feared how much they would cost.
He watched, his jaw dropped as Margaret led the draper into the drawing room.
“Curtains?” Theodore asked. “She’s changing the curtains?”
“Just one set of curtains.” Yates held up a single finger. “Did you wish to object, Your Grace? I can pass on a message if you like?”
“Ahem.” Gabriel cleared his throat.
