"I deeply apologize, Your Grace. But she is Duchess of Ravenmoor, Your Grace."
"Is she?" Victor responded with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I don’t care that she is building an orangery. She could turn this estate into a circus if she wanted to. But my room and my study are off limits. I prefer my belongings to remain undisturbed."
"I apologize, Your Grace," Roberts said. "Although, you are a married man now, and with that comes certain...compromises."
"Compromises?" he asked. "If I was eager to compromise, I would have married for love. This was supposed to be convenient. She is taking the convenience out of the marriage arrangement."
"Well, do you want Her Grace to halt all renovations?" Roberts asked. "I could communicate this?—"
"No," Victor answered swiftly, cutting him off. "She seems to have a... grudge against me. It’s best to let her continue, even if I disagree with her choices. Let her do what she wants. Just make sure my chambers and my study are out of limits. I came here to work, and I need to be comfortable to be able to do so."
"Very well, Your Grace," Roberts said. "I will see to it right away."
"Good. You may leave," he said.
Victor ran a hand through his hair and crashed on the bed. He had arrived at the estate with so much energy, but all of that was drained now. Alice seemed to have gotten over her fear of him, and it made himuneasy. He had banked on that fear to keep the distance between them. Knowing the reason he married her in the first place, her mere existence was all he needed to achieve his goal.
But she was doing more than just living and breathing. She was complicating things. Drawing him out of his comfortable bubble.
A rush of frustration flared within him, and he could feel the tension coiling tighter in his chest. He needed to clear his head, to regain a sense of control over the overwhelming changes that had made their way into his life.
So, he made a mental note to visit Andrew, his only friend, at the training yard later that afternoon. He figured that the familiar routine of sparring would help him regain some of his focus and distance himself from the emotions Alice had so effortlessly unearthed.
