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“I am sorry. I was deep in thought.”

“I could tell. Thinking of a certain young lord I am sure.” Her eyes grew wide with alarm and she took a step back, banging with her shoulder into the open armoire’s door. “I apologize. I am a bit of a gabster and at times I do not know my place.”

Ruth shook her head. “Do not fret. I have always appreciated your candor. I was indeed thinking of a certain young lord. And the white bonnet with the yellow ribbon will do me nicely.”

She found her gaze drifting toward the door separating her chamber from her sister’s. In the days following her fall, she’d seen Sophia with some frequency. Her sister sat by her side and read to her as she did after the fire, or when she took ill as a child.

Since Ruth was able to leave the bed and walk about her chamber, Sophia retreated more and more. They had not addressed the argument between them the day of the fall, nor had they discussed the disappearance of the patch box.

The strain between them bothered her still. It pained her to know that her joy had cost her sister the happiness she’d come here to find. But then again, if Kenneth could not find it in his heart to love Sophia, could she ever have been content?

“Here we are, my lady.” Charlotte placed the bonnet on her head and stepped back. “Lovely.”

“Thank you, for all your attention.”

The young woman smiled but her cheeks flushed. She curtsied and departed, leaving Ruth to slowly make her way toward the door.

* * *

By the time Ruth reached the staircase, her heart beat out of her chest. She’d not been down this way since the fall and the memories of her confrontation with the Duchess flooded back. How angry the woman was towards her. How terrible her words.

But nothing was as terrible as being pushed down the stairs. She glanced at the door she knew led to Lord Cragshade’s chamber, the most likely culprit in her fall. It was closed, a footman hovering near it. Knowing Kenneth and his parents were keeping an eye on the man helped her feel more secure, but at the same time, she wished he would leave.

“Ruth, there you are.” Kenneth’s voice drew her out of her thoughts. “I planned to meet you at your chamber. Molly is already waiting for us.”

She broke into a wide smile when she saw him. His hair was tucked behind his ears, exposing his strong jaw line and stubbled face. She liked the rugged appearance. His legs were in a pair of dark-blue pantaloons, his white shirt covered by a red waistcoat.

“What is this?” She pointed at a small package he was holding in his hand, halfway concealed behind his back.

He colored up at once. “Ah. By Jove. I am not the best at keeping a secret.” He gritted his teeth but did not reveal what was in his hand. “I will show you later when we are in the garden. Now, allow me?” He extended his arm to her and together, they gingerly walked down the steps.

Each step, she found, drove small pins and needles up and through her entire body. Her joints ached from inactivity and a small groan escaped her.

“Shall I carry you?” Kenneth offered. She chuckled at this, marveling at how very much like a lady she felt around him.

To have a young man offer to carry me down the stairs. Who would have imagined such a thing?

“I can manage on my own, but I thank you for the offer.” She grabbed a hold of the railing and placed her foot down onto the next step, the pain less intense now. By the time they managed to make it to the bottom of the steps, she felt confident in her ability to walk the length of the garden. If she could manage the stairs, a walk along the garden would be no trouble at all.

Together, they walked out of the front door, the butler, Rimbault, smiled at her in a way he had not in the past. She frowned. This was a change she’d noticed in many of the servants who had tended to her these past few days. There was a sense of respect in the way they acted around her, a kindness almost she’d not experienced before. While they were always cordial, safe for Charlotte, the apprehension toward her among the staff was crystal clear all along.

She voiced this to Kenneth who nodded in reply. They slowly walked down the graveled path toward the lake, Molly was a few paces behind them in her role as chaperone.

“It is because our courtship is official. They accept you because they understand I chose you.”

Ruth shook her head. To think that the servants at Goldclaw Manor might accept her as the future Lady of the Manor so easily was both a relief – and disturbing.

“I do not know how I am to feel about this. I remember very clearly how I was looked down upon by the servants, how they talked about me behind my back, sneered and snickered or even gasped when they thought I could not hear or see them. Not that I can say I was shocked by it; it is the same wherever I go. But to have them now act so differently makes me feel odd.”

He glanced at her; his lips parted as he considered this statement.

“I understand. They treat you differently to your face because of your change in status. They know you will be married and one day, you will be Duchess.”

“Indeed. At home, at Twilightfare, the servants treat me as they treat my sister, as they treat my father. But it is not because they fear me, or because I am the daughter of the man who secures their living. It is because they know me, and they care for me. Here, I feel as though they will always look at me at the girl with the horrific scar who somehow bewitched their lord into marrying her.”

He sighed. “And some of them might. But with time, many will see you for who you are, and it will be as it is at Twilightfare, I promise you.”

Up ahead, a carriage drove up and when the coachman climbed down from the box seat and opened the door, Ruth gasped. The man who made his way out of the carriage with some difficulty was none other than Lord Cragshade.