“It was his valet, Anders. Apparently, they’ve been together for a very long time. They traveled together and the like. So Anders is allowed to speak quite candidly to His Grace.”
“About?”
“About being here, of course. His Grace wants to leave. I believe he prefers the country? Except Anders says they shouldn’t go. Not until Benedict is safe—or that’s what he said. The two of them got into quite a row about it, especially when Anders admitted to having Wentworth and Mrs. Helen send for the gardener.”
Nothing about the story made sense to Georgiana. She tried to think it through before shaking her head. “What about the gardener?”
Jean clapped her hands together. “His Grace is quite the gardener. He has a massive greenhouse in the countryside. That’s why he wanted to return so badly, to his plants and the like. But Anders requested the head gardener to arrive in town, so the man is on his way, and now His Grace is trapped here.”
Which means I’m trapped with him.
“Lovely,” Georgiana muttered bitterly. “What sort of master allows his servants to act so inappropriately?”
“I would never do that,” Jean offered.
“Oh, I know. You’re a darling. But perhaps Anders could teach me a thing or two about the Duke…”
Georgiana considered her options for a moment. After all, she couldn’t be strangers with her husband. She had to know something about him. The man was determined to hide from her. Or the world, perhaps.
“What would the gardener do here?”
Surprise once again flickered across her maid’s face. “Oh, you don’t know? There’s an old greenhouse on the roof here that could be revitalized.”
“Really?” Georgiana tilted her head up. “Mrs. Helen didn’t tell me about it.”
“I could show it to you, Your Grace?”
An idea came to mind. “Don’t worry about that. I can see to it on my own. Can you put these invitations on my writing desk? I need to decide whether or not I’ll attend.”
Although Jean appeared a little put-out, she nodded and obeyed. This left Georgiana on her own. She started back up the stairs as her curiosity got the better of her. Though Mrs. Helen had invited her to go out onto the roof during her tour the other day, Georgiana had declined. She didn’t care for heights. But no one had mentioned a greenhouse.
It wasn’t difficult to find the door on the top floor, shadowed and hidden in a dark alcove. Georgiana pushed it open and blinked as daylight hit her eyes.
Stepping out onto the roof, she paused. She couldn’t help but grow jumpy when she saw a railing around the roof. But over to her right was the greenhouse that Jean had mentioned.
The glass was much too foggy and dirty for her to see anything but shadows through them. Noting the grime on the doors, she hesitated over opening them. Just as she reached out her hand, however, the door creaked open, revealing her husband.
They stared at each other. She tried not to note how he wore no coat. In fact, his waistcoat was open, and he was not wearing a cravat as well. A blush crept up her cheeks when she realized she could see his bare neck. This was hardly appropriate.
“Wife.”
Or perhaps it was appropriate if they were married, she didn’t know. Georgiana swallowed. There was no emotion in his voice or his eyes. She dimly recalled the mention of one of his supposed curses. He had fought the devil and lost, losing his soul. That was why he never went to church.
“Hus—” She couldn’t say the word. “Duke. I just came out here to see the greenhouse, if you don’t mind.”
“Except that I do.”
Caught off guard, Georgiana tried to think. She also tried not to look at him. “You do what?”
“Imind. The greenhouse is mine. Besides, it’s dirty and dangerous in there at the moment. It needs to be cleaned up. There are broken pots everywhere. You must stay below the roof.”
She couldn’t help but huff. “Even now you presume to tell me what to do? You said I would have my freedom.”
“Freedom to buy your frilly dresses, play your games, and attend any social events you care to enjoy,” he corrected her with a hard look.
Those deep green eyes pierced her soul. She felt her heart beat erratically, uncertain of what that meant.
“You have the freedom to stay away from me. But I’m here, so you can’t be.”
