Page 32 of Her Duke's Secret


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“I imagine he wants to assert himself with her,” Mrs. Blomquist replied. “You know what has been said. They married only for convenience because the old Earl tricked the poor dear into marrying His Grace. How dreadful! She seems like a nice young lady.”

“Indeed. What some parents will do for a prestigious title… I wish I could have a word with His Grace. It is all well and good that it is a marriage of convenience, but he should at least do as he said and spend the day with her.”

Mrs. Blomquist sighed. “Yes, well, I hate to say it, but I think the chances of him coming home at all at a reasonable hour today are very slim. He’s gone to visit…” She lowered her voice so much that Arabella could not make out what was being said, no matter how hard she strained her ears.

Mabel said, “He certainly will not be back by dinner, then. What a waste—all that flummery will have to be thrown away.”

At this, Mrs. Blomquist chuckled. “I think not. The servants will have a nice dessert tonight, but the poor Duchess… I fear she will dine alone, whether she wishes to believe it or not.”

Arabella returned to her seat, her appetite now fully gone.

Who was Harry visiting? Why had he lied to her about spending the day together, and why did everyone in this house seem to pity her already?

CHAPTER 13

The stars had already begun to sparkle in the sky by the time Harry returned. He exited the carriage and inhaled deeply, the scent of sweet lavender wafting over from the nearby fields. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked up. The moon hung low, and he remembered how as a boy he used to believe that if he only jumped high enough, he could touch it.

“Good evening, Your Grace,” Mrs. Blomquist greeted as she came around the corner from the direction of the laundry.

“Good evening, Mrs. Blomquist. And how are you this fine evening?”

The woman looked at him with a particular expression, one he knew meant something had gone amiss during his absence. Truly, he hadn’t intended to be away all day, but sometimes he lost track of time.

“I am quite well, but I cannot say the same for Her Grace. She did not take her dinner and seemed rather upset.”

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Why was she upset?” His wife perplexed him more than he could have imagined.

“She said you had promised to dine with her and show her around the estate,” Mrs. Blomquist replied, and he detected a hint of judgment in her voice—unusual for the woman.

Harry closed his eyes, recalling that he had indeed said exactly that. The night before, when he had shown Arabella to her chambers, he had suggested that they eat separately but reconvene the following day. And then he had entirely forgotten.

“Right,” he sighed. “Where is Her Grace now?”

“In the garden,” Mrs. Blomquist replied with a nod, before making her way back into the house.

Harry made his way through the grand sculpture garden, where the marble statues his father and mother had collected during their travels were displayed. Not finding his wife there, he passed through the little iron gate to the rose garden. There, he found her sitting on the steps.

“Arabella,” he called.

She turned and rose at once, walking toward him with an expression that forewarned him of a stern rebuke—one he knew he deserved.

“I beg your pardon,” he began.

“You! I waited here like a wallflower all day, convinced you were going to fulfill your promise. We already did not spend the night together as a newlywed couple should, so I know all your servants are talking about that. Then you left me to have breakfast on my own, and?—”

“I said, I beg your pardon,” he repeated, irritated that she wouldn’t even allow him to apologize.

“I waited all day,” she continued, as if he hadn’t spoken. “I wandered like a ghost between the drawing room and my chambers, convinced you would return because you promised to show me around the estate. But you did not.”

He dug his heels into the grass, hearing the crunch of the gravel beneath. “I know. The truth is, I had a long, difficult day.”

“I know you had to call on someone. Did that truly take all day?”

Of course, it didn’t need to take all day…

He could have accomplished everything more quickly. He had a meeting with his solicitor, then with one of his businesspartners, and then he had decided to visit Helen… And it was there that time had gotten away from him.

All of that could have been accomplished in the space of a few hours, but the truth was that he had forgotten. He had forgotten what he had promised Arabella, and a part of him had almost hoped this would make it clear to her that their marriage would not turn into something more.