Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“Then you ought to wait in the drawing room, Your Grace, and I shall let him know so he may come to see you.”
I had a mind to go directly downstairs, but the memory of the last time I had intruded on servants in my own home had stuck with me. If servants who had known me for years felt uncomfortable with my presence downstairs, it would only be worse here, especially as I was no longer a nobleman’s daughter but now the duchess.
I could do this. I merely had to take it one step at a time.
Evander
When I awoke to find I was alone, a slight ache of worry spread through me. Only the sight of her things within the room reassured me that she was not a dream. Which then left me to wonder why she had left so early.
The answer to my question arrived with my valet, who informed me that my wife had called an assembly of the house.
I was aware Everely was not in the best state, but I did not believe things were so drastic that she would move with such urgency or severity. I had thought she would give herself a few days to adjust, and even though we had spent more time indulging on our way here, I simply was not yet satisfied. Would I ever be? That was the real question.
“How long have you worked here?” I heard her voice when I came downstairs.
Not wishing to interrupt, I listened from the adjacent room as each person gave her their name, their position within the house, as well as how long they had been employed.
“Should I announce your presence, Your Grace?” Wallace asked from beside me.
I shook my head, glancing through the crack of the door as she sat in her chair while her maid wrote down the information beside her.
“Did we not already have these records?” I asked Wallace.
“The steward looked for them, but apparently most have been lost or mismanaged. He said he would create a new set later, but the duchess preferred to do it this way,” he explained.
“How long has she been in here?” I asked.
“Almost two hours, Your Grace.”
Two hours? “Has she even eaten this morning?”
“I believe so, Your Grace. However, I would have to ask her lady’s maid.”
“No need.” If Aphrodite was hungry, she would most definitely find food. I did not need to worry about that. “Why are you not in there?”
His shoulders shifted back, and he stood straighter. “I have always maintained my own copies of my paperwork, as well as recommendations. I presented them to her first. Her Grace said she did not require them and, instead, asked that I continue as I am.”
Wallace was clearly proud of himself. It was amusing because he rarely ever showed it. Devotion? Steadfastness? Yes, but this look was as though she had patted him on the head.
“Very well, I will not be the one to disturb her.” I stepped back from the door to walk to my study. “Where is the steward? I wish to speak to him about the mills. Have there been any letters?” If I knew her family, and I did to a good degree, they most definitely had already written her.
“I have put them on your desk, Your Grace,” he said as he opened the door for me. “And I shall call the steward for you.”
“Thank you.”
Sure enough, there was a group of letters for Aphrodite. One from each of her sisters, her mother, and even her younger brother. The closeness of their family amazed me. Verity and I were close, but it would take at least half a year of my absence before she would think to write. Aphrodite had been with me for only a little more than a week. I carefully put her letters to the side and would inform the footmen to deliver them to her directly from now on.
I sorted through the rest. There were a few from the tenants. It was the last one, unmarked apart from the address, that interested me. I expected it to be another letter addressing a conflict of pigs on the estate or maybe a dispute over farmland. Instead, the first two words sent a rush of rage through me. It took all my strength to stop myself from ripping it in half and throwing it to the wind.
Little brother,
It has come to my attention that you have wed once again. I bid you congratulations for finally obtaining your beloved and dearest Aphrodite. I have not met the lady, but your determination to acquire her all these years must mean the talk is accurate and that she is a beauty beyond all measure. Such beauty should be seen with one’s own eyes, no? How I do miss Everely…
Sincerely,
Your elder brother
I crumpled the paper in my fist, as once more I cursed my father for the blight he had put upon this family and me. Was he coming here? Fine. Let him come, so I no longer had to waste funds and men searching the country for him. Let him come so I could rid myself of this bastard once and for all.