Chapter 10

"Oh, sorry, Your Grace," a young maid quipped, attempting to step out of the unfamiliar chambers.

Arabella sat up sharply, looking around and then remembering how she'd come to be in the large bed.

Her hands slid to the other side of the bed, and she frowned when she felt the cold sheets. She wondered where her husband had slept.

If he couldn't bring himself to sleep beside her on their wedding night, how was his family going to accept that they were well and truly married?

"It's all right…"

"Matilda, Your Grace."

"Matilda. Where's His Grace?" Arabella asked, sliding out of bed.

"He's gone out riding, Your Grace."

At this hour?

"'Tis a habit," the maid supplied as though hearing her thoughts.

"All right, thank you."

Arabella did her morning ablutions and dressed with the help of the maid, who announced that she'd been assigned as her lady's maid.

She was already late to breakfast, so she hadn't wasted time deciding on a dress. She'd chosen a pale yellow day dress that she hoped wouldn't be too loud for a first meeting with his family and had her hair styled in an elegant but simple chignon. A touch of rouge to her cheeks and a dash of perfume later, she was ready. She allowed herself to be led through ornately decorated corridors to the dining room.

Chatter floated through the closed double doors, making her pulse quicken so much that she nearly screamed when Edward suddenly appeared beside her.

"Good morning, Duchess," he greeted, smiling down at her warmly.

She tried hard not to notice how handsome he looked when he was smiling. The little dimple she'd only noticed once before appeared again, making her heart flutter. She tried to stay angry at him for leaving her alone last night, but it was hard with him being so devastatingly handsome.

Even if her marriage was a sham, his beauty could almost make it worthwhile. He'd dressed this morning almost informally, with his dark hair still damp and curling slightly at his forehead, as if he'd rushed his morning ablutions.

His brow furrowed as a concerned look crossed his features, and she remembered then that she hadn't greeted him back.

"Good morning, Your Grace." She curtsied. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did. Thank you." He nodded. "Did you?"

She wanted to ask him why he hadn't returned to their chamber last night, but she didn't think it'd be proper for her to bring up such matters.

Even if she'd been bold enough to ask for a night of passion at that ball, now they were married because of that foolish decision. She didn't think he'd want anything to do with her, especially seeing that it was her being so improper that got them into this mess.

He'd told her not to blame herself, but it was hard not to do so when the truth was obvious.

"I did. Thank you."

He nodded, keeping his hands behind his back.

The silence between them was pregnant with so many unspoken words, but how did one converse with their fake spouse?

"We should?—"

"Aren't we?—"

They shared an awkward laugh, before he gestured for her to go first.

"Aren't we going to go inside?" she asked softly, mindful of the footmen nearby.

Edward laughed uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck. "We are. I just…" he trailed off. "Give me your arm."

Her eyes widened, and she looked between them, before giving him her arm, trying hard not to flush at the contact.

He nodded to the footman who opened the doors to admit them.

All chatter stopped the moment they stepped in, three pairs of eyes flicking to them.

Arabella took in the people sitting at the table, and it was hard not to break into a cold sweat at the intense looks they shot her.

She figured it was because of the oddness of the Duke showing up late to breakfast with a strange woman on his arm. She flushed at how improper they must have looked.

"Edward?" An older woman who looked to be the most elegant middle-aged woman she'd ever seen asked. She had to be Edward's mother. They shared the beautiful dark eyes and proud chin that added a regal air to them. "I didn't know you'd returned from London."

"I returned last night."

"And you brought a friend," she noted, sounding disgusted with the word.

"Actually—"

"What is your name?" Harriet Fitzroy, the Dowager Duchess of Soulden, asked, her face expressionless.

One could make the mistake of thinking nothing was wrong, going by her expression, but the palpable tension in the room spoke volumes of her anger.

Of course, the Dowager Duchess thought Arabella was nothing more than a paramour. They'd had no prior knowledge of her. No proper Society lady would be found unannounced and unchaperoned in a man's house.

"Lady Arabella Burk, sister to the Earl of Thorne."

Eyebrows around the room shot up. Well, the man Arabella assumed to be Edward's brother seemed unsurprised by her declaration. The other woman she suspected was his brother's wife had raised her eyebrows—they nearly disappeared into her hairline. She was a pretty blonde whose cherubic features caused one to stare.

The Dowager Duchess had raised a single eyebrow, but the rest of her face was still blank.

"The Thorne seat," she stated. "That is a beautiful property. I haven't visited in years."

Arabella shifted her weight from one foot to the other, waiting to be asked to sit.

"Mother—"

"Edward, I do not appreciate you bringing your… friends to our home. Your family seat."

Arabella watched, impressed by the older woman's ability to convey her displeasure through veiled words. This was a skill only noblewomen with the highest training in decorum could pull off.

"Mother, it's not what you think," Edward argued, sounding like he was holding back a laugh.

"Oh. So I am to assume she's not your paramour?"

"She is not." He placed a hand on the small of Arabella's back, and it took everything in her not to shiver at the contact. "She is my wife. I present to you Arabella Fitzroy, the Duchess of Soulden."

This time, his mother's eyebrows rose to her hairline. "You got married?!"

"Yes."

How he kept his tone even, Arabella didn't know. She felt like a cow at an auction, with the way they were staring at her.

"Why?"

Arabella looked at her husband, wondering what explanation he'd give his family.

"Why not? You've wanted me to marry for the last few years."

"Yes, and I expected that if you did, I'd at least be informed."

"Is she expecting?" his sister-in-law asked.

At her question, his mother gasped.

"No," Edward almost snapped.

His family let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Well then, what was the need for the rushed wedding?"

"I fell in love."

This time, the eyebrows of all three occupants disappeared into their hairlines.

"Arabella stole my heart with her smile a few months ago, and I knew I couldn't wait to make her my wife."

"You courted her for months?"

"No. I courted her for only a week, but I've been watching her from afar for months," he lied.

"Well…"

"Mother, Arabella is not only beautiful, but she is compassionate, funny, smart, well-read and most importantly, she isn't afraid to tell me exactly what she is thinking."

Arabella reddened at that. One didn't describe a proper, well-bred lady as one who spoke her mind.

"It was hard for me to wait and court her for months when my heart already knew she was the one for me." He took her hand in his. "I love Arabella too much to be parted from her a minute longer."

His family stared at him as if he were a strange creature they'd never seen before, but she couldn't blame them. His words were so sweet that she could almost have believed them herself.

After a long minute, his mother smiled.

"I see she has you smitten." She smiled at Arabella. "Come. Sit. I look forward to getting to know the woman who has stolen my son's heart."

Arabella curtsied and took a seat to the left of Edward's sister-in-law while he took his place at the head of the table.

"I'm Harriet Fitzroy, Edward's mother, and I welcome you to our home."

"I thank you."

"I'm Emily. His sister-in-law." The angel to her right smiled. "I have to admit, Edward, you have a good taste."

Arabella blushed deeply.

The footmen placed a plate of eggs, toast, butter, bacon and blueberry jam in front of her, and she was grateful for the heavy spread. She had barely eaten the previous day and was starting to feel light-headed.

Conversation flowed around the table as she ate, chiming in when questions were directed at her, but she was content just watching.

She noticed Edward speaking with his brother out of the corner of her eye, and she could tell he didn't want to be there if his glower was anything to go by.

She wondered if she were the subject of their conversation. Her attention was drawn back to the Dowager Duchess and her sister-in-law when they rose from their seats.

"Come, Arabella." Emily smiled. "You simply must meet the children."

Children?

"I must warn you, they can be heathenish, but they're the absolute sweetest," Emily gushed. "I should know. I'm their mother."

Arabella didn't know she'd been holding her breath until Emily had said that. She didn't want to think Edward had kept something as important as having children from her.

Noise met them in the hallway before she even got to the room she assumed was the playroom.

The door opened, and she confirmed that it was exactly that. The nannies looked downright worse for wear, and it took everything in her not to laugh.

"Beatrice. Noah," Emily called. "There's someone I want you to meet."

The children rushed over to their mother, before hiding their faces in her skirts.

Emily giggled, hugging them to herself, sending a pang through Arabella.

Would she and Edward ever have children of their own?

She turned away from the sweet display to compose herself and turned back, trying to bury the thoughts. But it was hard with the two little ones trying to talk over themselves as they explained something to their mother.

"We will go to the gardens so that you'll show me this bird, but before then I want you guys to meet someone."

The children looked at Arabella then, matching curious expressions on their faces, and she couldn't help but smile. They were absolutely adorable.

The girl seemed to be older and was absolutely beautiful, having her mother's cherubic features. The boy had his father's dark coloring, although had his mother's eyes. He smiled, and a dimple popped into his cheek on one side. Arabella couldn't help but think of her own husband.

"Arabella, these are my children, Beatrice and Noah," Emily announced. "Beatrice is seven, and Noah is five…"

"Six in winter," Noah added.

"Yes. Six in winter." She laughed. "Bea, Noah, this is your aunt Arabella, Uncle Edward's Duchess."

"Good day." Arabella smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you two."

The two shared a look and then Beatrice launched herself at her. Arabella had barely been able to keep them from tumbling to the floor.

"Bea, be careful!" Emily scolded.

Beatrice didn't answer but started chattering excitedly.

"Do you like tea parties? I have so many pretty dresses! Can I brush your hair? I'm very good at styling hair. Will you come play with us in the garden?"

The questions flowed out of her incessantly—it was hard to keep up with them.

Arabella noticed then that Noah was still hiding in his mother's skirt, a hot blush on his cheeks.

"Don't be shy, Noah," Emily cooed. "Go greet your new aunt."

Arabella caught his eye, and he turned away again, blushing furiously.

"I can't," he cried.

"Why not?" Emily asked, giving Arabella a wink.

"She's so pretty."

Emily laughed, pushing him towards her. "That's exactly why you should talk to her."

Arabella crouched down, trying to meet the boy's eyes. "Good day, Noah." She smiled. "You think I'm pretty?"

He nodded shyly, digging his foot into the ground.

"I think you're pretty handsome too." She ruffled his hair. "Want to go play?"

"But I asked you to play first!" Beatrice cried.

"All of us can play together," Arabella assured them. "I have so many games to teach you. The first person that makes it the garden gets a secret prize."

The children dashed off excitedly.

It was only then that she stood up again, catching Emily's eyes.

"You're a natural with them." Emily smiled. "You'll be a good mother."

The sharp pang returned, but Arabella buried it.

"Come. We'd better head to the gardens quickly before they hurt themselves. And you can tell me all about how you and my brother-in-law met."

Arabella's eyes widened as she tried to think up a story that matched what Edward had said in the dining room.

They spotted the children already running their nannies ragged in the gardens and took a seat under the shade of an orange tree.

"How did you two meet?" Emily asked, smiling expectantly.

"It was at a ball my brother threw in our home, and it had been love at first sight." Arabella decided to be as true as possible. She already felt poorly because of the lies he'd told his family and, by extension, the lies she had told her own family. "He'd been so handsome and funny…"

"Edward? Funny?" Emily asked incredulously. "I'm sorry, but funny is not a word I'd use to describe my brother-in-law. He's always so serious."

Didn't she know it? But Arabella would never say that.

"He was. It wasn't a hard decision to marry him when he'd proposed." She smiled.

"I'm very happy you're his wife, Arabella," Emily said all too seriously. "Be patient with him, all right?"

Arabella wondered then if the woman knew something but decided against asking. She nodded.

"Good." Emily squeezed her hand. "Let's put the nannies out of their misery and tackle my heathens."

They shared a laugh and went to wrangle the children, who'd started a game of tag.

By the time lunch rolled around, Arabella was fatigued, and not long after, she felt exhausted and her feet were killing her. But the children were making plans to play more games.

Sometime after lunch, their mother had disappeared, so she'd had to handle them all alone, and now she craved alone time more than anything.

She pounced on the perfect opportunity as soon as she saw Edward.

"Let's play a new game," she whispered to the little ones. She pulled them to the other side of the tree and crouched down. "Let's try to scare Uncle Edward."

The two giggled, but she put her fingers to her lips.

She spotted Edward turning into the garden and gave the two her signal, sitting back to watch them work.

When they launched themselves at him, she laughed.

His eyes found hers while he had Noah in his arms, and she couldn't help how fast her heart beat in her chest.

His eyes were bright, and he had the biggest smile on his face. Bigger than she'd ever seen him wear.

He truly was unfairly handsome.

Seeing him with the children in his arms made the pang she'd felt earlier return, and now more than ever she wanted to be alone.

"Darling," she called to him, startling him.

"Ara mine," he answered when he caught himself.

"How—"

"How—"

They laughed again as they interrupted each other. He watched her once their laughter subsided, and she had to put a hand on her chest to calm her racing heart.

"Are you two about to kiss?" Beatrice asked suddenly.

The two of them started and turned to look at the two heathens, who were smiling brightly.

"No, little one. Although if your auntie does kiss me, I won't mind." Edward smiled, patting her head.

Arabella knew he was joking, but her silly heart somehow didn't seem to and beat even faster.

"Uncle Eddie, will you come play with us?" Noah asked suddenly. "Auntie Ara wanted to teach us a new game."

Arabella's eyebrows rose in panick as her eyes met her husband's.

Help me, she mouthed.

Edward smiled, winking at her. "All right. I'll play with you."

Damn you!

She glared at him.

"But I heard Cook was baking cookies and…"

The children ran off before he finished, and he laughed.

Arabella let out a sigh of relief and looked at him then. "Thank you."

"You lasted far longer than anyone I've ever seen."

She blushed at the praise. "I barely did." She laughed nervously. "I thought I was going to have to pretend to faint."

"It was fortuitous I came around, then."

"Indeed."

He smiled.

They settled into a comfortable silence that she wasn't in a hurry to fill.

"How did your day go?" he asked suddenly.

"Good, surprisingly," she answered sincerely. "You were right about your family."

"So, what did you like about my family?"

"Your mother is the absolute sweetest, and she has the best stories."

"What stories did she tell you?"

Arabella smiled mischievously. "She told me about the time you went to swim in the fountain, naked, in the middle of a garden party she hosted."

He groaned as she laughed.

"You must have been the most adorable five-year-old."

"I was. I made a few ladies faint that day."

They shared a laugh.

"I can imagine how proud you must have felt."

"Oh, I was," he answered proudly. "I stood with my legs apart on the fountain, proudly showing off the family jewels."

"Oh God."

"Have you taken a turn round the gardens?"

"Not yet."

He held out his arm to her, which she took.

Edward was very knowledgeable of the flora and fauna in the garden and made the conversation light and fun. She was surprised by the charming side he'd shown her.

"I guess I better escort you inside so you can dress for the evening meal."

Had that much time passed? She hadn't even noticed.

"Are you sure you aren't trying to make sure I don't run away?" Arabella teased as they fell into step with each other.

If he was surprised, he didn't show it.

"Why would I need to, when you're in love with me?"

She laughed then, unable to make it as graceful as she could.

He smiled down at her, seemingly enjoying her amusement.

"How did you find spending time with my family?" he asked, concern evident in his words.

She smiled at him. He'd been right about his family. She'd found friendship in Emily and warmth from her mother-in-law and the children. She had yet to converse with Charles, but overall, she'd had a good day, and she told him as much.

Edward nodded and came to a stop as the butler opened the door. "I have some matters to attend to, but I'll see you at dinner."

"All right." She nodded. "Do be careful."

She didn't know why she'd added that, but he nodded, and she turned to head inside, feeling warm.

They'd just had a conversation, and it had been… pleasant. She didn't know how to feel.

She admired the elegant oil paintings lining the hallways as she tried to make her way back to her room.

She rounded a corner, noticing she'd stepped into an unfamiliar hall with no maid or footmen about.

She turned to head back the way she'd come, but upon hearing a noise up ahead, she stepped forward to see if she could find someone to help her back to her room.

When she stepped into the next hall, she couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips.

She spotted a couple in an embrace so passionate that she flushed from head to toe.

She turned away as they pulled apart.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted out as she saw their panicked attempts to right themselves.

"It's all right," she heard the woman say.

Arabella turned then and took in the couple. The woman looked to be a noble, but the man was dressed in livery.

"It's His Grace's wife," Arabella heard the footman tell the woman.

The woman's eyes widened as she looked at Arabella, but then she schooled her features into a neutral mask.

"Are you lost, Your Grace?" she asked.

Arabella nodded.

"I'll help you get back."

Arabella nodded again but said nothing.

"I'm Joana," the lady said when she fell into step with her.

Arabella didn't know what to say.

"We were all very surprised the Duke got married so quickly. We didn't think…" the lady trailed off. "I must admit, I can see what he saw in you. You're beautiful."

"Thank you."

Arabella wondered who the woman was. If she were a maid, she'd understand why Edward hadn't said anything about her, but she wasn't dressed as a servant, so Arabella wondered who she was and asked as much.

"I'm the Duke's ward," Joana answered. "My parents died in an accident when I was young, and he took me in. We basically grew up together and have been as thick as thieves."

Arabella couldn't help the rush of jealousy that flared within her then. She couldn't help but admit that Joana was a beauty, and she wondered why Edward had never married her, since they'd known each other so long.

He hadn't even mentioned her.

They stepped into familiar territory, and she thanked Joana.

"You're welcome." Joana smiled, although she looked like she had something more to say. "I want to ask you for a favor."

Arabella nodded.

"Would you mind…"

She understood immediately what Joana was asking.

"I won't say a word."

"Thank you," Joana breathed. "I look forward to seeing you at dinner."

"I look forward to seeing you too." Arabella smiled at her and then bid her a good day.

Once she was safely in her chamber, she couldn't help but wonder why Edward hadn't said anything about his ward. Perhaps he'd forgotten, since Joana hadn't come down for breakfast, and hoped he'd introduce them later on.

Arabella noted how beautiful Joana was and felt a twinge of jealousy as she wondered just how close she and Edward had been. Joana walked more elegantly than even Sarah, who had the prettiest smile and who Arabella had always looked up to.

She wondered still why Joana was kissing a footman when she looked beautiful enough to have any man she wanted.

She wondered what Edward would say if he got word of that but shook her head. He might be a gentleman, but he looked the protective sort.

She thought back to the conversation they had earlier, and she smiled. She'd felt so warm that she'd almost wanted to ask that they prolong the conversation.

Perhaps if they could continue as they had this afternoon, their marriage would work out well.

She shook the thought out of her head. Nothing good could come from expecting that he felt the same way about their situation. Just because they had one nice conversation didn't mean that their marriage would work.

Feeling tired after the long day she had, she decided to skip dinner and rest.