Chapter Eleven

Edith pressed her lips tight together, her stomach churning. They had been walking together for some minutes and as yet, the Duke had not said a single word to her. The wind brushed gently across her cheek and Edith shivered lightly, though the wind itself was not particularly cold. Rather, it came from the iciness she felt from the Duke's presence.

"This is a magnificent estate," she murmured, struggling to say anything other than that. In truth, the estate was truly magnificent, with beautiful gardens which spread out from the manor house. Everything was very well taken care of, which spoke of the Duke's servants and their dedication to their tasks.

"I thank you." The Duke sniffed and then cleared his throat, looking away from her. Edith dropped her shoulders, her heart a little heavy as she let out a small sigh, fighting against the urge to despair. Was the gentleman's coldness towards her an expression that, thus far, she had failed in his expectations? Was he going to turn around and tell her, before the house gathering had even begun, that she was no longer engaged to him and that their marriage would not take place? Was she to be so disgraced already?

With a lift of her chin and a sudden determination, Edith stopped walking and turned to face the Duke directly. It took him a moment to realize that she was no longer beside him and he turned around thereafter, his expression still set in ice.

"Your Grace, are you going to break this engagement before the house gathering has even begun?" Determined now to speak honestly, to find out what his expectations were, Edith kept her chin lifted as she held his gaze, her skin prickling as she caught sight of the Duchess coming to a stop only a few steps away.

"Why should I wish to end the engagement?"

Edith blinked quickly, something like relief calming her a little. "Your reaction towards my presence, Your Grace, appears to be a little… cold. I wonder, then, if I have already failed in some way and therefore, you intend to soon tell me that we are no longer engaged."

The Duke of Fairglen sniffed. "We are still engaged, Miss Tidemore."

Taking in a deep breath, Edith fought for a little more courage, choosing to continue the conversation rather than leaving it to end here. "Then might I ask for your reasons behind this obvious coldness towards my presence here?"

A frown settled across the Duke's forehead but Edith kept her question there, refusing to tell him that it did not matter or that she did not require his answer. The Duke said nothing for some minutes longer, perhaps expecting that his silence would be enough to intimidate her, but Edith too chose to remain silent.

"I do not expect my wife – should you become it – to question me in such a manner."

Edith tilted her chin. "And I do not expect that my husband – should you become it – to ignore my presence entirely."

She saw his eyebrows lift, evidently surprised that she would think to talk to him in such a way but Edith found that she did not care any longer. She was growing upset and frustrated with the Duke's silence towards her and, speaking to him as she did, she found herself with a renewed sense of courage. After all, she considered, as the Duke's brows sank low over his eyes, she was also to be considering him as her future husband, was she not? Did that not mean that she had a right to have her own questions answered also? Was she not worthy of his respect even if it was to be given begrudgingly?

"I do not think that you have failed as yet, Miss Tidemore." The Duke lifted his eyebrows and then turned his head away, letting out a long, slow breath as though to suggest that she was being severely irritating in insisting on such questions as that. "Though there is still much that I must learn about you."

"And I do not believe that you can learn those things about me without actually lingering my company," Edith responded, quickly. "Given that you arranged this match, I am a little surprised to see that, in this, you have decided to step back from me as much as you can, as though observing me from afar will be enough."

The Duke scowled. "That will be enough, Miss Tidemore. You may not like it but that would suit me very well."

Edith hesitated, searching his expression and quickly realizing what it was that he meant. He had never once told her about his previous engagement but Edith was well aware of it, given what her father had told her. To the Duke's mind, observing her from afar would mean that he might well have a little more certainty over whether or not she was of the same ilk as his previously betrothed young lady. He would be able to see if she was flirtatious, if she had eyes which darted here, there and everywhere rather than fixing only to him. Her shoulders rounded as she shook her head.

"You forget, Your Grace, that this situation was of your making and that I was never given even a single moment of consideration within it," she said, a note of sadness entering her voice. "And yet again, it seems, my own thoughts, feelings and questions are to be ignored, they are to be thrust aside so that you may achieve your desires and goals. I have already been told that I am to be wed to you, that I must accept the engagement without question and I have obeyed that without throwing out any demands of my own."

The Duke harrumphed, though it sounded as though there was a laugh rattling through it. "No doubt any young lady would be glad to marry a Duke."

Edith's eyebrows rose. "And by that, you mean to suggest that I had no difficulty in accepting the engagement simply because of the status it would bring me? That I was somehow so overwhelmed with joy at the prospect, I could feel nothing but happiness?"

The Duke's jaw tightened. "Of course."

Edith closed her eyes as a swell of hot, angry tears rose behind them. "Then you are quite mistaken, Your Grace," she said, opening her eyes to look up at him, all thought of keeping herself quiet and restrained gone from her as she saw the arrogance etched into his face. "You may be surprised to hear this, but I have cried many tears over this engagement. I have been broken-hearted at the lack of consideration both from my father and from yourself. I have no thought about status, no imaginings of what it would be like to be a Duchess. I have never wanted such a thing for myself, I have never even hoped for such a thing." Her voice began to wobble but Edith continued on heedlessly, determined to force her words from her throat. Yes, he might decide then and there that she was not suitable to be a Duchess but Edith did not care. Perhaps that would be the best situation for both of them. "You arranged this with my father, choosing to engage yourself to me without even a single day of courtship. I was never consulted, I was never spoken to, I was never given even a moment's thought. Instead, I was informed that this was what the situation was and, without recourse, I now find myself in a place where I am, somehow, supposed to prove to you that I can not only fulfill the role of Duchess but I can also prove my loyalty to you. Loyalty to a gentleman who has no interest in discovering anything about me and who believes that I might well fail at every turn! A gentleman who will watch me with sharp eyes but will not offer a single word to me without seemingly great effort. A gentleman who does not think of me in any way but only of himself. Yes, Your Grace, you may well have this situation in hand but I can promise you that nothing about it causes me any joy. Instead, I have only pain." She looked up at him again, blinking furiously, curling her hands into tight fists. "I am not about to step away from you, nor do I have any intention of seeking out another gentleman in place of you. It is not as though I had opportunity to even meet any other gentlemen this Season and none of them either had the chance nor the interest in courtship. But do not think for a moment, Your Grace, that I am overwhelmed with happiness at the thought of becoming a Duchess. I am the daughter of a Viscount and, as such, making such a great change would be a very profitable one indeed for myself and my family but it is not something that I am at all eager to pursue. Standing and status within society has never been a consideration of mine." Her voice cracked. "It is never what I wanted for myself."

The Duke's frown had grown all the darker but now he rubbed one hand over his chin, a slight softening coming into his eyes though it did not steal all of the shadows away. "Then might I ask what it was you have sought, Miss Tidemore? Every other young lady in society would fall over themselves in their urgency to become my bride, were they given opportunity."

Edith gave him a sad smile. "I wanted only consideration, respect and affection in whatever match I made," she answered, her voice a little hoarse now. "But I fear now that I shall be given not even one of the three."