Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

A melia’s enraged stare cut through Richard like a knife. He could still feel the weight of that man beneath his hand as well as see the scene playing over and over again in his mind. He had been so concerned with finding a replacement steward, all in an attempt to shake up Amelia’s management of the estate, that he’d allowed so horrible of a creature into their home.

He swallowed hard, ducking his head as his eyes found the floor. It was another moment before he could speak, shutting his lids briefly as he silently reprimanded himself.

“I am terribly sorry, Amelia. It was not my intention to?—”

“We will not be replacing Mr. Dannish. You must see now that to have such a loyal and kind steward as we do is a rare act of fortune.”

Amelia shoved off the sofa brusquely, her steps taking her in a short circle as she paced in front of him.

“This is precisely why I was required to rehire several of the household staff. People put on a performance when they are looking to enter a grand estate’s employ. You must be shrewd and keep your attention fixed on the details of their actions. Had you even asked upon his references for proof of his character?”

Richard’s stomach clenched as his jaw set more firmly. He forced himself to breathe steadily through his nose as he stood from the cushions, his hand clasped behind his back so that he would not come at Amelia with fists.

“I had conducted a brief?—”

“Brief?” She glared at him, stopping in her repetitive circle to stand before him. “Mr. Dannish has served this house for longer than I’ve been in residence. He has proven his loyalty, and when I was just arriving and acquainting myself with the estate, he was a consummate guide and friend. Which you would have known if you had taken the time to discuss this with me. You would also have heard from Mr. Dannish himself. He wishes to continue working and has no desire to retire.”

Tilting his head down toward the floor, Richard licked his lips, trying to steady himself against the wave of his wife’s anger.

“I have apologized, Amelia, and I am truly sorry that this situation has caused you such stress. I simply wanted to?—”

She scoffed, the flame in her doe eyes still burning brightly. “I am well aware of what you wanted to do, Richard. Even after providing details and being readily available for you to have a discussion, you still refuse to see the good that I have done for this house and the care that I have taken to keep everyone within it safe. A fact that you greatly jeopardized today.”

Flicking his eyes to her, Richard’s brows pinched together as she regarded his bold wife. His jaw muscles worked as he fought against the urge to let slip the first words that delivered themselves to his mind.

“I understand your concern,” Richard spoke through gritted teeth. “Truly. I still believe there is quite a bit of work to be done. Particularly considering the number of scandal sheets that have still been provided to me over the course of these five years. Your care has somehow overlooked these crucial areas as well as that of favoring a tighter budget over indulging nearby individuals when their own funds are lacking.”

Amelia’s expression fell, and she stepped backward just a hair. As the silence thickened around them, Richard’s pulse fluttered in his neck, the images of the past few moments still crowding his mind with discomfort and remorse.

“I am sorry. I had never intended to let such a person into the estate. I will take care to ensure that he cannot work within the houses of Town and everyone is made aware of his disastrous reputation.”

Amelia shook her head just enough to be perceptible, and when she spoke, her voice was quiet.

“You are still so concerned with the way a situation might come to be viewed by those around you. Reputation. I have long held one as being overly fond of get-togethers, of being a woman too challenging that her husband saw fit to flee to the countryside.”

Richard’s stomach flipped, a strange well forming deep in the pit of it as his wife spoke.

“I have paid little attention to these claims. I know they seldom pertain to the truth of the situation. It is why when speculation as to your activities in Blackford makes it back to me I readily dismiss it. I wonder then what it was that convinced you so firmly of truth to be found in these utterances and not in those coming from those closest to you and with direct knowledge of the situation.”

Bile rose up the back of the Duke’s throat. Too much of Amelia’s words were given without warning. She did not know of what she spoke, and unlike those she might be concerned with, Richard did not trust anyone at their word.

He had been made consistently aware of how even those closest to you could be the perpetrators of the most harm from a young age, and it was a lesson he was not soon to forget.

“You do not know of what you speak.”

Without the mind to stop himself, Richard approached Amelia, crossing the space between them until he was inches from her. His mind felt stuffed to the brim with nagging doubts and a frustration that bit hard enough he tasted blood in his own mouth.

Amelia pulled back from him, her eyes going wide, and the idea of what that man had nearly done to his wife forced Richard’s hands into fists. He was quick to release them, sighing as he dropped his head so that the concern in Amelia’s deep eyes would not find him.

“I will not bring another candidate for steward to the estate. Still,” it took a long moment for Richard to meet Amelia’s stare, “I should remind you that you would serve yourself well to remember that I have no duty to listen to your whims. Gratitude going forward would benefit you.”

Scoffing, Amelia stepped backward, but only a hair. As she looked up at him, the determined set of her brows spoke to that glowing ember within him. Richard could feel the stirrings of similar emotions as he’d experienced last evening. His challenging wife interested him so, and Richard was not altogether sure why or how that was.

Even stranger was the way Amelia held his stare, that delicate pulse in her neck quickening so much that he could stare and watch in flicker beneath her skin.

“I assure you, Richard.” Amelia’s voice was calm and direct, but the waver in her breath betrayed her. “I will show you just how thankful your wife is in due time.”

He studied her mouth as she spoke, wondering what the taste and texture of her full lips would be like—how the jeweled petals might feel against his skin.

When he was at last able to pull his eyes up from her lips, Amelia’s expression was a battle of irritation and…something darker. Her own stare returned from what Richard had to assume was a fascination with his mouth, and heat billowed beneath his collar—and breeches.

“Good day.”

Amelia spun on her heel, exiting the room as if she were being directed away from a burning building. She left Richard alone in the spacious yet cramped space, and it would be several moments before Richard was fit to leave the room and again interact with the household.