Chapter 11

“Lovely day we are having,” Rose commented as she took in the surroundings. The two families had finally met up for a picnic. “I was worried it might rain in the morning, but it is a clear sky.”

They had convened in one of the gardens owned by the Duke. Rose and the Dowager sat together as they were the two eldest in the gathering. Sophia and the Duke sat next them, and across sat Jacob, who was observing the husband and wife to be with an amused expression on his face.

“Oh, do not talk about the rain,” the Dowager lamented. “I am stressed that the wedding will be ruined if it rains on that day.”

“Rain or shine, the wedding will take place on the date decided,” the Duke said in his usual decided manner.

Sophia had to admit to herself, she loved how sure of himself the Duke seemed. She realized that it was something that she had not had in her life growing up as she lost her father young and did not see a commanding male presence around.

“It will be sunshine,” Rose interjected, optimistically.

“One can hope, or the venue will be ruined,” the Dowager said.

“You know, mother, having rain on your wedding day is a good omen,” Jacob chimed in. “It is supposed to be a sign that the marriage will last.”

“Let us not bother ourselves with silly superstitions.” The Duke waved away his brother’s observation.

“You seem to be a man of rational thought, Your Grace,” Sophia said, initiating conversation with him for the first time that afternoon.

He nodded briefly in her direction.

“I believe that it is the only way to be. Superstitions are for fools,” he replied. “They are for men who are too weak minded to draw their own conclusions.”

She found some unexpected solace in his words. Surely, the curse was a superstition too. It had no basis in real life, even though she had spent most of her life believing it to be true. Perhaps this meant that the curse had no bearing on the Duke as well. The thought made her feel slightly better about herself. It would have been awful to marry someone who believed any superstition told to him.

Everyone was busy in conversation around them. The Dowager and Aunt Rose were discussing the details of the wedding while Jacob relaxed with a book in his hands.

Sophia observed the Duke’s face as the sunlight hit his features. She could not help but notice how perfectly chiseled his jawline was and how his nose was just the right proportion.

How handsome… she thought to herself, involuntarily. She found herself wondering what he must think of her features. Did they strike the same awe in him? Her faith in herself faltered at the thought.

“Something on my face?” the Duke’s comment startled her. There seemed to be a teasing edge to his voice.

“Oh,” Sophia blushed. “I was just looking at your general direction. It does not mean that I was looking at you.”

The Duke’s mouth twisted into a smile.

“And what would be so wrong if you were looking at me?”

Sophia did not respond. She could tell that he was a daring man who did not care what others thought since he was so easily able to tease her like this in front of his own mother.

“It does not look so prominent as I thought in the sun,” the Dowager’s words brought Sophia back to reality.

Sophia realized that her future mother-in-law was addressing her.

“The scars, I mean.” The Dowager was observing her face now. Sophia felt surprised by her bluntness and realized that she should not be so tempted by the Duke’s looks when she had her flaws so openly displayed.

“Mother,” the Duke objected before Sophia even had a chance to speak, “you must be careful in how you speak to Lady Sophia. She is the future duchess and should be spoken to with more respect.”

A look of shock registered immediately on the older woman’s face, but she recovered quickly with a smile.

“I did not mean any harm from the comment,” she clarified with a small laugh. “But you are right. I must not forget that she is the future duchess. Only a few more days remain now.”

The Dowager was busied by something that Aunt Rose was saying to her however her words had left an impact on Sophia. Her smile faltered, and she self-consciously diverted her gaze to her hands which were folded neatly onto her lap.

The Duke took notice and nudged Sophia gently to get her attention.

“You should not let anyone speak to you in that way,” he whispered. “Not my mother and definitely not the rest of the ton.”

“How am I supposed to control what others say to me, Your Grace?” Sophia replied with a melancholic smile.

“Remember who you are,” he asserted without missing a beat. “You are a duchess, and I expect you to act like such. Make that your armor, and the rest will follow suit.”

Sophia could not stop her heart from skipping a beat from his words.

“Have I made myself clear?” he stressed when he did not get an immediate response.

“I suppose this is all new to me,” she admitted earnestly. “I am not used to having a title like this.”

“You have one now, and the sooner you realize it, the better. You are to be the Duchess,” he affirmed.

It was at that moment that Sophia truly realized the prestige that the title carried. The fact that she would be able to command respect just owing to her status as the Duchess was a profound realization.

“Those etiquette lessons are not of much use unless you internalize this feeling of carrying your title,” he continued. “I believe you will be capable of doing so with some practice.”

Sophia felt a rush of warmth as she realized that she had the Duke standing in her corner now. She felt empowered and nodded.

“I promise to do so, Your Grace. I will not let others decide who I am.”

Sophia felt elated by this realization. She was to embark on the next chapter of her life, and she resolved to herself that she would do so with her head held up high.

Make it your armor. His words repeated themselves in her head. No one had ever given her advice like this in such a confident manner. It was beginning to rub off on her as well.

It was time for another one of Sophia’s lessons. However, this time she found herself alone with the etiquette coach as the Dowager had gone down to the town for some important work.

“I think you have shown great improvement in your walk,” the older lady commented as Sophia gave her a display by walking from one end of the room to the other. “Well done.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Harington,” Sophia smiled. “It surely means a lot coming from you.”

“I must say that I have changed my mind regarding you,” she replied, adjusting her spectacles. She was observing Sophia again, but this time, Sophia found her gaze to be quite judgmental.

“Pardon me, Mrs. Harington? What is it that you mean when you say that you have changed your mind?”

“Well…” Mrs. Harington paused briefly. “I had assumed that I would have to work much harder on you than I have. Of course, appearances can be deceiving…”

“Appearances?” Sophia gave her a pointed look.

“Your scars,” Mrs. Harington replied, her eyes flitting over to where Sophia’s scars were. “I suppose the expression to never judge a book by its cover holds weight after all.”

Sophia felt her heart sink at her words. Her first instinct was to hide away as she felt exposed once again, but then she remembered what the Duke had told her.

Make it your armor.

Sophia readjusted her posture and straightened her back.

“I would be careful before saying such a thing, Mrs. Harington,” she said with confidence. “You are aware that you are speaking to the future duchess?”

Mrs. Harington was caught off guard. Perhaps she had assumed that Sophia would not take any offense to her words, but Sophia had heard compliments like this before; they were backhanded and only served to make her feel smaller. She was not going to take them lying down.

“My word, I was only suggesting…” Mrs. Harington said, stiffing up her upper lip.

“I understand that you might be well intentioned, but you should not make me feel cross about something that I carry with me on a daily basis,” Sophia replied firmly. “After all, my scars make me who I am today.”

Mrs. Harington had been taken aback by Sophia’s bluntness. She stood up from her place, adjusting her spectacles so that they did not slide off her nose.

“I have coached members of this family for years. They have always listened to my advice.”

“I am sure you have never been anything but kind to members of this family. I know that because you respect their status,” Sophia continued. “I would remind you that I will soon be a part of this family as well. You should not chide me on something that I cannot change.”

Sophia had never asserted herself like this before, but it felt truly empowering to stand up for herself.

“As far as my scars are concerned, they are a part of me,” she said. “You should get used to the fact that the Duchess has them. It is what makes me different, and the Duke accepts me with them.”

“My apologies, My Lady,” Mrs. Harington stated. “I shall be careful next time.”

“Lovely.” Sophia smiled to herself.

All her life, she had let herself be the subject of brutal tongue lashings. The shame that she felt regarding her scars had always been too big for her to step up to defend herself, but taking the Duke’s advice felt liberating.

If Sophia was to embark upon a new life, she would have to learn to put people in their place. Otherwise, she would only be seen as a weak duchess, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Cecil purred in Sophia’s lap as she sat on her kitchen table, surrounded by all the members of her household. It was the night before her wedding, and Sophia was aware that this was the last time she was spending time with everyone as an unmarried woman. The thought both scared her and excited her at the same time.

Aunt Rose looked quite distraught as she gently touched her niece’s hand from the seat across.

“I must say that it was always my wish to see you get married to a worthy gentleman. The Duke has exceeded my expectations in every single way. However, I cannot help but feel a heavy heart as the day draws nearer,” Aunt Ross admitted with a sigh.

“I shall visit you every chance that I get. I am sure that the Duke will not have much of a problem with that,” Sophia reassured.

“I believe so too. He has been incredible so far. I was impressed when he agreed with you taking Clara and Cecil along with you,” her aunt replied. “While I think that is good as you will have some familiarity in a new house, it does mean that this house is going to be empty without all of you here.

“But I also understand that it is your duty. After your parents passed, I considered myself to be your mother,” her aunt continued. “As your mother, it is one of my greatest responsibilities to have you married to a man who will take care of you. It is sad to let you leave, but I am happy to fulfill that important responsibility.”

Sophia’s heart lurched at the mention of her parents.

“I wish they were here on my wedding day.” Sophia found herself getting choked up again.

“My dear, they will be with you in spirit. You only need to feel their presence in your heart,” her aunt assured. “I am sure they are happy for you from the heavens.”

Sophia sniffled away her tears. She did not want to dampen the mood by crying, so she reminded herself to remain strong.

“I suppose you are right…”

“You know, I have never told you this, but your mother always had such great big dreams for her daughters’ weddings,” Aunt Rose mentioned.

“I was too young for her to discuss these things with me, but I would do anything to have her by my side now.”

“Your parents had a lovely marriage themselves. Both you and your sister were a testament to the love that they shared.”

“What do you think they would have said if they knew that I was not marrying for love?” Sophia asked. “I am not under any delusion that this marriage is not purely out of convenience. It is to fulfill a sense of duty.”

Her aunt was quiet for a moment, as though she was gathering the right words to say.

“I believe that love will follow,” she finally broke the silence. “Once you spend time in each other’s company, you will find feelings developing.”

Sophia shrugged her shoulders. She had no experience with love as she had never even been courted by a man before. All her life, she told herself that she would not find someone due to her curse, but now that she was just hours away from getting married, she realized that her situation was quite unique.

“Do you believe that?” she questioned. “I do not know if the Duke will fall in love with me. I think of him as a man of principles, and so far, he has done his part in standing up for me when needed. However, I do not feel any warmth from him. His interactions with me are reserved and dare I say, cold.”

“My dear, this is only the beginning of your journey together. You must give love a chance to blossom between the two of you. I am sure that things will change once you start to live together,” Aunt Rose assured.

“But it is so unlike the romance novels. In the novels, love always happens first. I think the Duke is a fine gentleman, but he has not made any attempts to sweep me off my feet…”

“I am sure that will change with time. Real life is seldom like the novels,” Aunt Rose said.

Sophia shook her head. She had to stop herself from fantasizing about finding love with the Duke. After all, she knew that as long as she kept her distance from him, he would remain protected from the curse.

Their marriage was only one on paper. It did not mean that they had to live as husband and wife. However, Sophia could not stop herself from feeling a tinge of disappointment as she thought that.

A normal love story is reserved for women who are not cursed. I should consider myself lucky that he even wants to marry me in the first place.

“It is often the case that love arrives after you share children together,” Aunt Rose continued, oblivious to Sophia’s internal monologue. “I am sure that the Duke will want an heir soon, so I suspect that you will embark on that stage of life soon.”

Sophia felt her heart rate quicken as she listened to her aunt’s words, a sense of nervousness steadily building up inside of her.

“Children?” she repeated. “Oh heavens, I had not even thought of that.”

“It is only natural. He is the Duke, and he is expected to produce an heir to preserve his family’s legacy,” Aunt Sophia noted matter-of-factly. “You are to be his wife, and you will provide him with the heir.”

“Oh, but I… I do not even know what I am expected to do. Producing children? The idea sounds daunting. Aunt Rose, you must help me prepare for this outcome if you say that it is inevitable…”

“Well…” Her aunt’s face flushed with embarrassment at having to discuss such an intimate topic. “I cannot tell you anything with great detail as you will have to learn for yourself in the moment.”

“But I must be prepared, dear aunt,” Sophia argued, anxiously. “You must help me. What will be expected of me?”

Sophia’s lack of experience meant that she had never even felt the touch of a man, but she was not naive enough to be ignorant of what it took to produce children. The idea of being expected to be intimate with a man filled her up with nervousness, and she felt her palms go clammy.

“Well… it is a tender process,” Aunt Rose mumbled. “You must expect it as it marks your transition from a girl to a woman.”

“Are you sure that it will be expected of me to provide him with an heir?”

“Of course, my love. It is your duty as a wife and a duchess.”

“But what can I do to prepare?” Sophia groaned at the thought.

“My dear…” Aunt Rose looked away into the distance. “I have just realized that I left the tea on the stove. I shall be right back.”

Sophia watched her aunt dash away, embarrassed. Feeling unfulfilled by the answers given to her, she turned her attention to Clara, who had been standing beside them all this time and listening to their conversation.

“It seems that Aunt Rose does not have much advice to give me,” Sophia lamented to her. “Clara, you must help me instead.”

“My Lady, I am afraid that my expertise on the matter is just as limited as yours,” Clara admitted. “I have never married and therefore have no experience in the matter.”

“But you must have heard something from your friends, sisters, anything…”

“I know only that it will feel natural for you,” Clara observed. “Please do not worry. How difficult could the process even be? After all, almost everyone has a child. Most have them in the first year of their marriage. I am sure you will be able to deliver an heir to the Duke just fine.”

But Clara’s words only served to make Sophia’s nervousness even worse. Till now, she had only thought about what it would be like to transition to her role as the Duchess, but now that she knew that she would be expected to produce an heir, it filled her up with anxiety.

She felt worried that she would pass on the curse to her children. The realization began to eat her up inside.

Cecil came and sat on top of her lap, purring gently as Sophia began to absentmindedly comb through its soft fur.

“At least I will have you with me,” she whispered to the animal gently. Moving into a new house and living with her husband to be was uncharted territory. Sophia knew she needed anything she could get to evoke a sense of familiarity.

The cat looked up at Sophia and blinked before nestling its head on her lap once more.

“If only animals could talk,” Sophia muttered, “I am sure I would have been asking Cecil on advice, too.”

This evoked a laugh from Clara.

“Oh, My Lady, if anything, your sense of humour should be enough to win the Duke over,” she chuckled.

“What if he does not share my love for animals?”

“Well,” Clara considered her words for a moment, “I suppose that he would have already expressed his disapproval when you asked him to move Cecil with you.”

Sophia nodded, petting her cat once more.

“What if Cecil does not like him?”

“I believe you might be overthinking things a bit too much now.” Clara’s tone was worried now. “It would be better for you to rest now as the preparations for the ceremony will begin early morning tomorrow.”

Sophia let out a sigh, nodding. Clara was right. Sophia needed to stop ruminating over her anxious thoughts so much.

“I shall see you in the morning,” Sophia said, dismissing her lady’s maid.

Tomorrow, she would be finally wedded to the Duke and officially take on her title as the Duchess. It was a new chapter in her life. Her stomach erupted with butterflies, and she buried her face in her hands.

Everything was about to change.

“Hurry on up, dear brother.” Jacob barged into the Duke’s room that evening. “Uncle Charles has arrived already, alongside our cousins. They are all waiting for you downstairs.”

The Duke groaned internally. It was the night before he was to be married, and he wished to spend this time alone, relaxing on his sofa with a glass of his preferred type of whiskey.

He did not wish to be whisked away to rendezvous with his relatives.

“Can’t the lot of you find amusement amongst yourselves? I do not wish to go out and socialise at the moment…”

Jacob clutched his chest as though Duncan had uttered something blasphemous.

“Socialise? You are classifying a long-held family tradition of the Blackmoores as mere socialising. Oh, I will have none of it. You are to follow me downstairs immediately.”

Duncan wondered whether it would be worthwhile to put up a fight, but when he saw the determined look on his brother’s face, he knew that his attempts would not get him very far.

“May I at least get the chance to finish what remains in my glass?” Duncan raised an eyebrow.

“Not a chance,” Jacob grinned, enjoying himself now. “There will be plenty to drink downstairs.”

Duncan inhaled a deep sigh and followed his brother down the stairs into the parlour where his uncle Charles and his two sons were waiting for him.

“Duncan,” greeted Uncle Charles, who was a stout man with a pleasant appearance. He was the late Duke’s younger brother, and he had been a supportive uncle to the Duke for as long as he could remember. “How many years has it been since I last saw ye?”

“Judging by how Larry and Arthur are all grown up, I believe it has been a long time,” the Duke nodded over to his cousins.

“Aye, the time sure passes on quickly,” his uncle noted. “I knew that I had to make the journey down here from Scotland when I heard that ye was getting betrothed. Mind ye, I was shocked...”

“He was,” Arthur, his oldest son, chimed in. “He thought that ye did not have it in ye.”

“Not in a bad sense,” his uncle clarified immediately. “Of course, ye are quite the eligible bachelor, but ye had never expressed an interest in marriage in all of our previous correspondences.”

“Aye,” his cousin Larry spoke. “In fact, if I was to recall correctly, His Grace made a bet with me some years ago that I would marry before him, despite being ten years younger.”

“And look at him now,” Jacob grinned, seemingly enjoying how his brother was being made the centre of attention by his family members.

“I suppose one is allowed to change his mind,” the Duke spoke up, “is he not?”

“Of course. Especially when it involves matters of the heart,” his uncle conceded. “I am happy for ye.”

The Duke let out a low, throaty chuckle. His uncle seemed so happy for him that he simply did not have the heart to tell him that his decision to get married had not been made out of love. Rather, it was due to much more practical considerations.

“Well, let us not waste any more time then, shall we?” Uncle Charles insisted, picking up an unopened glass of wine from the table in front of him.

It was a tradition in the Blackmoore family for the men to gather and open a bottle of wine on the night before the groom’s wedding. It had been happening for centuries now. The idea was for the older generations to bestow their wisdom about their experiences with marriage onto the younger generations. However, as the Duke’s father had already passed away, his uncle was the only man remaining in the Blackmoore family that was older than the Duke.

“Let us not waste any time,” the Duke urged as his uncle opened the bottle and poured him a glass.

“So, Uncle Charles,” Jacob said, rubbing his hands together in excitement, “are you going to bestow my brother with the wisdom he needs to go into this marriage?”

The Duke interjected before his uncle had a chance to respond.

“I do not wish to demean the tradition in any way, but I wonder just how complicated could the entire process be?” he asked with a casual shrug of his shoulders. “At least for the man. For the woman, I understand how things will change drastically as she has to leave her house for another’s, but as far as I am concerned, I believe that life will continue on as it always has.”

His uncle laughed out loud, wiping the sides of his eyes as though the Duke had delivered an exceptional comedic performance.

“What?” the Duke asked, annoyed. “You do not believe so?”

“My dear, Duncan, you know that I have always respected your opinion highly, more so than any of your peers. But I cannot be dishonest with ye. What you are saying is wrong.” He shook his head, taking a long swig from his glass.

Duncan raised his eyebrow.

“Is that so? Pray tell, why I am so wrong?”

“Yer life is to be transformed completely as ye know it.”

“Are you implying that there shall be more responsibilities on my shoulders, moving forward?” the Duke asked, curious to know what this drastic change was.

“Responsibilities is only one part of it,” his uncle noted, “but there is more. Ye are about to share a life with someone in a way that ye have never done before. I wager that you will discover things about yerself that ye did not even know…”

“Good things?” Jacob asked, amused by the whole exchange, “or bad ones?”

Uncle Charles chuckled.

“Both. Depending on how yer marriage is. I have not gotten a chance to meet the lassie yet, what is she like?” his uncle asked.

“We are curious to know as well,” Cousin Arthur quipped in. “Whoever the Duke picked for himself must be spectacular.”

Cousin Larry was quiet. He looked between his father and his brother and bit down on his lip.

“Well… I heard something completely different…”

All heads turned to look at Larry, and the Duke wondered if the gossip about Sophia had travelled to him as well, all the way over to Scotland. It would not surprise him if it did, for the ton wasted no time in transferring information at impressive speeds.

“I am sure that we should not be wasting our time discussing rumors,” Jacob tried to dispel the topic before it had a chance to start.

“No.” Duncan raised his hand. “Let him explain what he has heard. I would like to hear his perspective.”

“Well,” Cousin Larry gulped, hesitant at first, “I heard that the lady that ye have chosen for yerself has a bit of a dark past…”

“A dark past?” Uncle Charles said, shocked. “Ye are making her sound as though she is a witch, waiting for her turn to be burned at the stake.”

“I do not wish to be overbearing in my assumptions,” his cousin clarified, “but I am merely relaying what I heard. There were talks of her carrying some sort of a curse…”

“There is no such thing,” the Duke interjected firmly, “and I ask you to dispel that notion whenever it is presented to you with the same conviction that I am displaying now.”

“Curse?” his uncle related. “How come I have not heard of such a thing?”

“Because it is truly just a rumor,” the Duke replied. “It is something that is talked about amongst bored housewives and holds no substance. The fact that you have never heard of it only serves as proof of its ridiculousness.”

His uncle exchanged a look with his son, Larry.

“Are you not convinced?” the Duke raised an eyebrow. “I did not take you for believing petty gossip at face value, Uncle.”

“No, it is just that I am shocked, is all,” his uncle replied. “I am sure that you are right about the curse only being a rumor. Besides, we should not believe in superstitions such as those.”

“Precisely,” the Duke muttered, grateful. “A logical man has no place for it in his mind.”

“I apologize for bringing it up, Your Grace.” His cousin hung his head low. “I was merely relaying what I had heard.”

“Now that you are aware of the truth, I expect you to shut down such conversations whenever you encounter them.”

“Of course.”

“Enough of this serious chatter,” Jacob jumped into the conversation. “I was hoping that we would be bantering with the groom to be. The clock is ticking, dear brother. Tomorrow you will be a married man at this time.”

Duncan nodded, feeling strangely calm about the whole thing. He had been very against marriage from the start, but now that the day had arrived for him, he did not feel as though he was getting cold feet about the matter.

“A married man,” Uncle Charles chuckled. “Quite the serious appellation, is it not?”

“Indeed so.” Jacob grinned. “Your bachelor days are gone now, my dear brother.”

Duncan sipped his wine, a smile forming on his face.

“Your attempts at trying to get under my skin are not working, I am afraid,” he replied. “I am a man of my word, and once I make a decision, I do not back down from it.”

“We can see that,” Jacob observed. “What do you think father would have said about your hasty decision to get married?”

Duncan fought the frown from appearing on his face. The last thing he wanted was to discuss his father… but at the same time, he did not want to make his displeasure so obvious.

“I am sure that he would have been proud of his son, no matter what,” Uncle Charles replied.

“Really?” Duncan raised his eyebrow. “I believe that he would have not even noticed as he would have likely been busy in another one of his gambling binges.”

“Now, Duncan,” his uncle said softly, “I understand yer grievances with me brother, but ye must not let them dampen your mood before yer big day.”

“Am I meant to delude myself into thinking otherwise then?” Duncan challenged. “That he would have been quite happy and supportive of my decision? Dear Uncle, that would be a lie and both of us are aware of that. He was never that involved to begin with.”

Arthur, who had been mostly quiet until this time, chose this moment to jump into the conversation.

“You lot are jumping from one difficult topic to another,” he said, shaking his head. “I was under the impression that we were meant to have a grand ol’ time with each other tonight, a last hurrah for the Duke before he embarks onto a life of marriage. What happened to that notion?”

The men exchanged looks between each other. They had gotten so carried away with their conversations that they had lost track of what this meeting was supposed to be. Jacob took this moment to dash over to the cabinet and procure another bottle of wine.

“Cousin Arthur is right,” he said as he brandished the bottle in his hands. “We have gotten far too serious for what the night demands. How about we share another bottle?”

Duncan laughed as Jacob poured them each another glass.

“To my dearest nephew,” Uncle Charles said, toasting his glass and clinking it gently against the others’. “To life full of happiness and to a life full of satisfaction.”

“May he never become what his father was,” the Duke chimed in sarcastically, touching his glass against the others.

“Let us drink to that,” Jacob laughed, finding the humor in the situation.