Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

W illiam groaned as his home finally came into view. He always hated days whenhe had to go into town for work. They grated on his nerves. Everything about it was pure misery.

It started as soon as he left the house that morning.

The streets were crowed due to some last minute market he hadn't heard about making the carriage slow.

After thinking it over for a minute, he sighed tapping on the door to signal to the driver.

"I'm afraid I don't have the time to be stuck in this. I will walk from here."

The driver hesitated. "Are you sure, your grace?"

"Yes, I don't have time for anything else."

"Very well, your grace. I will be there to pick you up at the agreed upon time, but please do call me earlier if you need anything."

"I will. Thank you."

Then with little other option, William stepped onto the street and began making his way towards Patrick's office.

No sooner had he stepped onto the streets than he wished he hadn't. It felt like every pair of eyes in the market were on his neck, staring at his scar. That wasn't even to mention the amount of whispers that seemed to start the second he stepped past people.

It was as if they couldn't even to bother waiting until he was out of ear shot to start talking about him.

After what it felt like an eternity, he managed to make it to Partick's office. When the door was firmly shut behind him he let out a sigh.

When his solicitor saw him he frowned. "Did you have a pleasant trip here?" he asked in the way that made it clear that he did not think William had had a pleasant trip.

"There's no reason to discuss that."

"I was just trying to make small talk."

"That's quite all right. There's no need for that. I think it would be best if we simply moved on with our business."

He hesitated.

"Please, the sooner we do, the sooner I can go home."

Patrick chuckled. "Very well, I don't want to keep you from your lovely wife."

And to his credit, Patrick didn't get off topic for the rest of the day. It was only as they were packing up their notes and papers that the conversation turned personal.

"I wanted to thank you for the invitation to dinner. Obviously, we will send a formal response, but you can expect to see us there."

"I'm sure Rebecca will be pleased to hear that."

"No doubt, though I must say, I'm rather surprised."

"By what?"

"The fact that you have agreed to this. You must truly be falling for her."

William scoffed. "Whatever you're picturing, I can assure you, it's nothing half as elaborate as that. It's only a small dinner party with a few guests."

"Even so, you must admit that that is still rather shocking for you. I mean aside from my visits which were never done by invitation per se, I have to say, I don't know that I have ever seen you willingly have someone over before."

"Yes, well, it may have been some time," he looked away.

"That wasn't a dig at you to be clear. If anything it was a commendation for Lady Danton. I'm happy to see it."

"I'm glad you approve," he rolled his eyes.

"You can jest if you like, but we both know you wouldn't have invited me if you didn't want me to know about it."

"Just because I wanted you to know doesn't mean I wanted to have this conversation."

"And if you didn't want to have it, you very easily could have simply not invited me, but we both know that you knew this was coming the second you put my name on that guest list."

"Then perhaps I have made a mistake by inviting you after all."

Patrick chuckled. "Perhaps, but unfortunately for you it is now far too late for that sentiment."

"I don't know. I could always disinvite you."

"Perhaps, but that wouldn't be very polite. What would people say if they heard you disinvited someone for no reason? And with such a small party there would surely be talk."

"But it wouldn't be for no reason, and I am rather confident that the second they heard why, the whole town would be on my side."

"No, if you are set on uninviting me then you would have to cancel the whole thing and we both know you aren't going to do that."

"I could. Don't tempt me."

"But then you would have to tell lovely Rebecca why you did that," he grinned.

William groaned, "Speaking of Rebecca. I must be getting home. I want to make sure I am back in time for dinner."

"Of course. I would have to make you late. I hope you have a good evening."

"You too. Will I see you again before the party?"

Patrick frowned, thinking for a moment. "I don't think so, but I can check the calendar if you like."

He shook his head. "That isn't necessary."

"Suit yourself."

And then his day finally came to a blessed end.

When William came through the door, he frowned.

Everything was dark, as far as he could see not a single room was occupied. Not only that, but the whole place was completely silent.

Since he had gotten married, he couldn't recall the last time the house was so still.

He made his way inside, eyes scanning the halls for some sign of life, but no matter where he looked, there was no one.

It was strange. He hadn't realized how used to all the sounds and excitement he had gotten.

Finally, he found Mary.

"Mary, where is my wife hiding?" he asked. "I didn't see her in the sitting room."

"She went to lie down. She had a small fall earlier and wanted to rest her ankle.

William frowned. "Is she all right? Why wasn't I called?"

"Her grace said not to disturb you. She said all she needed was some rest."

"If that's what she asked for, I won't interrupt her. I can simply talk to her about it at dinner."

"Of course, would you like me to tell her anything? I was on my way to go see her now."

He shook his head. "That's all right. It won't be long until dinner. I will see her then, but thank you."

She curtsied and he continued to make his way to his study.

In only a few days, he would get his chance to see Solomon once more. The very thought of what he could say caused a smug satisfaction to settle in his stomach.

He would never allow someone to talk to Rebecca cruelly or mistreat her again.

He would do whatever he could, whatever it took to protect her and her happiness.

Less than an hour later, a footman came to the door.

"Dinner is about to be served, your grace," the man said. "Would you like to come to the dining room or would you prefer to take your meal here this evening?"

"Why would I take my dinner in my study? I always eat with my wife?" he asked with a frown.

"Forgive me. I thought someone had told you already, but the Duchess of Danton isn't feeling well and will be taking her meal in her room."

"I thought she was doing all right. Now she can't come down for dinner." He got to his feet. "I need to go see her."

The footman hesitated. "She said she needed some rest and told us to let you know you should enjoy your meal without her."

"And I will, as soon as I check on her. You can have it set up somewhere in the mean time. I won't be long."

He didn't wait to be told twice, pushing past him and making his way down the hall.

It didn't take him long before he was stopping outside her door. He raised a hand and gave a quick knock.

"I hear you wouldn't be joining me for dinner, so I wanted to check on you."

There was a moment of silence from the other side of the door. "I'm all right. Thank you for your concern."

He frowned. "Do you need anything. What happened?"

"I'm fine. I just need some rest."

William hesitated. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

"Of course."

He spent a moment longer looking at her door before making his way back to his study.

William tried not to take it personally. She had been so busy getting everything ready for the party, she was probably just a bit worn out.

He needed to trust her to tell him if something was wrong. For now, it was best just to give her some space.

It didn't change the next morning either.

William hardly saw Rebecca. If he didn't know any better, he would worry she was avoiding him.

When he did manage to catch her, she rarely had much to say. Her responses were short, clipped, and rarely more than a word or two.

Still, it was understandable that she needed space. He just needed to be patient.

But it was hard when it hurt.

So after the third day of this, William sought her out.

Rebecca wasn't hard to find. She was tucked away in the library, staring out the window with a blank look on her face.

"Rebecca, we need to talk," he said softly.