Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

“ W ell, I must say that I thoroughly enjoy the color in the gardens; I know it wasn’t you, so my compliments to Octavia.” The Dowager Duchess leaned on her cane and smiled as she stood beside Simon in front of the drawing-room window.

Simon sighed heavily and shook his head as he looked over the garden with the different colored roses scattered throughout the white. He hadn’t been keeping the white bushes exclusively for any reason other than it saved him money. The gardens did look livelier, but he would never admit it to Octavia. It had only been a few days, yet the bushes were already taking to the soil as the leaves perked up.

Turning away from the window, he gestured for his grandmother to take a seat, ignoring her comment.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence this morning, Grandmamma?”

He knew very well that she would latch on and tease him relentlessly if she knew how Octavia had taken things into her own hands.

The corner of Bernice’s mouth hooked into a smile as she took a seat and placed her cane beside her on the settee. “May a grandmother not pay her grandson and his new wife a visit?” She looked around the room as if she were waiting for Octavia to appear.

“Octavia is currently out, so I am afraid that you will have to be content with my company and nothing more.” He bristled a little before taking a seat opposite his grandmother and gesturing to a maid for tea.

Knowing his grandmother, she was more than likely there to see how things were progressing between Simon and Octavia.

“More the pity, but I wouldn’t mind a visit with my grandson. Tell me, how is married life treating you?” Bernice smiled sweetly at him and made herself comfortable, unperturbed by the fact that Octavia was absent.

Narrowing his eyes, Simon looked her over. “You seem quite healthy and chipper. How is your heart faring after the wedding? My marriage seems to have benefited you far more than it has me.”

He noted the pinkness of her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes.

It still vexed him greatly that she’d convinced him of her illness, only to make a miraculous recovery once he’d agreed to her schemes.

Bernice couldn’t help but smile as she reached over and touched her cane, running her fingers over the wood as if it were alive. “I am not without ailments, Simon. The doctor recommended a cane to help me rest. Keeps the weight off of my old legs you know. The whole ordeal left me with a bit of a funny knee.”

“Is that so; I thought it would have been your heart.” Simon continued to eye her suspiciously, growing annoyed at the amusement in her eyes.

“Ah, that would be the tea. I am quite parched from the bumpy carriage ride.” His grandmother smiled at the maid as she brought their tea on a tray and proceeded to pour them each a cup before leaving. Her expertise in avoiding his remarks was even more impressive than her recovery.

A neat little tray of sandwiches and pink iced cake had been brought along with the tea, giving them something to nibble on as they continued with their visit.

“Now, you didn’t answer my question. How is married life treating you? I see it is doing wonders for the gardens.” Bernice sipped her tea quite contentedly and raised an eyebrow at Simon, smirking at him over the rim of her cup.

Giving himself over to the situation at hand, Simon grumbled. “It’s not all sunshine and roses if you will excuse the turn of phrase. The color that you see in the gardens does not by any means reflect how we react to one another. In fact, what you see is the direct result of Octavia deliberately disobeying me.”

Bernice chuckled deeply. “Octavia is quite the spirited young woman; I can’t see her taking a back seat while you run the estate. She was bound to change things around here sooner rather than later.”

His grandmother’s words only worsened his anger as he shook his head. “Spirited isn’t quite the word that I would use to describe her. She is stubborn, pig-headed, and outright defiant. I can’t tell you how many times she interfered with the running of the estate in the past week. Every time I lay down the law and tell her not to interfere, she goes right ahead and interferes.”

“Have you tried working with her and not laying down the law?” The Dowager’s eyes twinkled mischievously as she placed her cup back on the tray. She folded her hands on her lap and waited patiently for her grandson to answer her question.

Simon frowned at her, clenching his jaw. “And what do you mean by that? Are you suggesting that I allow her to run the estate?”

She chuckled again before continuing. “No marriage is without its quirks, Simon. You will have to work with Octavia if your relationship is to flourish. Marriage is never neat and tidy. I’m not suggesting you hand over the reins; I’m simply asking you to be a little more giving.”

He ignored her request completely and continued his tirade. “Things were neat and tidy before she came along. Do you know that she stopped the servants from working the other day? I went outside to find one of the gardener’s helpers playing the fiddle while my wife danced around with the housekeeper! I was surprised I didn’t find any of the liquor missing from the cabinet!”

His grandmother laughed.

“I think I would have loved to see that. These old bones haven’t seen such joy in years.” Her voice sounded dreamy.

Looking up sharply, Simon glared at her.

Bernice endeavored to correct her statement. “Not that I am able to join in, not with my current state of health.” She sniffed loudly and pretended to cough into her hand.

Simon sighed heavily and shook his head, begrudging his brother his freedom for the hundredth time. If Augustus had only stayed and gone through with the wedding, then none of this would be his problem. He’d be running the estate as normal while waiting for the news of his brother’s heir.

Breaking the silence again, Bernice reached for one of the small, iced cakes that had been placed on the tray along with the tea.

“Tell me, Simon, you seem quite tense for a man who has recently been married.”

“That is not a question, Grandmamma.” He strummed his fingers impatiently on the armrest of the chair. “That is a statement.”

She took a deep breath and seemed to consider her words carefully before speaking again. “Has your bed been sufficiently warm at night?” She sipped her tea before lowering the cup and saucer onto her lap.

Simon frowned at her, wondering if her illness hadn’t in fact affected her mind.

Clearing her throat, Bernice tried again. “Has your wife been warming your bed? These things can often help reduce the amount of quarreling that a couple will inevitably experience…” Her voice trailed off almost sheepishly as her cheeks filled with color.

The Duke’s mouth fell open in shock as he suddenly stopped strumming his fingers. “Grandmamma, that has nothing to do with you. You know very well that I will not speak of such things. My parents’ marital affairs were the business of the ton, I would like to keep mine private.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Bernice pursed her lips. “I was only asking out of concern. It’s not just your marriage that will suffer if you and the newly crowned duchess do not warm each other’s bed, so to speak.” She coughed again, a little more convincingly than the last time.

“What do you mean?” Simon was beginning to regret welcoming his grandmother instead of saying he was busy.

He could have been pouring over the ledgers in his study rather than undergoing such an unpleasant interrogation.

“If you and Octavia do not produce an heir, and reasonably soon, within the next few months of your marriage, then the recent scandal will not be forgotten. Do not forget that we are attempting to sell a story of true love that blossomed in the face of adversity. If the ton believes that you and Octavia are truly in love, then the scandal surrounding your brother will be forgotten. If not, people will begin to question the sudden pairing and by extension, your brother’s sudden departure.”

“I will not repeat myself. I will not be siring an heir for you, the ton , or even the sake of my farce of a marriage. I will be successful in finding Augustus, and when I do, he shall keep his word and marry Octavia’s cousin. Once they have secured the line, Octavia shall more than likely choose to live abroad, and I shall carry on with life as it was.”

He stated his plan clearly despite the reprimanding looks his grandmother was giving him.

“Do not act like a child, Simon. You know very well that your brother will come back with his tail between his legs. He’s always been that way. It is up to you to sire an heir. You have always been the more responsible one. And as the eldest, it is your duty!” She raised her voice in annoyance.

Simon was about to snap back at her when their conversation was interrupted by one of the gardener’s helpers.

The young man’s cheeks were flushed as he bent over double to catch his breath, his eyes wild with panic.

“What is the meaning of this?” Simon demanded irritably.

He recognized the young man as the one who had been playing the fiddle in the garden. His demeanor quickly changed when he realized that something was seriously wrong.

Willy came up straight and sucked in a sharp breath. “I apologize for the intrusion, Your Grace, but you must come at once.”

The blood in his veins suddenly turned to ice when Simon realized that he hadn’t seen Octavia in hours. He had been so annoyed with her about the gardens that he hadn’t asked where and how she would be spending her day.

“What has happened?” Simon jumped to his feet, fear gripping his heart.

Bernice stood and rested on her cane, encouraging the boy to come up straight.

“It’s the head gardener, Your Grace; he climbed the old oak tree out by the stables and can’t get down.” Willy seemed to have caught his breath as he hurriedly explained.

Relief flooded his body for a moment before Simon nodded. There was a crisis, but at least, Octavia wasn’t in the way of harm. “I’ll come in a moment; has anyone gone up to help him?”

The blood drained from Willy’s face as he seemed to shrink. “That’s just the thing, Your Grace; it was the Duchess who climbed up after him, and now both of them can’t come back down.”

Heat flooded his veins once again as all the relief left in the space of a sentence.

“Go and see to it that nothing else has happened; I will come at once.” Simon dismissed the young man with a nod and turned to his grandmother.

Bernice raised a hand to silence him. “Go, do not wait on me. I will ask one thing of you—next time you are angry and doubting your feelings, think of how you felt when you heard that she was in danger.”

Her eyes searched his face seriously as if she could read something there that he wasn’t aware of.

Simon frowned, not understanding what she was trying to say. Shaking his head, he set off at a run, hoping and praying that he wasn’t too late.

He knew in his heart that nobody could have stopped Octavia even if they had tried. She was more stubborn than a mule and far more determined than any of the young men on his estate.

Hang in there.

His heart raced uncontrollably as he ran toward the group of people that had gathered beside the barn in the distance.