Chapter 7

CHAPTER7

Leah did not know if she could trust her husband.

Every fiber of her being urged her to be cautious. She was constantly reminded of the reason she ended up here in the first place, but the way the duke spoke, the way he looked at her assured her that he could not be the monster everyone deemed him to be. He did not seem to have it in him.

Of course, he had a tendency to be mad, like everyone else, but she understood where that was coming from. She knew the pain of a lost parent. He suffered that curse twice, at the same time. She only lost her mother. He lost both his mother and his father, all at once. She could not even imagine the extent of that pain, the knowledge that now, one was left on one’s own, without any family.

She looked at him across the dinner table. He was eating in silence, holding his fork and knife delicately as he cut the roast fowl. Leah was not particularly hungry, but she knew she had to eat something. So, she did. As soon as she took the first bite, she realized that the meat was made to perfection. She must have smiled or showed her astonishment in some other, noticeable manner, because he commented on it instantly.

"It is good, isn’t it?" he inquired.

She quickly chewed then swallowed, nodding. "Most delicious."

"I have the best Cook in all of London," he pointed out. "I know every Lord says this, but I truly mean it."

She couldn’t help but chuckle. It is true that every host or hostess said that their cook was the best. Most of the time, that wasn’t true, but a guest would never offend their host by pointing that out. This time, however, she had to admit that it was the right conclusion. She had never tasted such tender meat.

Before she could say anything, he continued. "Did Mrs. Livingstone show you around?"

"She did," Leah nodded, putting down the fork. "She showed me around the whole mansion. It took us over two hours!"

"It is a grand old place," he confirmed, smiling. "Old being the focus of attention here."

"I saw the rooms which were caught by the fire," she pointed out.

"Yes, those will need to be remodeled," he shrugged. "I do not have the time to focus on that right now, so I suppose it will have to be left for later."

"If you do not have time for it, perhaps I could take it upon myself?" she offered.

That seemed to take him off guard. He stopped eating, then lifted his gaze to meet hers. She wondered if she had said something she wasn’t supposed to say, whether she crossed the line. After all, only this morning, they were sworn enemies. They were not friends now, but at least, they were not at each other’s throats, accusing each other of starting the fire and kidnapping one another.

"You would want to do that?" he inquired, sounding intrigued by her offer, but hesitant to accept it at once.

"Why not?" she shrugged. "I am the duchess and living here now as well, aren’t I? Perhaps those rooms could be put to a good use, if renovated properly."

"If you have nothing else to occupy yourself with, be my guest," he said in such a manner that she couldn’t be certain whether he was happy about this or if he agreed simply so they would not start arguing again.

"I noticed you have a piano," she pointed out.

"It is out of tune," he quickly added. "Mother used to play it and with her gone... no one has touched that thing in ages."

"Oh," she immediately regretted mentioning it. It was obviously something special to him, and she would be crossing a line if she meddled with it.

"Do you play?" he wondered, interrupting her tumultuous thoughts.

"A little," she nodded.

"Then, perhaps we ought to have it tuned," he said, picking up the fork and continuing to eat.

She had to admit, he was trying. Then again, so was she. Neither of them wanted to make this more difficult than it already was.

"My mother also used to play," she suddenly heard herself say, although it was something she was not planning on sharing. At least, not now. Talking about her mother was reserved for people she trusted, not for people who were still mere strangers.

Then again, there was something about him that urged her to open up more, to listen to what he was saying, instead of what the ton was saying. Didn’t Alicia tell her that he might actually be a decent man? It was possible. Anything was possible. That was what her mother had always taught her to believe. Always rely on your own judgment, Leah and keep an open mind. Those were her exact words. And those were also the exact words that her father had always been so afraid of.

"Did she teach you?" he wondered.

"Yes," Leah looked down at her long, dainty fingers which knew how to hit every right note not because she knew the technique, but because she was able to listen to the music with her heart. "But she preferred to show me things outside of the Manor."

He smiled at that. "Your mother was the adventurous type."

She chuckled at the word that everyone used to describe every time they talked about her. "She was so much more than that, but I suppose if you had to use one word, that would be a good one."

"No one can described in one word," he agreed. "Whether it was good or bad. But I would rather be characterized as adventurous than a monster."

The moment he said that, she could tell that he regretted ruining their good mood. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t think he was a monster. She never thought that. She was merely curious as to what really happened to his parents, just like she was curious as to what happened with her own mother. She wanted to find out the truth, that was all.

However, she kept all this to herself, because he stood up unexpectedly. "I usually spend my evenings in my study," he informed her, completely changing the subject as if they never even talked about it, but she merely imagined it all. He sounded cold, aloof, pushing her away. "Preparation for the following day and if I need to finish something that I still haven’t done."

She wondered if he would ask her to join him, to show her around his study, to perhaps spend some more time together, but he showed no such inclination.

"Good night," he said instead, and within moments, Leah was left alone, wondering if she had done or said something wrong.

* * *

"So, how is married life, old boy?" Andrew wondered, as the two men occupied the two armchairs in Andrew’s study.

A long time ago, they frequented White’s, and Edward enjoyed that place. However, with the death of his parents, he realized that he was no longer welcome there. He could not say that he was banished from it. He could not say that anyone had threatened him or any such thing. But he could say with certainty that people were giving him strange looks. They talked about him behind his back. It all made him feel uneasy, as if he were a rare animal that everyone else was hunting, desiring his fur or tusks or whatever other precious possession he had.

"I have been married for two days," Edward pointed out.

"Exactly," Andrew chuckled. "Two entire days, forty-eight hours, even more to be exact. How does it feel?"

"It is not what I expected," Edward said, with a slightly dismissive shrug.

"It never is," Andrew chuckled even harder. "But your wife seems nice. Is she... nice?" He winked mischievously at his friend.

"I would not know," Edward replied honestly. "We do not share a chamber."

"Then, you aren’t married," Andrew kept teasing his friend playfully. "You ought to repair that, old boy."

"I doubt there shall be any reparation in that department," Edward noted. "And it’s all right. I did what was expected of me, and I suppose I should be glad."

"What was expected of you?" Andrew wondered.

"Why, to marry her, of course," Edward reminded him. "After that nightly fire affair, no one would have left her alone. She would be the talk of the entire town. I had to do something about that."

"Ah, yes," Andrew nodded. "Did she admit to coming to your chamber on her own and why?"

"No," Edward shook his head. "We came to the conclusion that we have no idea how that happened."

"I find that very hard to believe," his friend frowned.

"I know, so do I, but I honestly do not think she is lying," Edward admitted. "I know I am not lying as well, so that leaves only one other possible solution, and that is that someone else orchestrated this whole thing."

Andrew’s eyes widened in disbelief. "For what purpose?"

"That is what I still need to find out," Edward explained. "Perhaps it is all just a wild coincidence, that I was the sole target of someone’s attack and that she was there, well... just to mask the attacker’s true intention."

"It seems too complicated," Andrew could still not believe this. "There are much easier ways to kill someone, pardon me for saying that."

"Oh, I know there are," Edward nodded. "I am also shocked that someone would go to such lengths to try and dispose of me, when a simple attack on my carriage one late evening could do the trick."

Andrew’s eyes squinted with concern. "Speaking of that, perhaps it is not a good idea for you to go anywhere late at night, old boy."

"I shall be fine," Edward waved his hand dismissively. "If someone means to kill me, they must know that I shall not go down without a fight. And as for Leah... well, I honestly do not know how she fits in this whole strange affair. Perhaps she simply had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she was taken by my attackers as an additional toy for their wicked plan."

Andrew inhaled deeply, pressing his lips together. He seemed to be lost in thought, going over everything his friend had just told him. None of it made any sense, no matter how hard they tried to think about it.

"Just be careful, old boy. And if you need any help, do not hesitate to come to me for anything."

"Thank you for that," Edward leaned closer and patted his friend on the shoulder. "You have always been by my side. I shall never forget that."

"I know you, Edward," Andrew explained. "I know the kind of man you are, and no amount of gossip will ever convince me otherwise."

Edward felt truly fortunate that he had a friend like that by his side. One true friend was more worth than a million false ones. When everyone left his side, Andrew was the one who remained behind, offering support, help and anything else Edward might have needed. He was the one who helped him through the most difficult time of his life, and Edward would never forget that.

"Enough about me," Edward smiled, eager to change the topic. "Tell me about you."

"Well–" Andrew grinned, and Edward knew immediately that there was a young lady who managed to capture his attention. She would probably be the fourth or fifth in a row, as Andrew seemed to lose interest quickly. However, Edward was certain that when the right woman came along, she would capture Andrew’s attention forever.

He instantly thought of Leah. He had to admit that she also managed to capture his attention, but with more than just her looks. She was beautiful, that much was undeniable, but there was this fire inside of her that he wanted to see more of. It lured him, it pulled him closer to her, and he knew that he wanted to find out more about the woman who was now his wife.