Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

S amantha hated being confused more than anything, and nothing was more confusing than the Duke.

She had thought that they were going to kiss, and she was so wanting him to, but then he had pulled away and called her his friend. That was not his fault, of course, because that had been the deal from the start, but that did not make it hurt any less.

She did, however, appreciate his gesture of matching his waistcoat to her gown. She caught a glimpse of them in a mirror together, and if nothing else, they at least appeared unified. For a couple that were trying to prove their undying love to others, they had to hope for that.

"You look lovely," he said kindly to her.

"As do you. I must have chosen a good color," she quipped. "Are we going to be late?"

"Perhaps slightly, but it is no concern of ours. Drowshire shall not care, and his cousin shall simply be happy to see you at all."

"I should have invited her to visit sooner," she said, biting her lip.

"Nonsense. It makes far more sense for you to prepare the household for visitors before you accept any. After all, we want to show them the effect you have already had here, not the ghosts of the past."

"I suppose, although I have asked my sister to visit tomorrow. I would like her to see how the household looks now, so that she will truly see the difference I have made."

"That is also an excellent point. Now, we should leave before we become so late that it is a problem."

Samantha giggled, following him to the carriage.

When she did not think about the Duke for too long, everything with him was so easy. He was good company, and she enjoyed being in his presence. But then when she began to wonder exactly what he wanted from her, if not what he had told her in the beginning, she found herself feeling confused.

She simply wished that he wanted what she did.

It felt strange to see Lord Drowshire's estate again. It had felt so long ago that she had visited for the party, yet it was so familiar. It was no surprise to her; his household left quite the impression.

"Samantha!" squealed Penelope, who raced towards her in a most unladylike manner when they saw each other.

From how tightly she was being embraced, Samantha was quite sure that she was forgiven for her absence.

"How are you?" Penelope asked, and Samantha truly did not know how to respond.

"I have never been better," she responded which was the truth. "And how have you been? I apologize for disappearing."

"Samantha, you had a wedding to plan and a marriage to adapt to. It is not surprising to me that you needed some time. Believe me, it is all perfectly understandable."

No matter how many people showed her kindness, it always felt strange. It had only ever been Diana that was nice to her. The other ladies hated her, the ton pitied her but did not pity her enough to show her grace, and the scholars saw her as some little girl to cast aside rather than a person. Now, suddenly, everyone around her seemed to genuinely like her, and she could not bring herself to believe it, even if she so badly wanted to trust it.

"It is so good to see you, Penelope," she sighed. "It has been quite the change adapting to my new life."

"But it must be quite wonderful, all in all. It might not be the path I want, but being a duchess has its benefits."

"I have to agree with you there. I feel so fortunate, if a little bewildered at how quickly everything has happened."

"And I must admit that I am still curious as to how it happened," Penelope smirked, "but I shall know all in good time."

Samantha wanted to tell her, but she did not know how. There was no way to tell her that they were blackmailed without worrying her, and the last thing that she wanted was for Penelope to think that she did not wish to be married to Graham because even though she could not bring herself to say it in so many words, she did enjoy being his wife.

"Welcome, Your Grace," Lord Drowshire said proudly to her. "I am pleased to inform you that you are the first duchess I have ever hosted."

"That cannot be true. You are known for your parties. Surely you have had a duchess grace your home at some time or another?"

"Not to my recollection, no. I have had a duke or two, your husband for example, but never a duchess."

"Perhaps because the company you keep is not the marrying sort?" Penelope smirked. "Your favorite cousin is a wonderful example of that."

"Johnathon is married," Lord Drowshire replied, and Penelope scowled at him.

"Well, if he is your favorite cousin, perhaps he can come and stay with you instead!" she pouted, and then the two of them laughed.

"And how are you, Graham?" Lord Drowshire asked. "I suppose you have been adapting to your new life every bit as much as your duchess is."

"Yes, although she has done a far better job of it than I have. You shall be stunned at all of her changes."

"It is about time somebody fixed that place. That is wonderful news."

"I have hardly done anything yet!" Samantha yelped. "Only a window and some paint."

"And what a difference it has made. Truly, my mother's room has not looked so wonderful in years. Then again, it has looked the same all my life, and it was hardly nice to begin with, so I am hardly able to prove with words how well she is doing."

"Well, it cannot hurt to try," Lord Drowshire smiled. "Come, let us leave the ladies to their business while we tend to ours."

The two gentlemen disappeared, and Samantha found that her smile had not left her face.

"He likes you a great deal," Penelope said warmly. "Excuse my boldness, but I did not see that coming at all."

"Nor did I," she admitted. "But it is nice."

"Being complimented to such an extent as that is far lovelier than merely nice, Samantha. It is rare to see a man speak so highly of his wife."

"How many husbands do you know, exactly?"

"I do not know many personally, but I know of plenty. Your brother-in-law, for example. He has Miss Norton on his arm, and although she is not the most pleasant person to be around, she is everything that he is looking for. Even he cannot find a good word to say about her. It makes you wonder why they find a lady to marry in the first place."

"For friendship?" she suggested. "The Duke and I have friendship at least."

"That is an exception. That does not tend to happen in marriages, even when they are as similar as Lord Nicholas and Miss Norton."

"Then it is for convenience's sake although I do think that one should complement their spouse. It is clearly not too difficult to do, given that the Duke can do so for me."

"Samantha, you really ought to see yourself more highly than you do. It is only fair given that you are a good person, and you are well-liked. You are quite a capable lady too, by the sounds of it."

"I like to think I am, but that does not change the fact that I am not used to such treatment with the exception of from my sister."

"Then it is time that you adapt. You cannot live your entire life questioning whether or not you are liked when it is so blindingly obvious that you are."

Samantha knew that her friend was right. It was not wise to question every nice thing that happened to her, even if it was her instinct. She was likable and was therefore liked. It was that simple, and she had to trust it.

"Now," Penelope continued, "if we are in the mood to question everything, I have to ask. What happened between you and the Duke?"

"Recently?"

"At the party. You couldn't stand him, and he made it quite clear that he thought little of you. Then, suddenly, the two of you were engaged. I am happy for you, of course, and he is a good man, no matter how convinced he is that he is not, but it simply does not make sense."

"We found common ground, that is all."

"And that was enough for you to change your mind about marriage? You told me you wished to become a spinster."

"And that was not a choice that I could truly make. It was either the Duke or some friend that my father had waiting for me in London. If you were presented with those two options, what would you have done?"

"I was presented with the same, and that was why I left my parents behind and lived with my cousin. I know that we are not all so fortunate as that, but you have a sister. Samantha, I do not mean to cause you discomfort, but I have been concerned about it. It seemed so different to what you said you wanted out of life."

She knew Penelope was right, and that only made her feel worse. She had wanted to be more than a wife, and for years, she had been determined to be the lady to change the way women were perceived and be the first scholar and make her own way, but that would forever be a dream she could not make come true.

"Penelope, if I tell you what happened, then you must promise not to tell a soul, not even your cousin. I cannot let it be known."

"You have my word though I must tell you that my cousin is perfectly good at keeping secrets."

"It is not that which concerns me, but what he would do if he found out. The Duke and I do not want anything more to come of what happened."

"Very well. I shall not tell a soul."

"We believe that Lord Nicholas saw the Duke and I alone together and blackmailed us so that we would be forced to marry."

She expected Penelope to be stunned, and to ask her a hundred questions that she did not know the answer to, but instead, she was standing with her head to one side, confused.

"That cannot be right," she said quietly. "That is not possible."

"But it is. It is, and it happened, and so the Duke and I decided to marry in order to prevent any rumors destroying my reputation."

"But Lord Nicholas would not have done that."

"You cannot be serious. You saw how much he and Miss Norton loathed me."

"Yes, but for the same reason that the Duke did. It would not make sense for him to force the two of you to marry. Think about it — marrying a lady makes his brother's position as duke even stronger. Imagine if the two of you produce an heir. Lord Nicholas has only ever wanted two things, and those are to become hideously wealthy and to be the Duke. Why would he put himself in a position where that would be jeopardized?"

Samantha knew what Penelope meant, but her friend was not privy to the whole story. She did not know how competitive and vicious the Duke's brother could be, even if she did know him quite well.

"He wanted to hurt the Duke's reputation, and if he ruined me in the process, then that did not matter. The Duke told me himself."

"And did Lord Nicholas admit it?"

"No, of course not, but who would? One would never confess to blackmailing someone if there was no real evidence to prove it."

"I suppose. In that case, he is a bigger fool than I thought. Who in their right mind would go out of their way to make themselves less likely to be a duke?"

"A man that is so determined to destroy his own brother, I suppose," Samantha sighed. "But it does not matter. Thanks to our marriage, I shall have a wealth of opportunities that I never thought would be possible, and so I have come out of it all rather favorably."

"That is incredibly fortunate. In any case, so long as you and the Duke are happy, that is all that matters. It is about the destination, not the journey."

"I believe it is said that the journey is the important part."

"Not necessarily," Penelope chuckled. "Now, as fascinating as this all is, we ought to go to dinner. I am ravenous!"

Samantha nodded, and the two ladies went to the dining hall. Lord Drowshire and the Duke were there waiting for them, and they were looking at Samantha expectantly.

"My apologies," she explained. "I simply had so much to tell Penelope."

"As did your husband," Lord Drowshire noted. "And fear not, Lord Nicholas is no longer welcome in my home. I cannot have those closest to me treated in such a manner."

"Did you tell him?" Samantha asked, stunned, and the Duke nodded.

"I assumed Penelope would not rest until she knew all about it, and so I thought it best to tell him too. There is nothing to be concerned about as we are not going to say a word to him, but he is cut off from the both of us. You have nothing to worry about. Now come, sit. I have missed Drowshire's cook's food immensely."

"Then you should visit more often!" Penelope joked, and soon enough, the first course arrived.

The discussion during the meal was far easier to sit through as there was an unspoken peace about what had happened with Lord Nicholas, and Samantha felt herself relax completely until it was time to leave.

"I apologize for telling Lord Drowshire," Graham said once they were traveling home. "I should have discussed it with you beforehand, but —"

"It is quite all right. After all, you were correct, and Penelope did indeed not let the matter die until I told her everything. Not only that, but I have already told Diana as you know, and so it is only fair that you are able to tell others too."

"Then the matter is settled although I would much prefer for the two of us to discuss these things before they happen."

"As would I, so we can do that in future."

Graham nodded and then leaned back, and Samantha tried to relax in the same manner. However, Penelope's words rang in the back of her mind.

It wasn't something that Lord Nicholas would do.