Page 36 of Taken By the Beastly Duke

" Come, let's go inside" he said, every sign of mirth completely gone as he transformed back into the cold gentleman that had shared the carriage with for the past few hours.

She took his hand and alighted. Placing a hand at her waist he led her to the entrance of the mansion where the he staff stood lined up smartly to be introduced.

She counted not less than forty staff including the footmen, chamber maids and the kitchen maids. She had managed a household before but it constituted of less than ten servants especially after Father's financial problems began. She secretly panicked at the prospect of having to manage an even larger household.

At last she was introduced to the housekeeper, who called herself Mrs. Hamlich, she was a middle aged woman who had her black hair caught at the back in a severe look, the inviting smile on her face was however warm and immediately put at her ease.

With such an efficient looking housekeeper she was sure her journey to adjusting to her new home might just be easier. She truly hoped so.

After the introductions, Anthony left her in the hands of the housekeeper to show her round the mansion stating that he had some things to do in the Estate.

Mrs. Hamlich took her on a tour around the massive mansion explaining the rich history of the building.

Apparently, it had originally been built as a royal retreat for King Charles I, but the king had granted it along with its surrounding estate to his loyal friend who had saved his life on the battle field.

The title had been in the family for at least two centuries and since then the mansion had undergone several renovations including addition of a new wing that was now specialized for the duke.

In the new wing, she showed her to her chamber of rooms that shared an adjoining door with the Duke's chambers. After the long tour, she returned to her chambers to see that her maid had arrived with her luggage.

She would have loved to meet her new mother-in-law, the only surviving member of Anthony's family, but was told that she was away on a trip.

In lieu of that, she settled for watching the sunset from the window of her bedchamber. She already loved the room simply because of the unique view it gave her of the sunset

The sunset was her favorite thing to watch, and she swore that there was nothing more beautiful than the sight of the sun setting in bright shades of orange as it gave way to the appearance of the moon.

There was a knock on the door, and when she called for the person to enter, Betsy, her lady’s maid, stuck her head in to inform her that it was time to go below stairs for dinner.

At once, her sense of calm evaporated at the thought of having to encounter the duke again.

That short moment of laughter they had in the carriage gave her hope that he just might not be as cold with resentment as he acted.

But she still had to sit with the man at dinner and endeavor not to make a complete fool of herself.

She dressed carefully in a beautiful dark blue creation that she had been told complimented her skin. Betsy did a good job of arranging her hair and soon she was ready for dinner.

When she arrived at the dinner table it was to see that Anthony was already seated and he stood up to recognize her presence.

This evening he was dressed casually in his shirt sleeves that was open at the throat. He had rolled his sleeves to reveal his strong forearm with a fine sprinkling of hair, the thought of those hands or her body sent warmth to her lower parts.

She had to make a conscious effort to stop herself from ogling the man, in her defense, the man was just too attractive for his own good.

She walked to her chair opposite him and sat. Dinner went quietly and she kept stealing looks at the man from beneath her eyelashes.

She did not know much about what happened in the marriage bed seeing as her mother that would have performed the task was dead.

She had to settle for Betsy's vague descriptions of a lock and a key and the rumors she had heard from her married friends in society who claimed that it was the best thing to ever exist

The available opinions on the matter was conflicted and did nothing to ease the apprehension inside her at the thought of performing the marital act.

But she reckoned that if the act involved having her body pressed to his and access to his skin and more of his drugging kisses, it could not be all that bad in her opinion.

When she finished eating, she stood and excused herself to go upstairs. Then she got upstairs she changed her clothes to a sheer crimson lingerie that the mischievous modiste had claimed will make her husband crave her.

Victoria felt embarrassed putting on the lingerie, she blushed so much that she was sure her face might have been as bright as a tomato.

The dress if she could even call it that was so sheer that she could as well be naked. She belted the matching robe over it with the hope that it would make it at least a little more modest.

She picked up her hairbrush and set about brushing her hair while she waited for her husband to join her to finally consummate their marriage

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