Page 48 of Taken By the Beastly Duke

Victoria touched her face and realized she was crying, she hastily cleaned her face roughly with the back of her palms like a little girl.

She turned to see Anthony standing at the entrance of the gallery. Now that he had gotten her attention, he strode towards her in long strides.

Looking at her face, he seemed to have seen traces of the tears on her face because he simply reached into his jacket and offered her a handkerchief.

She accepted it gratefully muttering her thanks, using it, she wiped her face.

"What beings you here?" he asked

"I just wanted to explore the castle. It is to be my new home isn't it?" she said blowing her nose noisily.

If Anthony was bothered by the unladylike sound, it didn't show on his face.

"I do not dispute that, but I wonder why you would be interested in old portraits and what is it about them that would move you to tears?"

"Maybe because you have absolutely beautiful people in your lineage," she said half-jokingly.

Anthony scoffed in disbelief.

"I highly doubt that," he said searching her face in concern. Something must have warned him to refrain from prying because he just guided her out of the room.

"Let's go somewhere else. This room is particularly dusty. I wonder how you managed to stay here."

Now that she looked around, Victoria decided that he was really correct. The room was indeed dusty. It seemed no one bothered to come up here most time hence why it was dusty.

Some of the dust had touched her clothes and she had a feeling that Betsy will throw a fit when she saw this state of her dress. She would not blame her because she knew her maid would definitely have a hard time shaking off dust from the light colored, heavy fabric of this dress.

He led her up to her chambers. Making sure he made her comfortable sitting at the foot of the bed. He removed his arm around her shoulder and made to leave the room.

Victoria could not explain the feeling of panic that seized her at the prospect of him leaving.

She held on to his hand. He looked back at her askance and she stared back at him at loss on what to say. Then she remembered the fabric of his handkerchief she clenched in her hand. Raising it up, she asked

"When should I return your handkerchief? I would send it to the laundry to be cleaned."

"Do not bother. I have many of them. You can just keep that."

"Does your mother embroider all your handkerchiefs?"

"Yes, she seemed to like to do that. I humor her, even though it means am stuck with handkerchiefs best suited to a female than a male." he said a rueful smile touching his lips.

"I do not think they look feminine at all. They are just simply beautiful, best suited to both genders."

She could never understand what had possessed her to start this bizarre conversation about handkerchief. She guessed she could attribute it to her strange need to keep him by her side even if it was a few more moments.

"I have some appointments outside the castle. I do not think I would be back soon. You do not need to wait up for me." he said striding out.

Victoria tried to shake the feeling desolation that she felt when he left her bedchamber, but if didn't quite work and that feeling haunted her for the better part of the week.

She spent her nights spent reading until she heard the sound of her husband returning at night, her hopes of him joining her being dashed night after night.

Her day time was spent exploring more of the castle, some of the books in the library. Looking in on the cook and her mother in law.

The Dowager Duchess was slowly thawing towards her bur she was not really the person she yearned to have conversations with.

The individual that had become the bane of her existence seemed to avoid her like the plague.

When she caught a glimpse of him from her window when he left the house in the mornings, an aching feeling grew her chest that was slowly maturing into anger.

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