Page 46 of My Cruel Duke

Penny let out a shaky breath and nodded.

The stroll back to the main building was pleasant. The couple walked hand in hand as they made small talk. Penelope did most of the talking while Rhysand listened. He would not admit it openly, but he liked listening to her talk. He liked the sound of her voice.

When they returned to the house, Penny busied herself with replying to a letter Eleanor had sent her the day before, inquiring about her health and whether she needed a friend over to take her mind off things. As Penny scribbled down her response to Eleanor, her mind drifted to Rhysand. He had been nothing but kind to her since the incident, and she felt she needed to show him her gratitude somehow.

“I wager His Grace will not have a celebration this year also.”

Penny heard a voice at the door of the drawing room.

“His Grace might consider it. He has a family now,” a second voice replied. Penny stood up and approached the door silently, wondering what the servants were on about.

“Having a family will not make His Grace change his mind over something he has done for years. His Grace does not care about his birthday.” There was no reply after that. It seemed the servants had left.

Penny had been thinking about showing her gratitude to Rhysand, and now she had a chance.

“I shall make his birthday memorable for him.”

Chapter23

“Penny, are you certain it is all right for us to do this?”

Lydia rubbed the back of her hands as she stared at her sister, who seemed to have awoken on the right side of her bed.

“For the tenth time, sister, I am certain. Hurry along and focus on the task I have given you. Rhysand will be home any moment now!”

Lydia sighed, and with a little shake of her head, she went her way. Lydia could tell that the relationship between the cruel Duke and her sister had changed; they talked more, and he scowled less, but that did not mean he was open to the changes Penny had put the mansion through in the span of a few days with the help of his uncle.

It had not taken much for Penny to find the exact date of Rhysand’s birthday and why he was not open to celebrating it. It was the same day he lost his parents and sister in an accident.

It was not news that the Duke and Duchess of Huxton had died. She was told by the servants that it was announced on the papers that his family had been in an accident while they were on their way out of town. The papers claimed a large tree fell on their carriage, and their injuries had been so fatal no one survived. Penny was surprised to find that Rhysand had a sister, and she had been with their parents when the misfortune befell them.

From her findings, Penny realized that, indeed, her husband had been heavily opposed to celebrating his birthday, that the very idea of it repulsed him, and so she planned to change it.

Just one day. She thought. He could allow himself some happiness for just one day. Penny intended to make the solemn day happy for him once again. It was her sole goal when she woke up that morning.

Before then, Penny had gathered the staff of Thornbury Hall and announced to them that there would be a celebration for Rhysand’s birthday in a week, and they all had to work together to plan the whole affair.

“Dear, you should take some time to rest your body. I fear you are working too hard,” Aunt Augusta had told Penny in the course of the week.

“I promise to rest,” Penny had replied to her, but she had done the opposite. Minutes after the conversation with her aunt, Penny was seen leaving the house.

“I need to speak with the caterer some more. I should make sure no mistakes are made,” she told her family before leaving.

The event was the talk of the town because, for the first time in almost two decades, the doors to Thornbury Hall would be open to the Ton, and the anticipation for it was high. In contrast, Rhysand knew nothing about it.

He had been more focused on his business with the Marquess of Angleton, which they had started working on–on the week she found out about his birthday–and had not returned home in three days. But he was to return home that night; Penny had made sure of it when she sent him a letter demanding his presence back home. She was running out of time and needed to ensure Thornbury Hall looked its best before the guests arrived.

Since Penny could not change the black walls in time for the event, she made do with them by changing all the black drapes in the corridor to cream ones instead. The ballroom had been opened and dusted; It looked every bit like a ballroom that had not been used for years. Some of the furniture, like the tables, had been chipped, but Penny ensured the best tablecloths were used to hide them. Flowers, some from the garden she had been focused on reviving, were used to decorate the ballroom, adorning the place in bright colors contrary to the darkness her husband resided in. Before long, Thornbury Hall was ready to receive her guests.

* * *

When evening came, Rhysand had hurriedly returned home to his wife, who had demanded his presence but had not specified what for. He had been away from home for a few days, but he doubted it was because Penelope missed him that she wrote to him. In fact, the letter had been void of any endearments. It seemed like an urgent letter, but it lacked the necessary information. Rhysand only knew he had to return home, but he did not know why.

Rhysand found the answer to his questions the moment he descended his carriage, only to be met with various carriages owned by different families parked around and across Thornbury Hall.

“I must say, I am disappointed that this is how I find out your family is hosting a ball.” Angleton straightened out his coat.

Rhysand and Angleton had ridden together in his carriage as Penelope’s letter suggested he brought Angleton along if he was willing.

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