Page 48 of Married to the Cruel Duke

She lit up. “You want to have lunch with me?”

He frowned. “I’d assumed you would want me there for the first meal you planned.”

“I do, but I didn’t think you would be able to come since it was a lunch and not a dinner.”

“I think I can find the time to come to a lunch.”

“Then I would love that. I will ask Mrs. Anderson the next time I see her to find out when we can do it.”

“Once you find out just let me know so I can make any necessary arrangements to ensure I will be free.”

She smiled. “Thank you, William. I appreciate that.”

He stiffened and look away. “What book were you reading when I interrupted you earlier?”

“You didn’t interrupt me. I was in your library.”

“You live here too. You have just as much of a right to the room as I do.”

Rebecca gasped and looked away. “That’s- thank you. I don’t know that anyone has ever said anything like that to me before.” Then she met his eyes. “I don’t know that anyone has every tried to make a place feel like it was my home too.”

He was stunned. “You never had that feeling when you lived with your family?”

She shook her head. “It was hard to when I was always seen as an after thought at best and a burden at worst. I wasn’t even given my own bedroom,” she confessed.

“But then where did you sleep?”

“In the attic with the extra furniture.”

“How inhumane! It must have been freezing in there in the winter!”

“It wasn’t as bad as it sounds.”

“But why did your father do it? You can’t tell me the house wasn’t big enough.”

“It was easier to keep me out of sight that way. After all, no one who came over would want to see me anyways.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

“That’s very kind of you to say, but it is true. Most of the guests would never have even met me.”

“Why not? Surely he had taken you out at least for walks in the park or trips to the shops.”

“He had occasionally taken me a few places, of course, but if there was any possible reason to leave me behind, then they would do so.”

“That’s terrible.”

Rebecca forced a smile. “It wasn’t that bad. Besides, it was nice to have the house to myself. It made it easier to move around without worrying about getting into any trouble.”

“You shouldn’t have to worry about getting into trouble for just moving around and living in your own home.”

“But that’s the thing I have come to understand. That place was never my home. It was just a place I had little choice but to livein. Besides, it wasn’t all bad. I never would have met Penelope and I don’t know what I would do with out her.”

“She must be some friend.”

“She is. I don’t know what I would do without her.”

“Then you should have her over more often.”

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