Page 38 of Her Bear of a Duke

"I understand. I know that you like being in charge of all of this, and I cannot say that I blame you for being angry that I have such little knowledge, but I would so like to be good at this, so that I might be a help to you, rather than a hindrance."

The housekeeper smiled, which Dorothy could hardly believe, and then nodded.

"This household is all that I have. I never had children, or a home of my own, and so this has always been the one thing that I could take care of. I was like you, and I wanted to do it perfectly."

"And you do. I want to learn everything you know, so that I can be as good as you one day."

At last, it truly felt like they had come to an understanding. It felt good to be needed, even better to be useful, and Dorothy knew that it was only the beginning, and that they would do a lot of good together, which would begin with the changes she wished to make to the decorations.

"I ought to speak with my husband about all of the work I plan to do," she considered. "Might you know where he is? I have not seen him all day."

Mrs. Herrington looked away, biting her lip.

"The Duke will be away for a short while," she explained. "He has to go to London."

Dorothy furrowed her brow, remembering what he had told her. When they were married, he never planned on leaving the household. They would not attend events, and she had accepted that, but if that was what he wanted then why had he been so quick to leave?

"It is for business purposes," Mrs. Herrington continued. "I thought he had told you."

"He did not. I do not understand."

"It has nothing to do with you, I assure you. He is not avoiding you, if that is what you are thinking."

"No, it is not that. He told me that we would not be leaving the manor, and I had assumed that would be the case for both of us."

"It typically is, believe me, but this has been unavoidable. If he did not have to be away, he would not be."

But there was something in her eye, and Dorothy saw it. She was hiding something, and Dorothy knew that no matter what she said, she would not find out what that was.

"Very well," she replied softly, "I understand."

It was a lie, but she had to protect the bond that she had made. It was upsetting to know that she was not truly considered part of the household, but that was something she would have to be used to.

In the meantime, as she would not be able to leave and see her friends, there was no reason why she could not bring her friends to her. She left for her room, and sat at her desk with her stationery scattered around her. She wrote three identical letters, and had them sent off with a request that the recipients had them as quickly as possible. She had plans for the household, and she needed all of the help that she could get, even if one of the three ladies she had invited could not do very much in the condition that she was in.

Having done all that she could for the moment in terms of finding support, she made a list of all of the things she would need. It was long, and extensive, and there was every chance that time would be needed to find all of the necessary things.

Fortunately, with her husband's absence, she would have the time for that.

CHAPTER 14

Morgan knew that he should have told his wife where he was going, but he could not face her.

He had been the one to tell her that they would be staying where they were, as that had been his intention, but he had made a promise to his niece and he had to keep it.

The guilt that he felt about hiding so much from Dorothy was immeasurable, but he had to continue doing so for a short while longer. One day, he would explain everything and hopefully she would understand, but that time had not yet come and he doubted that it would for a long time.

He hated London. He hated how many people were there, and how everyone recognized him. It also did not help him in his search, as all that he had to go on was that her name had been Elizabeth, and even then she could well have lied about that out of shame. He did not know where to begin, other than looking for the names of ladies that had died when Catherine was five years old, three years ago.

His first idea was to look at the parish records in London, as if the lady had met Thomas there, it was likely that that was where she had lived. It was not the only place, but it was where he hoped to find her.

The parish priest, Mister Granville, seemed surprised to see him on a Thursday afternoon.

"Good afternoon, Your Grace," he greeted. "Can I help you with anything?"

"I wish to see the parish records. I am searching for the name of a lady that passed away three years ago. Might you be able to assist me?"

"Certainly. Might I enquire as to why you are searching for this information?"

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