Page 2 of Her Cursed Duke
The exchange stirred something odd within Prudence, and she finally prompted herself to move away from her sister—but not too far away—as she spoke.
“You must have had a long, tiring journey. Come, we have prepared some refreshments. You can rest in the drawing room while the servants put away your things.”
Agnes smiled sweetly. “That sounds lovely. Shouldn’t we go and greet Grandmother first?”
“Later,” Prudence told her. “She is resting, currently. I am sure she’ll call for us when she has awakened. Right this way.”
She led them into the house, her heart still thrumming with unbridled joy over the fact that, finally, she had her sister by her side again. Prudence had so much to say, so much to ask, eager to hear her sister tell her tales of her life.
They settled down in the drawing room, and Prudence secretly felt pleased that Agnes had opted to sit by her side and not with her husband, ignoring the jar of fresh apple juice and sandwiches in favor of holding Prudence’s hands in hers.
“How have you been faring, dear sister? Tell me everything. I want to hear all about how you have lived since we were separated,” Agnes requested with bright eyes.
“There is… not much to tell. I have not really done anything noteworthy, other than caring for Grandmother. That is, I do not mean to imply that caring for her is not a good thing. I really do love being able to help her, to be around for her to rely on me and trust me. But that is really it. That is all I do.”
Agnes just blinked at her, looking as though she was struggling not to look confused or disappointed, and suddenly, Prudence felt bad.
“Do not look so sad, Agnes. While it might not have been special, I have lived a good, peaceful life here. Imogen would be thrilled to see what wonders the fresh air has done for my skin.”
Agnes laughed lightly, and Prudence felt better.
She gently tugged on Agnes’s hands as she urged, “I am sure you have a lot of wonderful stories, yourself. You got to live with Aunty Anna. That must have been exciting.”
“If by exciting you mean physically and mentally draining, living in constant fear of her eccentric nature, and being unable to tell whether or not she is being serious in some situations, then yes. It was the very pinnacle of excitement.”
Prudence giggled, nudging her sister gently. “Still, I want to know what happened.”
Agnes sighed a little but did what Prudence wanted with a smile. She told her of the things she had seen, the places she had been while accompanying her godmother around for a while, until, finally, they arrived at Forestwood Mansion. Once the conversation steered in the direction of her marriage, Agnes involved her husband, playfully making statements that made him pout or refute their inaccuracies.
Silas was a good sport about it all, keeping his indignation and voice low, a loving smile on his face even as they argued over the details of their time together before they got married.
“His grandmother even had to drag him into the dining hall once in order to get him to spend time with me.”
“That was not—darling, please. You will give your sister a poor impression of me,” Silas complained with an air of mock petulance.
They looked… really happy together. Prudence had not been in her sister’s presence for up to an hour, and she could already tell that Agnes had changed a lot, but not in the ways Prudence had expected.
Agnes appeared more relaxed, more assured, and more forward with her thoughts and feelings, as though she had finally learned to reach for the things she wanted. During their childhood, Agnes had always been self-sacrificing, ever attending to the needs of her sisters and father first, with hardly any consideration to herself.
It had worried Prudence immensely when they were torn apart, the guilt over her sister needing to get married in order for them to be together again weighing her down more often than not. Prudence had spent a long time hoping for either another solution to present itself or for her sister’s future husband to be kind to her, at least.
It might have been circumstances that had brought the Duke and Duchess together, but it was evident that they had made the most of it and had created something wonderful. Prudence felt an odd spark of disappointment about her own life and the time she had spent without her sisters.
She had not made any real meaningful bonds since she had arrived, and at that moment, she became even more aware of how lonely she had been.
“I am really so happy to see you, Prudence. It almost feels as though it is not real… how I am here. I have dreamed of thismoment for so long. There was nothing I wanted more than to be with you and Imogen again. I worried, for many days and nights, whether it would still be possible. But I never gave up hope, and nothing makes me happier than to see that I was not too late. I am very proud of you for remaining so strong on your own, Prudence.”
Prudence swallowed past the lump in her throat, noting in horror that it seemed to be growing in size, forcing her to seek solace in her sister’s arms once more as her eyes filled with tears.
“It is unfair of you to make me cry in front of your husband,” Prudence protested tearfully.
Agnes smiled, stroking her sister’s hair gently. “Do not worry, he has already been graced with the sight of Imogen and me in tears, as well. And he stayed married to me afterward. I do not think there is much I can do to make him feel otherwise.”
Prudence giggled, basking in the comforting presence of her sister. She heard the door open and a voice state after a snort, “Oh, goodness, they are already in tears. I expected that they would have at least held it in until dinner time, but perhaps I gave them too much credit.”
Agnes’s laughter rang in Prudence’s ear as she released her to rise to her feet, stepping forward to greet the Dowager Countess of Lockheart.
“It is wonderful to see you as well, Grandmother.”
