Page 53 of His Scarred Duchess
“Ah, I see,” Daniel replied, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. “Well, I suppose I’ll have to wait for another opportunity to make her acquaintance. Do pass on my regards, won’t you?”
“Did you come here to criticize my appearance and be snoopy, Daniel, or is there an actual purpose to your visit?” Edmund asked, his tone sharper than he’d intended.
“Peace, my friend,” Daniel said, raising his hands in mock surrender. “I merely came to see how married life is treating you. Thetonis positively abuzz with speculation, you know.”
A muscle in Edmund’s jaw ticked. “Is that so? And what, pray tell, are they saying?”
Daniel leaned back in his chair, studying him carefully. “Oh, the usual nonsense. Some say you’ve become a recluse, others say that you’re madly in love and can’t bear to be parted from your bride. A few of the more imaginative sort are even suggestingyou’ve whisked your new Duchess off to the Continent for a grand tour.”
“Ridiculous,” Edmund muttered. “Don’t these people have anything better to do with their time?”
“Come now, Eddie,” Daniel drawled, using the childhood nickname he knew his friend despised. “You can’t blame them for being curious. You’ve always been something of an enigma, and now you’ve gone and married a woman who half thetonhad written off as a spinster. It’s bound to set tongues wagging.”
Edmund’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Adeline is the Duchess of Holbrook now. I’ll not have anyone speaking ill of her, is that clear?”
Daniel’s eyebrows shot up at Edmund’s vehemence. “Crystal clear, old boy. But you still haven’t answered my question. How are you finding married life?”
Edmund stood up abruptly, moving to the window to gaze out at the manicured grounds of Holbrook Manor. “It’s… an adjustment,” he replied. “But Adeline is… she’s…” he trailed off, unsure how to put into words the tumult of emotions she stirred within him.
How could he explain the way his heart raced when she entered a room, or the fierce protectiveness he felt when he thought of theton’scruel whispers?
“She’s what?” Daniel prompted gently.
Edmund shook his head, turning back to face his friend. “She’s a suitable wife. Capable, intelligent. She’ll do well as Duchess.”
Daniel’s expression was uncharacteristically serious. “Is that all she is to you? A ‘suitable wife’?”
For a moment, Edmund was tempted to confide in his oldest friend. To tell him about the moment in the carriage, about the way Adeline’s laugh made something warm unfurl in his chest. But the memory of Joanna’s betrayal rose like a specter between them, and his walls slammed back into place.
“What else should she be?” he asked coolly. “Ours is a marriage of convenience, nothing more.”
Daniel sighed, rising to his feet. “If you say so, old chap. But if I may offer a word of advice?”
Edmund raised an eyebrow, waiting.
“Don’t let the ghosts of the past blind you to the possibilities of the present,” Daniel said softly. “Adeline is not Joanna. And you, my friend, deserve a chance at happiness.”
With that, he clapped Edmund on the shoulder and stepped out of the room, leaving him alone with his turbulent thoughts.
As the door closed behind his friend, Edmund sank back into his chair, his eyes drawn to the ink-stained ledger. The neat columns of figures, once so orderly and predictable, now seemed to mock him with their simplicity.
How had his life become so complicated? And more importantly, what was he going to do about the growing, undeniable attraction he felt for his wife?
With a heavy sigh, Edmund reached for a fresh sheet of paper. He had ledgers to balance, an estate to run. He couldn’t afford to let himself be distracted by matters of the heart.
And yet, as he dipped his quill in the inkpot, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something fundamental had shifted.
That perhaps, despite his best efforts to maintain his emotional distance, Adeline had already begun to breach the carefully constructed walls around his heart.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Your Grace, a message has arrived from London,” Thornley announced, interrupting Edmund’s brooding.
Edmund looked up from the ledger he’d been staring at for the past hour, his mind elsewhere. “Thank you, Thornley. Just leave it on the desk.”
As the butler retreated, Edmund sighed, running a hand through his hair. He’d been on edge all day, unable to shake the feeling that something was amiss.
Adeline’s absence hadn’t gone unnoticed, and despite his best efforts to focus on estate matters, his thoughts kept drifting back to her.
