Page 25 of His Stolen Duchess
He didn’t care if she saw him, but she was speaking with the housekeeper, and he wanted to hear what she had to say. She wouldn’t complain about him, of course, not to his staff, but she might give some indication of her present level of happiness in the manor.
He didn’t need to make her happy, but he didn’t want her miserable in the manor either.
“The long curtains were a good idea, Your Grace,” Mrs. Kettleworth said. “We have been using draft excluders at the bottoms of the doors, but they look awful, and we need to remove them each morning. The curtains keep the drafts out and can simply be pulled aside.”
“I’m glad,” Georgina replied.
“We have not yet tried to place mirrors near the wall sconces to boost candlelight, but I shall instruct the footmen to go to the village and purchase mirrors to try it out.”
“We did something similar in my uncle’s townhouse,” Georgina explained. “It worked very well, and I know it shall work well here, too.”
“I don’t know where you get these ideas from, but they are extremely clever, no doubt. And it is rare to listen to a duchess speak on such things and not want the entire world to know that she is the one to be credited.”
“Ah, there is no need for that,” Georgina said. “As long as it improves the conditions here, that is all that matters.”
Lysander wore a smirk as he listened. He’d expected Georgina to take control of some aspects of the manor, but only to keepthem going, not to improve them. From the sounds of it, she was already making a substantial impact.
“And of the issue with the back gardens?” Mrs. Kettleworth asked.
“Yes, I shall get to that on time. I just, um, well, there are so many things to take care of, aren’t there?”
The way she stuttered and faltered interested Lysander, and he felt the urge to know more. He stopped his eavesdropping and rounded the corner to announce his presence.
“What is the matter in the back gardens?” he asked.
“Oh, Your Grace. It is nothing that needs to concern you. I’m sure your plate is quite full at the moment,” Georgina waved a hand nonchalantly through the air.
Lysander studied her. She was pale as if she’d just seen a ghost. The Duchess moved her weight from one foot to the other, unable to stand still, her hands fidgeting together at her midriff.
“It will be taken care of,” Georgina assured him, though her tone betrayed her uncertainty.
“Come,” Lysander said. “I have some time. I want you to show me the problem.”
“It’s quite all right,” Georgina assured him. “I will surely get to it, Your Grace. You need not worry about me.”
“I’m worried about problems on my estate.” Lysander pushed his shoulders back. “I insist that you accompany me to the gardens and tell me exactly what the problem is. Are you refusing my request?”
“Um, no.” Georgina swallowed uncomfortably and refused to meet his eye.
Lysander frowned. She looked nothing like the capable, confident woman he’d seen and heard minutes earlier.
He gestured for her to lead the way, and she did so without further complaint. He followed her toward the rear of the house and then out into the freshness of the day.
The sound of stamping hooves came from their right as the stable hands tended to some of the horses. Birdsong rose from the left atop one of the lower walls. They walked together in silence, between the competing noises, and toward the cluster of silver birch trees.
The gurgling stream became audible once they were in the trees, but the longer they walked, the slower Georgina’s footsteps became.
It was curious to Lysander that she didn’t speak. There was no mention of their earlier conversation, no attempt at smalltalk, nor any attempt to antagonize. She wore her silence like a melancholy cloak.
Something is very wrong.
Lysander had heard it in her voice, had seen it written on her face, and now it was in the way she held herself as she trudged along. Lysander thought she looked like she’d seen a ghost back at the manor. Now she looked as though there were ghosts all around her that only she could see.
They emerged from the trees and onto the lake’s grass embankment. That is to say, Lysander emerged, but Georgina stopped at the tree line. He looked back at her, trying to work out what the matter might be.
“Um, so over there.” Georgina pointed to the stone gazebo that had been erected at the lake long before he had been born. “I’ve been told that the base is cracking, and it should be inspected. The groundskeeper has informed me that it might be repairable, but I was asked to take a look to determine whether it would be more prudent to replace it entirely.”
“What else do you need to do out here?” Lysander asked.
