Page 69 of A Bride for the Icy Duke
And perhaps the single greatest bliss of his life.
The first day they left the bedchamber, they went on a walk through the grounds of the estate. Thankfully, the rain had ceased, and they were able to stroll down the roads in the crisp winter air.
“Did you spend much time outside?” he asked her. “When you lived here?”
“A little.” She turned her face up to the pale blue sky. “My nurse would take me out for picnics when I was very little, and I used to go with my mother, too, sometimes.”
“You must have been close with her.”
“I was. In retrospect, she was what tied me to this part of the country. I was afraid of leaving, or so I thought, but really, I was just afraid of being somewhere memories of her could no longer intrude.”
He looked down at her head, a bonnet concealing her curls from him. “You know that she lives with you wherever you are, don’t you?”
“I do now,” she said with a light laugh. “But it took adulthood to come to that conclusion. And being here again.” She exhaled, her breath seeming to steam in the air. “Oh, look, who is that?”
That, it transpired, was a man Alexander vaguely recognized as being one of his tenants. He knew he ought to have spent more time learning them and caring for their needs specifically, but he had spent so much of the past few years trying to forget about this place.
“Your Grace,” the man panted as he drew closer. “I am so sorry to disturb you like this.”
“Not at all,” Alexander said, that guilt curling in his stomach as he regarded the man. What was his name? He should know. “Is something the matter?”
“Well, it’s just that the chimney stack on the cottage has fallen down. I’ve got some men on it, but we need another hand, and I was hoping you might be able to assist us in some manner or other, Your Grace.” The man tipped his tap in deference. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Your Grace.”
Lydia smiled, evidently delighted to be addressed in such a way. “The pleasure is all mine. And of course we can help. What do you say, Alexander?”
“Of course,” he nodded once. “It is the least we could do. After all, you are all my responsibility, and it’s my duty to see to your health and care in the best way possible.” He touched the brim ofhis hat and set off after the man. “You can return home if you’d like,” he reassured Lydia.
“Nonsense! This is my land as much as it is yours now.” She twinkled merrily up at him. “I can’t promise I’ll climb on any roofs, but I’ll be there to help out where possible.”
“I ought to apologize for being so absent,” Alexander addressed the man as he led the way. “I trust my steward has been seeing to your needs satisfactorily?”
“I have no complaints, Your Grace.”
Lydia slipped her arm trustingly through his. “No doubt you’ll mostly deal with his steward still, but I think we intend to spend more time here from now on.”
The man cast her a surprised glance. “Is that so, Your Grace?”
“We shan’t be here all the time, of course, and I expect His Grace will have business to attend to in London on occasion, but for the large part, I hope to spend a large proportion of the year here.”
Alexander wished she would stop talking. Not because she was wrong—or at least, he hoped she wasn’t wrong—but he wouldn’t know for certain until he told her the whole truth. Then, and only then, would she decide if she could bear to live with him as husband and wife together on this estate.
If not, he would leave, and everything she told this farmer now would be a lie.
“What is your primary crop?” he asked, to turn the conversation.
“Milk,” the tenant replied. “Cattle and meat. It’s tough out there. We’ve got pigs.”
“Oh, how delightful!” Lydia squeaked.
“My sow’s competing in the Wiltshire County fair,” he boomed with some pride. “I can’t know for certain she’ll win, but she’s got good pedigree behind her, and we’re feeding her up.”
“I’m sure she’s wonderful,” Lydia giggled with such genuine enthusiasm that Alexander smiled. “And we’ll have to attend, won’t we, darling?”
Alexander could have denied her nothing in that moment. “Of course. Whatever you would like.”
Lydia kicked her heels from where she sat on the fence, watching as her husband—the duke—climbed up the ladder to help repair the chimneystack. Several other burly men assisted him, and together they were moving stone as though it weighed nothing.
The cottage itself was a quaint stone building, with roses growing up the sides and the prize sow in the back garden,snuffling happily. Although it was winter, and thus very little was growing, Mrs. Thomas—the farmer’s wife—showed Lydia some seedlings she had planted in the warmth of her kitchen.
