Page 8 of Married to the Forbidden Duke
Irritatingly so.
She would have rather he’d fallen to the ground weeping. After the death of her parents, she had lost so many days to a haze of grief so thick, that she had been unable to see an end to it. Even now, the parameters of her life had shrunk so much, she hardly recognized it.
All the while, the Duke had been continuing to live as though he did not have the deaths of beloved people on his shoulders.
He deserved to suffer. Heshouldpay penance for his crimes. If the magistrate would not condemn him, thenshewould.
“I hope he finally feels the full weight of what he has done,” she finally added.
“I hope so too, Miss.”
They arrived in the dark, a little after supper, and Alice crept in a side door, hoping not to be discovered. Unfortunately, she should have known better than to hope for such a thing.
“And where do you think you have been, young lady?” her uncle demanded, his voice sharp and hard.
Alice turned, leaning heavily on her stick. The day had been a difficult one—even riding in a carriage caused her pain—and she wanted nothing more than a hot bath and a rest.
“Uncle,” she tried for a disarming smile, her words measured.
“You took a horse out. Against my express permission!”
“And I rode her with no issues.” She flicked her skirt. As it happens, the mare had been so docile, plodding along with no hint of spirit, that Alice would have had to be a poor horsewoman indeed to have any problems. “My father taught me to ride well.”
“I forbade it!”
“And I proved it can be done.” Alice glanced away in case her uncle could see the lie in her eyes. “There is really nothing more to be said on the matter.”
“That is a matter of opinion,” her uncle snapped. “You are not to go riding without a groom, and you are not to do so without my permission. Think of what might have happened if you had fallen! We would not know where you were. You might have been severely hurt, and we would never have known. Does that not occur to you, Alice?”
If she had truly been riding, that would have been a consideration. Her father usually requested she take a groom to ride with her, at least if she was going any great distance. But the grooms never interfered with where she chose to ride.
A groom herewould.
Since her accident, everyone had been so very smothering in their concern, and their determination to keep her locked inside at all times.
She knew her limitations better than anyone. Knew she could walk no great distance; knew she relied on her stick for basic mobility. She knew that her leg was weak, the muscle wasted, the pain in it a constant reminder of the injury she had suffered.
The last thing she needed was someone else drawing yet more attention to it.
But, as she looked into her uncle’s eyes, she could at least acknowledge that his anger came from a place of concern. He did not want his reputation to suffer—and he had never asked for her to come and live with them—but hedidcare for her.
That understanding tempered her response. “I know you worry for me, and I know you think it likely that I will hurt myself still further, but you must understand, Uncle—if you keep me shut here like a caged bird, then I will slowly fade away.
“What sort of life is it, to be denied the chance to fly?”
Gently, pressing her stick under her arm once more, she hobbled for the steps. Jenny had let herself in through the servants’ entrance, and Alice hoped no one would be any wiser.
When she reached her bedchamber, she collapsed on the bed with a huff. Jenny appeared in the doorway moments later.
“No one suspected a thing,” she whispered nervously as she dragged the bath back out in front of the fire. “I think… I think we may have gotten away with it, Miss!”
“Let’s not speak too soon,” Alice pressed her lips into a thin line. “A few days should let us know whether we have succeeded or not.” She grimaced. “Let us pray we have.”
Three more days passed without Alice’s family discovering what she had been up to that fateful morning.
Her aunt delivered another stern lecture about her recklessness at breakfast the next day, and with the attempt of not appearing too suspicious, Alice accepted it as meekly as she was able.
If shehadbeen out riding all day without so much as a by-your-leave, lunch, or a groom following, she could admit that she would deserve at least some of the horror directed at her.
