Page 12 of The Jilted Duchess
"It is simply polite manners," Alexandra said firmly and he shook his head. The lass was very keen on manners and propriety, it was true. Why even care when even the best ofmanners allowed things to happen like the marriage between a woman like her and a man like his brother?
In a real, good society, that would never have happened. In a proper place, a real place like Glasgow, a few men would have broken Benedict's legs and then put him on a carriage out of town or on a ship sailing for the Americas. Instead, this strange world that she lived in decided that she had been attacked, so she would become the property of her attacker?
Bollocks to that.
"I will take yer word on it," he said instead, smiling at her. "Ye seem to know a great deal more about the matter than I do."
Alexandra was awash with so many emotions that she could not begin to distinguish one from another. It was a surreal and strange place to find herself, the study of a Duke that she had married only this morning. She would never have believed it only twenty-four hours earlier, and yet here she was.
He was infuriating! And rough, rough and ready with his manners in a blunt, casual way that she had never experienced before. Without his fancy clothes as an armor it was hard to see him as a gentleman. He was so large and so strong, but it was strength from making things and doing labor, not from fencing or hunting or other sports.
She didn't know how to understand him. His words were strange and his accent was so odd in her ears that sometimes she struggled to understand him altogether. He used words she didn't know, and spoke so casually about things that she knew he shouldn't.
Yet there was a kindness to him that made it - not frightening to be alone with him. He didn't seem to want to hurt her. He seemed - genuine.
"I should thank you," she said suddenly, the words hot in her mouth as she realized she had yet to do any such thing.
"Should ye?" he asked, surprise crossing his face. "And why is that?"
"Without you stepping in, I would have been twice ruined," she said. The memory of the moment still felt like being doused with icy water. She had never thought she would be sad not to be married to the horrible man from that nightmarish night in the garden, and yet when he hadn't arrived, the cold plunge of embarrassment and horror had been like a knife. Perhaps marrying him would have been just as bad, but the impact on her family would have at least been less. "You didn't have to marry me. I wasn't your responsibility. And yet you did, and I am thankful for it. At the very least, my little sister will not have her reputation ruined along with mine this way."
"Ach," it was an explosive noise from his throat, something angry and sad at once. "Daenae thank me. If I'd nae done it thenme reputation would have been ruined as well. That was the whole idea, I think."
"Oh, of course," That made sense of the mother's face during the ceremony, the sneer triumphant and sharp on her lips as she watched Hector reading the message. It was a power play between him and the rest of the family and he was intended to lose badly.
Instead, he had saved both of them.
"Get some sleep," he said gently, crossing to stand in front of her and brushing a strand of hair back from her face. "Ye've been through more than I can ken, and it's been a long day. I'll make sure ye are nae called until late mornin' at least."
"Thank you," she said quietly, feeling small and fragile in front of him. The touch of his fingers on her face burned a little, bright and blooming over her cheek. But it wasn't - unpleasant. "I wish you a good night, Your Grace."
She had made it to the door of the study before he replied, a merry '"Goodnight lass!" which was clearly meant to annoy her. It was not the right thing to call her, it was not proper or correct, and yet her bloom of annoyance was tinged with humor as she walked down the hall and headed for her own room.
Her husband was indeed a strange man, but she supposed most men were. At least his vices seemed to be rough language and winding her up, and nothing worse.
As she slipped into her room and then into her freshly made bed, the fine linens smooth across her skin, she was struck with a sharp pang of longing for her old bedroom. It had all happened so fast. She had been so certain of her place in the home, of the fact that she would never leave the comfortable old lines of the rundown estate, the petty squabbles with her father, the company of Penelope and her other sisters when they came to visit. The gardens that were slowly becoming more manageable, and the servants she had known since she was a baby, and all the places she had been a child in.
Now, she was adrift in a whole new sea, a new world, and she was alone, with only a strange man to guide her.
Alexandra shut her eyes tight, refusing to shed any tears on her wedding night, and prayed for sleep to take her away.
CHAPTER SEVEN
"Your Grace?" a cautious voice called, breaking her out of her sleep. "Your Grace? Madam? My lady? Ma'am? Miss marm?"
It sounded so ridiculous that for a vicious moment, she thought it might be Penelope teasing her and sat up, ready to throw her pillow at her sister, preparing to laugh and scold at once.
When she opened her eyes the strange large room was there again and everything flooded back. She was married now, a Duchess in her own right and a slim girl that could not be much older than fifteen was standing at the foot of her bed twisting her hands in her apron. Alexandra could vaguely remember meeting her the night before amongst all the other servants in a blur of names and little facts and snips of familiarity from her strange, rough husband.
"Oh! Yer awake, ma'am - my lady!"
"Your Grace is the proper term of address," she said kindly, swinging her legs out of the bed and sitting on the edge. "Margot, correct?"
"Margot Wren, my - Your Grace," the maid said, bobbing a little curtsey. "I've never been a lady's maid before, Your Grace, but I'm fair good with hair and I spent a few months taking care of a lady nearby when her own maid was off sick so I know a few things."
"Of course," Alexandra sighed in relief that she would not have to start completely from scratch. She had been a little concerned at the beginning, considering that her husband would hardly have had the time to arrange a proper maid for her. It had been a suspicion that this girl had been pulled from the kitchen and given a few quick lessons, but it was good to hear that she had at least a little experience. "Thank you, Margot. Could you go through my bags and bring out something for me to wear? And please tell me what the time might be."
"Of course, Your Grace," The girl had very dark eyes and fair hair that was pulled back from her head so sternly that her eyebrows were curving a little from it. She was very tall and perhaps even still growing, with her uniform clearly new and unfamiliar. After a beat, she pulled an old fob watch from her pocket and checked it. "It's just gone half past ten, Your Grace. His Grace said you were to sleep in a bit after the big day yesterday, but Mrs. Hopsted was worried if we left you any longer, you'd be starving for your breakfast."
