Page 26 of The Duke's Spinster Bride
A familiar fear spread through him and he could almost hear the sound of a door slamming in his mind. The smell of his father’s cologne threatened to overwhelm him, mingling with stale whiskey.
Stop thinking about that.He pushed the memory away harshly and returned to the present, focusing on Benedict.
“A truly mad choice, if you ask me.” Benedict made two shots in a row, letting out a triumphant whoop after the second.
“It made sense at the time.” Frederick slumped into a nearby chair. “But I had at least hoped we might be able to exist in the same space as one another. Yet instead, it is like living with a ghost. An angry, loud ghost.”
“You did seem rather friendly at your wedding, well, until she stormed off at the ball.” Benedict stroked his chin. “Have you tried to make amends – I am told that often when one fights with a woman, the best thing to do is to apologise and pray that she forgives you.”
Frederick gave his friend a frank look as he made his way around the table, trying to get a better angle on his shot. “I have tried to apologise, and she has just dismissed me.”
Every time he had tried, she had simply left the room. Sometimes she said nothing, sometimes she exclaimed that she was trying to enjoy some peace and quiet and did not need to be harangued by her husband.
“She is utterly infuriating. It is like she is determined to be cross with me no matter what I do. More to the point, she seems to delight in being frustrating.” He growled an oath.
“What do you mean?” Benedict canted his head towards him.
“Every time I suggest something, she does the opposite. If I say we are having dinner at six, she will tell the cook to prepare it for five. The other day, she woke me up at the crack of dawn by playing the bagpipes outside my bedroom door.” He shuddered at the memory. “I do not even know where she got the damn things. I am quite sure they were not in her honeymoon luggage!”
“She plays the bagpipes?” Benedict sounded amused.
“Yes.”
“Does she play them well?”
“I have no idea.” He felt a small smile on his face which only served to irritate him more. “Even if she did, that does not mean I wish to hear them indoors, before the sun has even risen properly. I love a bit of folk music as much as the next man, but no one needs that.”
“I suppose not. I take it you have hidden them now?” Benedict was lining up his shot.
“If I could have found them, yes. But despite it being my own castle, she seems to know it better than I do. The other day, she appeared from a passage that was hidden behind a painting of my great grandfather.” He shook his head, unable to keep a note of admiration from his voice. “She seems to have a knack for finding such things.”
“And you are sure the Dowager Duchess did not tell her of its exisitence.”
“Reasonably. My grandmother would have warned me about secret passages.” At least, he was fairly certain she would have.
He could just picture his grandmother conspiring with his wife. He sighed. “Who would have thought having a wife would be this exhausting?”
“Most married men.” Benedict clapped him on the shoulder and took a drink of his wine. “It is why I plan on avoiding the entire thing.”
“That was my plan as well, and look how that turned out.” Frederick gave his friend a wry smile and took a drink of his whiskey.
They drank in silence as Frederick surveyed the table in front of him, barely taking any of it in as he thought about Andrea. He was ashamed of his behaviour at the ball. He had known better and now he was paying the price.
But even with that knowledge, he could not help but be irritated at her treatment of him. After all, he had tried to apologise. He had not meant to get so angry, but the way her father had spoken to her... What else was he supposed to do?
“All I wanted to do was to protect her.” He muttered after a few moments.
“That is a rather noble sentiment.” Benedict nudged Frederick’s foot with his cue. “Especially for someone you claim to dislike so intensely.”
“I did not say I disliked her, just that she dislikes me!” Fredrick felt his cheeks redden. “Not that I am saying I care for her. I would have wanted to protect anyone who was being treated the way her father was treating her.”
“That is because you are a good man, Felton.” Benedict smiled at him. “Now let’s play some billiards and forget about your woman troubles for awhile.”
Frederick nodded, but though he tried to dismiss his thoughts of Andrea, his mind kept returning to her. He found himself saying, “Did I tell you that she insisted that the cooks only serve me bland food? She told them I was having digestive issues.”
Benedict raised an eyebrow at him. “You have told me that three times now. For someone who claims not to like his wife, she does not seem particularly far from your thoughts.”
“How could she be when she seems determined to be the biggest annoyance in my life?” He missed another shot. “Well, I am done being nice. I have tried to be civil, I have tried to make amends. No more nice Duke.”
