Page 6 of The Duke's Tempting Bride

Michelle rose from the settee as she helped Diana to her feet. “Do let me know if there is anything else I can assist with. I know I don’t have as much as you, but I will still help if I can.”

“Your friendship means more to me than you could ever fathom. It is all I need in life,” Diana said with a genuine smile on her face. Michelle beamed at her in return before she dipped her head and curtsied.

“I will be returning to the village as well. Enjoy the day,” Michelle said as she straightened her posture once more. “And if I hear any more about this mysterious duke, I’ll be sure to let you know.” Diana couldn’t help chuckling as she escorted Michelle to the front of the house. She saw her off before turning and making her way towards the drawing room. It was there she found her parents being tended to by Mrs Merriweather.

“We missed you for the afternoon meal,” Lady Casey said as she looked up once Diana came into the room.

“Forgive me, Mother. I was busy with the ledger, and Miss Bradly from the village came to pay me a visit,” Diana explained as she sat next to her mother.

“I’m sure she was full of all sorts of gossip,” Lady Casey said with a chuckle. Diana couldn’t disagree with her and instead placed her hand over her mouth as though to say her lips were sealed.

Diana’s father sat across from them, rummaging through the daily post. Diana knew that her father couldn’t read the letters very well anymore, but she wouldn’t put him to shame by saying so out loud.

She’d let him try to read whatever letters had come for him that day, and in the evening, she would review them and explain them to her father after her mother had retired for the evening. Most of them would be notices of past due payments, but Diana wouldn’t worry about them until that evening.

“I left a plate of boiled eggs and cheese on the table for you, Miss Casey. Would you like me to bring it into the drawing room for you?” Mrs Merriweather asked.

“That would be lovely, thank you,” Diana replied.

“Aren’t we blessed to have such a wonderful housekeeper?” Lady Casey commented. “She has been such a loyal servant all these years. I feel like it was just yesterday she came to work for us when Gabriel was born.”

The mentioning of her eldest brother made her cringe, but Diana did her best not to show any signs of distaste towards her older siblings. Her parents often always saw the good in people and couldn’t even fault their children for their abandonment of them. Diana, on the other hand, knew in her heart that she’d never feel any love towards her siblings like she once did as a child.

“I agree that Mrs Merriweather is an invaluable housekeeper,” Lord Casey spoke up just as the woman was returning to the drawing room. She smiled happily as she handed Diana the plate of food. She thanked her in return and waited for the woman to depart before speaking up again.

“It is her loyalty that has really been our saving grace,” Diana commented. “I could not do the work I do without her.”

Silence filled the room then as Diana ate the meagre meal. Lady Casey seemed to be drawn away by her deep thoughts. Diana would sneak glances at her mother, observing her hair that used to flow in golden curls down her back.

Now, it was braided grey hair that framed her ageing face. Her father, on the other hand, still had his luscious brown hair that seemed to be untouched by age. Since Diana shared his hair colour, she also hoped that she’d have his longevity. Sometimes it made Diana wonder if her mother had aged a bit faster than her father since he still had youthful tones about him.

By the time Diana had finished eating, she knew that it was time she finally started working around the house. She didn’t like to delay too long when it came to the housework because she knew how quickly it could pile up. Diana would have never known the effort it took to keep a small household clean and tidy. But ever since her father had imparted on her the news that their fortunes were rather low, Diana had stepped up to make sure that everything was taken care of for as long as she remained a single woman.

Diana rose from the settee and dipped her head towards her parents as she said, “Enjoy the afternoon. I have some things to take care of.”

“Very well, my dear,” Lord Casey said as he tried hard to read a letter from where he sat next to the fireplace. Diana loathed any thoughts of the colder months when a fire would need to be tended to. She wasn’t sure if they could afford the wood to keep warm, and that would only be a larger strain on her parents.

Diana forced her thoughts away from their troubles as she left the drawing room and went towards the kitchen. There, she placed her dirty plate in the dry sink before bidding Cook a warm greeting and then making her way upstairs to tend to the laundry. As she went, she thought about what Michelle had spoken of earlier, of the Duke in search of a wife. She still found the idea rather mysterious because she did not know anything about the Duke besides the death of his late wife. She couldn’t fathom why he’d want a wife and thought that if she ever met the man that perhaps she would discover all his mysteries.

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