Page 29 of Taken By the Dangerous Duke

“Yes, Your Grace,” replied the first maid. “Is there something I can aid you with? We are busy with the linens but I can send someone up to help you with whatever you need.”

“I know that you know why I am here, and I know that it is not conventional, and I want the talking behind my back to stop. I have never treated anyone here without respect, and I expect that I am to be treated with respect too. And, if you want to talk about anyone, it should be the duke. He is the one who organized this entire thing, and I know he is your duke, and he runs this place, but it is not fair to me. Is it because I am a woman? Is that it?”

The second maid had stopped working and was looking over at Margaret and the first maid now.

“No, it is not like that,” said the maid. “We are not talking about you behind your back. I mean….”

The second maid came over quickly. “We are talking about the duke too,” she added. “Sorry, that didn’t come out well. You tell it, Louise.”

“She is right, we have not been talking about you, we have been talking about the duke,” said Louise. “But it is because of you, Your Grace.”

“I don’t understand,” said Margaret.

“It started when you made him laugh for the first time. To say that Victoria was shocked was an understatement, and when she told us, we didn’t believe her at first, but then more of the staff were saying it too, and—”

“Get to the point,” said the second maid, nudging Louise.

“Sorry. Yes. This is all to say… well, the duke is not a happy man. He has been unhappy for as long as I have been here, and long before that if what the housekeeper has told us is true. I don’t think I have ever heard him laugh before. He….”

“Oh, I’ll say it, Louise. He has been depressed and sad forever, and it is hard to be around someone like that. We all… we all respect the duke, and we love working here, but it is hard to see your employer like that. And now it has all changed. We can all feel the mood rising in the estate since you arrived, Your Grace. It might be an unconventional way of doing things, but it works. Having you here makes the duke happier, and that makes all of our lives easier.”

CHAPTER14

A Family Without Love

“Here, give me your hand,” said Arthur.

Margaret reached out and took the duke’s hand, stepping gingerly into the boat. She had thought that the duke might have been suggesting the idea to be nice, and she considered that it might not happen. When they had reached the lake, she was excited. It was only now that she was stepping into the boat that she realized she had never set foot on a boat before.

“That’s it,” said the duke. “Now, move through the center of the boat to the seat.”

Margaret did as she was instructed when she let go of the duke’s hand, and she tried her best to keep a steady footing as the boat rocked from side to side. She would not tell the duke that she was deathly afraid of falling into the water. She had also never learned to swim—though she was sure that both the lack of swimming and boats were her parents’ faults.

“And we are off,” said the duke, pushing them off from the dock. The help had packed the boat with food and drink and anything else that was needed, and Margaret did not have time to protest before they were away from dry land and safety.

She held onto the sides of the boat with both hands, the rocking of the boat unnerving her. The duke moved the oars in the rings, and he dipped one in the water, spinning the boat around to face the other way. Then, he placed the other oar into the water and pulled them through the lake with long, strong strokes.

“It is a beautiful day,” said the duke.

“It is,” agreed Margaret.

The duke looked at her with a slight smile on his face as he rowed the boat out toward the middle of the lake. If he did know that she was terrified, he did not let on.

“We can eat whenever you feel peckish,” added the duke.

“All right,” replied Margaret, only able to get out a word or two at a time. The rocking motion made her feel a little sick. She fixed her gaze on the duke, a point that was not moving in relation to her. He wore tan trousers today and boating shoes. He had on a white shirt with no jacket or cravat, and the top button was undone. He also wore striped suspenders, something she had not seen him wear before. He wore a type of hat that she had not seen before too. It was shaped like a top hat, but not as tall and the brim was wider.

“Yes, the day is rather nice,” said Margaret after a while, hoping that the act of talking would take away the motion sickness. The day was nice, and the duke was too. Each time he took a stroke with the oars, the sleeves of his shirt bulged as his muscles tightened. She might not know this man better than anyone else, but he certainly was attractive, and she still could not wait to have him in his bed again, especially if he was worried about her satisfaction too. She had heard about men who were only interested in themselves, but the duke was not one of them.

The duke stopped rowing and raised his hand and waved to someone in another boat. A wave came by in reply.

“Do they know?” asked Margaret suddenly.

“Pardon?”

“Sorry, it just came out. I was wondering if people know. You obviously know people in York, and you have friends here, and some family too. They must all know you are married but have you told them what is really going on?”

The duke stopped rowing completely this time. He pulled up the oars and locked them into place on the sides of the boat. “No. I am a private man at the best of times as I am sure you have worked out, and I have been asked by some people, but I only told them that I found a wife in London and brought her back here to marry. It is not unusual for a man to wed without knowing the woman well first. When we go our separate ways… I will tell them something. I have not thought too much about that part yet, but we have months until you give birth, so I have a lot of time to think of something.”

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