Page 19 of Two Blessings For His Duchess
“I should like to get to know you very much as well, Cordelia,” Euphemia said softly. She offered a small, comforting smile. “I know what it is like to navigate the world without a mother’s guidance. My own mama passed away when I was a baby. I had to lean on my sisters growing up.”
Cordelia nodded solemnly, her small fingers stroking the dog’s fur. “My mama passed away too. I never got to meet her at all. I do not even know what she looks like.”
Cordelia’s words struck Euphemia right in the gut. To have lost a mother was a tragedy, but to not even possess a single memory, or a portrait to look upon, was an entirely different level of sorrow that she understood well. A deep, aching sadness welled up in Euphemia’s chest. Without thinking, Euphemia reached out and gently patted the girl’s back, pulling her just a fraction closer.
“I am so terribly sorry, my dear,” Euphemia murmured.
How on earth was she supposed to keep her promise to Nathaniel now? She had agreed to stay on her side of the line, vowing to live like an invisible ghost and avoid his children at all costs. But she had been at Greymoor for less than a day, and she was already becoming deeply, fiercely attached to one of them.
The fortress walls the Duke had built were crumbling, and Euphemia had no idea how to stop herself from caring.
CHAPTER SIX
“She is a beauty I hear… Your new Duchess. Surely that counts as a massive triumph, no?”
Thaddeus grinned from behind his mahogany desk, swirling a crystal glass of Sherry. They were seated comfortably in the quiet warmth of his private study, the scent of expensive tobacco hanging in the air.
Nathaniel didn’t return the smile. He simply sat in the opposing wingback chair. By all societal standards, he should not have been here. It was the very height of what thetonconsidered the honeymoon period, a time when a newlywed should have been entirely captivated by his bride at his country estate.
Instead, Nathaniel had escaped Greymoor at the first opportunity, seeking the grounding, familiar company of his oldest and closest friend, Thaddeus Somerset, Duke of Stonehaven. They had known each other since their university days, sharing a bond forged through many shared years.
Nathaniel set his glass down on the side table and began to pull on his riding gloves. “I must take my leave, Thaddeus. I have an immense backlog of estate accounts and shipping ledgers waiting for me at home.”
“Oh, absolutely not. Sit back down,” Thaddeus said, waving a dismissive hand as his smile quickly faded into a look of genuine disbelief. “I am still entirely scandalized by how you have handled this entire affair. I am wounded, Nathaniel, deeply betrayed.”
“How so?” Nathaniel asked with a tilt of the head.
“To think that my closest companion marries the most talked-about lady in London, and I am not even granted an invitation to the wedding? It begs the question... are you purposefully hiding your new Duchess from me?”
Nathaniel’s jaw tightened, his eyes flashing with brief irritation. “There is absolutely nothing to hide. The ceremony was rushed for obvious reasons, and you know it.”
Yet, even as the words left his mouth, a small, uncomfortable truth pricked at Nathaniel’s conscience. In a way, Thaddeus was entirely correct. He was hiding her. He had spent the last twenty-four hours putting as much physical and emotional distance between himself and Euphemia as the grand architecture of Greymoor would allow.
“I know you never desired a wife,” Thaddeus continued, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the desk. “But she is yourwife now. Surely you aren’t treating her like one of your cargo disputes.”
“We have established very strict boundaries,” Nathaniel said coldly, adjusting the cuff of his coat. “I have made the terms of our arrangement perfectly clear to her. We will not be interfering in each other’s lives. I have told her that she is to have her own wing, that we will live entirely separate existences, and that she is to stay away from my daughters.”
Thaddeus froze, his glass stopping halfway to his lips. He blinked, staring at Nathaniel as if the man had suddenly started speaking a foreign language. “You told her to stay entirely away from the children?”
“Yes,” Nathaniel replied and nodded. “It is a marriage of convenience to salvage a reputation. We do not possess a real union, and I will not have the twins’ routine disrupted by an unnecessary complication.”
Thaddeus let out a sharp, incredulous breath, slamming his glass down on the desk so hard the liquid sloshed over the rim. “Nathaniel, that is an absolutely monstrous thing to say to a woman! She is a lady of theton. These women are trained from birth to manage grand households and guide families. To look a lady in the eye and tell her she is forbidden from even interacting with the children under her own roof? It is utterly absurd. It is cruel.”
Thaddeus stood up. “If you truly said those exact words to her face, then you need to return to Greymoor this instant and offer her a profound apology.”
Nathaniel looked up at his friend, his expression turning incredulous. “Apologize?”
“Yes.”
Nathaniel rose to his feet. “You must have had one too many glasses of Sherry. I’m leaving.”
Thaddeus held up a hand, gesturing for him to stay. “Wait, just wait a moment. Calm down. I’m not trying to argue with you. Think about what you are saying, Nathaniel.” He leaned over the desk. “Did you truly, explicitly tell her to stay away from your daughters?”
“Yes,” Nathaniel said. “I did.”
Thaddeus shook his head, a look of profound disbelief crossing his features as he massaged his forehead. “Then you absolutely must apologize to her. Even hearing you repeat it now sounds completely off. I know you, Nathaniel. I know you better than anyone else in England, and I know how incredibly cold and detached you can be when you speak. But you cannot apply your mechanical logic here. Think of how deeply insulted a lady of her standing would feel to receive such a command on her first day in her new home.”
Nathaniel shifted uncomfortably, his jaw setting tightly.
