Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
S arah sat in what had become her favorite chair in the library. It was angled just so that the morning sun lighted her pages, but the afternoon sun wasn’t so harsh.
Her mind drifted to the library she found upstairs. Its books were bright colors of pinks and blues and called to her more than these heavy handed books on warfare and politics did. How she longed for her romance novels she cherished. She brought a few with her but she was itching to get her hands on a new story. Perhaps there was a store in town that could accommodate her.
Stretching her arms over her head, she sighed. It was doubtful. It seemed as if her husband had a strong hold on what he allowed in and out of his duchy.
Sarah chewed on her bottom lip. Each day she accomplished her goal of learning more about the man she married but there were still major questions that needed to be answered.
For instance, this library. It practically screamed Charles. The sofa and chairs were stiff and uncomfortable. The pillows weren’t soft. The colors were drab and dark with browns and grays. Once more her mind drifted to the perfectly suitable feminine library upstairs.
Why couldn’t he just let her have that room? Or at least allow her to leave her mark in some rooms? Perhaps she’d feel more at home if she saw herself within her surroundings.
The door opened and Samuels ushered in Charles.
“Ah, there you are. I wanted to let you know I will be going out of town for a day. I won’t return until the day after tomorrow.”
Sarah blinked owlishly at him. She looked behind her to see if a maid was standing there. He couldn’t be talking to her in such a casual manner.
She could count on one hand how many conversations she has had with her husband and none of them had him offering up information about his plans.
“Is all well?” Her voice cracked. Her cheeks heated at the awkwardness of the situation.
Charles shook his head. “Nothing to concern yourself with, just some business I need to attend to in the next town over.”
Sarah’s hackles rose. He was most likely establishing another deal that rob their people of a lucrative deal.
Charles swung his coat over his broad shoulders. “I just wanted to let you know you won’t be seeing me. Samuels knows how to get in touch with me if there is a problem.”
Sarah’s eyes drifted over to Samuels who was standing at Charles’s side.
She nodded in acknowledgment and watched as Charles turned on his heel and left without another word.
Sarah closed the book in her lap and jumped up, placing the book on the table.
She rushed out into the hall just in time to see Charles step out of the house. She walked quickly to the front door and watched the carriage pull away.
“Is he really going to be gone until the day after tomorrow?” She asked Samuels who was at the door.
Samuels dipped his head. “Yes. He will not return until the evening after next.”
A wicked smile danced across Sarah’s face.
“Perfect.” She squealed.
Samuels stepped in front of her as she tried to turn.
“May I be of service you, Your Grace.”
His old grey eyes looked alarmed which made her smile wider.
“If you could ready a carriage for me, Samuels, that would be wonderful. I’m in the mood to some shopping while His Grace is away.”
She brushed past him and walked towards the stairs with a little bounce in her step. Ideas were running rampant in her mind and she couldn’t decide what she wanted to do first.
“A carriage, Your Grace?” Samuels stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up to her. His eyes pleading for her to not do whatever it was she was planning on doing.
Sarah had to bite her tongue. Samuels may seem quiet and out of the way, but the man was a good judge of character. Recalling their first meeting together Sarah took some pity on the man. Between dealing with the Duke’s mood swings and now herself, poor Samuels didn’t get a break.
“Yes, a carriage.” She paused at the top of the stair. “Do you know if William is free?”
Samuels’s face pinched in thought. “I think so, Your Grace. Will you be needing him for your trip?”
Sarah continued up the stairs, wishing she could take two steps at a time. “Yes. Oh, and Lizzie. Could you find both of them and have them meet me outside at the carriage as soon as possible?”
“May I ask what you’re looking to buy, Your Grace? So I know where to direct the coachman.” He added when she threw a questioningly look his way.
“Ah, yes. I’m in the mood to do some redecorating. A stop at Miss Cordell’s will be first and we’ll go from there.”
“Redecorating, Your Grace?” Samuels’s voice squeaked in the most unmanly way causing Sarah to giggle.
Sarah wasn’t proud to admit but watching the color drain from Samuels face gave her a thrill. He was obviously, and with good reason, nervous about her plans. If he was anxious about her plans, Sarah couldn’t wait to see how the Duke would react.
She didn’t give Samuels time to voice any concerns. She turned and hurried down the hallway with bright floral patterns and different shades of pink filling her mind. Oh, and ruffles. The Duke must simply have ruffles. After all, the Duchess was in charge of the house and the Duchess loved ruffles.
It was high time Sarah made her mark on the household and she knew the perfect room to start with. The Duke’s study.
A little bell rang alerting Miss Cordell that Sarah had entered her shop along with William and Lizzie.
She had told the two of them about her plan on the short carriage ride into town. Lizzie was apprehensive at first, but Sarah won her over with her vision for the room.
William was categorically against it from the start. But when he was told where they were going he relented. Lizzie teased him about his caving at the mention of Miss Cordell but he denied any infatuation with the modest. He stood firmly that he was going simply because it was his duty to see to the Duchess outside the estate.
Sarah didn’t care why he chose to come, she was thankful for the help. For what she was envisioning, she would need all the help she could get.
Miss Cordell’s head lifted up from the papers on the counter. “Your Grace! You’re back so soon? Is everything all right with the ribbons?”
Sarah waved away Miss Cordell’s worries. “Everything’s fine with the ribbons. Lovely as ever. I’m back because I need your help.”
Miss Cordell tilted her head in confusion. “My help, Your Grace?’ Her eyes darted to William’s before she settled on Lizzie’s for a beat longer.
Sarah shook her head vigorously. “Yes, your help. I’m in the need of fabrics.”
“Fabrics, Your Grace?” Miss Cordell brought her attention back to Sarah.
Sarah decided to ignore the added tension between Miss Cordell, William, and Lizzie. There was a story there, but she had more pressing matters than a love triangle involving two of her staff.
“Yes. Why must everyone repeat what I’m saying?” She sighed. “I’ve decided to do some redecorating at the estate and I’m looking for some very specific material.” Sarah ran her hands over a pink satin dress hanging next to the door. Her fingertips traced the intricate lace threaded amongst ruffles, her eyes glittering with possibilities.
“I’m looking to add some color and feminine touch to some rooms.” Sarah continued. Sarah’s eye caught a ribbon with bright pink peonies on it. “Perhaps some floral material as well.”
Miss Cordell’s face relaxed a bit. “Oh, how lovely.” She smiled. “I always thought redoing a personal bedroom was cathartic. It allows you to own a space that reflects you and you alone.”
Sarah turned to face Miss Cordell. “Oh, I’m not redoing my rooms.”
Miss Cordell’s brows furrowed. William sighed audibly causing Lizzie to nudge him with her elbow.
Miss Cordell noticed the gesture and her brows pinched further before returning to Sarah.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace.” Miss Cordell said while she shook her head of whatever thought she just had. Miss Cordell gestured to the dress Sarah was still touching. “It’s just you’re speaking of adding a feminine touch and I can tell you’re getting ideas from that dress.”
Sarah was impressed. “You can?”
Miss Cordell nodded. “When the muse sings it’s hard for any creative person to hide their fascination from their expression.”
Sarah smiled in appreciation. William was right, this young woman knew what she was doing.
“May I ask what room you are looking to decorate?” Miss Cordell inquired with a tilt of her head. “Perhaps it’ll help me guide you in the right direction.”
Miss Cordell’s eyes kept glancing back to Lizzie and William.
“The Duke’s study.” Sarah said as plainly as she could. She wanted to watch Miss Cordell’s face morph from inquisitive and interested into shock.
And, much to Sarah’s pleasure, Miss Cordell’s expression did not disappoint.
Disbelief colored Miss Cordell’s face as it snapped back to Sarah’s. “His Grace’s study?” Miss Cordell’s eyes looked at the dress still in Sarah’s hands and shook her head.
“Your Grace, I’m not sure my store has what is suitable for a Duke’s study.”
Sarah giggled. “And that’s precisely why we’re here.” Sarah clapped and William groaned again.
“I don’t want suitable, Miss Cordell,” Sarah said as she walked towards the nervous modiste. “I asked for a feminine touch. Do you consider yourself to have a feminine touch and are able to aid other’s in achieving a certain je ne sais quoi when it comes to decorating, whether it’s a body or a room?”
Sarah raised an eyebrow in a challenge.
Miss Cordell swallowed and bobbed her head. Her eyes looked just past her to William before refocusing on Sarah. “Yes, of course, Your Grace.”
Sarah clapped. “Excellent. Let’s get started, shall we? What is the pinkest fabric you have? I have a lot of ideas!”
Miss Cordell escorted the three of them to her back storage room.
Sarah marveled in the amount of fabric bolts she had within in the small storage room. She definitely could use some more space for all this material.
Lizzie was just as impressed. “You have a lovely selection, Miss Cordell.”
Miss Cordell cooly acknowledged Lizzie’s compliment. “Thank you, Miss.”
“It’s Elizabeth, but my friends call me Lizzie.”
“Thank you, Miss Elizabeth.” Miss Cordell corrected.
Lizzie’s eyes widened at the slant and stepped back, recognizing her place in the room.
Sarah frowned. “Now, come now, we are all friends with a common goal here.”
William cleared his throat.
Sarah scrunched her face. “Fine, us women all have a common goal. Let it be noted that William is against my plan and has been from the start. He is here under protest.”
William raised his chin. “Thank you.”
With a roll of her eyes she returned back to Miss Cordell.
“You seem to have taken issue with my maid and if there’s one thing about me is I hate unfinished business. It gets in the way of things.”
Sarah couldn’t help but feel her life was surrounded by unfinished business. If she couldn’t fully understand her husband she would put this to rights at least.
Miss Cordell sniffed in Lizzie’s direction before her eyes landed on William.
The tension was palpable and grating on Sarah’s nerves.
“William? Do you know what is going on?”
William’s cheeks reddened. “What? Me? I don’t know anything, Your Grace.”
Both Lizzie and Miss Cordell snorted causing William’s blush to deepen.
Miss Cordell sighed. “It’s just I thought we were…”
Lizzie jumped from her spot in the corner. “Wait. Do you think he and I…” her finger wagged in between her and William.
Sarah had to admit she rather enjoyed watching other people’s drama enfold instead of being the one in the middle of it. It was quite refreshing.
Lizzie broke out in fitful giggles while it took William a moment longer to understand what Miss Cordell was implying.
“With her?” William looked absolutely shocked as he pointed to Lizzie.
Lizzie’s giggling stopped abruptly. “Hey. You could do a lot worse than me.”
William scoffed. “I could do a lot better.”
Sarah cleared her throat.
“Miss Cordell, it seems whatever you may have surmised to be going on between Lizzie and William is simply not true.”
Lizzie made audible noise of disgust when Sarah mentioned William.
Miss Cordell dropped her eyes out of embarrassment. “This is terribly unprofessional of me, Your Grace. I am so ashamed.”
Sarah walked over to Miss Cordell and embraced her. She lowered her voice and whispered in her ear. “Love, or even the hint of love, can have us acting out in the most bizarre ways.”
As she pulled away Sarah her whispered words took on a different meaning when she applied them to her own situation.
Surely, she wasn’t in love with the Duke. She only knew him a few days. Yet, she had never let anyone affect her in the same way this man had. Even only after a few days he had her scheming an entire room renovation simply as an act of revenge.
She may have let her imagination get the best of her in the past, but this was a bit much even for her.
Miss Cordell pulled away, a bashful smile with blushing cheeks met William’s awkward stance. Now that it was open knowledge that Miss Cordell was interested in William it seemed the young man forgot how to stand.
Wanting to take the attention from William, Sarah walked over to a bright pink fabric. “Is the same as the dress out front?”
Miss Cordell nodded. “It is, Your Grace.”
“This is will be perfect. Do you have any ruffles that match?”
Miss Cordell’s face brightened. “I do! Lizzie, will you help me get this box down, it has the exact color ruffles in it.”
The two women reached up to a top shelf to bring down a box.
William coughed. “If you two are going to get things that are out of reach why am I here?”
Lizzie stuck her tongue out. “You’re the moral support.”
Sarah giggled. The easy talk and growing camaraderie between them strengthened her resolve. She missed the familiarity of having family nearby and these people were beaming her family.
Lizzie pulled out a long strand of ruffles. “Is what you were thinking, Your Grace?”
Sarah looked over and her eyes widened. “Absolutely!”
“How much will you need?” Miss Cordell asked holding up two rolls.
“All of it.” Sarah grinned.