Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Good morning, Your Grace.” The door to Rose’s bedroom flew open, and in walked her personal maid, Sally.
“Oh, good morning,” Rose started in surprise. She was sitting up in bed, having not had the best of sleeps last night, so she wasn’t caught completely unawares by the maid’s entry. But that did not make the interruption any less disconcerting.
“Did we sleep well?” Sally asked as she crossed the room, where she proceeded to throw back the heavy curtains and let the morning light in.
The sudden increase in light had Rose wincing, and she threw up an arm to block her face. “Ah, Sally, is it?”
“That’s right, Your Grace.”
“Might I ask?” She lowered her arm and blinked through the brightness of the sun until she found Sally across the room, beaming at her. “What are you doing?”
“Helping you awake, Your Grace,” she said, still smiling pleasantly. “I’ve spoken to the kitchens, and they are preparing your breakfast right now. I’ve had a bath drawn for you, because I find that is always the best way to start the day.”
Rose had no idea what to say.
The fact that she had a personal maid at all was a concept that she was not used to. When she was growing up, Rose had always been the one in charge of these things; waking up Marianne, ensuring meals were prepared on time, not having a bath until everything was done with, which was often never.
Yes, she had servants of her own, of course, everyone she knew did. But only a few, as her father preferred to save their money, forcing Rose to take a greater hand in her home’s upkeep than was usual.
“Thank you,” Rose said, but only because she thought she should say something.
“No need to thank me, Your Grace,” Sally said. “Of course, I am honored. Now,” Somehow, the smile on her face grew even bigger. “ Shall we get you out of that bed and into a nice hot bath?”
What else could Rose say but yes?
If there is one good thing to be taken out of this marriage, might it be a chance for hot baths in the morning? It’s important to have these small wins.
The confusion of the morning was enough to distract Rose for a few minutes at least. And it wasn’t until she was in that hot bath, having her hair washed and her nails cleaned, that the situation dawned on Rose’s now relaxed shoulders. Or rather, it reemerged.
“And have you decided what to do with yourself today, Your Grace?” Sally asked. She stood across the room watching, hands folded behind her back, bobbing on the spot.
“Do today?”
“Yes,” Sally said. “How will you be spending it?”
It was a simple question, but the answer was more complex than the bubbly maid seemed to realize.
Rose had done a lot of thinking last night, the chief concerns of which were how she was going to approach this marriage and, to that effect, her new life.
Her husband had told her specifically what he wanted, and until he proved otherwise, she was inclined to believe him. And while Rose found herself feeling annoyed when she thought back to how quickly he had dismissed her yesterday, she also knew that she had no good reason for it.
This is exactly what I wanted, isn’t it? Should I not be happy? Or as happy as I can be, considering the circumstances.
Her husband, Christopher, wanted nothing to do with her. Rose supposed that the least she could do was oblige him.
Rose was not the type to be doted upon. She had always been in charge of the household and how it ran, and the idea of relying on someone else to do what she knew that she could do herself, and often better, felt wrong.
It was thus that she came to a decision: she wasn’t going to change who she was. This was her new life, and she was determined to live it how she always had.
“I have decided,” Rose said as warm water was poured through her hair. “First, will you please tell my husband that I would like to have a quick word with him. Perhaps after I break my fast?”
Sally blinked. “Your Grace, I am afraid that will not be possible.”
“It won’t be?”
“He is not here, Your Grace.” She hurried to the side of the bath and dropped to her knees. “I was going to inform you during breakfast. I am so sorry.”
“He?” For some reason, possibly the heat of the bath, Rose’s head spun a little from that news. “Where has he gone?”
“Away on business, I believe.”
“For how long?”
“As I was told, it will be several days.”
Rose stared stupidly at the maid.
He left? Without telling me? Without even saying goodbye? For several days! How could he think that such a thing would be fine to do? … and why do I care?
Rose should not have cared. The Duke was doing as he promised, and that was a reason to feel grateful. She supposed it might have something to do with the fact that she wanted to talk to him today, so that she could tell him what she planned to do with herself.
Yes, that was the reason this news hit her so hard.
Not that she needed his permission. She just thought it would be polite.
There was another reason that this news sat so strangely on her shoulders, and as Rose sank deeper into the bath, she was forced to confront it in ways she did not plan.
It was that pit in her stomach opening wide again.
The walls of the room were turning around her.
The dreaded sense of loneliness that came with this new life, and that her own husband cared so little for her.
I really am alone…
No! Rose gave her head a shake, refusing to go down that path.
“Good,” she said to Sally.
“Good?” Sally frowned.
“That my husband is not here,” she confirmed. “Good.”
Rose wasn’t going to let her husband’s absence change anything. This was her home now; she had never been one to sit back and let others do things for her, and if Christopher did not like that, then he should have come and seen her before he left.
Yes, this was his fault.
“Today, Sally, I plan on doing a full tour of the manor,” Rose announced. “Tell me, do you know your letters, Sally?”
“I do, Your Grace.”
Rose smiled with surprise. “Excellent. Because you will be taking notes.”
“Notes?” Sally tilted her head and pursed her lips. “Notes about what?”
“Of everything.” Rose flashed her eyes with wickedness, as if she were doing something wrong. “You are to take notes of everything.”
Rose spent the rest of the day doing as she said that she would: touring the manor. In fact, she was so determined in this new task that she skipped breakfast entirely.
She wished to know everything that she could about her new home, from its rooms to the people who occupied them.
She met each member of the household staff, quizzing them on the specifics of their roles.
She spoke with the ground staff, again asking them about their roles and what they thought could be done better.
She visited every room of the manor, giving Sally a mountain of notes to scribble down in the process.
As she did all of this, her mind turned slowly, pieces falling into place, seeing already things that needed to be changed, fixed, and added to.
There was a soft voice in the back of her head at the same time, one that warned her against doing anything that might upset her husband. But she ignored it for the most part, countering that if he cared so much about what she did, he would be there to stop her.
The following morning, Rose did not waste time with a bath.
Nor did she have time to eat breakfast.
She was up and out of bed before Sally even had a chance to wake her. And she was slipping into a dress before Sally was able to suggest a bath.
“But… you have not… a bath is the best way to start… is that the same dress you wore yesterday?” Sally stammered as Rose swept past her.
“Come, Sally,” Rose called. “We have much to do.”
“Do?” Sally hurried after her.
“I want to start by calling a meeting of the staff,” Rose said as she walked quickly down the hallway. “All of them.”
“Whatever for?”
“You’ll see,” Rose said with a huge grin on her face.
Rose had been thinking about the current roster of duties the staff were given each week: the specific responsibilities of each, who was doing them, the time assigned, and so on. It wasn’t all bad, per se, but she thought it could be done better.
Once the staff were lined up, she explained to them the few simple changes that she was certain would be more efficient.
“Now, be honest with me, what do you think?” Rose asked the dozen or so butlers and maids lined up before her. She was beaming with pride, so proud that she had taken this on and that it was a huge success.
“Ah… Your Grace…” A nervous old man raised his hand.
“Ah, yes…” Rose sucked through her teeth. “Mr. Carter, yes? Our Head of Staff.”
“That is right, Your Grace.”
“You had something to say?”
He looked down the line of fellow servants for support, getting from them a few nods of encouragement. “Forgive me for saying, Your Grace, but His Grace can be rather particular with these things.”
“What do you mean?”
“He has a way of doing things,” Sally spoke up for Mr. Carter. “His Grace is very…” She laughed. “As Mr. Carter said, he is particular. He does not like change.”
The staff were quick to murmur their agreement.
“Oh…” Rose hesitated, questioning for the first time if maybe she was getting ahead of herself. She was new here, this was her husband’s home, and would it be so wrong to take a few days and settle in…
No. Do not give in. If the Duke did not want change, then he should never have tried to marry my sister.
“I am sure that he does,” Rose spoke up, projecting herself with an air of authority. “But my very presence here proves that even the Duke is capable of change. Does it not?”
To that, a few of the servants chuckled, while others shuffled nervously and refused to look at her.
“Besides, this is my home now, and until told otherwise, this is how it’s going to be.
” She smiled at them all. “Now, onto the chefs…” Rose turned to the end of the row where the three household chefs were standing.
“I took a look ahead at the weekly menu, and I have just one or two things I was hoping to change…”
“Your Grace…” Sally was in her ear. “His Grace is really particular about what he eats.”
“As am I,” she said, before turning back to the chefs.
And it didn’t stop there.
For the next three days, Rose did what she could to make this new house feel more like a home.
From redecorating some of the rooms, to having changes implemented in the garden, to even running her eye over some business contracts she happened to come across.
Rose made herself useful in ways that felt familiar.
Was the Duke going to like it? Did Rose even care?
She told herself that if he did care, then he would have been there to stop her. It sounded good enough to her ears, and she was thus able to ignore how hollow the words felt.
Deep down, Rose knew that this was likely going to upset him, but for reasons she could not fully explain, she wanted them to. She knew so little about her husband, and if this is what it took to learn who he truly was, so be it.
Rose never was one to shy away from doing what she thought was right.