Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Iwish to do something nice for her.”
Lady Anna was startled by the Duke’s sudden entrance and dropped her cookie while his grandmother merely sighed, sipping her tea before speaking up,
“Why, good morning to you too, Silas. Oh, I had a wonderful night’s rest, thank you for asking. Oh, the weather? I think it is quite lovely as well. Anna and I thought of going for a walk later, if we can. It would be splendid to breathe in some of that wonderful fresh spring air, don’t you agree?”
Her glare was telling of his missteps, and he sighed, bowing slightly.
“I apologize for my outburst. Good morning, Grandmother,” he bowed to Agnes’ godmother. “Lady Anna.”
Lady Anna chuckled brightly. “Nonsense, it is wonderful to see you so excited about your love. We are happy to help you with whatever you need.”
“Even if your lack of manners might be appalling sometimes,” his grandmother nodded grimly.
Silas winced and sighed. “I really am sorry. I just… the wedding is tomorrow, and we’ve hardly spent any time getting to know each other properly, and I can't help but feel as though that might be a problem.”
“I would not call it a problem – perhaps an under-sight. Besides, I am sure you’ve gotten to know her quite a bit in the last two weeks, at least.” Lady Anna pointed out.
“Not… deliberately. I feel as though it is unfair to her that she barely knows a lot about me, and I haven’t put any purposeful effort into wooing her. I know she agreed to marry me, but I still want her to understand that I am very serious about her.”
“I’m sure she knows, dear,” his grandmother beamed at him proudly.
“You do not have to rush about these things right now. Your grandfather and I also had a lot of undiscovered layers when we got married. But that is what the first few years of marriage are for – getting to know the deepest parts and intricacies that lie within your partner. Learning to live with them, to compromise and to choose to love every day rather than let the nasty thoughts and feelings grow and fester. I understand your worries, but you should know you have all the time in the world to get to know her and for her to get to know what a charming, thoughtful, occasionally mannerless sweetheart you are.”
“Wow, I am truly delighted that you feel that way about me,” Silas smiled back at her with a sarcastic edge in his voice.
“Still, it would not be a bad idea for you to have some sort of outing with her today. She is undoubtedly a bundle of nerves about the big day tomorrow, and as my dear Alexandra said, the weather is quite lovely today. You could go out for a picnic. Perhaps a little bit of riding, too – she would love that.” Lady Anna suggested.
Silas paused, thinking about it carefully. A picnic sounded like a wonderful idea, and he had the perfect location in mind already. It wouldn’t take too long to make a few preparations for it, and Agnes would definitely appreciate the opportunity to ride – she had seemed rather antsy yesterday.
“You are both wonderful, and I love you both,” he said earnestly, turning to leave.
“I am very flattered, sweetheart, but I’m afraid we can't be together. You are to be married to my goddaughter tomorrow – what would people think?” Lady Anna teased, making her friend cackle.
“What a travesty, indeed,” Silas grinned, like a good sport, waving at them before he left. “Thank you!”
Lady Anna watched him leave with a smile and faced the Dowager Duchess.
“I think he is doing quite all right. You don’t have to worry so much about him.”
“He makes it hard not to,” Alexandra sighed. “Even as a child, he was so adept at hiding his feelings. I worry that he has just pushed it all to a corner, unwilling to unravel those complicated feelings.”
“Or perhaps he has already begun to heal. You can rest easy, Alexandra. Even if you are unable to help him, Agnes surely will. He is not alone.”
Her friend's words soothed her, and she recalled the smile on Silas’ face as he took his leave, how excited he was to be wed. Finally, he would have the companionship she had always prayed for him to obtain due to spending the rest of his days beside the love of his life.
Could there be a more wonderful thing?
“You’re right. He isn’t alone anymore.”
Agnes sighed and closed the book in her hands, laying it on top of the pile she had slowly curated. That was the fifth book she had tried to read in the last half hour, and she had given up after four minutes of rereading the same paragraph over and over again.
She had been feeling a little unsettled, so she thought she could calm down by reading for a bit.
But she couldn’t seem to concentrate, getting lost in her mind a few moments after opening a book.
At first, she thought that she was probably not interested in the genre of the book and scoured the library looking for other, better options.
Clearly, the problem was with her and not the books.
Resigned, she returned them back to their respective shelves and lay down on the chaise she had been trying to read on, listening to the birds sing outside the window.
The mansion was bustling with activity outside the doors of the library, last-minute preparations and final touches being made for the wedding.
The new housekeeper and butler arrived that morning.
They immediately got to work organizing everything, fitting in seamlessly with the rest of the household staff.
Agnes was grateful for all the effort being given to her wedding.
She felt nervous and excited to the point she could barely breathe, hoping that all would go well and she could live her dream – the old one that entailed her reuniting with her sisters and the new, Silas.
It was thrilling to think that in just a few hours, she would be his Duchess and wife, blessed to spend a lifetime with him.
It really felt like a dream, and yet, it wasn’t.
“Agnes? Oh, there you are.”
She sat up instantly at the sound of her name, blushing when her dream literally walked in.
“Silas! Um… hello?”
He blinked at her, taken aback by her greeting but clearly enamored by her odd behavior, enough to smile at her.
“Hello, sweetheart. Are you all right?”
The term of endearment sent heat pooling around her insides, and she blushed furiously.
“Oh, yes! Just…” she fanned at her cheeks, hoping to relieve some of the lightheadedness she felt. “… bored.”
“Ah,” realization dawned on his handsome face. “I am sorry to hear that. But it seems that things are in my favor as I’ve just come to invite you for a ride. To that lake, we visited two weeks ago. The weather is quite nice today, and we could have a picnic under that oak tree. If you’d like.”
She stared at him, surprised by the thoughtfulness and somewhat… bashful look he had as he made the offer to her. Her heart melted once again, and she rose to her feet.
“You had me at a ride. When do we leave?”
He laughed brightly, “Now? If you want?”
She nodded seriously, taking his hand and leading him out of the library, only to stop at the realization that she wasn’t dressed to go out riding.
“Forget it,” she mumbled, continuing walking. “I have ridden a horse in worse.”
“Define worse,” he teased.
She pretended to consider it and smirked at him.
“Let’s just say I was supposed to be at a ball, and instead, I was in a field with a horse.”
He laughed, and she fell in love with him again, smitten by the sight of him looking joyous.
“Somehow, that does not surprise me one bit,” Silas told her, still letting her lead the way to the stables.
Simon was happy to see them, ready with saddles by his side to put on whichever horse they chose to ride.
“Which noble steed would you prefer today, my lady?” Silas asked, bowing slightly and raising her hand to his lips.
Her eyes darted around the stable in thought, but she had already made up her mind.
“Would it be all right if I rode Scar? If he is up for it? And if you do not mind? If you would prefer to ride him –”
“Agnes, it is all right. He looks like he’s been aching to get back to running around. And,” he stepped closer to her and leaned in to whisper, his breath hot against her neck as he spoke. “He is as much your horse as he is mine, now.”
She stared up at him in surprise. “R-Really?”
He smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek before standing upright.
“Really.”
Simon saddled Scar for Agnes while Silas decided to ride Outlaw, the stallion she had ridden the last time they rode together. When they had mounted their horses, Agnes proposed a race to the lake.
“You suggesting that does not surprise me in the slightest. Fine, I’ll bite. What does the winner get?” Silas questioned as their horses walked out of the stables.
“Whatever the winner wants. You still owe me a favor from our last race, remember?” she reminded him.
“I didn’t forget, but you do not need to call on a favor if you need something from me. I’m always happy to do whatever you want.”
His words sounded earnest and easy, and it made her breath hitch.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she muttered, shyly looking away from him. “We can decide on the reward after the race.”
“Sounds fine to me. Are you ready?”
She nodded, tightening her grip on the reigns.
“Go!” she snapped, and they took off.
With every step she took, she could feel her worries and nervousness melt away.
The air was quite lovely to feel against her skin, soothing her as her heart thundered louder and louder within her.
The further they got from the mansion, the lighter she felt.
It was so freeing to just ride and not think for a bit.
To imagine that her days with Silas would be like this soon filled her with so much contentment.
In the end, Silas won the race, running past the oak tree they were supposed to stop at while she slowed Scar down to a trot before they arrived at it.
While she was dismounting, Silas returned to the tree with his horse, smiling smugly.
“I won.”