Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Philip was waiting for Iris when she returned and, as had been the case these last few days, he was glad to see her. No more avoiding her. No more petty arguing or looking for excuses to fight. As she was starting to accept him as her husband, he was doing the same for her as his wife.
“You look rather pleased with yourself,” he chuckled as he met her in the foyer.
“Do I?” she said with a smile.
“Out exploring, were we?”
“It’s about time I did,” she laughed. “I thought to wait for you but, well…” she shrugged. “I suppose you had better things to do today than spend your time with me.”
He rolled his eyes. “I might have thought you were getting sick of me by now. That you would have liked the day to yourself.”
“Oh, I do,” she said seriously, even if she was smiling as she said it. “And truthfully, I was grateful to be free from you.”
Philip laughed and shook his head. “Does that mean you won’t be joining me for supper?”
“I will be.” She sighed with exaggeration. “But only because where I am just about sick of all the time we have been spending together, you are nowhere near that point yet.”
“You know, I think I liked you better when we were avoiding each other.”
“Liar.” She stuck her tongue out and they laughed together.
This was how it had been these last few days.
Where they were both careful not to venture too deep in their conversation, never touching upon personal issues because she knew that Philip did not want to, they had reached a point of companionship that was easy and comfortable. Where Iris was able to be herself.
Again, she wondered what might come next.
This felt like the first step, and they were yet to take the second.
Did she need to take it herself? Would Philip do so for her?
And if they continued being so friendly, did that mean what had happened between them that day in her bedroom was a one-time thing…
Don’t go down that path, Iris. For now, be glad that things are moving along so easily. No need to get ahead of yourself and ruin it.
With that in mind, Iris left the duke in the foyer as she hurried upstairs to ready herself for supper. A bath, a change of clothes, and within the hour she was appearing in the dining room where Philip was already waiting for her.
“Right on time.” He stood as she entered the room. Dressed in a smart suit that was dark, it matched his features perfectly.
“I was thinking of keeping you waiting,” she joked as she entered. She was wearing a dress of light yellow, and she liked the way it clashed against the duke’s darker outfit. “But that wouldn’t have been very nice of me.”
He laughed. “And you wouldn’t dare do such a thing, would you.”
“I would,” she said rightly as she sat down. “But you caught me in a good mood.”
She couldn’t keep herself from smiling, and to see Philip smile back had her smiling further. He was so different to the man she had married less than a week ago. A change had overtaken him, one that she couldn’t pinpoint exactly but was glad for.
“So, tell me,” Philip began once they settled in. “Where did you get off to today. On your little adventure.”
“Oh, yes. Well, it occurred to me this morning that I’ve done just about all the exploring of the manor that I can. You know…” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Within reason.”
He rolled his eyes. “All the snooping, you mean.”
“If that is what you call it,” she scoffed. Iris had not been back to the eastern wing since that first time. She told herself it was because she felt no need, knowing that to be a half-truth.
The reality was that she didn’t want to push the boundaries of the duke’s limits, testing his rules to see if they still applied.
She was certain they did not, wanting to believe that he was passed such nonsense.
But that she wasn’t willing to ask him or see if this was the case was perhaps a sign that things weren’t quite as simple as she was leading herself to believe.
“Go on,” he said with laughter. “Where did you go?”
“To the local village,” she said. As she did, she looked about for a butler to pour her a glass of wine as they often had a glass or two with dinner each night. But as she did so, she noticed out the corner of her eye Philip turn rigid.
“The village?” he said, tone turned sharp suddenly.
“Yes…” She frowned as she looked at him closer, noting how tense he had suddenly become. “If you are worried about me going so far on my own, there is no need. It is just the half mile down the road and I figured it to be perfectly safe.”
“No, that is not…” He clicked his tongue. “Did you tell anyone where you were going?”
“Mr. Tibbitt,” she explained.
“And I am to assume that he told you of my feelings concerning you visiting the village.”
“He did…”
“And yet you chose to go anyway.”
Iris could sense the shift in the atmosphere of the room.
Despite it being well lit, it seemed to darken around them.
There was a weight in the air, coming from the duke who was scowling with annoyance.
And where Iris attempted to smile it off, chuckling too because she was certain she was misreading whatever this was, it only made things worse.
“Mr. Tibbitt told me of your objections,” she said carefully. “Just as he told me that you made them when I first arrived. I simply assumed that perhaps your opinion on the matter might have changed since then.”
“And why would you think that?”
“I…” She searched Philip for what she hoped was humor, that he was teasing her. “Why would I not? I thought we had decided that this was my home and I should treat it as such.”
“The village is not your home.”
“But it is a part of your duchy,” she pointed out. “And as your wife, that makes it a part of mine. What harm is there in me exploring the village and meeting your tenants—I would have thought you’d expect such a thing.”
“You should have asked me first,” he grumbled darkly. “Instead of assuming.”
She blinked and leaned back, still taken by the way he was reacting.
“There really is no need to worry or… or to be upset.” She spoke carefully, not wanting to turn this into a fight.
Weren’t they passed this point by now? “In truth, I had a lovely time of it. I met a few farmers, some of the locals, and I even asked the local modiste if she would be interested in coming to the manor soon and outfitting us with new clothes for the Season.”
“You what?” he groaned. “Tell me you are joking, Iris.”
“Of course I am not,” she said with slight exasperation. “All I was doing was trying to be friendly. Not that it was very hard, for most who I met were rather lovely.”
He scoffed. “I am sure they appeared that way. They are rather good at pretending.”
“What does that mean?”
“The villagers are not…” His jaw was clenched, and she could see the anger building inside of him.
“They are not nearly as friendly and welcoming as they would have you believe. They know how to act as such, for you are my wife and they know better than to offer you anything but subservience. But they are not your friends.”
“I never said they were.”
“They are cruel,” he snapped. “Deceitful people. And you would do better to avoid them. In fact,…” He made sure to be looking right at her when he spoke. “You are not to visit the village again. Is that understood?”
Iris was speechless. And the look she gave the duke told as much.
Is he joking? Is this some sort of test? And most importantly, where on earth is this coming from!
Iris’ first instinct was to rise to temper and denounce the duke’s order.
If this had been just a few days ago, she would not have hesitated.
But with how well things had been going, she didn’t want to go back down that road.
In fact, she felt that all this was, was a kneejerk reaction and that surely the duke was just overreacting.
“There’s no need for that,” she started carefully. “Surely, the villagers can’t be all that bad.”
“They are worse.”
She clicked her tongue, the frustration mounting. “And when was the last time you spoke to any of them? One-on-one? Is it possible your opinion of them is based on a single experience that does not apply to all—”
“This isn’t a discussion, Iris,” he snapped. “You have lived here for less than a week. I have lived here my entire life. If I tell you that the villagers are worse than they seem, I expect you to believe me. Not to argue for people who you don’t know nearly as well as you think you do.”
She was shaking as she felt the anger build. Trying so hard to control it, not wanting to turn this into a fight, as the duke continued to glare at her, Iris realized that she had two choices: to cower and give in to his demands, or to stand up for herself.
She chose the latter option.
“And if I don’t care for your opinion on the matter?” she said. “Did you think of that?”
The side of his lip twitched. “Iris, I do not wish to turn this into an argument.”
“And yet you seem determined to do just that.”
“I take it that you are not going to heed my suggestion?”
“Suggestion?” she laughed. “Is that what it was? It sounded like an order to me. One given for no reason that I can understand.” She cocked her eyebrow at him, adamant not to back down. “That is unless you are willing to give one? Something better than you simply not liking them.”
“I’m not doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Having this conversation.”
“I think you mean argument.”
Suddenly, the duke slammed his fist on the table and Iris yelped as she jumped on the spot. His eyes were closed, a deep breath taken, trying to find calmness because he looked on the verge of exploding.
For how far Iris had thought the two had come these past few days, she was reminded immediately that perhaps they had not taken nearly the strides she was led to believe. Nothing but surface level conversation and a determination not to upset the apple cart and things were bound to go this way.
Which is not my fault. He is the one who has made it clear he doesn’t want his past spoken about. I might ask why that is but clearly that isn’t an option.
“I’m done here.” Philip pushed back his chair and stood quickly.
“What?” she blinked in surprise.
“I’ve lost my appetite.” He strode around the table.
“You’re leaving?”
“Well observed.”
Iris watched him go, bewildered by what she saw. That such a small thing as visiting the local village would cause this reaction in Philip was beyond her… although perhaps it shouldn’t have been.
She bit into her lip as she watched him, her mind working over what she could do. She wanted to be kind. She didn’t want to make things worse. But perhaps worse was what they required.
“You… I did not give you permission to leave!” she called after him.
Philip froze at the doorway, his body turned stiff. Back still facing her, she could picture the anger written clear across his visage. That image alone had her heart beating because she knew where it would lead.
Another fight. Only one with a happy ending because the one thing these last few days had been missing was the same passion that had started this brief journey of them getting to know one another. Maybe that’s what was really troubling Philip? A release that they both needed desperately.
She watched her husband’s back, excitement taking over. Wanting him to turn and snap at her and do to her what he had the last time. Perhaps more than that. Pushing the punishment further. Only…
Philip exhaled, shook his head, and then stormed away.
Iris sat frozen, staring stupidly at where Philip had just been standing, not understanding for a second what on earth had just happened.
That they had fought was not as strange or random as it might have seemed.
But that it had ended in this way was as unexpected as the moon rising in the middle of the day.
And once again, I am forced to realize how little I know or understand of my husband…
Iris did not stay for supper, as her appetite too had left her.
Rather, she returned to her room, still confused and unsure of what to do.
Good sense told her to leave it and try again in the morning.
But she didn’t think that was nearly so simple to do, just as she knew she would not be able to sleep leaving things this way.
For that reason, she found herself outside of Philip’s bedroom door five minutes later. She could see the light of a fire flickering between the cracks. A deep breath to calm herself, not wanting this to lead to a fight, and she knocked softly on the door.
“Philip,” she spoke into the door. “Might I come in?”
There was no answer.
She frowned and knocked again. “Philip, please, I think we need to talk.”
Again, there was no answer. This time, she tested the door handle but found the door to be locked. “Philip,” she tried a third and final time. “We need to talk.”
And still, he ignored her.
Iris wasn’t going to beg. She wasn’t going to force the issue. So, Philip didn’t want to speak to her, then she didn’t want to speak to him. She turned and strode down the hall, leaving him be, a part of her furious with how he had behaved, another part anxious with worry.
Mostly, she felt like an utter fool. Three days of pleasantness and she had convinced herself that all was well and things would continue to improve. That the worst was behind her and it would be good times from now on. But as she was coming to learn, marriage was nowhere near that simple.
And considering who it was that she was married to, she had the sense that things were likely to get worse and more confusing, before they got better.