Chapter 9
" W hy can I not meet her yet?"
Morgan groaned. Catherine had asked for him to come to her room, as she always did, but that day she was armed with questions that he did not wish to answer.
"It is too soon, Catherine. I have already told you this."
"I know, but you are married now. I am to be her daughter, so it is only fair that I meet her."
"You will not be her daughter," Mrs. Herrington reminded her. "As far as she is concerned, you are my granddaughter and that is all she needs to know."
"Well, if I am your granddaughter, why can she not see me?"
Morgan exchanged glances with his housekeeper.
It had been a recent idea of Mrs. Herrington to claim that Catherine was her granddaughter, and though he was not completely happy with it he had no other ideas and so he had to go along with it.
He wanted to tell his wife the truth, but he did not know where he would begin if he did so.
It would mean telling her about his brother, and all that had come to pass leading to his niece coming to him, and though he knew Dorothy was a kind lady he could not be certain that she would take the news well.
"You can meet her soon," Morgan promised her. "I simply would like her to settle into her new life beforehand. You know how vast the manor is."
Catherine nodded at that, though she did not seem satisfied.
"Can I go outside today?"
"You already know what I will say to that, Catherine. We cannot have you seen by my wife."
"You cannot have me seen by anyone," she grumbled.
Morgan sighed, and at last Mrs. Herrington steered the conversation to safer territory. They remained there for the morning, and then Morgan had to leave for his study. He took his lunch with Catherine and then left the room. His housekeeper followed after him.
"You cannot hide her away forever, Your Grace," she said gently. "You have nothing to be ashamed of her for."
"I am not ashamed of her. I am trying to wait for a better time to introduce her into society, but it never seems to arrive."
"And it never will. A child born out of wedlock shall never be accepted, but the sooner you do it, the less she will notice that."
"Mrs. Herrington, I do not wish to discuss this right now. I do, however, require a word with you. Might we leave Catherine with her nanny for a while?"
Mrs. Herrington looked back to the door in thought. Morgan knew that she treasured the young girl, but she had grown far too attached. Should she have to leave Catherine, she grew unsettled, and he could not allow that with all that she had to do as a housekeeper.
"Very well," she nodded, and they left for the study.
He offered her a seat, and sent for a tea.
It was the way he preferred to spend time with the lady who had known him since he was a boy, for though she was his servant he respected her a great deal.
It was precisely why he valued her advice about his niece, and why he allowed her to speak to him in a way that was perhaps seen as otherwise unacceptable.
"So, how is she?" he asked once the tea had arrived.
"Catherine is very well. She seems not to have recovered completely, but she has been spending time by the window and the sun is helping a good deal."
"I was asking about my wife. You saw her two days ago for her tour. How was she?"
She circled a fingertip around her teacup.
"She is very quiet."
"Indeed, but she is good in conversation when encouraged. What did she think of the household?"
"She seemed frightened, if anything. I could see that she was overwhelmed by all of the work that she will need to do. Is she not prepared in that way?"
"I do not believe so, no. Her family likely did not expect her to marry someone with my status."
"Is that because she is lacking?" Mrs. Herrington asked.
"Of course not," Morgan said firmly. "She is a very capable lady. She simply needs time, which we will be giving her. She will also need help, which I expect you to give her."
"I do not have time for that."
"Then you shall have to spend less time with my niece. You know perfectly well that your duty is to the Duchess, not to my late brother's daughter."
She frowned at that, but it had to be said. The household ran well even with her frequent absences, but she would no longer have the time to spend hours in Catherine's wing of the household. He simply hoped that Mrs. Herrington did not blame Dorothy for that, as it was no fault of hers.
"Very well," she nodded reluctantly. "Will you be seeing her soon yourself?"
"I will, when I have the time."
"I could return to my duties right now if you wish," she offered. "That way, you can see your wife instead."
"I think it would be best if you saw her for now. She needs to understand the running of the household, and you are the one to do that."
She sighed, standing to leave.
"If you insist," she nodded, "but you must know that I do not trust this girl. She does not seem to me like a capable lady that will seamlessly run a household. She does not strike me as a duchess."
She left, and Morgan considered ensuring that she did indeed go to his wife rather than returning to Catherine, but he trusted her.
He sat back at his desk, and as had happened every time he was sat quietly his thoughts turned to his wife.
He did not know what she had been doing since their arrival, but he hoped that she was finding something enjoyable to do.
He had not wanted to be too close to her, as he knew he could not spend very much time with her for the time being.
If he spent too much time with her, he risked mentioning his niece, and that would force him to reveal things to her that he thought were better unsaid.
He was not trying to hurt her, but it was necessary while she came to understand her new life.
Once that was settled, he would find her a tutor and she would have days filled with experiences and she would forgive him for how their marriage had begun.
That was what he hoped would happen, at least.
That evening, he decided that he would see her.
He knew that she would be in her wing of the household, and so he thought that he would join her there and discuss the changes to her life.
He also hoped to ask her what had transpired between herself and Mrs. Herrington, as he did not want her to feel as though she was lesser than her own housekeeper, even if she was inexperienced.
As he passed, however, he heard two voices.
"I cannot believe this," a voice that he recognized as Dorothy's sighed.
"You must give him time," Francine replied. "This is a change for the both of you, after all."
"I know, but you would think that he would at least try to comfort me through all of this. I do not know the first thing about being a duchess, and all I have is Mrs. Herrington treating me as though I am useless."
"Well, you are anything but useless."
"No, I am. I do not know the first thing about what it is I am supposed to do, and it is not as though I will learn anytime soon."
"I do not know why she is doing this to you," Francine said gently. "She is kind to the staff, and she cares for the Duke as if he were her own son."
"Whatever her reason, it is not fair. She speaks to me as though I am diseased."
Morgan paused. He knew that his housekeeper had high standards for his wife, whoever he chose, but that did not give her the right to be unkind to Dorothy.
Not only that, but Mrs. Herrington was, as Francine had said, a kind woman.
She treated everyone well, and so for her to have made an exception for the one lady that she was to serve made Morgan very uncomfortable indeed.
"Perhaps you should tell the Duke?" Francine suggested. "He will be able to tell her to stop."
"The Duke wants nothing to do with me. He has made that perfectly clear."
"Your Grace, I–"
"No. I know that you are trying to see the best in him, but this is my fourth day here and I am yet to see him. He does not want to see me, and I can only assume that is because he does not care."
Morgan scolded himself for making her believe that, especially when he had not done it for the reason she thought.
Yes, he had been avoiding her, but it had not been because he did not care.
On the contrary, he did it because he did care for her, and he did not want her to face any stress because of his presence, or if the worst happened and he told her about Catherine before he thought she was ready.
If company was what she wanted, however, he would try. It was only fair that he gave her a chance, especially with all that she had given up for him.
"You are to be kinder to her," he instructed his housekeeper that evening.
Mrs. Herrington looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Are you accusing me of being otherwise?"
"I am telling you that you are to be good to my wife. Your duty is to her, and nobody else. Do you understand that?"
"And what of her?" she asked in a hushed but frustrated voice. "What do you plan to do with that?"
"She is fine. She has a nanny, and I shall see her frequently. You are to do as I tell you. Have I made myself quite clear?"
Mrs. Herrington nodded begrudgingly before walking away. Morgan pitied her; he knew that she had a bond with his niece and he did not want to jeopardize that in any way, but it had to be done. He needed his wife to be shown respect, and if that was achieved through force then so be it.
He returned to Catherine's room before she went to bed. When he entered, she was standing by the window looking at the moon.
"Am I truly to pretend that I am her granddaughter?" she asked.
"No," he said with a half-smile. "Not if you do not want to."
"I want to be honest. It is wrong to lie."
"I know, but–"
"No, Uncle. If anyone should have been lied to, it was me. I would have been perfectly happy to have been told that you were my father."
"Would you?" he asked, and she thought about it for a moment.
"If it were true, yes. That is precisely why we must be honest with your wife. Mrs. Herrington says that she will not be like a mother to me, but perhaps she might be an aunt of sorts?"
"Eventually, that is precisely what she will be, but not yet."
"Why not?" she asked.
"Please Catherine, ask me anything but that."
"Very well. Who was my mother?"
He did not know which question was worse, and so he refused completely.