Chapter 6
So this was it? He was really going to leave her to face her new home all on her own? He really wasn’t going to do anything to help her settle in?
Apparently, he wasn’t. She watched him walk away, eyes wide with shock. Then she turned back to the carriage which had been packed full of her possessions this morning on the assumption that she would be coming to this estate as Peter’s wife, not as the Duke’s.
Her things were already being unloaded by a group of footmen, none of whom met her eye or said anything to her.
As she watched, her trunk was carried into the house.
She supposed it was being taken to her new accommodations and that she would find her things there—but what of Prudence herself?
Was she to stand here until someone came for her and told her what to do?
Was she supposed to go into the house and figure it out for herself?
Fortunately, she didn’t have long to wait.
A matronly woman in her mid-fifties came hurrying out the front door.
She had a warm smile on her face, and Prudence nearly burst into tears at the sight of it.
She was embarrassed to be having such a reaction, but this was the first touch of kindness she had experienced all day.
“Lady Prudence,” the woman said. “Welcome to Desford. We’ve been expecting you. I am the housekeeper, Mrs. Mills. Shall I take you to get settled in?”
“That… that would be very kind of you,” Prudence managed.
Mrs. Mills nodded. “Would you feel up to a tour of the house? Or would you like to go straight to your bedchamber and rest?”
“Maybe a small tour would be helpful,” Prudence said.
Having choices was always comforting to her, and she appreciated being able to decide what would happen next.
Besides, if she stayed out of her room for a while, she would give the footmen a chance to bring all of her things up, and then it would likely feel a little more like home when she got there herself.
“Very good,” Mrs. Mills said. “Now, I confess I haven’t seen your husband yet.
I see that the Duke brought you here. Did Lord Hall give any instruction as to what you were to do in his absence?
Did he say when he might be expected? I wouldn’t want to overstep if your husband has plans for how he would like your first night here to be handled. ”
“Oh.” Prudence swallowed hard. She had not anticipated having to explain this—but then, of course, how was the housekeeper to know? Everything had changed so quickly. “I—there was a change of plans,” she said. “I’m not married to Lord Hall.”
“You’re not?” Mrs. Mills frowned. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“Lord Hall… well, he changed his mind about the marriage,” Prudence said. “And the Duke stepped in and married me in his place.”
“So, you are married to the Duke?” Mrs. Mills’ frown deepened. “That is unexpected.”
“For me as well,” Prudence said. “I didn’t imagine such a thing would happen, but it seemed as if His Grace was unwilling to take the risk of anything bad being said about the family.
It would have caused a scandal had word gotten out that Lord Hall had abandoned his duty, so the Duke chose to marry me instead. ”
“I see. Well, if this is true, then I must welcome the Duchess of Desford to her new home,” Mrs. Mills said, recovering quickly from the surprise.
“You are to be the lady of the house, then. It will be even more important for you to understand the inner workings of this place and to meet your staff as well.”
“I know this must be a shock,” Prudence said, feeling rather ashamed and guilty for reasons she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “I’m so sorry to have changed the plan.”
“Oh, nonsense,” Mrs. Mills told her. “The change was not of your making, was it? I know how these things go for young ladies. I doubt you had very much choice in the proceedings at all, did you? But I can assure you, His Grace is not a bad man. He is rough around the edges to be sure, and he can be a difficult person to get to know, but I have been in this house from the time he was just a boy, and I promise you, he is harmless. Your life here will be safe and secure. And the staff and I will ensure that you have everything you need, so you won’t have to worry about that. ”
“Thank you,” Prudence said quietly. “I greatly appreciate it, Mrs. Mills. I confess this has all been a bit of a shock, and I’m rather embarrassed to be here under these conditions.”
“Well, you shouldn’t feel embarrassed,” Mrs. Mills said. “After all, His Grace would not have married you if he hadn’t seen something worthy in you, would he?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Prudence murmured. “I think he did it for the sake of avoiding shame more than anything else. And I can understand that desire of course. I just feel as though everyone’s plans were forced to change because of me, and that’s a difficult thing to deal with.”
“You mustn’t blame yourself. It’s not as if it’s your fault Lord Hall ran away from your engagement!
You know, between you and me,” Mrs. Mills added, lowering her voice slightly, “Lord Hall has always been quite irresponsible. I’m not altogether surprised to hear that something like this took place, and I doubt the Duke is very surprised by it either.
He knows the kind of man his brother is.
I suspect, Your Grace, that there was a part of him that anticipated this very turn of events—and that’s why he was so prepared to offer a solution when it happened.
He must have known there was a possibility that it would.
Do not blame yourself. If you ask me, you are the unfortunate victim of these circumstances. ”
Prudence couldn’t see it the same way. Still, she was grateful to have the support of the housekeeper. “Thank you, Mrs. Mills,” she said. “I’m glad you’re here at any rate. It’s nice to have someone who I know can at least begin to see things my way in all this.”
“I promise you, there will be many members of the staff who are on your side,” Mrs. Mills assured her.
“You have a friendly group of people here who want nothing more than to make things easy for you as you settle into your new life. I understand you’ve had a shock today, but that doesn’t have to be representative of what things are going to look like for you going forward.
Life at Desford can be perfectly pleasant, and I’ll consider it my privilege to help you make sure that it is. ”
Prudence nodded.
“Now, where shall we begin our tour?” Mrs. Mills mused. “I suppose it makes sense to conclude at the bedchamber, so why don’t we go to the sitting room first? You’ll see all your guests there—assuming you have guests, that is. Are you a social creature?”
“I…” Prudence hesitated. Her particular form of socializing was certainly not the kind of thing Mrs. Mills was picturing. “I’m sure my sisters will want to visit,” she said. “I’m very close with them.”
“Lovely. We’ll have to see about cleaning the room up a bit to prepare it for use.
His Grace doesn’t take much advantage of it.
Most of the guests he has to the house are here on business, not for pleasure, and he tends to see them in his study rather than in this room.
” She pushed open a pair of double doors.
Prudence could see what she meant at once.
The room looked as if it might not have been touched in years.
Several pieces of furniture had been covered to protect against dust, but some had not, and the dust had found them.
And then there was the matter of the heavy drapes over the windows.
They were thick and dark, and they stood closed, admitting no light whatsoever.
To judge by the size of them, Prudence imagined that the windows were likely quite large and would light up the room if they were permitted to do so.
It was a room that had the potential to be beautiful and welcoming, but it had not been given that chance.
Mrs. Mills turned slowly as if she was really seeing it for the first time. “We’ll get this cleaned up,” she said. “Never fear, Your Grace. It will be fit for company in no time.”
“Does Lord Hall live here?” Prudence asked. “I mean—even though I am married to the wrong man, you must have known that I was coming.”
“We did know of course,” Mrs. Mills said.
“I ask because I’m surprised that His Grace did not instruct his staff to prepare this room for my arrival,” she said. “Was it seen as not very important before it was known that I would be coming as a duchess? Perhaps no one cared that Lord Hall’s wife might wish to entertain guests?”
Mrs. Mills looked uncomfortable. “We were instructed to prepare the bedchamber and nothing else, Your Grace,” she said. “I confess I do not know what thoughts were in the Duke’s head.”
“Of course, you didn’t,” Prudence said quickly. “I didn’t mean to criticize, Mrs. Mills. I only wondered whether I might glean some information about what was anticipated with my arrival—what might have changed now that I have the title of duchess. This has all happened so very quickly.”
“I quite understand. The truth is that I cannot satisfy your curiosity about that,” Mrs. Mills confessed. “What I can tell you is that the Duke is a man who cares a great deal for appearances and reputation.”
“I certainly see that about him,” Prudence agreed.
“He may have been willing to let his brother’s wife live in a house with no way to entertain guests, but now that you are his own wife, I’m confident he will feel differently about things,” Mrs. Mills said.
“He is going to have different priorities now. So, I know that if there is anything you should require, any change you wish to see made to the house, His Grace will support us in making that change for you.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Mills,” Prudence said, hoping very much that the housekeeper was correct in her assessment.
More than anything, she wanted to find a way for this new life she had fallen into to be comfortable and happy. She wanted to believe that it was possible for that to happen.
Having the housekeeper on her side would be a crucial piece of that puzzle.