Chapter 7 #2
Margot decided in that moment that she did indeed hate this man who was now her husband. Where she found him attractive for reasons she could not explain, she chose to focus on the apathy, figuring that was safer.
“If that is the case, would you like a tour?” the duke offered her, stopping short of where she stood. “The staff…” He looked about. “They should be here to greet us. I suppose they are busy. I run them ragged, truth be told.”
“Do not worry yourself,” she snapped, then sucked through her teeth to calm herself.
“If it is fine with you, I would like to be shown to my room – not for that!” she then hurried, seeing the duke’s eyes dance.
“I am tired, and I think it would be best for both of us if I were to turn in for the evening.”
“A good idea,” he said. “I will have the staff collect your things from the carriage, and first thing tomorrow, they will unpack for you and make the room to your liking. How does that sound?”
“Wonderful,” she said coldly.
“Shall we…” The duke offered her his arm, but she scoffed at the gesture. The duke shrugged. “Have it your way.” With that, he turned and started up the winding staircase, forcing her to hurry after him.
The manor was even larger than Margot had realized. Three stories tall, it was a mass of twisting hallways and… and closed doors. That’s strange. She eyed the closed doorways as she followed the duke, realizing suddenly how empty the manor felt.
“Why are all these doors closed?” she asked the duke as she walked behind him.
“What?” he asked her without turning back.
“It is just so… empty feeling,” she offered, hurrying to keep his pace. “What’s behind these doors?”
“Oh…” He hesitated, and she sensed a change take him. “No reason. I live alone… have for some time now. It just feels easier that way.” His tone was melancholic, perhaps even sad. She eyed the back of him, noting the way his confident stride faltered in the moment.
Finally, they reached what she presumed to be her room. The door was open upon arrival, and the duke stepped back, bidding her to enter. Again, the smile had returned, as had the humor.
“And here we are, Your Grace. Your humble quarters.”
She approached the doorway carefully, glancing inside to see a luxurious bedroom that was beyond anything she had ever stayed in. Well kept. A fire was already lit in the hearth. And a large four-poster bed that looked a little too inviting.
“Hmm…” She nodded. “This will do nicely.”
He laughed. “I am glad it meets your standards.”
“Where is your room?” she asked, her eyes then widening when she realized how that sounds. “I did not mean –”
“Your Grace!” he gasped and leaned back. “I do not know what you think to do with this information, but I must warn you, I am a married man.”
She looked at him flatly. “I was merely asking, in case I am taken with the urge to smother you with a pillow tonight.”
“As you say,” he laughed. “I am one door down…” He leaned back and pointed toward another door down the hall. “So, if you need anything…” He winked. “Do not hesitate.”
A silence then took them. Margot lingered by the doorway.
The duke, standing back a few paces, grinning wickedly as he watched her, and how awkwardly she was behaving.
It was their wedding night, was this a regular marriage…
but it is not that. He has said as much, and I should be glad for it. I am!
And still, Margot felt her heart beating inside her chest. She felt the pull of expectation as she remembered what had happened only a few moments ago.
Oh, he said he only wished for a marriage of convenience, but she knew it would take little effort to sway him.
But did she want to? On the surface, she did not.
Deep down… There was a tingling in her loins she could not ignore, and where she hated to think about what that meant, she was not such a fool to ignore it entirely.
“If there is nothing else…” he began.
“There is not!” she said a little too loudly. A deep breath, and she straightened. “Thank you, Your Grace. That will be all.”
He smirked as he studied her. His blue eyes looked her over.
He licked his lips, and she caught her breath, wanting him to leave her…
hoping that he would stay. “Good night,” he said finally.
“And if you need anything at all…” He walked backwards, winking before turning. “You know where to find me.”
She stayed where she was, watching him until he stepped into his room. The door closed, she heard it lock, and she breathed out as if it was the first breath taken in hours.
That was entirely too close! Her body was shaking as she rushed into her room and closed the door behind her.
And her mind raced with confusion, not that there was anything to be confused by.
She knew well enough why her body was acting this way.
She simply did not want to admit it to herself yet.
I do not like my husband. I should not want him!
But then why does he do this to me? And why can I not control it?
Margot decided then that it was simply the circumstance that was doing it.
Being a new bride, finding herself in a new home.
What she needed was a good night of rest and to reset herself.
Alas, as she looked about the room, readying to go to sleep, she realized something that saw her stomach drop and a lump appear in her throat.
Her clothes were still packed in the carriage.
The room she was in was bare. This meant that she had no clothes to sleep in.
Which meant… should I enquire as to where my clothes are?
Or should I leave it for tomorrow? To seek the duke out once more or leave it be?
A simple enough equation, but possibly the hardest decision she’d ever had to make.