Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
“ Y our Grace, this is the new gardener, Herbert Norwell. Herbert, the Duchess of Ironvale.
As Mr. Bradley stepped back, Herbert bowed with a charming smile.
“How do you do, Your Grace? It is an honor to be in your presence. I am truly grateful to be at your service.” He said
"Oh, I am the one who is thankful. With my beloved gardener taking so much-needed time off to rest, I was worried I'd take too much on and leave the garden looking as though it had gone through a bout of drought upon its return. If anything, you are the one saving our precious handiwork." Eleanor told him with a smile.
Herbert chuckled deeply and shook his head.
“Fear not, Your Grace. Between you and I, your garden is in the best hands possible.” He assured her gently.
Satisfied with the impression she had gotten of her new employee, she nodded down a path in the garden.
“And that is what I like to hear. Come along, Herbert. Let’s get you well acquainted with the patches of dirt you will be kneeling in. Along with the rose bushes most likely to try and bleed you dry.”
Herbert followed obediently as she showed him around the garden, pointing out the plants that needed extra care and those they expected to bloom soon.
By the time she left him to do his duties, it was well into the afternoon.
Eleanor returned to the house almost reluctantly, dreading the thought of running into her husband.
Unlike before, she did want to see him.
She was immensely grateful for how he had helped her handle her mother. And she had wanted to let him know as much, but the shame of Leah’s behavior had kept her away got days. By the time she had realized that she needed to express her gratitude to her husband, days had passed and Eleanor thought it would be awkward if she were to simply bring it up, out of the blue.
And so, she put it off for another two days.
“An invitation to a ball arrived for you and the Duke, Your Grace.” The butler informed her, handing over a silver envelope with the lettering done in gold.
“I highly doubt that either of us are in any mood to attend any social gatherings, but…” but she could still use it as an avenue to speak with him.
“But?”
Eleanor blinked up at Mr. Bradley as she collected the envelope.
“But I will inform my husband about it anyway. Where is he?”
“In his room, Your Grace.” The butler replied.
His response deflated her eagerness momentarily, as she was not particularly keen to visit him while he was resting in his private quarters. But she could not keep putting it off.
“I shall inform him right away then.”
His room was in the west wing of the house, while hers lay in the east. When she learned that he had tried to keep them so far apart, despite his inevitable decision to leave after their marriage, it hurt and offended her all over again.
Forget it, she told herself calmly. That is all in the past and it has no bearing on why I am here.
After she arrived at his door, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves and exhaled. Then she took another breath for courage and knocked at the door as she released it.
His voice called out to her, gruff and impatient, prompting her to enter.
His expression seemed to brighten at the sight of her and he grinned at her.
“Well, well, well. To what do I owe this pleasure, duchess? What brings you to my room, after expressly stating that I was not allowed anywhere near yours?”
His goading was an obvious trap and she had no intention of falling for it.
“We received an invitation for a ball,” she started, opening up the envelope to read the details of the card within. “From… oh, Lord Pascal — The Earl of Whitewood. It is to take place tomorrow night. We have no plans to attend, so I shall draft a letter thanking him for his invitation and —”
“Why not?”
She blinked at Frederick. “Why not what?”
“Why do we have no plans to attend? Are you busy that evening?” he questioned.
“No, but — they likely heard that you have returned and it is likely just a ploy to see what we are like in public, so they can make baseless assumptions about our marriage.” She huffed, feeling tired and confused all of a sudden.
"They already make such assumptions regardless. We might as well give them what it is they want. Plus, my absence will raise suspicion about my health. I cannot afford to have them believing that there is something wrong with me. I will not let them harbor any notion of me being weak."
Seeing him state his opinions so strongly served as a reminder of just the sort of man Frederick was. While his reputation might have not held any good records, he still had a lot of respect and fear — most likely more of the latter. And if anyone who had been slighted by him learned that he had such a weakness, they would flock to him like vultures to a carcass.
“We’re going for that ball. Don’t write any letters apologizing for being unable to attend — do people even do that? Or is this particular trait one of your preferred questionable habits?” he teased with a cheeky grin.
“Fine, all right. We will attend the ball.” She sighed, her weariness only seeming to grow the longer she continued to stand in his presence.
And yet, she did not seem in any particular hurry to leave. Because she had come with an agenda that had yet to be fulfilled.
Frederick noticed her reluctance to exit his room sooner than she needed him to and his face split into another one of those wide grins that had Eleanor's heart feeling strange.
“Duchess, do you plan to spend the night here? Is that why you have chosen to linger nervously by the door? All you need to do is ask. I will never turn away my wife away when she seeks my company.” He said playfully.
Irritation flared within her and she quickly stomped it out, not falling for his distraction tactics.
“I wanted to thank you… for helping me deal with my mother a few days ago. You did not have to involve yourself but I am grateful that you did. Really. Thank you.” She spoke softly.
Frederick nodded with a smile.
“While your words of gratitude are nice, I would much rather prefer a reward for my good deed.”
Her nose twitched in annoyance and she let herself be pulled into his games and asked.
“And what would you like as a reward?”
“A kiss,” he stated simply, rising to his feet.
Eleanor hesitated. The fact that he had requested it as a reward meant she had some form of choice on the matter.
She could say no.
But as he walked closer to her, she found that she did not want to.
So when he was standing before her, bending forward slightly so their faces could be at the same level, she leaned forward and pressed a brief, gentle kiss on his lips.
“That is not a kiss, duchess,” Frederick tutted when she stepped back.
This time, it was he who closed the distance between them, pulling her closer with his hand on her chin so his lips meeting hers passionately. Almost immediately, Eleanor felt a sticky feeling settle over her mind, filling her with a yearning she couldn't help but give into, just this once.
Frederick held her in place firmly, growling lowly against her lips,
“Open your mouth, duchess.”
And when she did, his tongue slipped in, entangling with hers in a sultry dance that erased the thoughts from her mind almost completely. Eleanor felt so hot, her knees weakened by the demanding nature of his kiss and touch.
He pressed her closer to him and she practically melted in his embrace as his arms wrapped around her lower back, his lips moving against hers feverishly. When he pulled back, it took her a moment to open her eyes, her whole body weakened by his kiss.
“Huh. You weren’t lying. I must not have touched you, ever. Strange.” He noted, licking his lips.
It took a moment, but eventually, Eleanor realized his goal had been to test her.
Flustered, she tried to extract herself from his arms, but he simply tightened his grip, keeping pressed her flush against him.
“What do you mean? Was – was that a test? Why would you do that?” She demanded angrily, still fighting against his hold.
Why was he so infuriating all the time? To trick her into a kiss in order to gauge her reaction? What on earth for?
“I did not trust you at first, but it seems that you are telling the truth. Which means I can share an additional titbit about my accident. I do not believe it was purely ‘accidental’. I think someone had attempted to murder me. With such a dire situation, I needed to know if you were lying to me. Now I know that you are not.”
He released her afterward.
“And your gratitude was well received. You are welcome, wife.”
Frustrated, Eleanor turned around and left his room without another word to him.
“Are all men usually so frustrating?”
Selina gave a glance at her sister who looked just as confused as she was before she responded.
"It depends. They are generally frustrating. I believe that is ingrained into their very nature. As simple as the sky being blue, grass being green and sugar being sweet. Men are frustrating." Selina responded with a shrug.
Eleanor frowned. “But you and Aaron always look so happy together. He is positively smitten with you. I cannot imagine that he could frustrate you in any way.”
“He is like that now, but before we got married, we didn’t get along. We always argued over the smallest, silliest thing. It was as though we couldn’t fathom a singular kind thought for each other.” Selina shook her head with a smile.
Eleanor recalled the moment that had set the wheels of her condemnation in motion. How the dowager Duchess of Crauford had opened the doors to the library and she, along with the other guests found Aaron with his hands on Selina.
As much as that moment had ruined her, she had always been in awe of the raw expressions of love she had seen on their faces that day. Even though it hurt them greatly, they had chosen to love.
“So what changed?” Eleanor asked quietly.
"We decided to trust each other and be honest. Without any of that, we never would have been able to take the necessary steps that got us to this point. And we needed to do it together, rather than leave it up to one person. There are two people involved in a marriage. Both need to put in the work to make it… well, work." Selina finalized as she lined up her mallet to take her shot.
Eleanor's butler had reminded her that she had agreed to visit Selina at her estate for a nice brunch with a game of croquet on her lawn. Quickly, she began to prepare, eager to be out of the house to put as much distance between herself and her husband.
At least before they are pressed together for an entire evening.
Also, she had missed her friends. With Frederick’s arrival came a lot more complications than anything she had learned in the last year could have prepared her for.
She needed a moment away from her husband and the stress he was giving her for free each day.
“I think we do need to ask about who the man frustrating you is,” Thalia prompted in her usual soft demeanor.
Eleanor blushed and shifted her attention to getting the ball before her mallet through the ring it had been positioned in front of.
“No one. I was just asking.” She mumbled, knocking the ball forward with her mallet.
It went through the ring and she gave a victorious cry.
“No one? I see. Um, so Eleanor dear, how is your husband?” Selina asked with a mischievous grin.
The question caught Eleanor off guard, causing her to miss the ball completely, despite her good record.
“That’s not fair,” Eleanor complained.
"Life isn't fair. Now spill. What is going on between you and your very strange husband?" Selina queried, taking her own shot.
“Nothing, I swear. We barely even spend time together, but tonight we are going to a ball together and I just feel nervous. We have barely been together long enough to know what we’re like, and now we’re going to put on a front for people shouldn’t care about. It’s all very… frustrating.” Eleanor confessed.
"Have you told him that you find him frustrating? Perhaps what you need is a good conversation starter to urge things along. While Aaron and I should definitely not be the foundational model upon which your marriage should be built, we have been known to be inspiring. If there is a single thing we could impart to you, it is to be fearless.
"Your husband is a very strange character with a complicated personality and sometimes, it might seem as though the public knows him than you do. What you need to do is create chances for you to learn about yourself. It's even better if it is an activity that allows both of us to learn about each other." Selina suggested.
"That way your curiosity is sated and you would've gained a deeper understanding of each other. Men are mostly frustrated when they're confused. Once you have obtained a basic understanding of their mannerisms and motivations, they will become as easy to read as an open book." Thalia assured.
“What if he likes being mysterious? Or he doesn’t have a choice but to conceal himself?” Eleanor questioned.
It was hard to generate reasons for her inability to draw closer to Frederick. She had not even been sure that she wanted to before the conversation came around.
She was growing more and more aware of his presence these days. Expecting him to join her for meal times, searching for any sign of his movements within the house as she tended to her garden.
And now that he had informed her that he believed his attack had been a deliberate attempt on his life, she was worried for his well-being. But he seemed oblivious to all her concerns and feelings, far too interested in teasing her rather than putting a handful of new security measures in place.
She had thought of dissuading him from attending tonight’s ball, but he had been keen on keeping up appearances in order not to appear weak publicly and she couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps they were focusing on the wrong things.
With Frederick, nothing appeared to be what it seemed and she had realized she had come to trust this wild man, enough to tell her when she needed to peer closer and when she needed to take things at face value.
It was going to take a lot to work with him, but perhaps it was worth a shot, especially if their lives were on the line.
"Well then, you try to share some moments with him. Regardless of whether you spend that time talking or fighting, as long as he looks into your eyes rather than avoiding you, you can rest assured that you are on the right track. Men are prideful creatures and sometimes you need to let them believe that something was their idea, instead of taking the lead — even when you do take the lead. But, be careful, Eleanor. We do not know much about Frederick besides the public's opinion of him and that is rather… mixed. Do not give into whatever games he might try to lure you into. Not until you can be sure he is trustworthy." Thalia advised with caution.
“And if you need another man — or two — to speak with him on your behalf, you know where to find us. Aaron has been quite worried about your well-being and he was quite relieved to hear that you were coming to visit today. He had nearly sent over a servant to make sure you were alive and well. We all worry for you and would gladly run to your aid if you asked. So do not hesitate to reach out if you need any assistance.” Selina smiled at her friend.
Eleanor was touched by her friends' kindness and she smiled thankfully.
“I am really grateful for your constant kindness. All of you.” She said sincerely.
“Think nothing of it dear,” Thalia beamed kindly. “Now focus on the game. I have a lot riding on my eventual win.”
Selina winked at Eleanor before she snorted, stepping forward to challenge her sister.
“Ha! In your dreams.”