Chapter 12
Four Days Later
“Who is this precious angel!” Caroline cooed.
Elara’s smile widened as she walked toward her cousin and sister-in-law, with baby William in her arms. Three days ago, Constantine introduced her to the one-and-a-half-year-old boy, and Elara had had a difficult time putting him down ever since.
The moment she had looked into those green eyes, she had fallen in love with the baby.
“Oh, my days,” Caroline said, her eyes widening and going moon-eyed as she stared down at the little heir of Ashworth.
“Look at those eyes. As green as the Duke’s. Oh, this little one has an old soul,” Bridget gushed, gently tracing the tip of her finger along William’s cheek.
“Caroline, Bridget, I should like you to meet my new nephew, William Harcourt, the future Duke of Ashworth,” Elara explained, coddling the boy tightly.
In her arms, William cooed and stretched, obviously overjoyed by all of the attention.
“Well, what a pleasure it is to meet you, Your Grace,” Caroline cooed.
“Nephew, you say?” Bridget asked, looking up at Elara. Elara did not miss the relief in her sister-in-law’s eyes, and she nodded. “Did His Grace’s brother have a child? I had not heard of his marriage.”
“Yes,” she confirmed, feeling a surge of protectiveness wash over her. “William is the son of Augustus. My greatest joy since becoming the Duchess of Ashworth has been getting to know this little man and taking care of him since his mother has passed.”
“Well, who would not find it joyful to take care of such a precious little lamb as this?” Caroline asked. “May I hold him?”
“Soon,” Elara promised, tucking William closer to her body. “I have had the maids set up tea and nibbles in the parlor. Why do we not go in and take our seats? Then you may hold William a while before it is time for his wet nurse to attend to him and lay him down for his afternoon nap.”
Caroline and Bridget readily agreed, and after they sat down, Elara could not help but notice how loving and caring her friends were toward baby William, and how not at all judgmental they were, as she had feared.
They had taken the truth at face value, and Elara was relieved that neither asked about rumors regarding William’s parents.
“Well,” Bridget sighed, her gaze lingering on William as the wet nurse took him away. “I see now why it took you so long to invite us over. It seems your new life has kept you quite busy. Are you enjoying it?”
To her own surprise, Elara felt herself smiling as she reached for her cup of tea.
“I must admit this marriage is going much better than I could have ever anticipated,” Elara confessed, then swept her eyes over the sitting room full of light tones of cream and white.
“The house is purely opulent,” she said. “I am in constant awe of every room. The staff is quite lovely, especially the housekeeper, Mrs. York. She has helped me become acquainted with many of my new duties and provides a joyous tone when things start to feel too serious.”
Elara paused to take a sip of her tea and help herself to one of the brightly colored macaroons set before her. She bit into the sweet and shimmied her shoulders with delight as the strawberry flavor burst on her tongue.
“After tea, I shall take you upstairs to show you my rooms. Then we shall tour the gardens. They are just coming into bloom and are so lovely,” Elara went on with enthusiasm.
She noticed quickly how Bridget and Caroline shared a glance.
“What is that look?” she asked, setting her half-eaten biscuit down. “Do you not believe me?”
“Oh, it is not that,” Caroline quickly replied, picking up her tea. “You certainly do seem most content with your new home and staff.”
Caroline then blushed as she brought her teacup to her lips and sipped.
“However?” Elara goaded, looking from Caroline to Bridget.
“However,” Bridget agreed, placing a hand on Caroline’s arm. “We were asking whether you were enjoying your marriage with the Duke, not the estate you live in.”
Elara blushed as she reached for the rest of her biscuit and popped it into her mouth, feeling a little foolish for not understanding their meaning at first.
“Oh,” she said, swallowing the biscuit.
“You do seem quite happy,” Caroline said, her tone hopeful. “Have you and His Grace reached an understanding?”
“Of sorts,” Elara agreed, looking up at her dear cousin, then at Bridget. “We more or less stay away from one another. He attends to his life, I attend to mine, and I help look after William.”
“I see,” Caroline mused, then glanced at Bridget.
Suddenly, despite how much she had missed Caroline and Bridget, Elara felt uneasy.
Since when have those two been in cahoots?
“If there are questions you want to ask, please just speak them plainly,” Elara said with an exhausted sigh.
“Do you still hate him?” Caroline asked almost immediately. Her question sent a strange jolt through Elara, but she quickly recovered. After all, she had told Caroline how annoying she had found the Duke, so why would she not still be curious?
“He has… given me the opportunity not to hate him as much,” Elara answered. “As I said earlier, we live our separate lives.”
“Do you still believe he is responsible for Evander’s... disappearance?” Caroline asked, her tone softer than before.
Elara shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“In truth, I am not sure,” she confessed. “I was sure he was lying about his involvement at first, but now that he has agreed to look for Augustus to find answers, I am not so sure.”
She worried her bottom lip with her teeth, then added, “Not to mention that, despite the arrangement my poor planning has forced us into, he has remained a gentleman toward me. He has not claimed any of his usual husbandly rights or such, and has let me be.”
Caroline leaned forward, looking most curious. “So... have you not consummated the marriage?”
Elara choked so violently on her tea that Caroline had to lean over and pat her firmly on the back.
“Caroline!” Elara wheezed, pressing her hand to her chest. “What on earth do you know about consummation?”
“Apologies,” Caroline quickly offered. “I do not mean to sound indelicate. I just… I had walked upstairs to check on you and Aunt Nora the morning of your wedding, and I overheard her advice. It sounded so very bold, and... I was not eavesdropping intentionally, but once I heard, I could hardly unhear it.”
Bridget pressed her lips together very firmly, her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
“It is not funny!” Elara insisted, which only made Bridget dissolve entirely.
“Forgive me,” Bridget managed, wiping her eyes. “I am sorry, truly. Did her advice not work at all?”
Again, Elara’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.
“To be honest,” she finally went on, looking anywhere but at her cousin or sister-in-law. “I found Mama’s advice quite embarrassing. I regret taking the bold measures she spoke of, and if you truly must know, it resulted not in consummation but in my humiliation.”
“Oh dear,” Bridget murmured, her cheeks turning as red as Elara’s. “Well… not all men are the same, I suppose. Give him time, though. Perhaps he is the type who prefers to feel in control. I am sure he will come to you.”
Elara shot to her feet, suddenly wanting very much to be done with this conversation.
“No, you do not understand. You speak as if you know what I want and what the Duke wants, but I would not want him to come to me. We barely tolerate each other as it is.”
Yet as she said so, Elara knew it was not true.
The very thought of her husband visiting her rooms made her skin heat, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention.
Her insides quivered at the thought of his lips on hers again, and she sat back with a loud huff, more frustrated than ever.
Tense silence spread across the room, and for several moments, no one spoke.
“I do apologize, Elara,” Bridget said, her tone quiet and apologetic. “I did not mean to fluster you. I know firsthand how jarring the first night can be, and I wanted to be sure you were all right.”
Elara drew in a steadying breath, knowing Bridget was telling the truth. She had lived an entirely different life before marrying Adrian, and though Bridget did not share much of her past, Elara knew there was darkness to it.
“I did not mean to explode so crassly,” Elara apologized in turn. “I know you only want what is best for me, even in this poor situation. However, he and I are both aware that we are stuck in this marriage, and all we can do is help each other for the time being.”
Bridget and Caroline both nodded quickly.
“Please do not get upset,” Bridget implored. “But do you ever think that this could be more than simple cooperation?”
“How do you mean?” Elara asked.
“I have only seen you together twice,” Bridget admitted. “The night we found you two in Adrian’s study and the morning of your wedding. However, both times, he looked at you with such... possessiveness. Are you sure a love between you two could not grow?”
Elara shook her head as she picked up her tea again.
“I am quite certain of that,” she said, her voice edged. “We will remain comfortable with our distance until he can give me the answers I seek. And then we will part ways.”
Caroline was quiet for a moment, and when she spoke, her voice was softer than before.
“At least I am glad for one thing,” Caroline said simply. “I am glad you will stop trying to do everything yourself, Elara. You have been carrying this alone for so long. Perhaps now, with the Duke looking for Augustus, you will get your answers faster than if you had continued on your own.”
Elara looked at her cousin and felt a sudden, unexpected tightness in her throat. She had not realized until that moment how much she had needed to hear those words.
“Perhaps,” Elara agreed quietly. “Though,” she added after a beat, unable to help herself, “This does not mean I trust him entirely. I will cooperate with him, but I will keep looking for clues on my own until Augustus is found and I have the truth in my hands.”
Caroline nibbled her bottom lip, and Elara knew right away that her cousin still had at least one more question.
“Go on, cousin,” Elara sighed.
Caroline looked up at her, her eyes shining with worry.
“It is just… what if you have gone to all this trouble, only to end up in such a predicament, for it to be true that the Duke had nothing to do with Evander’s death? You have changed your entire life on this one shred of a possibility, Elara. What if it is wrong?”
Pain slithered through Elara’s chest at the thought.
“Then I have ruined my life for nothing,” she answered softly.
She then looked up at her dear friends and found nothing but pity and fear in their eyes.
“I must apologize for how strangely this visit has unfolded,” Elara said as she stood up.
Caroline and Bridget quickly rose with her, as if they already knew what she was about to say.
“I believe I need to lie down for a while, but thank you for coming. I promise our next visit will be much better.”
“Of course it will,” Caroline replied, doing her best to seem optimistic as she drew her arms around Elara. “Please take care of yourself. We will speak of something else next time. See your rooms and the garden you spoke of.”
“Yes, of course,” Bridget agreed as she hugged Elara next.
Elara forced a smile as she bid them goodbye, but the moment they left the parlor, her smile faded as she plopped heavily back into her chair. She was not at all sure of the angry feelings buzzing inside her, but she was sure that somehow, some way, Evander was alive.
I just have to find a way to prove it.