Chapter 10
“Augusta…” Charity found herself sighing. “I have never known you to be a problem child like this. What has gotten into you?”
They had arrived at Blackstone Estate a few hours ago, which was a massive and sprawling structure. Bigger than anything that Charity was used to. The place had welcomed them, even though they had arrived rather awkwardly.
Immediately, they had been assigned their chambers, and a meal had been prepared for them.
“What have I done now?” Augusta replied in an annoyed tone.
While Matilda had already finished her bowl of soup and was onto her second plate, Augusta had not touched a single thing.
“You are not eating,” Charity replied. “Rather, you are sulking.”
“I would suggest you focus on your own plate, perhaps, sister dear.”
“Augusta,” Charity warned again. “I understand that you are upset about things, but this is not the way to show it. We have had a long journey, and you need nourishment.”
“I am perfectly fine,” Augusta said. Her protest had no end in sight.
Matilda dropped her spoon and folded her hands.
“See what you are doing?” Charity said to Augusta. “You are creating tension, and poor Matilda is paying the price.”
“Oh, so you’re shifting the blame on me now?” Augusta replied. “As though it is my fault that we are in a strange estate? Perhaps that is why I don’t have an appetite. Have you paused to consider that?”
Charity poured tea into Matilda’s cup and slid it closer. “Drink up, sweetheart,” and then turned back to Augusta.
“I understand that is not normal,” she said plainly. “But you need to understand that this is our new reality, and you ought to get used to it.”
“But you’re asking a lot out of me,” she said. “First, you said that we would be safe and then we were stopped in the carriage. I don’t know if I should believe you now.”
“Are we safe?” Matilda asked innocently.
Charity felt so angry at Augusta. She felt that she was creating problems, but then calmed herself. She was the oldest sister and could not lose her cool like this.
“It is all going to be fine,” Charity said. “You don’t need to worry about anything.”
“You cannot keep telling her that things will be fine if you do not know that they will be,” Augusta said.
Charity felt the familiar pull in her chest, the urge to argue until she won, and she forced herself to step around it.
“I know that we are far removed from Uncle Edward now,” Charity replied. “And that he cannot harm us here.”
“Sure, Uncle Edward cannot,” Augusta replied. “But are you really certain that the duke won't? I do not know this man, and you do not know him either, not really.”
Matilda looked between them, anxious and silent. Charity reached across and took Augusta’s hand. She did not care if Augusta hated it.
“He got us out of that situation,” Charity replied. “Why are you so fixed on being distrustful of him?”
Augusta chewed on her lip.
“To put it simply, I don’t think I like him very much.”
There it was, the truth of the matter.
“He commands you around, and does the same to us,” she said. “What makes you believe that he will listen to anything that we say to him? Now we are in his estate with nowhere to go, even.”
“We have an understanding between the both of us…”
“Yes, both of you,” August snapped. “But why am I being subjected to all this then? You haven’t given me any clear answers either.”
Charity inhaled, then let it out through her nose.
“I am tired,” she said. “I am tired. I am trying not to frighten you both by snapping at him in his own house when we have nowhere else to go.”
Augusta’s expression flickered, and Charity could see the fear under the anger, which made her want to pull her sister into her arms and also shake her at the same time.
Before either could speak again, there was a knock at the door.
The housekeeper stepped in, neat and composed, and dipped into a curtsy.
“Miss Charity,” she said. “His Grace requests your company at dinner this evening, in the small dining room.”
Augusta went stiff beside Charity.
Charity kept her face calm. “I will come,” she said.
The housekeeper nodded and turned slightly.
“The young ladies may continue to dine here, as they please,” she added, as if it were meant kindly.
Augusta’s head snapped up.
“Why?” she asked.
The housekeeper hesitated, just enough to show she had expected this to be easier. “His Grace thought it would be… more comfortable,” she said.
“Comfortable,” Augusta repeated, “Or he does not want us in the way.”
“Augusta,” Charity said.
The housekeeper looked at Charity, then back down again.
“If there is anything you require, miss, you have only to ask,” she said, and she left with the same careful speed she had entered.
The moment the door shut, Augusta rounded on Charity.
“So you’re going to see what he has to say?” Augusta said. “And keep even more secrets from us? I don’t think you’ll tell us about what you both talked about, though I am sure that it will be discussed.”
“Augusta, please,” Charity pleaded. “You are being extremely difficult, and I do not know what to do with you right now.”
Matilda’s fingers twisted in her skirt.
“Is it… is it because of us?” she asked.
Charity turned to her at once.
“No,” she said. “You’re exhausted, and you don’t need to be privy to conversations that adults are having. Please, finish up your food and then retire to bed. Everything will be all right.”
Augusta’s eyes narrowed.
“So you are going to go sit with him alone,” she said, “and then you will come back and tell us what he decided?”
“I will have to see what he has to say first.”
“My point is that anything we might have to say will not be taken into consideration,” she replied. “Nor you, for that matter. That is how it always goes, Charity, the men decide, and we adjust.”
“I need to talk to him without you two listening,” Charity said firmly.
“And what if he says something that neither of us won’t like?”
“Then I will stand up for you,” Charity promised.
Augusta was quiet for a moment, then she looked away, swallowing hard as if she did not want to show she had been close to tears.
“You are both going to rest,” she said, brisk now. “You are going to eat properly, and then you are going to sleep. Tomorrow we start acting like we live here, whether we feel like it or not.”
Augusta scoffed, but it sounded weaker than before. “You cannot order me about,” she muttered.
“Watch me,” she said. Matilda let out a small, surprised laugh that sounded like relief.
“You have avoided me from the moment you arrived at the estate,” Duncan said the moment Charity entered the small dining room.
Charity noted that he did not bother with a greeting. That was very much like him.
He liked to always get to the point and not bother with niceties. Strangely, it brought her some relief. Everything around her was complicated enough, and at the very least, she did not have to guess when it came to Duncan.
“You will have to excuse me. I was with my sisters,” Charity replied, sitting on the chair that had been pulled out. “They are still adjusting to everything.”
“Still.”
“I just didn’t have the time, really,” she sighed. She wanted to tell him that Augusta was being terribly difficult, and she did not have the tools to deal with her at this time. But then decided against it.
“Right,” Duncan said. “So you concede that you were not avoiding me?”
“Not on purpose,” she said, but it wasn’t entirely the truth either. In earnest, she felt a bit nervous to speak to the duke. Now that she was in his estate, their little arrangement suddenly felt very real.
“Shall I take your word for that?”
“Well, to be honest…” Charity sighed, clasping her hands together. “I was not sure if you wanted to see me, either. After what had happened during the journey.”
“Did you assume I would be angry?” he asked. “That you got out of the carriage, and did not listen to me?”
Charity nodded, not meeting his gaze.
“I was angry,” he nodded. “But then I realized that you were not the one who made the choice, and it was your sister.”
“You were quite perceptive for someone who was facing off with the thieves,” she said, surprised. “I thought you might blame me, or perhaps be angry.”
“I don’t know what has given you the impression that I am this unreasonably angry man,” Duncan shook his head. “I don’t have siblings of my own, but I know how young people can be. It seems that your sisters are…”
She looked up at him, wondering what he would say.
“They do not meet my eyes.”
“You must excuse them,” Charity sighed. “They… it is a lot for them to take in, and they hardly know you. I suppose that they are frightened.”
She was worried that Duncan might take her words the wrong way, but instead, he simply nodded his head.
“I suppose that they have reason to be.”
“Yes, they saw you.. with those men…” Charity sighed. “And even though you were only protecting us, which I am very grateful for, they saw how ferocious you can be. I suppose that sort of thing is enough to settle anyone.”
“If I didn’t act in the manner that I did, those men would have never left us alone,” he admitted. “You will have to understand that I have to take on a different role when it comes to dealing with outer threats, and that has no bearing on how I might deal with you or your sisters.”
“I can understand that,” she sighed. “But it will take them a while.”
Duncan’s gaze sharpened.
“I was justified,” he said.
“That may be true,” she said, “and it may still have frightened them. Even now, you only asked me to come see you. They are being kept in the dark, and that only makes them more anxious, especially Augusta.”
Duncan did not argue that point, which made Charity more on edge. What was he thinking?
“You asked why they are not dining with us,” Duncan said.
“You made that decision without speaking to me,” Charity replied. “Maybe it would have been different if you had consulted me, at least. But you did not think that might matter to me.”
Duncan’s gaze held hers.
“It matters, so speak. What do you have to say?”
“It’s done now,” she sighed. “We need to think about the future now.”