Page 57 of My Duke, The Stranger
“Smudges?” Isolde scoffed. “Who cares?”
“Lady Highmere will.”
She groaned. “Do you know how hard it is to write without smudging the ink? I will have to wait after each word for the ink to dry. It will take hours!”
“That will give you time to work on your phrasing…” He raised an eyebrow at her. “As well as your grammar. This here…” He ran his finger along a sentence at the top of the page. “This is far too colloquial. And this here…” He brought her attention to another sentence. “This is informal. You do not know Lady Highmere, so you should not write to her as if you do.”
“Will she even notice?”
“Of that, I have no doubt.”
Isolde wondered what Cassian would say about such things. The old him, that which she had gotten to know, would surely find it all rather silly. In fact, if he had learned what she was doing, he might have mocked and teased her… that thought brought a smile to her lips.
The new Cassian, however, was as determined to act as a duke as she was a duchess. She was not doing this for herself, but for her husband, and thus snatched the parchment from Mr. Pemberton and sulked back to her room to try again.
And then again.
It took her five tries before she produced a letter of correspondence that was acceptable, and the thrill that Isolde felt was beyond anything that she expected.
She took the letter back, literally shaking with glee, and the first thing that she wanted to do was rush up to see Cassian and tell him what she had done. Of course, she did no such thing, because he would not care.
“Right,” she said with determination. “Now, who should I write to next?”
Mr. Pemberton looked at her simply. “That is for you to find out for yourself, Your Grace.”
“But—”
“Might I suggest that you take this as an opportunity to learn more about the ton? As a duchess, it is only right that you know each family. And not just their name, but their history. It is expected.”
She scrunched her face. “And how will I do such a thing?”
“Simple,” he said. “The library will have all the information that you seek. But do not rush, Your Grace. Take your time, for such things are…”
“I know, I know,” she grumbled as she turned and skulked away. “They are expected.”
She heard Mr. Pemberton chuckling as she left.
And so came the next arduous task that Isolde dedicated every waking hour to. From sunrise to sunset, across the remaining week, she locked herself away in the library as she pored over large tomes that detailed the various families of the ton, as well as their histories.
Surprisingly, it was not nearly so awful and boring as Isolde expected it to be. It was interesting to learn more about those names that she already knew, as well as learning more about Cassian’s family as well.
She lost herself across those days, flipping through pages, writing down notes so that she would not forget. And when a storm blew in, throwing the library into darkness, she simply lit a candle and carried on.
“What are you doing?” a voice broke through her concentration.
“Oh!” Isolde started in surprise and looked up, gasping to find Cassian standing over her. He wore a scowl, as he so often did,and he made sure to stand several feet back. “Cassian! I did not hear you come in.”
“What are you doing?” he asked her again as he eyed the tome in her hand.
“I am…” She chuckled. “Just some light reading.”
“Not the word I would use.”
“If you must know, I am reading up on the various families of the ton. Their histories. Who married whom and why… it is actually rather interesting.”
His frown deepened. “Why on earth are you doing that?”
“I told you that I was committed to doing whatever I must to play the role of a duchess, Cassian.” She looked at him without any inflection, no sense that she was bragging or trying to make it appear as if she wanted his praise. “And learning about each family is a part of that. Although…” She grimaced and rolled her eyes at the tome on her lap. “I will confess, I had no idea it would be quite as much work as it is. And while it is not a bore, I will not lie to you and say it is fun either,” she finished with laughter.
