Page 28 of A Highland Duke to Claim Her Heart

“Good morning, my dear!” her mother trilled. “You look very well this morning. Did you sleep soundly?” For some reason, Lady Pembury tittered as if she had just told a very good joke.

Cassandra frowned at her. “I slept well enough,” she said. “Although it was a touch cold in the night.”

Her mother shook her head. “If you are waking up in the night then your husband needs some direction, dear.”

Again, Cassandra was not entirely sure what her mother meant. However, she decided not to reveal this. She had a vague sense that it had to do with the act that had not taken place between them.

Her mother came over to her at the vanity and touched her shoulder, smiling kindly down at her. “You are a woman now,” she murmured, “and therefore understand certain things that only women know. I am so proud of you, my dear, for stepping up and into this role, even when your bridegroom ran off and left you in dire straits. You have proven yourself worthy to take up this mantle, and I can only hope that you will continue to dazzle in your new role.” Her mother squeezed her shoulder.

“Most importantly, of course, is to become with child and birth him an heir. Nothing makes a husband more loyal than a child, especially a boy. If you need any tips on how to ensure that this happens quickly, or herbs from the kitchen, I can help you. We may speak of such things, now that you are a married woman…”

And as her mother continued on in this vein, something uncomfortable settled in Cassandra’s stomach. She didn’t know how to tell her mother that she wasnota woman at all. That she and the duke were not to have that kind of relationship. And that she had no idea whether or not he would ever change his mind.

Chapter 11

The castle felt different.

Something had shifted in the castle. The rooms felt lighter. The air cleaner. And there was a spring in the steps of the servants that he had not noticed before.

Of course, he was still gone from the house often. That was his routine before the wedding, and he did not intend to change it drastically just because he was now married. But when he returned home at the end of a long day working with his tenants to install the new drainage systems, he noticed it.

Servants smiled at him as they passed him in the hallways. Some of the old suits of armor appeared to have been polished. The curtains were drawn back earlier to allow sunlight into the halls in the mornings when he was used to traversing them in the dark.

The greatest change, however, was his dinner. He now ate with his wife every night, rather than alone in his study, as was his custom.

These dinners were not particularly lively, but he did notice that the servants seemed pleased as they went about dishing out the meals and refilling wine glasses. They also smiled at Cassandraevery time they served something onto her plate, and when one of the footmen refilled her wine glass, she even murmured, “Thank you, Thomas.”

From the head of the table, Ewan could not help but frown. Not in displeasure, but in surprise.

He had not expected her to learn the name of one of the junior footmen in just a few days.

Fortunately, her mother and father were gone, so things were quieter, but the quiet did not seem oppressive or stifling the way it once had.

Three days after the wedding, he was in his study, where he had asked Alaric to join him for a drink. While his friend lounged in the armchair across from his desk, Ewan poured them both large glasses of scotch, which he handed to his friend with a raised eyebrow.

“What is going on at Calder Castle?” he asked, as Alaric took the glass from him.

“What do you mean?” Alaric said, leaning back in the chair and taking a long sniff of the scotch. “Ahh, this smells exceptionally agreeable. You always get the best scotch, do you not?”

“Of course I do.” Ewan settled himself down in his leather armchair across from his friend. “I am a Scottish duke. I only buy the best scotch.”

Alaric laughed, took a sip, and then set the glass on the desk and leaned forward. “You are asking why the house feels different, are you not?”

“So youhavenoticed.”

“Everyone has noticed. And you have your new wife to thank for it.”

Ewan’s stomach jolted slightly. “I had a feeling it was her,” he muttered.

“Of course it is. In just a few days she has completely transformed the house. Everyone is speaking of it.”

“Everyone?”

“Well, Miss Ashworth is,” Alaric said, grinning. “She has the ears of the servants because she is almost one herself.”

“A governess is not a servant.”

“You know what I mean. She exists in both worlds.”