Page 81 of The Odyssean Duke

Her mother squeezed her shoulder and sat gingerly at the edge of the sofa, near enough that Evelina could touch her. “It hurts because you love him,” Evelina’s mother said. “But maybe—maybe over time, the pain will soften a little. Do not be ashamed of taking this time to care for yourself. Perhaps, Stephan will also take this time to think about you and what a rare gem you are.”

Evelina sniffed again and pressed her cheek against her mother’s shoulder. That was a beautiful image—her husband coming to her, loving and apologetic. It was nothing but a fantasy, though, and one which would probably never come true.

“Maybe,” Evelina said, her will to argue fading like the morning dew in the sunlight. “Maybe you are right.”

Her mother wrapped an arm around Evelina’s shoulders and drew her close. She pressed her lips against Evelina’s hair and rubbed her back, and Evelina melted against her mother, letting herself accept the comfort. Evelina closed her eyes and forced her breath steady. They stayed like that for some time, Evelina trying desperately to hold herself together.

She could only blame herself for the situation that she was in. Evelina was the Duchess of Rothbury. She was a strong and independent lady, a learned woman who had created the Corset Chronicles and who campaigned for women’s rights and education.

She could not fall apart, even if everything inside her was cracking to pieces after Stephan’s rejection. Evelina must makeherself strong, craft herself into the fearless Penelope. Always waiting and hoping.

And maybe—like Penelope—she would eventually find her happy ending, her clever husband and loving child. Just maybe.

CHAPTER 35

Evelina. She was Stephan’s first thought when he woke in the morning. She was his first thought for the three days following. Stephan had decided to give his wife space. She had likely gone to her house, hoping to have some peace from him. He would allow her that. Stephan needed his own space.

The inaction was driving him mad, though. When he could bear it no longer, Stephan decided that it was long past time for him to visit Her Grace, the Dowager Duchess of Rothbury. If the woman had not worked so hard to drive a wedge between himself and Evelina, who knew what might have happened? As the coach came to a halt before his grandmother’s familiar townhouse, Stephan clenched his jaw. He dared imagine a world wherein he and Evelina had met at the tavern, fallen in love, and courted one another for years. Stephan imagined them eventually marrying without the stipulations of the contract always hovering over them.

At least, in that imaginary world, Stephan would be allowed time to realize the depth of his feelings for Evelina. He cleared his throat and straightened his jacket as the footman opened the door. “We are here, Your Grace,” he said, bowing deeply.

“So I see.”

Stephan stepped from the coach. He had been right about one thing; Evelina did not know his father nearly as well as Stephan himself did. However, she did make an excellent point; his grandmother was deceitful and cunning. Forging signatures sounded like something she might try in order to keep the dukedom.

He had no proof that the Dowager Duchess had done anything of the sort, but once Evelina had suggested it, Stephan could not manage to vanquish the thought. His instincts told him that she was right and that he would be a fool not to treat her suggestion seriously.

Stephan set his shoulders back and his spine straight. Then, he walked to the house. This plan was not his best, but if Evelina was right…

The door opened, and the butler bowed deeply. “Good morning.”

“I wish to see my grandmother,” Stephan said without preamble. “I am the Duke of Rothbury.”

Recognition flashed in the man’s eyes. “I will see if Her Grace is prepared to receive calls.”

Stephan already knew that she was. It was the appropriate hour for paying calls to ladies, and Her Grace had never missed the chance to gossip with the ton, at least not in his youth. He very much doubted that she had changed her habits during his long absence, given her penchant for causing trouble and her love of gossip, which was often the closest that women came to having real power.

Still, he waited in the entryway until the butler returned, his smile strained. Stephan wondered at that; perhaps his grandmother was displeased with his interruption. A small, petty part of him hoped that she was.

“Her Grace shall see you,” the butler said.

Stephan followed him into the drawing room, where his grandmother sat primly on the edge of her chair. She was embroidering, her young lady’s companion seated nearby. “My dear grandson,” she said, smiling like a wolf. “What a pleasant surprise.”

“Is it?” he asked.

“Indeed,” she replied. “Given how much difficulty you appear to be having with your wife, I would have thought you would be trying to findherrather than paying visits to me. That is, unless you have come for advice. I knew that you ought not marry her.”

Stephan ground his teeth together as he dropped into the vacant chair. So she had heard about his quarrel with Evelina. That was not entirely surprising, and he knew that his grandmother had only mentioned it in the hopes that she would upset him. Stephan must force himself to be unaffected. While it was true that Evelina was frustrated with him and that she was gone, that was damage that could be repaired. He would see to it.

Stephan could not fall into his grandmother’s trap. If he did, he might do something he regretted later, or worse, he might leave without even trying this brazen, reckless plan of his.

“I was right about the dukedom, too,” she added. “How could you be expected to manage the dukedom if you cannot even manage your own wife?”

“Are you quite finished?” Stephan asked coolly.

“Oh, I suppose,” she said, waving a dismissive hand. “It seems as though you are in some great hurry, so I suppose I will indulge you. What do you want?”

“Answers,” he said.