Page 20 of To Steal a Duchess

Eloise nodded, knowing she had to go along with the routine of things. Her husband had warned her that freedom in the house would not be restricted, but she was to stay away from the lighthouse. After that, she was led to the library, where her interest roamed through the bookshelves. Not a single book spine was dusty.

“His Grace must come here often,” she mused, tracing a fingertip down one spine of a geography anthology, a poem of an explorer’s worldly findings.

“Not very frequently, I’m afraid,” Mrs. Hale admitted. “He tends to keep to his study or the drawing room.”

“And yet he knows a lot,” Eloise mused, for that was how she had come to know the Duke of Oldcliff in the first place. “He has connections.”

“I could not comment on such things, Your Grace.”

“I understand, but he has things, or associates, to keep him busy,” she reasoned. “I have not seen him since the four days I arrived, and I am still only just finishing off our tour. If you do not mind me exploring more rooms myself…”

“Of course. You have seen the dining room, yes?”

Eloise nodded, a little embarrassed to admit. “Yes, but I haven’t taken a meal there as yet. I have dined alone these past days. His Grace has…”

Has not wanted anything to do with me, nor did we have a wedding night.

She mustered a perfect smile. “He has been occupied with duchy obligations, and I have not seen him since the day I came here.”

“The duke is a rather private man,” Mrs. Hale told her.

Eloise laughed quietly. “I have come to realize as much.”

The housekeeper merely gave her a stoic, tight smile, but nodded. “If you would prefer, I would be happy to set your place at the dining table this evening, Your Grace. You needn’t feel confined to taking a tray in your room, if it is not your preference. I can tell the maids and footmen.”

“No,” Eloise answered quickly. “No, I do not want that. If His Grace needs space, then I’ll leave him be. He told me that we can have our respective spaces, so I will honor his, whatever it looks like.”

“I understand, but a new duchess should not dine alone.”

“Alas,” Eloise murmured, eager to move on and not dwell upon the fact that the duke had proposed for her to be his wife, only to ignore her for days on end. “I wish we could get to know one another. One dinner, at least.”

Mrs. Hale paused again. “His Grace… he has spent many years alone, and though I agree you should not be invited into a new home only to be alone, you might wish to extend more patience to your—to His Grace.”

Eloise nodded after several moments. “I know, and I will try. It is… it is just strange to be in this new world without guidance from the man who brought me into it.”

“I understand.” Mrs. Hale gave her an empathetic smile. “Is there any other room you wish to see?”

At that, Eloise thought hard. The duke had not been present for days, so perhaps she was free to explore beyond the rooms of Oldcliff Hall. Perhaps she could venture farther before being noticed. She wanted to be daring. She craved the crash of the ocean waves, the movement of water, the enticing call of it all.

“I would like to go out to the cliffs and visit the lighthouse,” Eloise dared to say. “His Grace says it is old and crumbling, but to me, it looks beautiful. I wish to see it.”

“The lighthouse?” Mrs. Hale’s eyes shuttered in question. “That old place has been locked for years, Your Grace.”

“Do you have a key for it?”

The housekeeper shook her head. Although her voice was steady, there was a hint of nervousness in her face as her eyes darted around.

Eloise watched her, wondering why she had been forbidden from entering it, and why Mrs. Hale looked distressed by the mention of it.

“Only His Grace possesses that key, I am afraid, and I do not know where he keeps it, Your Grace.”

Eloise nodded, trying to hide her disappointment.

After that, Eloise could not stop thinking about the secreted key and the lighthouse that turned into a mystery, one that she could not let go of.

More days passed in their respective, silent haunting of the mansion, and while the duke was happy to ignore her, Eloise took every opportunity she could to be out on the bluff of the cliffs.

The wind whipped her face, its fingers tangling through her hair, and she saw some small fishing boats rocking with the gentle current.