Chapter Twenty-Two
“Iwish to do something nice for her.”
Lady Anna was startled by the Duke’s sudden entrance and dropped her cookie while his grandmother merely sighed, sipping her tea before speaking up,
“Why, good morning to you too, Silas. Oh, I had a wonderful night’s rest, thank you for asking. Oh, the weather? I think it is quite lovely as well. Anna and I thought of going for a walk later, if we can. It would be splendid to breathe in some of that wonderful fresh spring air, don’t you agree?”
Her glare was telling of his missteps, and he sighed, bowing slightly.
“I apologize for my outburst. Good morning, Grandmother,” he bowed to Agnes’ godmother. “Lady Anna.”
Lady Anna chuckled brightly. “Nonsense, it is wonderful to see you so excited about your love. We are happy to help you with whatever you need.”
“Even if your lack of manners might be appalling sometimes,” his grandmother nodded grimly.
Silas winced and sighed. “I really am sorry. I just… the wedding is tomorrow, and we’ve hardly spent any time getting to know each other properly, and I can't help but feel as though that might be a problem.”
“I would not call it a problem – perhaps an under-sight. Besides, I am sure you’ve gotten to know her quite a bit in the last two weeks, at least.” Lady Anna pointed out.
“Not… deliberately. I feel as though it is unfair to her that she barely knows a lot about me, and I haven’t put any purposeful effort into wooing her. I know she agreed to marry me, but I still want her to understand that I am very serious about her.”
“I’m sure she knows, dear,” his grandmother beamed at him proudly. “You do not have to rush about these things right now. Your grandfather and I also had a lot of undiscovered layers when we got married. But that is what the first few years of marriage are for – getting to know the deepest parts and intricacies that lie within your partner. Learning to live with them, to compromise and to choose to love every day rather than let the nasty thoughts and feelings grow and fester. I understand your worries, but you should know you have all the time in the world to get to know her and for her to get to know what acharming, thoughtful, occasionally mannerless sweetheart you are.”
“Wow, I am truly delighted that you feel that way about me,” Silas smiled back at her with a sarcastic edge in his voice.
“Still, it would not be a bad idea for you to have some sort of outing with her today. She is undoubtedly a bundle of nerves about the big day tomorrow, and as my dear Alexandra said, the weather is quite lovely today. You could go out for a picnic. Perhaps a little bit of riding, too – she would love that.” Lady Anna suggested.
Silas paused, thinking about it carefully. A picnic sounded like a wonderful idea, and he had the perfect location in mind already. It wouldn’t take too long to make a few preparations for it, and Agnes would definitely appreciate the opportunity to ride – she had seemed rather antsy yesterday.
“You are both wonderful, and I love you both,” he said earnestly, turning to leave.
“I am very flattered, sweetheart, but I’m afraid we can't be together. You are to be married to my goddaughter tomorrow – what would people think?” Lady Anna teased, making her friend cackle.
“What a travesty, indeed,” Silas grinned, like a good sport, waving at them before he left. “Thank you!”
Lady Anna watched him leave with a smile and faced the Dowager Duchess.
“I think he is doing quite all right. You don’t have to worry so much about him.”
“He makes it hard not to,” Alexandra sighed. “Even as a child, he was so adept at hiding his feelings. I worry that he has just pushed it all to a corner, unwilling to unravel those complicated feelings.”
“Or perhaps he has already begun to heal. You can rest easy, Alexandra. Even if you are unable to help him, Agnes surely will. He is not alone.”
Her friend's words soothed her, and she recalled the smile on Silas’ face as he took his leave, how excited he was to be wed. Finally, he would have the companionship she had always prayed for him to obtain due to spending the rest of his days beside the love of his life.
Could there be a more wonderful thing?
“You’re right. He isn’t alone anymore.”
Agnes sighed and closed the book in her hands, laying it on top of the pile she had slowly curated. That was the fifth book she had tried to read in the last half hour, and she had given up afterfour minutes of rereading the same paragraph over and over again.
She had been feeling a little unsettled, so she thought she could calm down by reading for a bit. But she couldn’t seem to concentrate, getting lost in her mind a few moments after opening a book. At first, she thought that she was probably not interested in the genre of the book and scoured the library looking for other, better options.
Clearly, the problem was with her and not the books.
Resigned, she returned them back to their respective shelves and lay down on the chaise she had been trying to read on, listening to the birds sing outside the window.
The mansion was bustling with activity outside the doors of the library, last-minute preparations and final touches being made for the wedding. The new housekeeper and butler arrived that morning. They immediately got to work organizing everything, fitting in seamlessly with the rest of the household staff. Agnes was grateful for all the effort being given to her wedding.