romance novels in the library. And the master did not look like the kind of man who would bother himself with such things. Not to mention the dresses she and Amy had been given the very first day they had arrived at Dunham like drowned rats. She was now more certain than ever that these things belonged to the woman who had once lived here.
It was quite apparent that someone had gone to great lengths to erase this mysterious woman’s existence—which merely piqued Judith’s interest all the more.
Finally, one fateful afternoon, she decided to ask Mr. Beauregard about it. She was starting to grasp that he was rather more than simply a butler.
He was the duke’s right-hand man, who did almost everything in his master’s stead.
If the master would not tell her, Mr. Beauregard could.
“Mr. Beauregard,” she started, as she found him in the atrium, reading a book.
He looked up from the book, stared at her over his glasses, and raised his brow in question.
“Yes, Lady Judith? Do you need my help with something?”
She was quick to shake her head. “Not at all, I simply wanted to ask a question.”
He closed the book then and put it aside. She could tell he was already suspicious.
“You have my attention, my lady.”
She knew she did, but suddenly words failed her. Her throat grew dry, and she swallowed hard in a bid to wet it.
He said no words, but his brow raised higher, telling her he was awaiting her question.
Throwing caution to the winds, she suddenly found her courage.
“A woman once lived here, did she not? And no, I am not speaking of His Grace’s mother. I mean another woman, a lady. One who would have been his wife or his sister, perhaps.”
Mr. Beauregard’s face deepened into a frown, and she feared he would rebuke her.
“You shouldn’t concern yourself with such household matters, Lady Judith. You are here as a guest.”
“Yet I have been here a week, and I do not think I shall leave soon. Even if the rain does stop, it would take a while for the roads to be safe for travel, at the very least, as safe as His Grace would want them to be before he would see us go.”
She paused to heave a sigh. “I am not blind, Mr. Beauregard, nor am I denied of my senses. There is so much sadness in this place. So much cold and darkness. I can tell it was not always like this. His Grace is evidently a man in pain. I have reached the conclusion that the duke has lost someone, someone he cared for deeply. He lost his wife, did he not? Please, Mr. Beauregard, I pray you. Satisfy my curiosity.”
Mr. Beauregard said nothing for a long moment. He simply looked at her. Finally, he released a sigh that he must have been holding.
Then, he spoke. “You are right, Lady Judith. A lady did live here. My master was married, and he suffered a great loss. The most horrible kind. There is no joy, or warmth, or light in Dunham because it is in mourning. All that happiness was lost when we lost our dear duchess.”
Judith opened her mouth to speak again, but he must have sensed that she was simply going to ask more questions, so he raised his hand, stopping her.
“Anything more is not for me to say, my lady. Whatever questions you may have still, I cannot answer them.”
“Cannot or will not?”
Mr. Beauregard rose to his feet then. He held her gaze, his unwavering. “To me, there is little difference. Do enjoy the rest of your day, my lady.”
As those words left his lips, he gave a curt nod and took his leave.
Judith knew she would have to be satisfied with the answer she had been given, unless she wished to ask the duke himself and risk suffering his wrath.
He might not be so forgiving a second time.
There and then, she decided to let her questions lie only in her heart.
Chapter 12
The rain finally let up. On the eleventh day, the entire household woke to the sight of the golden sun shining brightly above their heads.
It was a wonder to behold. As warmth seeped into the walls, the golden rays slipping in through windows and glass roofs, Judith came to the realization that the mansion didn’t seem so eerie any longer.
Even Amy agreed.
They would have stepped out immediately, but Mr. Beauregard insisted that they gave the ground another day to dry.
The next afternoon, Judith sat at