Enchanting the Duke - Lana Williams Page 0,19

grow since their arrival. The two seemed to have found a great deal to talk about.

She’d walked for some time, sorting through her emotions, when she paused to look over her shoulder, realizing the grand house was now out of sight. With a frown, she wondered how far she’d come. A freezing drizzle began and penetrated the partial canopy the woods provided.

After a deep, cleansing breath, she resolved to turn back. Her return would be a miserable one in the cold and wet. But the walk had helped to return her equilibrium. She couldn’t allow the comments of others to change her course. Nor could she hope to change Douglas. She could only change herself and manage her expectations.

While she might never gain Douglas’s affection, she was determined to do what she could to be the sort of wife he would admire. To be a good duchess. In time, perhaps they could be friends, at least. If only their marriage of convenience didn’t provide material for gossip, but that wasn’t within her control.

Lillian and Burbridge appeared so happy and bonded that little could be said about their relationship. Eleanor hoped that in time, that might be true for her and Douglas as well. If not, it might be best if she kept away from social events where she encountered people like Lady Elizabeth and her friends.

She adjusted the hood of her cloak and shivered as the cold and damp seeped through her clothing. The weather was growing worse. Between the fog and rain, it was impossible to see more than a few paces ahead. She stared through the trees as she walked but saw nothing of the house or the sweep of lawn that led to it.

Her foot caught and she fell, landing on a sharp rock on the edge of the path. She gasped at the shooting pain in her hip. Her search for a familiar landmark rather than watching the trail caused her to miss seeing a gnarled root that jutted up from the ground. Tears filled her eyes once more as she pressed her gloved fingers to her aching hip.

Worry struck her. How far had she walked? Should she leave the path and hope she came upon the house? Or had she wandered off course when she’d been tangled up in her thoughts? Uncertainty filled her along with another shiver. Then another. She sat up then gained her feet. Her hip ached like the devil with each step, but at least she could still walk though not as quickly as she’d have liked given the conditions.

The temperature had dropped significantly and now that her pace had slowed, she realized she was chilled to the bone. Her woolen gown was nearly as soaked as her cloak, and her toes were numb in her boots. She hadn’t gone far before she had to pause to let the pain subside once more.

This was ridiculous, she scolded herself even as she shivered again. It wasn’t as if she had crossed hills and valleys. There was no need for alarm. The house would surely be visible soon. Wouldn’t it?

~*~

Douglas cursed the freezing rain that made it impossible to see as he rode down the lawn toward the fields. The wind had picked up, its biting force cutting through his topcoat but doing little to clear the fog. What had Eleanor been thinking? What would make her leave the warmth of the house and her friends for a walk alone in these conditions?

Lillian shared that Eleanor had been upset over something she’d overheard the other ladies say nearly two hours ago. That left a wide area to cover since he only had a general direction of her path courtesy of the butler.

His horse jerked at the reins, no more pleased to be out in the foul weather than he was. The rain had frozen on the grass and made for slippery footing. He didn’t dare increase the pace.

As he continued his search, his anger quieted and fear took its place. Had some harm befallen her? Had she twisted her ankle and was unable to move? Protectiveness swept over him, surprising him with its strength. Surely the feeling was no different than he would’ve felt if one of his tenants were missing.

His lips twisted at the lie. Eleanor was more to him than that. He had thought he’d been successful at keeping her at arm’s length. After all, emotions of any sort were not part of his vocabulary. The past few days—or should he