“What happened to him?”
“I’m not entirely sure. He didn’t come home from the pub one night. The blacksmith found him at the bottom of a hill just outside town, facedown in a stream.” She spoke matter-of-factly, as if she either no longer grieved him or hadn’t grieved him at all. Except she’d said she adored him.
He studied her profile, noting the slight pucker of her brow. “Do you suspect something sinister?”
“Not really. It’s likely he was intoxicated and suffered an unfortunate accident.”
“Had you been married long?”
“Less than a year. As you can imagine, he left me in a bit of a state,” she said wryly. “I couldn’t go back to my family, not after they refused to even attend our wedding. I responded to an advertisement for a paid companion in Bath. While there, I helped my employer’s wallflower granddaughter to secure a husband. Another woman offered to double my salary if I would come and help her daughter do the same.”
“So you left your employer?”
She shook her head. “Lady Dunwoody gave me a chance when I most needed it. I stayed with her until she passed away about a year later.”
“You’re loyal.”
“To a fault, some might say.” She grinned at him. “I think it’s important to stand by your principles and alongside the people you’ve pledged to help or who mean something to you.”
He suspected her fierce loyalty stemmed from the fact that her family hadn’t stood by her. A need to remain at her side, to show her that she was valued rose strong within him.
“What an admirable quality to possess,” he said softly.
“I’ve told you about my life-changing decision. Now it’s your turn to answer my question.”
“I haven’t made any life-changing decisions,” he said.
“I didn’t think you had. You wouldn’t like your life changed. You didn’t even like the parameters of today’s walk changed.” There was humor in her tone, and he couldn’t help but feel a buoyancy that only she evoked.
“Is that why you didn’t give Marina a chance? Marriage is a massive life change. Perhaps you’re not ready for that.”
He flinched inwardly. A direct hit. “I did try to give her a chance. She just wasn’t what I’m looking for.”
Juno tipped her head as they walked, one eye assessing him. “Then here is my question. What are you looking for in a wife? What would motivate you to completely upend your life?”
When she put it like that, he wasn’t sure he wanted to upend his life. But he must. “I am a duke, and I need a duchess. I came here because my mother insisted I would find her. I believe she worked with Lady Cosford to set up this entire house party for the purpose of matching me with Lady Marina. Everyone, it seems, believed we would suit perfectly.”
“Except you didn’t.”
“No, we did not, and it wasn’t for lack of trying. You either engage with someone or you don’t. I realize many people wed without feeling a sense of connection or…rightness, but I am not one of them.”
“This is also an admirable quality,” she said solemnly. “Truly. I must apologize for haranguing you about not trying to make it work.”
“As you said, on the surface, the match seemed ideal. However, appearances are not always what we think. Only consider you and Langton—you were deemed an unsatisfactory match by your family and yet you knew it was the right decision.”
“I suppose you’re right, but in the end, things didn’t turn out well for me and him. Perhaps my parents weren’t entirely wrong.”
“You mustn’t doubt yourself, especially about things that have already transpired. You can’t change what happened. You can only determine how it affects you.”
“My goodness, but you possess far more depth than I anticipated. And that was my mistake,” she added with a soft smile. “You still haven’t answered my question. What sort of woman will provoke you to wed?”
He thought for a moment before answering. “Someone who appreciates life—not the trifles of Society, but the simple joy of a walk on a beautiful autumn day. Someone with courage and strength, who doesn’t need the title of duchess to feel accomplished.” He hesitated before adding, “Someone who won’t cower from me or find me too…rigid.”
Her gaze met his with sympathy and a tinge of something else—regret, perhaps. “I hope I haven’t insulted you. Sometimes I should really learn to hold my tongue.”
“Not at all—on either count. Your forthrightness is another admirable trait.” He realized everything he’d said described her perfectly. She radiated joy and strength. She was a woman who’d made the choices she wanted and made no apologies.
She also provoked him to smile and even laugh. To step outside his rigidity—to use her word—and to even find joy in spontaneity.
The silence stretched between them, punctuated by the nearby song of a bird. He hoped he hadn’t made things awkward. He wasn’t the most socially adept person. “Perhaps I ought to hire you to help me find a wife.”
She sent him a sharp look, then laughed. “You’re joking.”
“Yes. I realize I don’t do that very often.”
“You’re loosening up, then?” she asked.
“Apparently. I came on this walk when I didn’t really want to, didn’t I?”
She sent a gentle elbow into his arm. “Come now, did you really not want to come? I heard you take a walk every day. And a ride.”
“I love being outside. Just not with a host of others.” He inclined his head toward everyone in front of them.
“Are there other people here?” she asked coyly. “I hadn’t noticed.”
In truth, he’d barely registered them either. He’d been too focused on her, too engrossed in their conversation. Her green eyes glittered in the afternoon sunlight, and he silently acknowledged that he’d never met a more beautiful woman—and not just on the outside.
The village came into view as they crested a small hill. He didn’t want this surprisingly idyllic walk to end.
“I’m glad I decided to stay at the party,” he said. “Are you?”
“I am.”
And yet she would leave tomorrow. Unless he could persuade her to stay. For what reason? Because he couldn’t bear for her to go.
“Will you change your mind about departing tomorrow? We could take another walk. Or better yet, ride with me in the morning. You said it was overrated, but I’d like to prove you wrong. I could also help you improve your chess game.”
She slowed, almost to a stop. “My goodness, that would be quite a full itinerary, and I admit to being enticed. I should love to improve my chess game, and I’m just as eager to prove to you that riding is overrated. Still, I should probably go. I’ve posted letters today in the hope of securing my next position. I’ll need to get home to Bath, where I can receive responses.”
“What if I hire you?”
“To find you a wife?” She smiled softly. “I thought you were joking.”
“I was, but now I’m not.” He’d do anything to get her to stay.