It was not long after settling into the house and being introduced to many, many servants, that Wendy began to find her footing in her role as Duchess. She had been here for slightly over a month and she had found a steady routine to adhere to. She rose early in the morning, though never early enough to break fast with the Duke, as he was always up and out of estate before she ever made it to the dining room. They did not share chambers, she took up the Duchess quarters that she learned had not been used for several generations, it seems that the ancestors of this estate were all love matches that had no qualms in sharing chambers. It was a thought Wendy hated to dwell on, for she knew her own foolish actions had deprived the Duke of the same luxury that appeared so common in his family.
The servants had all instantly taken a liking to her, and she was ready to admit she felt the same way, even though she felt their stares linger on her at the silence that stood between herself and the Duke. They were practically ships in the night, she admired his strong work ethic but she could not deny that she felt he was working more and more to avoid seeing her in his home, perhaps to avoid seeing her in a role he felt did not rightfully belong to her, and she would not blame him at all for the thought. They saw each other only once a day as they dined for their evening meals and the silence, save the clatter of cutlery against dishes and servants busying themselves, had Wendy feeling suffocated. Every so often he would venture to ask her about her day or inquire if she required or desired anything. He had told her more than once that she was welcome to redecorate her quarters or her sitting room as she saw fit, though she felt the vintage elegance of the rooms left nothing to change and she found comfort in them. She was sure however, that she felt entirely uncomfortable at the thought of spending his money even if he had given her the permission to do so.
She would inquire nightly about his day and he would reply to her with short answers, she wondered if he thought she would not be interested in hearing of his businesses or farmlands, or maybe he even thought she would not understand them, whatever the case was she began to feel frustration bubbling up inside of her at every dinner. When he would finish his meal, he would politely excuse himself, and retire alone to his study. She could not fault him, he was never unkind, he was also never there and she would not blame him for it, she was a stranger forced into his home, into his life, and she would not bully her way into his privacy no matter how lonely she felt.
She spent many days with Mr. Faron answering questions for her, she took over the basic economic duties of the household and kitchen, the cook, a round, bubbly woman named Mrs. Dubay was more than welcoming to her and on days when Wendy found nothing else to do she had taken to bothering Mrs. Dubay into teaching Wendy how to cook, as she had always wanted to learn. She also spent many hours in the library, as well as the garden. The garden quickly became her favorite place above all else, she devoured any books she could find on gardening, farming, and plants in general, pouring over the pages and absorbing all the information she could. She had even begun to grow strawberries in the garden, which previously she felt had been missing.
She learned much about being a Duchess, her presence was required rarely as the Duke was prone to disregard the multitude of invitations that arrived daily, but her tasks were many. She took to making baskets of food with simple blankets and clothes and would have a coachman hitch a wagon, taking her to each of the tenants houses to drop them off, she often stayed, talking to the wives and mothers, playing with the children. She listened to them praise their landlord and with every kind word towards him, her heart twisted in her chest, he was all goodness, and yet he couldn't find it in himself to love her, or even learn to simply befriend her.
As the days flew by, Wendy found herself soon not even able to stomach the idea of eating dinner in the tense silence of the stifling dining room any longer and she began to take her evening meals in her chambers instead. If this offended or angered the Duke at all, he said and did nothing about it. She would admit, only to herself, that she had wished he would request her presence back, that he might seek her out and demand to know why she had stopped coming, but he never did. Maybe he was relieved he no longer had to inquire after her day or try to convince her to redecorate or to answer her, probably, silly questions about his day and business.
She would not complain, for truly there was nothing for her to complain about, her every need was met and she had found friends among the servants. Young maids that reminded her greatly of Sarah, whom she missed dearly. Mr. Faron was like the sweet grandfather she had never had and Mrs. Dubay put up with her nagging to learn to cook and her apparent ability to burn food as only a caring grandmother would. Many of the tenants were all good and honest working people, she could only impose her time on them so much, though she dearly loved to see all the children play. She had been to town only once and was met with nothing but stares and hushed whispers, after which she had not tried to venture there again.
Today she sat in the Duchesses private sitting room, penning a letter to her dear, younger sisters when Mr. Faron knocked and entered the room, his thin lips twisted as though he had a sour taste in his mouth "Mrs. Fairly to see you if you please, Your Grace." Wendy could not help it as she felt her eyebrows raise, she did not know any of the ladies or genteel of the area yet and she was surprised someone had taken the initiative to come and seek out the sudden and new Duchess.
She stood and looked down at her simple white muslin gown, she had not accepted the Duke's offer to have new clothes made for her, she thought there was nothing wrong with the dresses she wore back at her father's home, but as she was about to be a hostess she could not help but to sorely wish she had something that made her look like she belonged in the role of a Duchess. Brushing her hands down her skirt she smiled warmly at Mr. Faron "Please, show her in and have a tray of tea and biscuits sent up if you would." with a bow at the waist he left to do her bidding and before long the door opened as Mrs. Fairly was led into the room.
She was not what Wendy had been expecting, her gown was of high quality, a bright, bloody red, and her neckline drooped too low to be decent for the hour of the day, or for any hour of the day, Wendy thought to herself. She was around the same height as Wendy, her hair a golden honey blonde and her eyes were a coal black, her wide lips were painted to match her dress, her nose small and pointed with a slight upturn, her waist was thin and held even tighter by the corset, she was thin and small to be sure and Wendy felt like a church mouse in comparison to the woman.
Her eyes worked over Wendy's person before she dipped into a slight curtsy, a smirk barely lifting the edges of her lips up, as though she was trying to hide it.
"Mrs. Fairly, it is a pleasure to meet you." Wendy motioned for the woman to sit as she herself sat on the seat across from her "I have not yet had the pleasure to meet many ladies of the town and so I am quite pleased to have a visitor today."
Mrs. Fairly lowered herself gracefully into the seat and her fur lined, gloved hands folded gently on her lap "Please, Your Grace" Her voice was higher than Wendy's, a heavy French accent dripped from her words "Call me Julia" She smiled and Wendy felt unease roll down her spine at the sinister look in her eye. She shook it off, perhaps she was imagining the hostility she thought she was seeing in Julia's words and actions. Not every person was the same as Bianca and her father had been.
"Julia it is then." She smiled, though she did not extend the same courtesy "I have just sent for some tea if you would care for any." Wendy offered and she fought to not twist her fingers at the nerves that were running rampant inside of her.
Julia suddenly stood again, the same sickly smirk on her lips "I'm afraid I won't be able to stay long enough to enjoy it" She was suddenly moving towards the door "I had heard that Rhys had acquired a new house pet, I wasn't expecting a mouse" She smirked fully now and Wendy felt the shock wash over her at the blatant insult hurled her way, her use of the Duke's first name was not lost on her as she realized there must be some kind of intimacy between the two for her to feel comfortable addressing him so informally. "I had thought I might be intimidated, I admit I came ready for a battle over his heart, but I see now that it's as much mine as it ever was." She turned then and dipped into a small curtsy "Your Grace" The mocking in her tone was palpable.
When the door clicked shut behind her Wendy still could not move from her spot, it was becoming more and more apparent to her who had just paid her a visit, surely that was the Duke's mistress, and Wendy felt like nothing but a fool.