“Thank you.” Elliot tried to stay calm as he walked past the butler and headed toward the dining room.
“It is the Duke of Northmore, my lord,” the butler announced as Elliot stepped into the dining room.
“Elliot!” Harrison called in surprise, tossing down the newspaper he had been reading and jumping to his feet. “Good Lord, man, been a few days since I have seen you. Come in, come. Tell me all about your new life with your wife.”
Elliot hesitated a little, uncertain how to reply. Harrison must have noticed the hesitation for he gestured to the coffee pot on the table.
“A coffee first, perhaps?”
“Yes, please.” Elliot crossed the room where Harrison poured out a cup for him. Elliot felt watched by his friend. Every few seconds, Harrison’s eyes would flick back to him.
“What is wrong?” Harrison asked, passing the cup into Elliot’s hands.
“I’m confused, that is all.” Elliot sipped from the cup quickly. “I thought I understood women. I really thought I did.”
“Ah, I see the marriage of convenience is going well, then.” Harrison returned to the head of the table, his dryness prompting Elliot to roll his eyes. Elliot could not sit, despite Harrison encouraging him to take a chair with a wave of his hand. Instead, he paced back and forth, holding onto his coffee cup. “What has happened, Elliot?”
“I thought I could woo my wife, Harrison,” Elliot muttered, avoiding looking at his friend. “Yet clearly, that is no easy task.”
“Wait, roll back your words for a minute.” Harrison leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Are you telling me youcarefor your new wife? That you wish to woo her?”
“I was trying to tell you without having to go too much into my feelings, if that’s alright with you,” Elliot said in a rush, to which Harrison smiled a little.
“We’re the oldest of friends. You can talk of your feelings with me.”
“What do I feel? You truly wish to know? Fine, I will tell you.” He placed the coffee cup down on the table with something of a thud. “I am confused. My wife, in private, seems to care for me, too. She gives me hope. Then what happens? The day comes round, and she puts distance between us.”
“Well, this does sound confusing.” Harrison frowned.
“Exactly!” Elliot breathed deeply, trying to get hold of his frustration. “I thought everything was well between us, I really did. Today we were to go for a walk together, a picnic too, then what do I find? Her lady’s maid tells me she has changed her mind. Ophelia can’t even tell me herself—she must have the message sent by a maid.”
Harrison offered no words. He sat back in his chair with his mouth open, equally stumped.
“See? It does not make sense,” Elliot cried, gesturing toward his friend.
“I agree, it does not.” Harrison shook his head. “I was going to ask in general how things are between you, but clearly, they are up and down.”
“Very up and down.” Elliot returned to his pacing, rubbing his eyes as his thoughts cast back to the night before. Making love to Ophelia again had been full of passion and excitement. His body had not been able to pleasure her enough for his liking. He wanted more of it and longed to return to her, but this time, they would talk afterwards. They could be together openly, with none of these messages being passed through the staff.
“Did you come here for advice or to vent?” Harrison asked knowingly as he topped up Elliot’s coffee cup. “Or is it both?”
“Both,” Elliot answered as he took the cup.
“Then you may continue to vent, but first, here is my advice.” Harrison held up a finger, making Elliot pause before speaking. “You are newlywed and you were both rushed into it. It’s understandable if your new wife doesn’t quite understand her feelings, is it not?”
Elliot paused in his pacing, turning to look at his friend. The words connected deep in his gut. It was a thought he’d had some days ago, but it now made even more sense.
“Yes, that would be understandable.” Elliot spoke slowly and quietly. “Perhaps as things go well, she is scared of what she feels and retreats.”
“I’d call that plausible.” Harrison nodded. “Maybe all you need to do is give her some time, some space too.”
“Perhaps.” Elliot had already planned on returning to his wife’s chamber that night, but now he was having second thoughts. Perhaps it would be wiser to give her a night alone.
“Distract yourselves, too. Go out to events. I do not doubt you have been invited to many.” Harrison whistled, catching Elliot’s interest. “You should hear the gossip about you and your wife in thetonat present. There is not a scandal sheet you are not mentioned in.” He gestured down to the pages that were beside the newspaper on the table.
Elliot crossed towards the scandal sheets, turning them over and scanning the articles. It was plain the sheets all took huge interest in his marriage. They presumed it was a quick wedding to save his financial affairs, but one sheet in particular had proposed the idea that they’d had to wed in a hurry for another reason altogether.
“People want to meet the new duchess,” Harrison said with interest.