Thawing A Duke's Heart (Faces of Love Series #1) by Jessie Bennett Page A

have been fussing about all day to get the house ready and arrange the dinner party tonight. I think a rest would do you good. I am sure Julia wouldn’t mind. She might even want to go straight to her room herself.”
    Mary waved him off. “This one has really been getting on my nerves,” she said to me. “He fusses over me nonstop. Thinks I am breakable or something.” She turned back to her husband. “I am not tired in the least, my love.”
    He gave a huff of indignation.
    “I promise, Your Grace,” I said as he raised an eyebrow at me. “I mean, Gaffton, I promise she will do nothing but sit in the drawing room. I won't even let her pour the tea. I have come to make things easier, not harder. Just think of me as additional helpful hands.”
    “Don’t you dare take his side,” Mary accused me.
    “I’m not taking sides. I’ll just be a good compromise for the both of you.”
    I followed them into the house. Gaffton waved toward several rooms, giving me a basic tour of the place. I watched as servants quietly took my belongings upstairs to my room. Finally, Gaffton excused himself to some work. He left us at the drawing room doors. He gave me a final welcoming bid and his wife a sweet kiss on the head before making his way to his office. Clarisse started to follow him. He stopped her and told her to stay with her mistress. Clarisse complied and came back to sit next to Mary. I was shocked by how well the little dog listened to him. She never listened to any of us at our family home.
    Mary and I took our seats in her lush drawing room and tea was immediately served. I was a little taken aback at how smoothly things ran around her.
    “How have you settled into your new life?” I asked as I poured the tea.
    Mary was reclining on a loveseat. I even noticed she kicked her slippers off for comfort.
    “They are swelling terribly,” she said as she rubbed her ankles. “They say it is normal at this point in the pregnancy. Just awfully annoying. I suppose I have settled in well. It has been a big adjustment, though. Luckily, Gaffton isn’t crazy about society. I would be happy to stay in our little country home for the rest of our lives, and I think he would too.”
    “And little Juliette? How has she been faring?”
    Mary rubbed her swollen belly for a minute. “Very active,” she replied with a smile.
    “It suits you well,” I complimented.
    “Hopefully, motherhood will too.” I could hear the nervousness in her voice.
    “I know you will be superb at it,” I encouraged her.

CHAPTER 2

    FINDING A FRIEND

“Yes, I found myself, by insensible degrees, sincerely fond of her; and the happiest hours of my life were what I spent with her.” - Jane Austen

    * * *
    A fter the tea with Mary , I retired to my room to freshen up for dinner. Mary informed me that we would be having a small celebratory dinner in honor of my visit. It would be just a small group of people, close friends that lived nearby.
    I changed into the nicest dress I had brought with me. It was a soft blue muslin dress with pink flowered ribbon adorning the trim. Josie, Mary’s maid that had followed her, came in and helped me with my hair. She had an excellent talent of braiding my blonde ringlets with some pink lace she had on hand. I felt much like a Duchess myself when she finished. It was good to see another familiar face. She was always a talkative girl and was readily able to tell me any information I wanted to know about living at her new residence.
    I came downstairs to find that several members of that night’s dinner party already being entertained in the drawing room. Gaffton was there and happily introduced me as we waited for Mary.
    First, I met a Mr. and Mrs. Cannington, who were successful merchants in the nearby town. Next, I met Lady Heather Ohern, the widow of a late Earl who held her estate not too far from Mary’s lands. She was also some relation to Gaffton, through marriage, though I didn’t quite follow the