Eliza opened her eyes when she sensed Margaret move. Groggily, she looked around. The car had stopped while she was asleep. She yawned and stretched.
“We have arrived.” Margaret said. Eliza nodded. It was night time, but the place they were parked in was brightly lit. She could see a large entrance nearby. The older woman left the vehicle while the driver opened the door for Eliza. She was greeted with a beautiful courtyard as she stepped out of the car. A short distance away, the Duke was getting out of the other car. By the looks of it, he had been working the entire time Theo was with him.
Eliza’s gaze was sympathetic when she looked at Theo. She hoped the Duke was paying the man well. Amid the bustle of staff members unpacking their luggage, Eliza looked up at the manor that would be her home for the next three weeks.
She had expected a large building, but this was beyond what she had anticipated. She could only see a small portion of the front of the building. It was short – only two storeys, but a forest of trees stretched out on either side, probably hiding most of the building from sight.
It would be a miracle if she didn’t get lost during their stay.
As she was staring up at the building, she caught Theo’s urgent whisper and the Duke’s reluctant exhale. She couldn’t help her lips twitching and quickly turned away to hide the smile. Pretending to inspect the building further, she stepped out of the chaos and moved closer to the front door. She could easily imagine the look on Theo’s face as she heard him urging the Duke forward. His footsteps on the gravel were distinct; light and hurried.
“Artizia.” Contrary to his movements, the Duke’s voice held no hint of urgency. Eliza turned to him in question. Dark eyes travelled over her face. Was he checking to see if she was still upset?
“Yes?” She prompted, when it didn’t seem like he was going to say anything else. He blinked. Eliza had to swallow her laughter again. He really didn’t have anything else to say. Seeing him start to become flustered, she took pity on the man and his assistant who was clearly watching them with bated breath. Eliza didn’t have to look around to know that they had an attentive audience.
She stepped forward and looped her arm around his. Artizia was a tall woman, so it was easy to meet the Duke’s eyes. Eliza was secretly pleased. This was a good height to rest her head on his shoulder. She shot the duke a glance out of the corner of her eye. His face was slightly flushed as he stared at where their arms were linked. Though his expression didn’t give much away, the look in his eyes made her let out a huff of laughter. Perhaps she should work up to that. It might be too much for him right now.
Pulling him towards the entrance, she said, loud enough for those nearby to hear, “I’ve been looking forward to visiting this manor. I heard that it has been the Durichs’ since the foundation of the Empire.”
“Yes, that’s right,” the Duke said after a moment.
“It must have a rich history—I’d love to be given a tour sometime.”
“Yes,” he repeated. Eliza’s shoulders trembled from holding back the laughter. She had the distinct impression that the Duke wanted to turn to Theo for help. “I’ll get the butler to arrange one for you.”
Eliza smiled warmly at the line of servants they passed on their way into the manor. When they were at the foot of the grand staircase, she released his arm and took a step back. Dipping into a curtsy, she said, “I look forward to that, Your Grace. Please excuse me while I change for dinner.”
True to her expectations, the manor was huge.
They had been walking for nearly ten minutes. Any longer and she would regret not putting on comfortable shoes before they left. She really shouldn’t have listened to Beth. She’d have to switch to more comfortable shoes – who knew how far the trek to the dining room was.
“These will be your chambers, Your Grace,” the maid finally stopped in front of a pair of massive mahogany doors. Eliza was not swayed by this thanks to the few days she had spent at the Durich mansion in the imperial capital, but it was still slightly intimidating.
The maid led her through the sitting room to her new bedroom. Eliza looked around in wonder. It was beautifully furnished – even more so than her room back in the capital mansion. She heard Beth exclaim as she stepped into the room after Margaret. There was a balcony in this room too, and Eliza made a beeline for it.
She couldn’t help the slight gasp as she stepped outside and saw the view.
It turned out that the manor was on top of a mountain overlooking the city. Silby was a moderately sized coastal city. Though it was not one of the main ports of Ortargon, it was popular with tourists for the warm weather year-round and the beaches.
The manor was located some distance from the city, so Eliza could see all of it from her balcony. The trees on either side of the entrance of the manor had hidden the fact that they were so high up. She looked down at the forest that stretched on as far as she could see. How many acres of this land did the Duke own? The entire mountaintop?
Eliza leaned her arms on the balcony rail. She had not had a chance yet to truly appreciate this body’s enhanced vision. Out at sea, a few ships bobbed merrily. She could even make out some activity on deck if she focused hard enough. In the distance, the shadow of another land loomed.
“Your Grace, please be careful.” Margaret’s voice brought her back to the present. She realised then that she had leaned so far out that she was in danger of losing her balance and toppling forward. Eliza pulled herself back and turned away from the sights.
The older maid was standing there with an indulgent expression – like a mother looking at her child. Eliza glanced away guiltily and entered the room. Wasn’t it strange that Margaret hadn’t noticed that she wasn’t Artizia? She seemed to be in her late forties or early fifties, so it was very likely that she had helped raise the duchess. Eliza didn’t know anything about Artizia, so she couldn’t pretend to be her very well. Yet, no one has said anything about her mannerisms or questioned her speech pattern. Were they quite similar? That would be a crazy coincidence. Eliza had remained in her room reading in the three days leading up to their journey, but it wasn’t like she had been completely isolated.
Margaret and Beth in particular had been close by at all times – it gave her an unsettling feeling to think that no one had picked up on the switch.
“Your Grace, the bath is ready.” Beth said, entering from the bathroom. Nodding, Eliza crossed the bedroom.
“Get me something with pants.” She said before shutting the door behind her.
Beth and Margaret exchanged amused glances.
With a light sigh, Beth fished out a folded note and passed it to the older woman. “You were right again.”
Margaret took it, looking satisfied. “I’m surprised that it took her this long. It might be the longest she’s gone without protest.”
“Bit of a shame, really. She looks lovely in dresses.” Beth said as she began to unpack the luggage. Most of the duchess’s clothes had been brought over and put into the wardrobe the day before, but the maids had packed her favourite outfits to travel with them. Eliza would have been pleasantly surprised to know that there was only one dress among them.
Margaret was setting out the duchess’s makeup; an easy job given that there wasn’t very much of it. She hummed in agreement. “But Her Grace looks good in anything she wears.”
Beth giggled slightly. “I wonder if His Grace thinks so too.”
The older woman smiled sagely. “He will. Give him time.”
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