PART 2: THE DUCHESS STARTS COUNTING

The following morning, Cecilia entered the breakfast room precisely at eight.

The Duke was already seated, reading three newspapers. Without looking up, he gestured toward the opposite chair.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Quite well, Your Grace.”

He lowered his newspaper slightly. “You seem remarkably comfortable.”

“I have learned that worrying about things I cannot change is a waste of energy.”

For the first time, he studied her carefully.

During breakfast, Cecilia noticed that he dismissed two servants for minor mistakes, ignored a letter from Parliament, and drank his coffee without touching the accompanying toast.

She remembered everything.

Over the next several days, she began exploring the estate. She discovered neglected cottages, unpaid workers, and tenants whose complaints had never reached the Duke.

Rather than confront him immediately, she recorded their difficulties and quietly helped where she could.

One afternoon, the Duke discovered her examining the estate accounts in his study.

“Who gave you permission to touch those documents?”

Cecilia calmly closed the ledger.

“No one, Your Grace. But someone should have noticed that your tenants have been overcharged for three years.”

His expression hardened.

“Those accounts are not your responsibility.”

“Perhaps not. But these people are part of your estate, and their suffering reflects upon your name.”

He stared at her, speechless.

Then he noticed the notebook beside her hand. Its pages were filled with careful observations, figures, and names.

“What exactly have you been counting, Duchess?”

She met his eyes.

“Everything that has been overlooked.”

For a long moment, neither spoke.

The Duke had married her expecting obedience and an heir. Instead, he had brought a woman into his house who was beginning to understand his entire world better than he did.

And for the first time in years, he wondered whether the greatest mistake of his life had been underestimating his wife.