Read Online The Duke's Willful Wife by Elizabeth Lennox - Free Book Online
Authors: Elizabeth Lennox
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commands, she smiled and shook her head. “You must eat,” the kind housekeeper said and motioned for Sasha to follow. “I make you dinner.”
Sasha was frustrated that no one in this household seemed to take her seriously. Did she look like an incompetent child? “No, thank you. I’m going to head on upstairs and retire,” she said firmly and headed in the opposite direction, glad to be free from eyes that would be wondering what she was doing here.
From memory, she went to the bedroom farthest away from the one she and Dante had shared during their brief marriage. The room was dark with the curtains drawn and it had a musty smell to it, as if no one had entered in a long time. She turned on several lights, then found the linens which were in a chest at the bottom of the bed. She quickly made the bed, then went to the bathroom and showered, glad there were some toiletries available. Pulling on an old tee shirt, she sighed happily as she slid between the clean sheets i nto the luxurious bed. This was definitely something she’d missed, the amazingly comfortable bed and almost silk like sheets, the large mattress she didn’t have to sleep on sideways to avoid bumps and sags. As she drifted off to sleep, she promised herself that replacing the old mattress and bed she’d been sleeping on for the past year would be a priority. This really was a nice way to go.
Dante tried hard to focus on the work piling up but by midnight, he accepted that he was making little or no progress on the pressing issues facing him. It was all because of Sasha, sleeping away upstairs. He didn’t want to go up there, but he found himself shutting down his computer and walking up the stairs. As he stared down the hallway, he wondered which room she’d chosen. There had been times when all the bedrooms had been full with guests or family here to visit. The house had been pretty quiet since his father’s death and he realized at that moment that he genuinely missed all the activities and happenings that occurred while he was around .
As for his wife’s whereabouts, h e guessed correctly on the first try but had to shake his head over her choice. He assumed that she was trying to be as far away from him as possible, but the irony was, she was right next to his room. He’d moved out of their suite when she’d left, not wanting to be surrounded by anything she might have left behind, not to mention the flowery scent he’d loved so much about her. The scent only infuriated him now, tossing pictures of her in his brother’s arms into his mind, an image that still disturbed him even now, no matter how hard he’d tried to shut down his feelings for her.
After several moments of watching her sleep , he cursed and left the room, closing the door quietly.
Chapter 2
Sasha was up bright and early the following morning , calling the hospital to find out when visiting hours started . She wanted to be there as early as possible to be with Rennata, to try and give her some support and encouragement to fight whatever was going on with her elderly body. She heard something in the room next to hers, but thought it was just one of the many servants cleaning. She contemplated skipping breakfast, not wanting to run into Riasa, but in the end, she was just too hungry since she’d missed both lunch and dinner the previous day .
She braced herself as she walked into the dining room and sure enough, the woman was sitting at the long, formal table, a cup of espresso by her elegant elbow as she read the morning newspaper. Sasha stood in the doorway for a long moment, contemplating the woman who had caused her so much torment during her marriage. She looked the same, but Sasha could see the fine lines on her face, especially around her mouth because she frowned or pursed her lips so often. Her dark hair was smoothly coifed into a twist on the back of her head, not a hair out of place to mar the
Sasha was frustrated that no one in this household seemed to take her seriously. Did she look like an incompetent child? “No, thank you. I’m going to head on upstairs and retire,” she said firmly and headed in the opposite direction, glad to be free from eyes that would be wondering what she was doing here.
From memory, she went to the bedroom farthest away from the one she and Dante had shared during their brief marriage. The room was dark with the curtains drawn and it had a musty smell to it, as if no one had entered in a long time. She turned on several lights, then found the linens which were in a chest at the bottom of the bed. She quickly made the bed, then went to the bathroom and showered, glad there were some toiletries available. Pulling on an old tee shirt, she sighed happily as she slid between the clean sheets i nto the luxurious bed. This was definitely something she’d missed, the amazingly comfortable bed and almost silk like sheets, the large mattress she didn’t have to sleep on sideways to avoid bumps and sags. As she drifted off to sleep, she promised herself that replacing the old mattress and bed she’d been sleeping on for the past year would be a priority. This really was a nice way to go.
Dante tried hard to focus on the work piling up but by midnight, he accepted that he was making little or no progress on the pressing issues facing him. It was all because of Sasha, sleeping away upstairs. He didn’t want to go up there, but he found himself shutting down his computer and walking up the stairs. As he stared down the hallway, he wondered which room she’d chosen. There had been times when all the bedrooms had been full with guests or family here to visit. The house had been pretty quiet since his father’s death and he realized at that moment that he genuinely missed all the activities and happenings that occurred while he was around .
As for his wife’s whereabouts, h e guessed correctly on the first try but had to shake his head over her choice. He assumed that she was trying to be as far away from him as possible, but the irony was, she was right next to his room. He’d moved out of their suite when she’d left, not wanting to be surrounded by anything she might have left behind, not to mention the flowery scent he’d loved so much about her. The scent only infuriated him now, tossing pictures of her in his brother’s arms into his mind, an image that still disturbed him even now, no matter how hard he’d tried to shut down his feelings for her.
After several moments of watching her sleep , he cursed and left the room, closing the door quietly.
Chapter 2
Sasha was up bright and early the following morning , calling the hospital to find out when visiting hours started . She wanted to be there as early as possible to be with Rennata, to try and give her some support and encouragement to fight whatever was going on with her elderly body. She heard something in the room next to hers, but thought it was just one of the many servants cleaning. She contemplated skipping breakfast, not wanting to run into Riasa, but in the end, she was just too hungry since she’d missed both lunch and dinner the previous day .
She braced herself as she walked into the dining room and sure enough, the woman was sitting at the long, formal table, a cup of espresso by her elegant elbow as she read the morning newspaper. Sasha stood in the doorway for a long moment, contemplating the woman who had caused her so much torment during her marriage. She looked the same, but Sasha could see the fine lines on her face, especially around her mouth because she frowned or pursed her lips so often. Her dark hair was smoothly coifed into a twist on the back of her head, not a hair out of place to mar the
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