Taking a deep breath, I walked down the hall and to my father’s side of the house. I could hear his snores before I even got to his room. I knocked on the door and waited. There was no answer so I knocked again. It would be best if he woke up before I went into the room. I’d learned the hard way as a child that you didn’t wake my father up from a bender by touching him. It always ended poorly.

“Father?” I opened the door a crack and knocked louder.

“Wha . . . ?” His groggy voice turned into a snore.

“Dad, I need to talk to you.” I peeked in the room and grimaced. He was sleeping on top of his blankets, still in his suit from the night before.

“Jesus.” He rolled over. “Can’t a man sleep in peace?”

“We have to address the township today about Granddad.” I stepped into the room, but stayed well out of reach.

“What? Why?” He didn’t roll over to look at me.

“It’s tradition for the family to address the township when the duke passes away. A sign of respect and solidarity.” I clasped my hands in front of me.

He grunted but didn’t say anything else.

“I was told that it typically falls to the new duke or duchess.”

“I’m not going out there to tell them something they already f**king know.” He growled and sat up. “You do it. You’re so set on being Duchess of Thysmer anyway.”

“I’m not trying to be duchess. I’m just trying to help.” I eased a little closer to the door. “There’s a lot to do.”

“No one asked you.” He kicked his shoes off angrily.

“It’s my duty as part of the family.” I opened the door a little and he threw his arm up to block the light.

“Listen to you.” He snorted. “ ‘Duty as part of the family.’ What bullshit. You’re from the poor side of town, Meredith. Putting on fancy clothes won’t change what we are, who we are.”

“This could be our chance to do more with our lives.” I took a deep breath.

“You sound like my father. Talking about making the best out of this ‘gift.’ ” He pulled his suit jacket off. “Get the hell out of here. Go do your duty.”

“Yes, sir.” I couldn’t keep the disgust out of my tone, but I doubted he heard it. He was already snoring when I closed the door. He would likely not remember any of our exchange. Just another thing for him to be angry about later. But for now I could just focus on the important tasks at hand.

“My lady, Rachel, the palace aide, has arrived.” Gerard met me at the top of the stairs. “I believe that she has put together a press conference to address the township.”

“Yes, thank you.” I looked toward Marty’s door and frowned. I didn’t want him to have to attend the event with me. It was going to be hard enough at the actual funeral.

“Shall I see to your father?” The butler’s face remained blank.

“No, he won’t be attending.” I glanced at a mirror on the wall before descending the stairs.

“Yes, ma’am.” The butler followed behind me, careful to keep his distance.

“Would you make sure that the nanny is available for Marty? I’m not sure how long today will take.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“And would you see to it that breakfast is served in the dining room?” I smiled at him.

“I believe the cook has everything ready. Including, a proper pastry for the young Marty.” His eyes twinkled.

“You mean a Pop-Tart?” I laughed. Marty had begged for his favorite food when we’d first moved into the large, strange house. He’d just wanted something familiar. The chef had been horrified that he’d rather eat something out of a box than one of her creations. It had taken a lot of explanation and placation on my part to keep feelings from being hurt. “Did the cook cry while putting it in the toaster?”

“She was distinctly not amused, my lady.” His lips curved upward.

“Well, Marty will be grateful.” I brushed at my skirt. “Is Rachel in the sitting room or the dining room?”

“I believe she is waiting for you in the sitting room.” He stepped forward to open the door for me. “Do you require anything else?”

“No thank you.”

Gerard let me walk through the door before pulling it closed.

“Good morning, my lady.” Rachel stood up and bobbed her head.

“Please, call me Meredith.” I tried to not let the curtsy give me the heebie-jeebies. There was something very weird about having a dignified, older woman bow to me. Especially when not that long ago I might have been her maid. Or a cocktail waitress at an event she was hosting.

“Thank you, Meredith.” She smiled.

“Have you eaten breakfast? The cook has prepared something for us.” I motioned toward the dining room.

“Oh, that would be lovely.” She started gathering her papers. “I had a quick cup of tea and hurried over here. I didn’t want to leave you to handle all of this on your own.”

“Leave the papers. We’ll come back here to go over stuff.” I smiled, despite my annoyance. Why did every one seem to think I couldn’t handle the situation on my own? “No reason to ruin good food with paperwork!”

“Well, thank you so much.” She looked around the house as we walked to the dining room. “Thysmer Manor is a beautiful home! A friend of mine was one of the caretakers over the years. He took great pride in keeping the house in the same shape it was left.”