“We shall give you the room then,” Lord Heaton assured them before quickly ushering the curious Ava and Maisie to the door.
“Go with them,” Joseph murmured to Dorothea. She hesitated of course, but she knew better than to complain in front of strangers so, after obvious resistance, she pulled away from his leg and shifted towards Maisie, who was already holding a hand out to her.
“Do you know how to play the pianoforte, Dorothea?” Maisie asked her in a sweet voice as they headed out the door. Silence met her words, but Joseph could imagine that Dorothea had shaken her head in the negative. He didn’t look to see for himself. His eyes remained fixed on Catriona as her eyes remained fixed on him.
The next second, they were alone.
He broke the silence first. “What is the matter?” Joseph asked. “You have been glaring at me all evening.”
“Not without reason, Your Grace?—”
“Joseph,” he interrupted.
Her eyebrow twitched. “Let me be frank, Joseph. I do not like how you speak to Dorothea.”
He waited for more. Because surely she had a better reason for glaring at him as if she wished he was struck down by lightning than how he disciplined his child. “Is that it?”
“Is that—” she broke off on incredulous scoff. “What do you mean, is that it? That’s good enough reason to be displeased with you.”
“I can hardly fathom why. How I discipline my child is none of your concern, Catriona.”
“You made it my concern when you asked me to marry you.”
“Only for you to be a proper female influence on Dorothea. Only out of duty. Not because I needed help with my parenting.”
“Well, it is clear to me that you do need the help since you obviously don’t know what you’re doing.”
God, she was good.Not many people could get a rise out of him that quickly.
He crossed his arms, glaring down at her from across the table. To his surprise, she did the very same thing. “I don’t recall you having a child yourself, Catriona. I doubt you know anything of substance either, other than how to criticize others of course.”
“I know better than to snap at my child simply for stating her opinion,” she pressed stubbornly. “You made her feel half her size which is quite the feat considering how small she already is. And there was no reason for it either. She did nothing wrong.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he maintained. And he was quite good as well because those words made her red with indignation. But before she could let loose her retort, he continued, “You are not to be her mother or her governess. That is not why I asked you to marry me. What I require instead is a female influence for Dorothea and a duchess.”
She raised her chin. He could see her digging her nails into her arms in an effort of self-control. “If you did not see me fit, then why bother ask to marry you?”
“Because I see your potential. Current conversation aside of course.”
“Oh, for heavens’ sake, you’re maddening!”
“And you have already agreed to marry me. Unless you wish not to any longer?”
And she certainly took her time in responding. Tapped her finger against her upper arm. Twisted her lips to the side in obvious consternation. Shaking her head slightly as if she couldn’t believe he’d asked that.
“We may continue with our arrangement,” she told him. “But clearly you have expectations of me that I was not aware of. Is there anything else I should know, Your Grace?”
Joseph clenched his jaw at the formal address but said nothing about it. “Only that you will become a proper duchess. I will make sure of it.”
“Then I have a request as well.”
“I shall honor it to the best of my abilities.”
She didn’t appear to believe that, but she continued nonetheless, holding up her pointer finger. “One hour. I need one hour per day to be away from your expectations.”
He inclined his head to the side, regarding her carefully as if she would somehow reveal the motive behind her request. Catriona didn’t give anything away. She was as stalwart as ever, holding up her finger in quiet patience. He couldn’t help but admire it, even if he was a little apprehensive.
But one hour should be nothing.What could she possibly get up to with just one hour a day?
