“I know his personality, you see? All too well. However, I’m pleased to see that you have stood your ground against him even when you have altercations with him.”
Selina let out a small laugh and shook her head. “Actually, the duke is not that bad. He’s quite scary at first, to be honest, but when you get to know him more, you realize he’s just a man.”
Grace gave Selina a puzzled look. “Indeed…”
Selina smiled and shrugged as Grace held up another fabric.
“I mean, I can see how much he loves his sister. I can also see how hard he works to maintain his estate, and how well he treats his servants and workers. I don’t know, but I can tell that he is a really good man.”
Grace paused for a moment, clutching the fabric and staring at Selina quietly. Selina turned down to her and became worried when she saw her face. “Your Grace,” Selina said in alarm. “Is there a problem, Your Grace?”
“Not exactly,” Grace said, taking a deep breath. “It’s just… I’ve never heard anyone who isn’t family speak of Morgan this way. Well, familyandArthur.”
The Dowager Duchess looked very touched and Selina reached out and held her comfortingly. She patted Selina’s hand and smiled weakly.
“You must know how difficult it can get when one loses their family, seeing how you have lost yours too. Right?” Grace looked at her with sad eyes, deeper than the ocean.
Selina immediately felt the painful bite of guilt burrowing deep into her chest. “Yes… yes. I do understand…” Selina said, almost biting off her tongue as she lied blatantly.
Selina continued. “Your kindness in taking me in after I was abandoned at the altar, with nowhere to go, simply proves that your family is filled with good people. Of course, I know that Morgan is not a bad person. How can he be a bad person when he came from you?”
Grace laughed softly and dabbed at her eyes with a blue handkerchief. She was just putting the handkerchief away when the storeowner returned with a measuring tape. She patted Selina’s hand warmly, then stepped back to give the storeowner room.
The Dowager Duchess looked very emotional at that moment, as was Selina. She meant everything she had said earlier, her only regret being that she had lied to this woman in the first place.
Could she ever come clean? Would the Dowager Duchess ever forgive her for all her lies and false pretenses? Could she ever take that chance? The guilt was eating her up.
“So! Where were we?” The loud, excited voice of the store owner pulled Selina out of her thoughts and back into the present.
CHAPTER11
Morgan was bent over the table as he perused the documents he had yet to go through concerning his territory. There were some financial decisions that needed to be made. His eyes glanced rapidly across the pages as he tallied the numbers for the amount that he would have to spend.
That coupled with the reports from the Brigpool Estate about how the renovations were going and the costs he would need to take care of had managed to keep him busy all day.
He was glad to read that the repairs on his grandmother’s home was going smoothly. Soon it would be completed and his grandmother and Selina would return to the estate.
Morgan sighed deeply and buried himself deeper into more work. With every report that landed on his table on the progress of the Brigpool Estate’s restoration, Morgan felt more and more like he was about to lose something.
Another week had come to an end since they came to stay with him and Morgan had spent enough time with Selina to know the obvious effect she had on everyone. He picked up an empty sheet and detailed his expenditures, growling lowly in his throat.
He had been trying not to think too much about her. He would try not to think about her at all if he thought that was possible but so far it had proven to be the opposite.
As the days went by, Selina had begun to slowly slip into his mind until she corrupted every inch and she was all he thought of.
He tossed the Brigpool report aside and watched as it sidled close to the edge without trying to stop it from falling. He rejected the thought of her leaving because of the impact she had on his sister who had never been keen on governesses but suddenly could not get enough of her new governess.
Hands came down on his face in exhaustion before he realized that he had performed the action. Of course, she was stuck on his mind, it was impossible not to especially since she had made the estate brighter and more exciting than it had ever been ever since the passing of his parents.
He no longer felt that Barbara was trying to be happy for his sake or that a gloom hung around them.
Morgan did not want to think about the feelings she evoked in him past the fact that he was grateful for her attentiveness to Barbara. He did not want to think of the jolt of energy that rushed through him like a shock or the nervousness he felt when he had to speak to her.
She had the ability to keep him on his toes unlike anyone else. Not that there had been anyone who had ever been able to since everyone else was too intimidated by him to get close enough.
All Morgan knew was that he had never found someone so vexing and capable of making him question himself. There was the constant exchange of banter that only ever seemed to come to an end when his grandmother chanced upon them.
All this should make him glad to see her go and yet it was a thought that he dreaded to think of. Morgan heaved a heavy sigh and sat back up. He opened the books in front of him again and pored through the pages. He would not allow thoughts if her to keep him from his responsibilities and that was that.
