’The Duke’s jaw flexed faintly, as if he were trying to decide whether this was foolishness or brilliance. “And was this exercise useful?”
Tessa looked affronted. “Of course it was useful. It made my chest feel less tight.”
Madeline’s throat tightened again at the honest simplicity of it.
The Duke stared at his daughter for a beat, then said, stiffly, “I see.”
Dinner was served. The staff moved smoothly around them, laying dishes, pouring wine for the Duke and water for Madeline and Tessa. Madeline’s appetite, which had been fragile even in the best of circumstances, dwindled further beneath the weight of the Duke’s presence. She tried to eat, but each bite felt too large, as though her throat had forgotten how to accept food.
The Duke asked Tessa questions with the air of a man who believed conversation at the table ought to have purpose.
“What did you read today?” he asked.
Tessa launched into an explanation, recounting scenes in such detail that Madeline, despite herself, had to listen. The little girl spoke of the heroine, of bravery, of judgement, of courage, and Madeline watched the way the Duke’s gaze softened in small, reluctant increments, as though each word from Tessa chipped away at something hard inside him.
“Miss Watton says people are not always wise,” Tessa declared, nodding solemnly as if this were a great philosophy.
The Duke’s mouth tightened faintly. “Does she?”
“Yes,” Tessa insisted. “And she says I should not let other people’s opinions be worth more than mine.”
Silence fell for a beat. Madeline braced herself for disapproval, but when she glanced at the Duke, she found him staring at his daughter with a peculiar scrutiny, as though the words had struck somewhere he did not expect.
“And do you believe her?” he asked Tessa.
She nodded. “Yes.”
’The Duke’s gaze shifted to Madeline. “And you truly believe that is the correct lesson for a child?”
Madeline kept her hands folded neatly in her lap, though her pulse was beginning to race again. “I believe it is the correct lesson for anyone,” she said softly.
He held her gaze for a long moment, and Madeline felt that unwanted heat again, low and insistent. Despite his handsomeness, the Duke’s appeal was in his severity, in the discipline that made him seem carved from something stronger than ordinary men, and it frightened her how deeply her body responded to it.
She lifted her fork, gathering a small portion as though out of habit, and raised it toward her mouth. Then she paused. After a heartbeat, she lowered it again, setting the fork carefully against the edge of the plate.
’The Duke’s eyes dropped briefly to her plate. “You are not eating,” he said.
Madeline’s stomach clenched. She lifted her eyes. “I am.”
“You have moved food around,” he corrected, tone quiet but precise. “You have not eaten.”
Her cheeks warmed. She could feel Tessa watching, could feel the staff’s quiet awareness moving like a shadow at the edges of the room.
She reached for the safest escape. “Tessa,” she said lightly, “tell your father the new method we used for sums.”
Tessa perked up at once, launching into her explanation with enthusiasm, and the attention shifted as Madeline had intended, but the Duke’s gaze remained fixed on her for the rest of the meal, as though he were not finished with their conversation.
When dinner ended, Tessa clambered down from her chair and hurried to Madeline’s side, slipping her small hand into Madeline’s with unquestioning certainty. Madeline’s chest tightened again, because it was impossible not to feel the child’s attachment, the trust she offered so freely.
Mrs. Hayward appeared, ready to usher Tessa away, and the girl pouted immediately. “Must I go now?”
“Yes,” the Duke said firmly.
Tessa scowled at him. “You are always sending me away.”
“It is bedtime,” he replied.
Tessa looked unconvinced, but Mrs. Hayward laid a hand on her shoulder, murmuring something about warm milk and a story, and eventually Tessa allowed herself to be guided toward the door, though she turned back twice, watching with suspicious intensity, as if determined to rescue Madeline should the Duke prove unreasonable.
