“Barrymore brought her tea?” Kit muttered. But of course he would. Kit’s father had been the kind of man who would serve tea to his enemy because it was the polite thing to do. One didn’t behave according to the actions of others, but by their own moral compass.
Something Kit was struggling with as he nodded to the boy. “You may go, Carver. Find Barrymore, he will tell you what to do.” The footman scurried off and Kit exchanged a look with Sarah. “She can be charming when she wishes,” he said softly. “Don’t be fooled.”
Sarah squeezed his hand with a nod and then let him step into the room with her a pace behind him. When he did, Hannah looked up from her tea without rising and smirked at him.
He stared. The woman had always been voluptuous and attractive—there had been no doubt why his father had been seduced. But she’d lost what looked to be almost two stone since he’d last seen her in his father’s parlor in London as she handed over Phoebe. She looked tired, sallow, unkept. Her red hair was piled on her head in a sloppy bun. Her bright blue eyes, however, had not lost any of their sharp and manipulative intelligence.
“Christopher, Christopher,” she murmured as she set her cup aside and folded her hands on her lap. “Duke at last.”
Kit set his jaw. “Have a care, Miss Beckett,” he growled.
She arched a brow and looked past him to Sarah. He found himself wanting to step in front of her, shield her from Hannah’s watchful stare. “And who is your friend?” she drawled.
“Miss Sarah Carlton,” he said. “She is my—”
“Governess.” Sarah stepped forward.
“Do you still need a governess?” Hannah chuckled. “I suppose any man needs one so comely. Good afternoon, Miss Carlton. And how is my daughter?”
Sarah caught her breath and he felt her stiffen at the reference to Phoebe. Then she inclined her head. “Very well. Intelligent and kind.”
There was a tiny twitch to Hannah’s cheek. Otherwise, she didn’t react at all to the report on her daughter’s health. Not that Kit was surprised. She had not made any attempt to find out about her over the years. It was a blessing, of course, but one that made him doubt her motives today.
“Why are you here, Hannah?”
She stood up at last. “Adam is dead.”
Kit flinched. “Do not dare call him by his given name.”
She smiled. “It’s what he had me call him when he took me to his bed, dearest boy. Why should it be different now that he is in a grave? Took him long enough, didn’t it? I heard he drew it out a long time.”
Kit stepped toward her, but Sarah caught his arm and gently held him in place. “Don’t give her the satisfaction,” she said softly.
He bent his head and took a long breath. Sarah was right, of course. His anger would only please Hannah. She fed on that sort of emotion. Lived for it.
“Whether my father is dead or alive,” he said through clenched teeth, “I have no idea why it would matter to you. You settled with him years ago. You’ve no business here.”
“Settled withhim,” she said. “But there is a new duke now. So it’s time that you and I settled. I’m here for a renegotiation of my bargain with Adam for Phoebe.”
Kit’s stomach turned as he stared at her. She could not have looked more disinterested. Like she was bartering over the price of coal, not a most beloved child.
“What the hell do you mean, renegotiation?” he snapped. “You don’t want Phoebe now any more than you did when she was born.”
She smiled. “No. But you do. And you should pay for that desire.”
Sarah stepped forward when Kit’s rage kept him from answering right away. “What exactly do you think His Grace would be paying for? From my understanding, you have not seen the girl for half a decade. Do you really think you would have any kind of standing to take her from a man of Kit’s stature? His wealth? He could crush you like a gnat if he desired to do so.”
“Could he now?” Hannah asked with another of those smiles for Sarah. “Fucking him, are you? The Kingsacre men are quite good in bed, aren’t they? But be careful, my dear. The snake has quite a bite when it’s done. Though it can be a lucrative endeavor if you manage it right.”
Sarah let out a sound of disgust and turned away, but Kit saw the brightness of embarrassment to her cheeks.
“Miss Carlton is correct,” Kit said, unwilling to put up with Hannah’s presence a moment longer. “You have no power over Phoebe anymore and no right to her. You surrendered it years ago. There is nothing to negotiate and you need to get out.”
“I can whisper,” she said. “Talk. I’ve been silent a long time about her. But if I did not remain so, it could make her future a little darker.”
“You would do that to your daughter?” Sarah cried, and now it was she who moved toward Hannah and Kit who reached out to catch her arm and steady her.
“Only if I’m forced to do so.”
