The other cause of her trembling body and her heavy breathing had nothing to do with terror. When she thought back to the fountain, when she remembered his arm around her, Yvette’s heart rate spiked, excitement washed over her, and while it was not a sensation that she had ever felt before, that did not mean she failed to understand its meaning.
It is absurd! Likely, it has everything to do with my confusion around my new life… not knowing my place… my worry for Hugh also. Yes… it has nothing to do with the Duke. Why would it?
The words rang false, and even Yvette did not believe them.
Nonetheless, she pushed those thoughts down as deep as she could and then, with nothing to stop her, she knocked on the door.
“Come in,” the Duke’s deep voice rumbled from the other side.
Carefully, she opened the door. It creaked loudly, and she grimaced as she stepped inside. The office was darker than she expected, and with a lantern by the desk being the only source of true light, it added an ominous feeling to the small room; one that was weighted in tension.
The tension grew worse when she found the Duke sitting behind his desk. He had his hands folded before him. His back was straight. His expression was neutral and void of emotion. The light from the lantern reflected in his blue eyes, and Yvette’s heart started to race as it had done by the fountain…
“You… you wished to see me?” she stammered.
“Come in,” he said. “And close the door behind you.”
She did as she was told. After which, she turned to face him.
“Closer, thank you,” he said simply. “There is no need to hover by the doorway. I won’t bite.”
A lump appeared in her throat, and she swallowed it as she edged closer to the desk. With each step taken, she could feel the Duke watching her, studying and assessing, no doubt judging also.
She needed to be strong. She needed to be assertive. And most of all, she needed not to do or say anything that would make things worse than they already promised to be.
“The reason that you are here.” He looked right at her, and those eyes burned with the reflection of the lantern’s flame. “Do you care to explain to me what you were doing with Hugh today?”
“We were playing a game of hide and seek.”
“Perhaps I need to be more specific. Why were you playing games? As I recall, I hired you to be my son’s governess, not his friend. Unless I am missing something.”
“You certainly are,” she said before she could help herself.
“Care to enlighten me?”
Yvette took a deep breath and looked right at the Duke, refusing to blink or look away. “I thought it was best for Hugh. We spent the first hour together reading, but I could tell that he was nervous, even frightened, and –”
“Frightened?” he cut her off. “What does he have to be frightened of?” She might have imagined it, but it looked to her that the notion of this upset the Duke. As strange as that was to consider.
“Everything,” she said. “This world is new to him. He does not understand it, just as he does not understand what you want from him. I thought –”
“I want him to be raised as my son,” he cut her off again, an edge to his voice now. “And I would expect you to help him understand this. What is confusing about that?”
“And I plan on it…” She controlled her breathing, already sensing the Duke’s frustration. “But I could tell this morning that he was on edge, and try as I might, I could not get him to concentrate.”
“Is that not your job?”
Yvette ground her teeth with anger. “Would you like for me to explain? Or are you going to keep interrupting me?”
The Duke’s eyes narrowed and Yvette held her breath. Again, she had spoken out of turn. As she was starting to learn about the Duke, he did not take well to being spoken down to or contradicted.
“Continue,” he said eventually, although she heard the edge to his voice.
“I need for Hugh to trust me,” she continued carefully. “More than that, I need him to trust that I have his best interests at heart. He is not comfortable here. And why should he be? This world is new to him, and I want him to understand that there is nothing to be afraid of. I thought that for today, we would play games, just so he might understand that this is his home, that it is not a punishment but something he should enjoy and take comfort in.”
“And how long will that take?”
“I am not sure.”
