“Done with the best intentions,” he said with a smile. “I think I can relate to that.” He licked his lips. “My thinking now is…” His eyes flicked over her quickly. “That I might need some help, if I am to better know my son. And seeing as you and Hugh are so close… that perhaps you might help me in this? As part of your duties as his governess.”
“Oh.” She blinked, and her heart swelled with excitement that she could not explain. “You want me to help you connect with your son?”
“If you would?”
“I am not sure how I would do that.”
“That makes two of us,” he chuckled.
She laughed too, and she felt the tension between them fade. Yvette found his eyes again, and there was a smile there now, an earnestness that told her that this was the other side of the Duke. What was more, this was a side of the Duke that she might like to know better.
“I think I can help you with that,” she said, even if she had no idea how she would do so.
“Does that mean you aren’t going to quit on me?”
“Does that mean you aren’t going to treat me like a disobedient child?”
He grimaced. “I said I was sorry.”
“I would like to hear it again.”
His smile grew, and he shook his head. “I am sorry for the way I acted, Miss Norleigh, and if you still wish for it, I would like your help with Hugh.”
“I would be honored.”
The Duke smiled at her. She smiled back. The silence that found them in that moment was not tense, it was not heavy, and it was certainly not awkward. If anything, it was comfortable, and asYvette held the Duke’s eyes, she felt a warmth spreading through her body.
Of course, that just made her nervous and confused once more, and she stumbled back in surprise.
“I should go…” She latched onto the open door and swung it further open. “I need to… get ready for supper. It is late.”
“We will talk more of this later.” It wasn’t a question.
“I would like that.” She hovered in the doorway, he smiled at her as if he could see how awkward she was being, and she forced an awkward smile back before ducking her head and darting from the room.
Once she was in the hallway, Yvette took a few deep breaths and forced calm upon herself. Whatever had just happened… she chose to focus on the positives, while ignoring her heart’s reaction to his softer side.
The Duke and she were finally on the same page, he wanted what was best for Hugh, and so long as nothing changed, she saw no reason that this wouldn’t work. In fact, she knew that it would.
It is a good thing… exactly what I should want…
As she made her way to her room, her wrist continued to burn where he had touched her. It made her arm tingle, it made herheart race, and she had little choice but to admit that things were nowhere near as simple as she would have liked.
Not that she knew why they were not… but that just added to the general confusion of her thoughts surrounding the Duke.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lady Emily Pierce waited on the front of her driveway for Alistair.
Dressed in a pale pink pelisse coat trimmed in fur, her blonde curls falling to her shoulders, her big brown eyes glimmering in the sunlight, and a smile that took up at least half of her face, she looked just as pretty as Alistair remembered.
Better still, she appeared beyond thrilled to see him.
“Your Grace!” she waved excitedly as he steered his mount toward her. “You made it.”
Alistair was nowhere near as excited to see Lady Emily as she was to see him. In fact, for the entire trip over, he wondered if this was such a good idea, and if he might do better to cancel seeing her for the day… not to mention forever.
At nine-and-twenty years of age, Alistair had spent his adult life as a bachelor. It was done on purpose, and this was despite the trove of young ladies constantly asking after him. His resistance toward their advances was never personal, but a deep-seated loathing of romance and love and, especially, marriage.
