“What makes you think that?” Yvette asked. “Your father loves you, Hugh. I know that he does.” Even if that wasn’t entirely true, Yvette sensed that the Duke at least cared about his son and his well-being. More than many fathers might, anyhow.
Hugh sniffed back tears. “I heard the st – staff talking. They said… they said… they said that he was embarrassed by me. That all of this, he’s ju – just tr – trying to save face. And that as so – soon as he can, he’s going to… to… to get rid of me.”
Yvette’s heart broke to hear him say such things.
She had been here for a little less than a week, and in that time, she had not once seen the Duke and Hugh spend time together. That wasn’t to say that she thought the Duke was avoiding him, and she knew he was not ashamed, but the impression this clearly left on Hugh was devastating. How was he to know any better?
She remembered too well her conversation with the Duke, and his insistence that he wanted to be a better father.Perhaps it is time he starts to prove it? If not for himself, for his son?
“I happen to know for a fact that the Duke is not ashamed of you,” she told him as she rubbed his back.
“Liar.”
“It’s true,” she said firmly. “You must remember, this is as new for the Duke as it is for you. He’s learning to be a father, as you are a son. And when he is ready, I just know he will prove this to you. That he loves you.”
“And wh –wh at about you?” Hugh asked.
She blinked in surprise. “What about me?”
“If I don’t get any better, he’s going to get rid of you.” He pulled his head from his hands and looked at her; his eyes were glazed red and stained with tears. “I heard them say it. Th – th – that he never wanted to hire you in the first place. If I do – don’timprove, he’ll ask you to le -- leave. I don’t want you to leave. Please, don’t leave me.”
Hugh was only a child, and he was far too young to carry this sort of weight on his shoulders. Worrying about his own place in the world was one thing, but to think that Yvette’s fortunes also rested on his actions and what he did was another entirely.
Still, Yvette knew little about Hugh’s past because she did not think they were quite close enough to speak about it yet. But she wondered now about his mother, and how her loss must have broken him.
He has already lost someone he loves, and he worries that he might lose another person he cares for. And that’s not to mention his desire to impress his father… likely so that he won’t leave him too.
Yvette had been hired as the boy’s governess, which in her initial estimation meant that she was here to teach him. But as she studied him closely, as she considered her role in his life, she realized that being his governess meant so much more than being a mere teacher.
She was there to look out for him and to see him grow. And she was there to make sure that nothing happened to him. In this, she had failed, and it was time she changed that.
“Your Grace…” Yvette knocked on the door to the Duke’s office. “Might I have a quick word?” She stepped inside before he had a chance to answer.
The Duke sat behind his desk, hard at work.
Yvette knew little of what a duke’s duties entailed, just that it mostly had to do with matters of parliament, and tenancy agreements as they pertained to the land that he owned. She assumed it was a lot of busy work, and from the bleary-eyed look the Duke had when his head snapped up to see her stepping into his office, she knew this assumption to be accurate.
“Oh!” He started at the sight of her. “Miss Norleigh, this is a surprise.”
“I am sorry to disturb you,” she said. “But I was hoping we might speak quickly. Concerning Hugh.”
“Is something wrong?” He sounded genuinely worried, and that was enough to tell her that this was the right decision.
“No, nothing to be worried over,” she assured him. “It’s to do with… his mental state.”
He frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Do you remember last week when you told me that you wished to spend more time with him?”
“I do…”
“Well, not to be too forward, but I think that time has arrived.” She made sure to smile as she spoke, to cut through any notion that things were serious. “His studies are going well, but I sense an underlying stress that if effecting him severely.”
“What stress?”
“To be perfectly candid, the stress that comes with being the son of a duke.” She sighed and walked closer to the table. “The boy worries about how he is perceived, Your Grace. Just as he worries about his place in this household. In fact, he even voiced to me earlier that he suspects you don’t care for him at all.”
The Duke started at that, and she saw how much the thought of this upset him. He frowned, bit into his lip, and it looked as if he meant to jump to his feet, stride from the room, and find Hugh to assure him of how wrong he was.
