“Perhaps.” He did not sound as if he believed it.
Yvette hesitated on her next question. She watched the Duke closely, seeing the way he looked at his son, the worry that was still there, and the love. He did love Hugh, of that she had no doubt. She only wished that he would admit it.
Why does he not wish to? What is he really ashamed of?
“What was his mother like?” she asked gently, still holding his arm. “I see so much of you in Hugh, and I wonder where his mother comes in.”
He bit into his lip, his expression growing more intense. “That, I cannot answer.”
“Oh?”
“I do not know her.”
Yvette leaned back in surprise. “You do not know… I thought…”
The Duke bowed his head. “You may judge me if you wish, and I will not stop you. But the truth is, I do not know who the boy’s mother is, so I cannot answer your question. Just as I do not know what his life was like before she passed away. All I can do is provide for him the best that I can, and hope that is enough.”
She had no idea what to say, and her surprise was so evident that even if she wanted to, she doubted that she could have hidden it.
While there was much that Yvette did not know about the Duke, the one thing that she was sure of was that he was a good man. Yes, he could be intimidating. Yes, he could be scary. But that was all a mask, and the softer side of him was his true nature. Or so she had believed.
Also, he was no rake. Nor did anything that she had heard of his past suggest otherwise. The fact that he did not know who Hugh’s mother was suggested to Yvette the complete opposite; that she was little more than a passing fancy, one of many, it sounded like, who happened to fall pregnant where other women had not.
Yvette’s mind turned as she tried to reckon with what this meant. She did not want to judge the Duke. She did not want him to think that she was. And yet…this is just one more instance of me not knowing him nearly as well as I would like. Perhaps that is for the best…
“How is that –”
“You should go to bed,” he spoke over her. Not with anger, and not with force. Rather, he sounded exhausted, and the way his shoulders slumped told her that he was. “It is late, and it looks as if Hugh has passed through the worst of it.”
“I am fine,” she said. “I can stay. I want to stay.”
He looked at her again, this time with a warm smile that she felt in her heart. Despite everything, he cared for her, just as he was grateful for her being here.
“I know you do,” he said, his voice tired and weak. “And Miss Norleigh, you have no idea what that means to me. But you need your rest. Tomorrow will be a big day, I think, and Hugh is going to need you functioning.”
She laughed softly. “What of you?”
“Me? Why do you think I hired a governess in the first place?”
Yvette did not want to go. And it wasn’t that she wished to stay by Hugh’s side to make sure that he was well. It was that she didn’t want to leave the Duke. He acted strong. He pretended to be confident and brave. But she could sense how much he needed her, and how much he wanted her to stay with him.
If only he were brave enough to say it…
“If you need me…” She rested her hand on his arm again, another soft squeeze.
“I know where you are staying,” he said with humor.
She laughed. “I’m just one pitched scream away.”
Still holding his arm, she gazed at him and he at her. Their stare held, the silence around them was engrossing and comfortable, and in that moment Yvette decided that it did not matter about the Duke’s past and how he had gotten here. What mattered was who he was now, the steps he was taking to be a better person, and how determined he was to be there for Hugh.
She squeezed his arm a final time. He eyed her hand and smiled. Then, slowly, she let go, and it felt like she was letting go of a piece of herself.
“Good night,” she said as she took a step back.
“I think you mean good morning.”
She laughed again and shook her head. “And Your Grace… you did well tonight. You’re a good father, and Hugh is lucky to have you.”
