“Get what over with?” Panic started to flood Yvette, and it was all that she could do to keep her composure.
“You know the young boy, Hugh, yes? The orphan with the black hair and blue eyes.”
“Hugh?” She blinked in surprise. “What does he have to do with this?”
“Yvette, what I am about to tell you…” Her father licked his lips with nervous anticipation, and he even looked around the empty property as if worried someone might overhear. “In fact, let us go inside. This is not a conversation to be had outdoors.”
Yvette followed her father back inside, and then into his office. It was strange, the way he was behaving, made more so when he closed the door behind her as if there was even a chance that someone might overhear them. Impossible, seeing as they lived alone.
Alone now, her father walked to the desk, looking as if he meant to take seat but decided against it. Rather, he turned and fiddled nervously with his hands as he finally spoke. “As I was saying, what I am about to tell you… it is of the utmost importance thatit be kept a secret. I cannot tell you how vital it is that this is kept between us.”
Yvette said nothing, choosing to focus on her father and giving him time to find the courage he needed. He looked more frail than usual, and she could see clearly how stressed he was.
“Hugh is not who you think,” he began carefully. “Yes, to your eyes, he looks like an orphan. Indeed, he has spent the last year living as one. But the truth could not be further from this perception.”
Still, she said nothing, noting the way her father’s eyes flicked everywhere but at her. It was an old tick of his, most prevalent in the early days when he’d quit drinking.
“As I have known for some time, as the boy knows too, he is the Duke’s son and sole heir to –”
“What?” she cried.
“He is the Duke’s son,” her father repeated. “His Grace has spent the last few months keeping an eye on him from afar but feels that now is the time that he takes a greater hand in the boy’s upbringing. Tomorrow, he is to be brought to the Duke’s home, where he will be raised properly, as sole heir to the estate and his father’s title.”
Yvette stared blankly at her father.
She had heard what was said clearly enough, but that did not mean that she understood it. Not even a little bit.
How is that possible? How could something like that… Hugh? The orphan who wears dirty clothes, who is constantly hungry? Who can hardly look me in the eyes when he speaks to me? There is no way!
“That can’t be,” Yvette said. “Hugh is… he is homeless, Father. Without parents. He cannot possibly be the son of the Duke.”
“I assure you that it is possible,” her father said. “As I have explained, the Duke has been watching him from afar, ensuring that --”
“That he starves!” she cried out before she could stop herself. Yvette always did have a problem when it came to keeping her thoughts to herself. “That he sleeps outside? Alone? Watching as his son suffer –”
“That is enough,” her father cut her off sharply. She balked at the change in tone, and she shied back when she saw the flash of anger pass behind his eyes. “There is much here that you do not understand, Yvette. But I assure you that Hugh is the Duke’s son. There can be no doubt.”
“And Hugh knows this?”
“The Duke assures me that he does.”
It made no sense to her, and Yvette had so many questions that her head felt as if it might explode. But she forced those down, knowing that such questions would not be answered by her father unless he wished it.
She gave her head a shake. “I still do not… what does any of this have to do with you? Why was His Grace here at all?”
Her father took a deep breath and calmed himself. “His Grace has had me keep an eye on Hugh for some time.”
“He has?” she frowned. “Why did you not tell me?”
Yvette thought back to the first time she had seen Hugh, what was close to a year ago now. And in all that time, she could not remember once when her father had spoken to him, or even suggested that he knew of the boy’s existence.
Why had he not told her? Why the secrecy? What was going on?
“Tomorrow, His Grace wishes for Hugh to be brought to his home, and he came here to ask that I arrange it. I know where the boy is staying, and I believe that I should be able to convince him to do as requested without too much incident.”
“Perhaps I should…” Yvette considered. “Hugh and I have tenuous relationship, but I believe that he trusts me. Might it be better if I speak to him?”
“You will have plenty of time for that later,” her father continued, and his voice softened; as did his eyes, for that matter. “More than enough…” He looked at his daughter, his expression suddenly pleading, and Yvette’s stomach twisted because she sensed that the worst was yet to come.
