“I heard His Grace mention me. What does he need me to do…” She grimaced. “Am I to convince Hugh with you? And I to trick him somehow? As I have been doing all year,” she added bitterly. “Even if I have not known it.”
“You have not been tricking him,” her father sighed. “You have been helping him.”
“It does not feel that way.”
“As I expect you to continue to help him,” he said. “The Duke wishes for his son to be raised properly and for that he will need a governess living fulltime in his home. He knows of your connection to Hugh, and he asked that you be that governess.”
Again, Yvette was rendered speechless. She stared blankly at her father, her mouth hanging open, the world around her turning as she struggled to comprehend the reality of which she was now a part.
“And I expect you to do this without question, Yvette,” her father continued, taking advantage of her silence. “You are perfect for the role, whether you wish to admit it or not. You can read. You know etiquette. And the boy trusts you.”
“He does not!” she cried, able to speak again. “I hardly know him!”
“That is not true,” he said knowingly. “I have seen you two together, and you underestimate your connection. If Hugh is to do this without a fight, you must be there with him.”
“And if I refuse?” She put her hands on her hips.
He scoffed. “Would you? Would you condemn the poor boy to a life of poverty? And why? Because you feel slighted?”
“That is not… it has nothing to do with… I can’t do this!” she cried out in desperation.
“You can and you will,” her father said. “Tomorrow, the Duke is going to send a carriage to collect you both, and I expect you to be packed and ready, Yvette. This is your charge, and you will take it.”
Her father was not a cruel man. He was not evil or wicked. What he was, was able to twist Yvette’s morals and prey on her insecurities to get her to do his bidding. That was, after all, what made him such an effective vicar.
He knew well how much she cared about the children, and he clearly knew how much she cared about Hugh, especially. Was this always part of his plan? How long had he known this day was coming? And, most importantly, was there anything that Yvette could do to stop it?
She considered the situation the best that she could, realizing quickly that she had no choice but to say yes. Of all the children she watched over, she cared for Hugh the most, and if he had a chance at a better life, how could she possibly deny him that? How could she do anything but agree?
“Tomorrow,” she said with a defeated sigh.
“Tomorrow,” her father agreed. He reached out and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “And thank you, Yvette. This is a good thing you are doing. The right thing.”
A part of her agreed with him on that, while another part wondered how something that was said to be right could feel so wrong.
CHAPTER THREE
“How are you feeling?” Yvette asked Hugh. “It’s perfectly natural to feel nervous.”
“I’m no -- not nervous.”
She smiled, taking note of his stutter, a clear indication that he was indeed nervous. “Are you sure about that?”
Hugh looked at her across the carriage. His deep blue eyes swam with fear, and she had no doubt that he was drowning in nerves. But there was something else behind those eyes that she had not noticed before… was that intelligence? Perhaps it was a perceptive quality that spoke to the young boy being more than what he had initially seemed.
He is undoubtedly more than what I once thought. And looking at him closely now, the similarities between him and his father are so obvious I can’t believe I never noticed them before.
There was so much that she wanted to ask Hugh.
They were seated across from one another in the Duke’s carriage, a journey that would take less than twenty minutes until they arrived at the manor. All night, Yvette had wondered what this morning would bring, and never in her wildest dreams did she imagine what ended up transpiring.
Hugh was waiting in the carriage for Yvette when she walked outside her home this morning. He was still dressed in rags, still looking malnourished and slovenly. But that he was there, and that he was willing and accepting of his fate, was what surprised her the most.
She wanted to ask him more. She was desperate to find out what he knew, what had brought him to this place, and if he had expected things to go this way for him.
Never mind Yvette’s own struggles to comprehend her own role in this. It was Hugh whom she worried about most, and she wanted to comfort him, but didn’t know if he needed it. She didn’t know anything about him!
“I have heard that the Duke is a good man,” Yvette eased him. “I am sure that you will enjoy living with him.” She had not heard such things, but there was no sense in frightening the boy.
