“She is also deceased.”
His expression remained unreadable. “Meaning that you…”
“I live on the street,” she said sharply. “Or a close equivalent. I have spent the last four years trying my best to survive, working whatever job I can, pooling together the little funds possible sothat I might run away far from here, where even debt collectors cannot find me. Well, my brother and I…”
“You have a brother?” For the first time, he sounded curious.
“I do,” she said with a hint of pride. “He is eight years old, and I am all he has in this world. Everything I do is for him, the hope that one day we will have enough money to live a life better than what we have been given.”
“So, this job is about money?”
“Of course it is,” she said without reservation. “While that might sound uninspired – oh, I am sure you wish to hire someone whose heart yearns to be a governess. Wouldn’t that be nice? Sadly, the world does not work that way, Your Grace. I am desperate; this job came to my attention, and so I applied.”
“Anything else?”
“If you must know, I have no doubt that I will make an excellent governess,” she continued, her tone now accusatory, as if the Duke owed her an apology. “I am well educated. I speak both Greek and Latin. I am well versed in the ways of the ton, your customs, everything one should know if they are to survive in your world. I am not simple. I am not stupid. What I am is poor, a fault that is not my own, but one I must suffer with.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that all?”
Octavia held onto her anger as she let the silence build.
Perhaps it was not so smart to have snapped at a duke. And it certainly would not help her job prospects. But she had already resigned herself to the likelihood that he wasn’t going to hire her for this role, so she wasn’t going to beg and plead.
Rather, if she were to be kicked out on her backside, she would do so with her head held high. At this point, it was all that she had left.
“Very well,” the Duke said without emotion. “Please, take a seat.”
She balked. “A seat?”
“Yes…” He gestured to the seat across from him. “I would like to discuss the expectations of this role, and I do not wish to speak at you across the room.”
“You… you are going to hire me?” she stammered.
“If you still wish for me to.”
“Yes!” she cried. “I mean…” She grimaced and smiled politely. “I would like that very much.”
“Then please, the seat, take it.”
This time, she did not argue.
Octavia hurried across the room and took her seat, keeping her head down the whole time, unwilling to risk looking into the Duke’s eyes. Why he was still willing to hire – or even considering it -- her was beyond Octavia’s understanding. And she worried that if their eyes met, he might see through her… secrets revealed that even she was not aware of.
Best to play things safe.
“As I said, I trust Miss Spencer, so I trust that if she thinks you are adequate for this job, then you will be. However, if I am to hire you, there are three rules you must be made aware of.” She continued to look down and she felt him eyeing her.
“Rules?” She glanced up quickly and looked away.
“Rule one.” He held a finger in the air. “You will never seek me out at night. Anything you have to say to me concerning my son’s education can be done during the daytime. Is that understood?”
She considered the rule and how odd it was. “Yes, that sounds reasonable –”
“Rule two,” he cut her off, another finger in the air. “You will never go to the eastern wing of this property. It is private, it will remain so, and I would prefer it if you did not think about it at all.”
That had Octavia frowning. She was a naturally curious person, and such a specific rule made her mind tingle with curiosity…
“And rule three,” he continued, his third finger lifting. “Once you accept this position, you will remain in it for six months. No other governess has lasted that long, and I am sick to death of the turnover. It is not good for my son, who needs stability. Now, more than ever.”
She frowned at him. “Truly? No one had lasted six months?”
