Page 61 of The Gambler Wagers Her Baron

“Abram,” Miss Samuels warned. “I think the pair of you will have a wonderful time at the museum with your father. He can teach you many things.”

He huffed, crossing his arms. “I much prefer your tutelage, Miss Samuels. Father holds such archaic notions about history.”

“Well, I only visited the museum under duress when my sisters forced me to accompany them. In this matter, the baron is far superior.” She smiled. “I will remain here and prepare your lesson for tomorrow.”

Damon’s heart sank when he realized Payton would not be accompanying them.

“You do not mean to come with us?” Joy turned away from Damon, but he’d already spied her disappointment.

Damon met Payton’s stare. Did she seek to escape their outing, worried it would be as calamitous as the last? Or was she avoiding him?

“Miss Samuels works tirelessly every day with the pair of you.” Damon leaned down and swooped Joy into his arms. It was such a foreign gesture that his daughter stiffened in his hold for a moment before clasping him around the neck with a giggle. “I think she is very deserving of a day off, even if it is only an afternoon. What say you, dear one?”

Joy’s expression turned serious as she nibbled her bottom lip. When had the girl taken on such a habit? “Oh, I think that is a positively lovely idea.”

“Unless Miss Samuels wishes to accompany us to the museum…”

Damon trailed off, hoping she’d indeed insist on joining them.

Utterly shocked, he realized he wanted her to want to accompany them. His stomach twisted as they awaited her response. Since the moment he’d seen her in his foyer doused in blue, he’d struggled with his need to be close, yet keep his distance from her. Had his internal war been won without him noticing?

Payton closed the book in her hands with a sharp snap. “I do have a few personal matters to attend to, if you do not mind, my lord.”

His chest seized with disappointment, but his smile remained. Even if Payton didn’t wish to accompany them, it would still give him precious time with Joy and Abram, in a place Damon much enjoyed.

Abram appeared downright dejected at the prospect of being alone with him.

They had become too attached to the governess…which would eventually make her departure all the more damaging to them all. That did nothing to stop him from desiring her company, despite the damning consequences he knew would follow. He’d been too long in his grief to know where to go, what to do, and, most importantly, what to say to convince her to remain at Ashford Hall.

“Very well.” The baron set Joy back on her feet and tapped the girl’s button nose with a familiar affection Payton had never witnessed from him. “It is settled. I will take you two to the museum while Miss Samuels attends to her own affairs.”

Tucking the book under her arm, Payton smiled and nodded.

What other choice did she have? She could have accepted Damon’s invitation, voiced her opinion that the baron was not suited to an outing without her, yet it was obvious he could care for his children without her present. He was a capable man despite his reserved nature.

Time alone with his offspring could not do anything but strengthen the baron’s bond with Joy and Abram. It was what she’d hoped to achieve and would leave fewer feelings of guilt when she left Ashford Hall. It was what they needed, all of them. The three of them were a family, after all.

When the time came, they needed to hold strong together after she moved on.

Payton could not always be there between a father and his children. Someone shouldn’t have to be there to keep Damon connected to his offspring. She was not the tie that bound their family together. Payton was an outsider—one destined to leave.

She notched her chin higher. “I know you and your brother will enjoy the museum, Joy, even more so without me tagging along.”

It shouldn’t hurt that Damon had insisted she take the afternoon off, but the truth of the matter did not make the spike to her chest any less painful. In fact, she’d turned down his invitation to accompany them because she was uncertain if it were a genuine offer or if it had only been made to appease the children.

It was Saturday. Tomorrow was her usual day off, and perhaps some distance and time to evaluate her precarious position in the baron’s household would do her good. She’d thought she’d come to terms with the circumstances separating her and Damon and the implications of their shared kiss; Damon was her employer, and his children were her charges. But each time she saw him, it only brought more questions to mind. When he first suggested taking the children to the museum alone, she’d thought she’d seen a question in his eyes. Almost as if he silently pleaded with her to reject his offer and accompany them. However, the look disappeared, and Payton wondered if she’d imagined it entirely.

“I suppose nothing will change with the Trojan War timeline if I do not complete it today.” Abram slipped his papers into one of the books and closed it, trapping his notes and saving his page. “I will collect my coat.”

Abram departed the room, pausing to take Joy’s hand and lead her out.

Payton turned toward the chalkboard, busying herself by rubbing the wall with a rag to remove their daily lesson. They would not return to the schoolroom until Monday, and that left her plenty of time to explore lesson planning.

“Payton?”

She lowered her head and let her hand fall away from the wall.

She’d prayed the baron would follow after the children, leaving her to her own devices, but he remained behind.