Miss Knight peered up at him as he loomed over her. Then her gaze flew to Nick. “My lord, what is going on here?”
“This is my brother Royal,” Nick said through clenched teeth. “I apologize on his behalf, since he has clearly forgotten his manners.” His brother’s behavior was why he needed her help, which should be screamingly obvious to her by now.
“I’m disappointed in you, Royal,” Alec said, shaking his head. “Never knew you to be rude to the ladies before.”
Royal threw Alec a startled glance. The two had become friends during the war, and Royal had a great deal of respect for the future Earl of Riddick.
There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence before Royal gave the governess a terse nod. “Forgive me, ma’am. It would seem that my manners have gone begging. Of course, that’s why you’re here, isn’t it? To turn us into the daintiest set of gentlemen ever to hit the marriage mart.”
Miss Knight’s big blue eyes went wide with surprise and, Nick fancied, horror. “I am?”
Royal shrugged. “That’s the plan, although I have no intention of going along with it.”
“Of course not,” snapped Angus. “There’s nothin’ wrong with the lot of ye, as any right-thinkin’ Highlander would know.”
“Tell that to Nick,” Graeme piped up.
“I have, ye booby,” his grandfather shot back.
“Repeatedly,” Nick said.
Miss Knight sucked in a deep breath. Nick had to admit he was impressed with her self-discipline and her ability to defend herself. Both were qualities she would need in abundance in his household.
As embarrassing as it was to watch his family behave so boorishly in front of a genteel young woman, he’d allowed it up to a point. He needed to know if she could manage the Kendrick men and the nonsense they would throw at her.
Unfortunately, they were throwing a bit more at her than Nick had anticipated.
“I would be grateful if you would step away,” Miss Knight said to Royal. “You are exceedingly tall, an affliction apparently common in your family. I do hope you won’t all be looming over me on a regular basis. Otherwise, I will be forced to wear a neck brace.”
That brought a snort out of Royal. “God forbid. We already have one cripple in this household. We don’t need another.”
The governess studied him for a few seconds, and then simply nodded.
Royal limped over to settle in a wingback chair on the opposite side of the fireplace, grimacing slightly as he stretched out his leg. There were days when the old wound still troubled him, days when he pushed himself too hard. But that was Royal—he never gave an inch or acknowledged weakness, and never asked for help.
The qualities that had made him an outstanding soldier and officer were now pulling him ever deeper into quiet despair.
Miss Knight’s voice broke into Nick’s gloomy thoughts.
“My lord, it’s time to be frank with each other.” She was regarding him with severity, as if about to box his ears or send him to stand in a corner.
For some bizarre reason, it made Nick want to laugh. The girl was so out of place in a roomful of brawny, bad-tempered men that she resembled a kitten facing down a pack of half-tamed wolfhounds.
“What exactly would you like to know, Miss Knight?” He couldn’t resist the temptation to tease her, just to see how she would react.
“I would like to knowexactlywhat my duties would be in regard to your older brothers.” She carefully enunciated every word, as if talking to a half-wit.
“Oh, that’s easy,” Graeme broke in. “You’re supposed to teach us how to be proper gentlemen, just like Royal said.”
“Andhelp you find wives?” she asked, disbelief coloring her tone.
Grant nodded eagerly. “You’re to help us findsuitablewives. Nick says that no suitable woman would have any of us as we are now.”
Graeme jabbed his brother in the shoulder. “But what about the unsuitable ones, eh?”
The twins burst into raucous laughter. When Nick shot them an evil glare, they clamped their mouths shut in mid-guffaw. In the sudden silence, he could practically hear Miss Knight’s churning thoughts.
From the look on her face, those thoughts weren’t good. “My lord, I am a governess, not a matchmaker.”
