For the past year, he had attempted discipline, structure, tutors, schedules, and endless patience he did not naturally possess. Yet this ridiculous woman had achieved more progress with custard than anyone else had managed through formal instruction.
The thought is deeply irritating.
After several moments, he stopped pacing and looked back at her.
“Did it work?” he asked.
Amelia considered the question carefully. “I think it has,” she decided, “but time will tell.”
Gabriel studied her for a long moment. Then he nodded once. “Very well.”
Amelia blinked.
“Cooking will become a weekly activity from now on,” Gabriel declared. “You will continue if you believe it benefits David.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
“And,” he added, pointing a finger towards her, “you must not disappoint the children. If you mean to do this activity with them, then do not miss it. You must show up.”
A smile spread across her face. It was not a dramatic smile. Not flirtatious. Not calculated.
Simply warm.
For reasons Gabriel could not immediately explain, the sight unsettled him far more than any argument ever had.
Something shifted unpleasantly in his chest. He disliked it at once.
“You are dismissed,” he said abruptly, crossing the room and opening the door before she could say anything further.
Amelia looked surprised. “Very well,” she replied. “Good evening, Your Grace.”
“Good evening, Miss Shirley.”
She walked into the corridor, and Gabriel closed the door behind her. Silence settled over the study once more.
For several moments, he stood motionless, staring at the closed door as though it had personally offended him.
Then he exhaled sharply and dragged a hand across his face. This woman was becoming a problem.
Not because she ignored rules. Not because she challenged him. Not even because she somehow persuaded the children to smile and laugh. No.
The problem, Gabriel realized with growing annoyance, was…those pink lips.
Chapter Nine
Ido not understand him. One moment, he treats me as though I am a criminal infiltrating his household, and the next, he looks genuinely relieved to hear I am well.
Sleep refused to come, no matter how many times Amelia closed her eyes and willed her mind to quiet itself. She lay beneath the blankets staring at the canopy overhead while every confusing interaction with Gabriel replayed itself in merciless detail.
She had known the man for only a handful of days and already felt as though she were attempting to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing. Eventually, she threw back the covers with a frustrated sigh and swung her feet onto the floor. A glass of milk seemed far more attainable than sleep.
The corridors of Anderton Manor were silent as she made her way downstairs carrying a candle. By the time she reached the kitchen door, she felt faintly ridiculous for being anxious in thefirst place. Then she stepped inside and nearly dropped her candle.
“Oh,” she said.
A figure stood beside the table in the darkness, holding a spoon. Amelia froze, and the figure froze as well. For one absurd moment, they simply stared at one another across the room before recognition dawned.
“Your Grace?” she asked, lowering the candle slightly as disbelief flooded her voice. Gabriel straightened immediately and set down the bowl he had been holding.
