Page 64 of The Duke of Deceit

His mouth formed an O of appreciation. “We have kittens and puppies in the—in the—in the barn.” His brow furrowed as he finally latched onto the words to describe his thoughts. “Black and white ones with—with spots. And white sheep with black faces. And a red cow!”

“And chickens?” she prodded, noting that in his enthusiasm he struggled less with finding the words he wanted.

He nodded. “Lots of chickens. And a rooster! I take care of them. I feed them and clean up their pens, and I make certain they have fresh water. Those are my chores.”

“What lucky animals to have you to take care of them.”

He looked at Lucien, as if needing his brother’s reassurance to accept that compliment.

Lucien nodded in agreement.

With his brother’s support, Phillip relaxed even more. “I’m glad you’re visiting us.”

“Me, too,” she assured him. But from the telltale furrowing of Lucien’s brow, she wasn’t certain he felt the same way.

A hopeful smile broke across Phillip’s face. “Will you tell me stories?”

“Is that how you spend your evenings—taking turns telling stories?”

He nodded and looked affectionately at the older woman who rose to her feet, the pieces of the broken vase cradled in her apron. “Mrs. Porter and Mr. Porter—and me—tell stories and read books, and sometimes we sing songs. Lucien never sings.” His chastising glance at his brother was interrupted by his attention swinging to the instrument in the corner of the room. “I’m learning to play the pi—the pi—”

He pointed to the instrument, and his face screwed up with fresh frustration because the word wouldn’t come.

“The pianoforte?” Jess prompted and drew a nod of confirmation from him. “I can’t play the pianoforte. I’ve tried, but my fingers get all tied up in knots. You must be very talented to know how to play it.”

A sheepish grin blossomed on his lips, and he leaned over toward Lucien to bury his face in his brother’s shoulder, suddenly shy.

“Phillip is very good at it,” Lucien confirmed and patted Phillip on the back. The fraternal gesture struck Jess as a sudden reminder that the two men were of a similar age. “You’ll have to play for Miss St Claire.”

“I would like that,” she agreed. Except that she knew this would be the only time she’d be at the little farm.

“Would you tell a story?” Phillip asked, his voice even more muffled than before from having his face still pressed into Lucien’s shoulder.

“If you’d like.” She eased down onto her hip on the floor, still not pulling her hand away from Phillip’s, and settling in for what might be a long story time. “I know lots of stories. I used to tell them to my sister Amanda. You remind me of her because you have the same smile she does.”

His smile broadened, and thankfully, whatever had upset him before she entered was forgotten.

From the corner of her eye, Jess could see the older couple relax. The woman’s shoulders sagged as the tension left her, and she continued with putting back to rights the mess on the rug. The man blew out a long breath and leaned back against the wall, as if wanting only to stay out of the way.

Lucien also visibly relaxed, and his broad shoulders lost their tautness. He shifted back to sit on the floor next to Phillip, his right forearm resting over his bent knee. Even from several feet away, Jess could feel the anxiousness ease from him.

Jess released Phillip’s hand and sat back. “So a story, hmm? I heard one just the other day about a pirate. Do you like pirates?” When he nodded eagerly, she lowered her voice secretively, “So do I.” She tapped her chin in exaggeration as if trying to remember. “Let’s see…how does the story begin?”

“Once upon a time!” Phillip bounced with excitement.

“Once upon a time, it is, then.” She looked up and met Lucien’s gaze. “I’ve left my hackney waiting at the end of the lane. I suspect I’m going to be here a while and need to release him.”

Lucien nodded. He gestured at the older man, who knew what Lucien wanted and nodded before heading toward the front door.

Phillip mimicked his brother’s authoritative gesture, and the older man nodded again to acknowledge the order as he paused to remove his hat from its peg by the door. The woman handed him a coin from her apron without a word exchanged.

The scene tugged at Jess’s heart. The relationship between the four of them was obviously so much more complicated, and more endearing, than she would ever know.

But she turned a bright smile onto Phillip and took a deep breath. “Once upon a time, there was a notorious pirate named Captain Kidd who ruled the seas from his pirate ship and wasalways on the lookout for buried treasure. One day, his ship sailed near a mermaid who was sunning herself on a rock…”

Jess continued with the story, and Phillip was fixated on every word. His expressive face showed the range of emotions he felt during the tale, from excitement over the sword fights and sea storms to laughter when Jess impersonated the voices of pirates and sea creatures to worry when the princess of Atlantis was imprisoned by the evil sea monsters. But there was not one tear in sight.

She lost track of time as she told the never-ending story, always adding another obstacle or twist to the tale, but she was aware that the older man had gone outside again to lock up the outbuildings and the woman had gone through the rooms to shut up the house for the night. The fire grew dimmer, and as if on cue when the long case clock in the entry hall chimed out ten o’clock, Phillip let out a great yawn that drew a smile from Lucien.