Page 6 of A Mother for the Blind Duke’s Orphans

“You speak as though your affection grants you authority, Miss Norish. It does not. You are not their family, and you do not decide what is best for them,” he said and leaned back slightly, as she was already tiresome for him.

Poppy tried to hold on to her confidence, but she felt weak in her knees when his cold eyes traveled along the length of her body. Yet beneath the fear was anger. Not for herself. Never for herself.

For Aurora and Princess.

“Perhaps I do not,” she said quietly.

The duke seemed almost surprised by her answer.

“Perhaps I have no right to decide their future, Your Grace. But I was there when no one else was.”

His expression remained unreadable.

“They arrived at Saint Catherine’s Haven three months ago. Three months, Your Grace.” Her voice tightened. “And in that time, no one came to claim them.”

His fingers tightened slightly around his cane.

“You speak of family and responsibility, but Aurora spent those months waiting for someone to come for her. She tried to comfort her baby sister when she was ill, even though she was only four years old herself.”

A shadow crossed his face.

“Were you aware of that?”

For the first time, the duke hesitated.

“No,” he admitted. “The nuns failed to mention it.”

Poppy studied him carefully.

He sounded displeased, but not dismissive. Almost… troubled.

Before she could decide what to make of that, he asked:

“Has the infant recovered?”

The question caught her off guard.

Despite his referring to Princess simply as the infant, Poppy felt something soften inside her. Because he had asked. Because beneath all his coldness, his first concern was still for the child.

“She is recovering, Your Grace,” she answered. “But she needs more time before she is fully healed.”

Silence settled over the room.

“No one claimed those girls for three months,” she whispered, almost as if the words still pained her.

Something changed in the duke’s expression, and Poppy pursed her lips.

Perhaps I went too far.

His hand on the cane eased, then tightened even more as his brow furrowed, and his expression seemed troubled. Perhaps she did not have to fear anything because he seemed genuinely concerned for them.

But then why did he take so long?

The duke cleared his throat. “I am aware of the time they have been in the orphanage, and it will all be explained when I pick up the girls.”

Poppy’s breath hitched. She was happy that Aurora and her sister would have a better life, but she was not prepared to say goodbye to them so soon.

“Since you are here…” she said quietly. “Perhaps I deserve an explanation as well, Your Grace.”