Page 28 of A Baby to Seal the Duke’s Fate

That was dangerous thinking.

Miss Redmond was hiding something. He was almost certain of it. The problem was that suspicion had begun to share space with curiosity. And that curiosity was dangerously close to becoming an interest he had no business indulging.

***

After lunch, he walked the grounds with Barnaby. The weather had turned pale and cold. Barnaby walked with his hands behind his back, as if waiting for Leopold to say what had occupied him all morning.

Leopold had spent the walk pretending to notice the frost on the hedges while his mind returned, with irritating persistence, to the nursery. He had expected to practically forget about the child as soon as the nursemaid arrived. Yet they were both quickly becoming all he could think about.

“How is the new nursemaid settling in?” Barnaby asked.

Leopold kept his eyes on the path ahead. “She is competent.”

“That is a rather careful answer.”

“It is an accurate one.”

Barnaby gave him a sidelong look. “The baby appears attached to her.”

Leopold said, “Cecily responds to her better than anyone else who has tried.”

“That is good.”

“Yes.”

Barnaby watched him a moment longer. “What else have you noticed?”

Leopold frowned. “About Miss Redmond?”

Barnaby snorted.

“No,” he said dryly. “I mean the future governess you have not even considered hiring yet.” He paused to chuckle as though he found himself quite hilarious. “Of course, I mean Miss Redmond.”

Leopold gave a small impatient exhale, frustrated that his friend already seemed to sense how his thoughts lingered on the nursemaid. “She is educated beyond what her position suggests. She enjoys reading history. The Tudors, to be more precise. And she seems to have very thoroughly considered opinions on the subject.”

Barnaby nodded thoughtfully. “That is worth paying attention to.”

Leopold sighed and nodded.

“I thought so, as well,” he said. “And it certainly has my attention.”

Barnaby nodded.

“It is good that she is doing well with the child.”

Leopold nodded.

“Cecily stood for a few seconds this morning.”

Barnaby looked at him, surprised.

“You visited them in the nursery”

Leopold nodded.

“I went to check to ensure that Miss Redmond had everything she needed. The baby reached for me, so I stayed and spoke to her. Next thing I knew, she had grabbed my trouser leg and used it to pull herself up.”

Barnaby stared at him with widening eyes until he laughed.