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Felicity smiled and nodded over the answer while her mind was busy with the information.
“It will certainly be very lively then, in that case,” was all she said, even though she was essentially repeating herself. But she tried hard not to be obvious as she studied the duke’s face.
Felicity had thought she was applying for a position in the household, she supposed, of the fifth duke, seeing as this one was the sixth. She had expected her employer to be far older than he had turned out to be. As it was, she wondered how this young man came to be the father of eleven, ten, and eight-year-old children, as he hardly looked old enough. She had certainly not expected to have to be concerned about being attracted to her employer. Felicity admonished herself. She really ought to have paid far more attention to the circumstances she was putting herself into.
Because of her irregular views of Society and the Marriage Mart, Felicity had not paid as much attention to her Debrett’s as she ought to have. She wondered if the duke’s library would have a copy. No doubt it would, as Lady Adelina ought to be learning such matters in the coming years. Felicity determined to seek out the volume and discover for herself just how old the duke might be. She was beginning to suspect there was much about Rathnelly that was not obvious upon first glance.
Her curiosity was piqued.
But it seemed the duke was preoccupied. He wasn’t quite looking at her. His gaze seemed to be over her shoulder, as though he were examining the wall, or looking within his own mind. Felicity’s curiosity mounted, and it took more effort than should have been required in order to sit still and not fidget under the weight of her desire to know what was going through the man’s mind.
Felicity was just about to utter some sort of socially correct inanity when Rathnelly finally broke the silence that had spread between them.
“Do you think the boys will need lessons?”
It was as though he were blurting out his question. Like it had been pent up within him and just burst forth of its own volition. Felicity blinked and almost frowned when she caught the wary expression in his eyes. She had the impression he was concerned about her answer and wholeheartedly wished she had an educated explanation to share with him. All she had was her own opinion. But first, she had her own questions.
“Why do you think they might need lessons? Have they been having difficulty at school?”
“Not in the least. They have both done remarkably well, from what I understand from their headmaster.”
“Have they taken lessons during the summers in previous years?”
“I don’t think so,” Rathnelly replied, even as his cheeks coloured. Felicity could hardly believe she was seeing evidence of embarrassment from the self-contained nobleman. “I could, perhaps, ask the families they’ve stayed with during previous summers. But I’d rather decide for myself, and your opinion might help me to do so.”
It took every ounce of what little control Felicity could lay claim to in order to restrain her mouth from asking what was on the tip of her tongue. She simply couldn’t understand how the man could have taken so little interest in his children. She forced herself to consider the subject at hand.
“I would think they get more than enough studying during the school term but since I don’t know them, I can’t really offer a truly informed opinion.” She paused for a moment before adding, “Some children long for lessons and might really miss school, but I would think most, boys especially, would be anxious to leave the classroom behind for a time.”
The duke nodded as he examined her face closely while she was speaking before shifting his gaze back to the wall behind her as silence grew between them once more.
Felicity cleared her throat. “Did you take lessons during your summer breaks?” She was trying to understand where his question might be coming from. Had he perhaps struggled in school and wanted to protect his sons from the same fate?
“No,” he all but scoffed. “I could hardly be kept indoors at all for the entire summer.”
“It’s likely then that your sons will be similar, in that case.”
For some reason, Rathnelly looked startled by her words. Felicity thought she must be mistaken and spoke quickly to cover her confusion.
“You did speak of beginning to educate them about the estate. That sounds like lessons of a sort, but I doubt you’ll be asking them to pour over the estate ledgers, so it isn’t likely they’ll consider it such. I expect you meant you want to make sure they understand the extent of your holdings and what goes into looking after it, is that correct?”
Now he was staring at her, as though she had transformed into a mythical creature right before his eyes. Felicity shifted in her seat, wondering what could have prompted such a reaction from him.
“How could you know that?” he demanded.
Had she just given herself away? Felicity hadn’t thought her words could be considered exceptional. She frowned at him.
“I beg your pardon?” Even she could hear the tone of a haughty debutante in her voice, and she almost laughed at the arrested expression on Rathnelly’s face. Felicity cleared her throat and tried for a more deferential expression as she carried on as though neither of them had asked a question.
“It seemed logical, Your Grace. Of course, I’ve never witnessed anyone training their sons how to take over a dukedom one day, but since you made the expression that you wanted to begin their training, I assumed there would be time spent riding about rather than sitting at a desk. Was I wrong?”
He stared at her for an uncomfortable length of time before finally answering. “No, you weren’t wrong, that is exactly what I had in mind.”
“Why do you look so suspicious, Your Grace? You did ask for my opinion.” Felicity rued the fact that she had never been very good at guarding her tongue. But it didn’t seem to be such a bad thing as the duke suddenly laughed.
“My apologies, Miss Jones. I just didn’t expect someone with your background to be well versed in such matters.”
“Then why did you ask me?” Felicity was more puzzled than offended by his words.
