AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Thirteen
“Your Grace, the postmaster just brought a large bundle of letters for Miss Jones. He mentioned she hadn’t been by to collect them in a few days, so he thought to bring them for her. Ought I have a footman put them in her room?”
Gilbert regarded his butler steadily, wondering what the older man was thinking. He, himself, was wondering why his daughter’s companion had so many letters coming for her. If she had that many friends and family to write to, had she really needed to seek a position? His questions and suspicions about the lovely young woman grew. He didn’t want to think ill of her, but he just couldn’t seem to prevent it.
Gil was well aware that it could be his own many secrets that made him suspicious of others. But still, it was curious that she would have so much correspondence that a few days absence from the post office would cause it to accumulate to this extent. And his manager at the mill had mentioned there were a couple of seedy characters sniffing around. Gilbert couldn’t help but think the two situations were related.
“Thank you, Mr. Carter, I will see to it,” he said, holding his hand out for the package.
Much to his amazement, his faithful servant actually appeared hesitant. “You will ensure she receives them, won’t you, Your Grace?” Gil could feel his impassivity fading at the impertinence of the question.
“Of course,” he said without explanation. “Perhaps, you could have a footman collect Miss Jones and have her meet me in my library. As it happens, there’s a matter I wish to discuss with her.”
“I believe she is with the children in the orchard.”
“Excellent, then it shouldn’t be hard for the footman to find her, in that case.”
The butler still appeared hesitant. Gil guessed at the reason.
“The children are not infants, Carter, but if you fear they require minding, have the footman take someone with him who can remain with them while Miss Jones comes to speak with me.”
“Very well, Your Grace.” Finally, the servant went to do his bidding, leaving Gilbert to wonder how he had lost control of his household. He was still puzzling over it when Felicity appeared in his doorway, cheeks flushed from the sunshine and her exertions. Gil was uncomfortably aware of her fresh beauty and the bright, intelligent light in her watchful gaze.
“You wished to speak with me, Your Grace?” She clearly seemed to question whether that was truly accurate.
“I do, yes, please come in and shut the door.” He watched her colour heighten, and his eyes narrowed. She wasn’t much more than a paid servant, his request shouldn’t be such that it would discomfit her. Gil was irritated that she was suddenly acting like a debutante.
Her mouth opened as though to give voice to her thoughts, but then she seemed to think better of them and merely stepped into the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
“Have a seat, please, Miss Jones, there are a couple matters I wish to discuss with you.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” she answered as she sank gracefully into one of the two chairs in front of his large, heavy desk. He marvelled that she was still so graceful despite being stiffened by her obvious discomfort.
“Are you turning my children into nursery dwellers?” he demanded, causing her startled gaze to clash with his.
“I beg your pardon, Your Grace, but I fear I do not at all understand this question. Is there something amiss with their bedchambers?”
Suddenly, Gilbert laughed.
“My apologies, Miss Jones, I may not be making the most sense. My butler seemed to imply that the children couldn’t be left without your watchful care when I requested that he have you brought to me.”
To his surprise, his explanation brought a gentle smile to her face.
“That was kind of him, Your Grace. Household servants are like that, aren’t they? They seem to care for the children of the house almost as though they were their own offspring. I’m sure it’s caused by the fact that your sons were away for so long. It’s hard for the servants to accept that they aren’t so little anymore. It will pass, I’m sure. Grandmothers are much the same, aren’t they? Never quite accepting that one has grown up. You must find that at times, even with yourself, if there are any servants in your employ who were also on your father’s staff.”
Gil laughed again.
“You’re quite correct, Miss Jones, I hadn’t thought of that. But I am glad to hear you aren’t mollycoddling my sons.”
He almost forgot the reason for asking for her when she laughed over his words, causing a clenching sensation in his chest as though it were swelling with pride.
“Your Grace, I was under the impression that only your daughter was my responsibility, not your sons, for one thing. For another, even for your daughter, as her companion, I will, of course, try to keep her from harm, but I understood that I was to keep her company, not raise her. And finally, I am firmly of the opinion that a little mollycoddling never hurt anyone and that receiving some might actually be of benefit. Even grumpy, old dukes could use a little gentle kindness from time to time, Your Grace.”
Gilbert stared at her, trying to decide if he ought to feel insulted by her words. Her gentle, teasing smile told him she hadn’t meant it to be rude. She truly was an amusing little chit. He could no longer contain his laughter and allowed his chuckle free rein.
Felicity appeared to grow uncomfortable with his laughter, and her gaze started to roam the room. Gilbert could tell she liked his library, as her expression was one of admiration. Until her wandering eyes fell upon the pile of correspondence on the corner of his desk. She stiffened noticeably, although he could tell she tried hard to hide her reaction. Suddenly, her eyes were bouncing all over the room and her face had lost its colour.
“Ah yes, I see you’ve noticed the actual reason why I had Mr. Carter call for you. Apparently, you haven’t been by the post office recently, and they took the liberty of sending your letters here for you.”
