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Every one of the guests nodded, offering wishes for a good sleep to the little lady, some of the women even offering cooing noises at just how much of a fine father the Duke was. And still Lady Florentia was eyeing Matilda. When the governess glanced around, looking for some guest to speak to so that she did not feel entirely alone, hoping for Mr Hayman to be somewhere close by, she found that the lady was glaring at her so openly that she could not believe nobody else had noticed.
Gulping awkwardly, Matilda wondered whether she ought to follow after the Duke anyway. She would have much rather been reading a bedtime story to a half-asleep little girl than to stand there with a wine glass in hand, enduring the scathing glares of a woman she had only ever said two words to.
“Miss Percival! Will not you come and join us?”
The call came just moments after Matilda finally decided to leave and she gritted her teeth against the urge to automatically decline the moment that she turned to see Mr Hayman and Mr Gould sitting on the other side of the room where Mr Hayman had just placed himself upon the stool of the pianoforte which Lady Amy had been playing upon their very first meeting.
Trying to ignore the sensation of still being watched, Matilda forced a smile and crossed the room to join them, happy when Mr Hayman slid across the stool to give her room to sit beside him.
“Miss Percival, Heath tells me you are an exceptional singer,” Mr Gould told her with a brilliant smile and Matilda found herself wondering how the Duke had come to have so many attractive friends. In fact, almost everybody in the room was handsome.
Perhaps it was the money they had all come into or maybe it was simply that the Duke only invited good-looking people to share in his company. Either way, Matilda could not help but feel as though she was terribly out of place, plain and underdressed where all of those around her were clothed in gold and silver threaded clothes with gemstones and jewels adorning their throats and fingers and hair.
Yet one thing could be said for Mr Hayman and Mr Gould. They were friendly, well-mannered and made her feel a little less out of place, inviting her to sing a jolly tune with them while Mr Hayman played the pianoforte. Though she had heard him play several times with Lady Amy, this was entirely different, and Matilda could not help but feel a tingle in her gut and a swelling in her heart as she found herself pressed in on either side by the two handsome gentlemen.
I am in grave danger of looking for romance here,Matilda realised, allowing herself for the first time ever to just let her hair down and have a little fun. After all, as the Duke had reminded her, she was not currently on the clock.
***
Hours might have been only minutes or minutes actually hours when the party finally came to a halt. At some point during the evening, Matilda was relieved to feel the scathing glare of Lady Florentia finally end as the woman was escorted from the room by a gentleman that Mr Hayman told Matilda was the woman’s brother. It was a great relief indeed and she quickly found herself relaxing further into the company of Mr Hayman and Mr Gould.
It was well past midnight when the Duke joined them and said, “The three of you seem to be getting on like a house on fire.”
Looking up startled from where Matilda had taken to playing the pianoforte to give Mr Hayman’s fingers a break, she was astonished to see that all of the other guests had already taken their leave.
She opened her mouth to offer her apologies, wondering whether she had overstayed her welcome in the parlour. But before she could say anything, he smiled warmly and added, “Thank you both for keeping Miss Percival company in my absence.”
“Of course! Anything for our dearest friend!” Mr Gould insisted, clapping the Duke on the shoulder.
“Yes, of course,” Mr Hayman added. “Besides, Miss Percival has been keeping us entirely entertained and I believe it is us who should be thanking her.”
With that Mr Hayman stepped forward and offered Matilda his hand where she had hurried to her feet at the Duke’s approach. Glancing at her employer with a flush to her cheeks, she placed her hand in Mr Hayman’s and blushed even further when he bent to kiss her knuckles.
“I think we ought to take our leave, do not you, Mr Gould?” Mr Hayman suggested when he lifted himself back to his full height. Matilda’s heart raced for a second, her knuckles tingling still at the touch of his lips, and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling like a fool.
“Yes, I rather think we ought,” Mr Gould responded, and he too stepped forward to take Matilda’s hand and kiss her knuckles in farewell. “Thank you for a marvellous evening, Miss Percival. Our friend has found a veritable angel indeed.”
Matilda could not stop herself from blushing and it was hard to speak past the lump in her throat as she said, “Thank you both for keeping me company this evening.”
“You are most welcome, Miss Percival. I am sure I shall see you again soon for another of Lady Amy’s lessons,” Mr Hayman assured her, and Matilda was pleased at the thought of seeing him again, yet nothing could compare to the way that she felt when she turned to look at the Duke and found him watching her intently. The feel of his eyes upon her made her skin tingle and her heart squeeze with both delight and terror.
“Miss Percival, will you excuse me a moment while I see these two rascals out?” the Duke said, offering her his own hand. She was even more shocked when she placed her hand in his and he followed the actions of his friends, kissing her on her gloved knuckles. “I shall return momentarily.”
“Of course, Your Grace. Please take your time.”
Watching them go, Matilda felt all aflutter, unable to understand just what was coming over her. Never in her life had she felt such conflicting emotions. Never had she looked after a nobleman and felt the urge to follow him, to walk at his side and never lose sight of him.
Oh, grow up, Matilda!she snapped at herself, remembering the only other time she had felt such a way with a young farmhand who had lived close by to her family home, a boy she had believed she had a crush on for many a year as a child.
That was until she caught him kissing another girl behind the stables on the very day she had chosen to finally admit her feelings to him. It had been a bad situation then and this was no better. In fact, in several ways it was far worse.He is my employer and a duke to boot!
Yet as she stood there, awaiting his return, she realised she could stand still no longer. Knowing that if she stayed in the parlour and he returned, she might never leave, she began to follow after him and his friends, waiting for Mr Hayman and Mr Gould to leave before she finally drew herself out from the shadow of the staircase.
“Ahh, Miss Percival. I was just coming back to the parlour,” the Duke told her the moment he had locked up the front door, having allowed Mr Burns to go to bed half an hour earlier when it had only been his two closest friends left to leave.
“I did not wish for you to waste your time coming all the way back to the parlour for little old me,” Matilda told him with a smile, feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment. “I merely wanted to say goodnight and thank you ever so much for inviting me to dinner this evening. I had a wonderful time.”
“Matilda, you need not thank me,” the Duke responded, and she was surprised to hear her name fall from his lips, surprised at the affection with which he spoke it. “You are family, and you are always welcome at my table.”
