AllFreeNovel
Share Us
You have no idea.
Wait. Unless the dukeknowsabout Benedict’s plan to murder him and sit on his throne?
Is that what the duke is talking about?
“He seems complicated, your grace,” I say, trying to put it in ways that couldn’t be taken one way or the other. He can’t know that I snuck out with Benedict last night, can he? If he does, I’m dead.
But if he does, why would he have me keep looking after his daughter today? He can’t be that hard up for a nanny that he’d want a murderous traitor under his roof.
And he tolerates Benedict’s presence. No. From the slight hint of a sad smile on the duke’s face, he thinks that I’m falling for Benedict.
“I’m dedicated to my job, my lord,” I say, “your daughter, Lady Madeline, is my only true care and charge here, and I’m focused on her needs alone.”
“I’ve heard nothing other than that from all reports,” he replies warmly, the first glimmer of it I’ve seen from him since coming here.
He’s stern, to be certain, but is it more than that?
You have no idea what my brother has planned for you.Those whispered words in the back of my mind make me shiver.
“I’ve got to get her room cleaned,” I say, giving a polite mini curtsey and duck by him. “We had a bit of a slow start to the day.”
He watches me go, I feel his eyes on me as I start to pick up her clothes. All those dresses that she pulled out of her closet in hopes she could wear them. When I turn, three of them tucked over my arm, he’s still there.
“Is there something else I can help you with, your grace?” Just seeing him stand there, in the doorway, like he’s got nowhere else to be when he’s probably the busiest man in this entire estate with demands on his time like I could never understand, is odd.
“My brother can be charming,” he says quietly, his words meant only for me, in case anyone should be passing by in the hall outside. But he leaves the door open, to give no illusion of impropriety if someone finds us. “But make no mistake, he has hurt more people than I can count, and I don’t think he knows how to care anymore.”
His words strike at my heart and I lift my gaze from the dresses I’m about to slide onto hangers, to his face.
The duke’s expression is sober, so like his brother, but older, more refined. There’s lines at the corners of his eyes, I realize, more than there should be at his years.
How heavy the weight rests on the strongest of shoulders.
He’s like his daughter. Busy, focused, working hard— and Benedict is planning on pulling it all down around their ears. Myheart flutters in my chest, a feeling of protectiveness that I don’t think I’ve ever known, growing there. It’s warm, and small, but as I stare at the duke, a man I should have no pity for, my chest feels like it’s going to explode.
He’s going to kill you.
I want to say it. The words are thick in my throat, a bubble of confession, and never mind what it means for me. Surely in the face of unearthing that kind of conspiracy, my hitting the marquess wouldn’t mean anything, would it? All would be forgiven?
And what, I confess what I know, and he pleads innocence. With what proof? I have none. It’s my word against his.
“Did he ever, your grace?” That’s all I can muster. But it’ll give me some more insight into Benedict. Before I know it, I’m crossing the room, Madeline’s dresses clutched in my hands.
“Care?” The duke glances out the nearest window, expression softening. “Maybe. I’m not sure. Titles do things to us, I think.” He’s gentle like this, not so severe or strict, and he almost looks sad. Like he’s remembering his brother when they were younger, and life wasn’t so unyielding. “The loss of our parents—”
“That’s hard,” I breathe, feeling that same ache. My parents aren’t gone, but they might as well be. Sometimes we make choices that mean we can never go home. I’ve done just that. “How did it—”
“Nautical accident,” he says, voice growing clipped, and there’s that look of forbidding comes back into his eyes. The walls come up, and I’m shut out, just as I’m about to get some more answers.
I need to know more, about him, about the marquess. There’s no way I’ll be believed if I say anything now, but if I somehow insert myself into this world, get closer to the duke, gain his confidence?
I could save his life. I could rescue him from whatever horrible end Benedict has planned for him, and Madeline won’t have to grow up without her father. There’s so much more I want to ask him, to pry open the secrets that this house holds.
“Surely the duchess has a good relationship with Lord Benedict, being that the mother is the heart of the family,” as soon as the words are out of my mouth, I know I should have kept my teeth clenched shut.
“You are too familiar, Miss Bell,” the duke says, staring at me with incredulous irritation as I choke on an apology.
“I’m sorry,” the words mumble out of my mouth and he shakes his head once.
