Page 81 of A Mother for the Blind Duke’s Orphans

The movement caused his elbow to graze against Poppy’s forearm. Her pulse picked up, and she prayed he would not notice the effect he had on her.

Aurora gave him a doubtful look, then decided to accept it and move on. “This one has a h…h…horse. This one has a m…moon. This book is for Princess, b…b…but she tried to eat it.”

“She is a harsh critic,” he muttered under his breath.

Poppy pressed her lips together so that she would not laugh.

Aurora glanced at Hector, uncertain whether that was a joke because his expression remained grave. But she smiled regardless of her lack of knowledge.

“And t—these are the t…t…toys,” she continued, a little more confidently and loudly now. “This doll belongs here, but that one does.” She pointed at a rag doll. “That one d…d…does not, but Princess likes it. And those are our t…t…treasures.”

Poppy and Hector looked at the shells, stones and pieces of torn fabric lying in a heap.

“Why is that your treasure?” Hector asked curiously.

Aurora’s face went quiet and grave.

“It is m…my treasure because it would m…m…make me sad if it was gone,” she said simply.

Poppy stopped breathing for the length of a heartbeat while Hector said nothing. Aurora, unaware of how her words impacted them, leaned forward and began showing him their treasures with increasing confidence. A toy was pressed into his hand, then taken back, followed by a book. A small keepsake of hers was described with elaborate seriousness.

“She arrived at the orphanage with those,” she whispered to Hector, who was still looking at the pile of what seemed to be junk.

Poppy remembered the day as if it were yesterday. The two girls were wrapped in flimsy material, and Aurora’s little fist had to be pried open only to find some stones, shells, and a piece of material.

Hector cleared his throat. “How long did it take you to build this fortress, Aurora?”

“It t…t…took me, Poppy, and Mrs. Patterson years to b…build it,” she announced proudly.

“Years?” Hector repeated impressively.

Poppy leaned close enough for only him to hear. “It took two days.”

His mouth twitched. “I figured. I also figured that she had some help.”

“You did?” She feigned her surprise, and Hector let out a small laugh.

Poppy was too close to him inside the fort, and every touch, graze, and eye contact seared her mind.

“You helped, I assume?” he asked.

“And Mrs. Patterson.” She shrugged.

At that, Hector turned his head and raised his brow. Poppy heard the faint change in his voice and frowned. “That little traitor.”

Aurora looked at him, troubled. “Mrs. P…Patterson is not l…l…little.”

“No,” Hector murmured. “But a traitor all the same.”

Poppy narrowed her eyes. “And who did she betray?”

There was a brief moment of silence. Hector had the look of a man who had stepped where he had not intended to step and heard the floorboard creak beneath him. Poppy’s suspicion, which had been living quietly in a corner of her mind for days, stood up and stretched.

“Hector,” she said softly.

He adjusted himself in the small space. “I assumed Mrs. Patterson told you.”

“Told me what?” she frowned.