Page 59 of In Service to the Duke

After a moment or two, she rises to her feet, shaking as she looks down at her dress. I shouldn’t care that arousal dampens her clothes. She is no longer fit for me to attend to. Before I can order her to leave, she dashes away, pushing away from me in her haste.

I follow but stop short of her door frame. No servants mill about, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been listening in. “Damn it,” I roar again, slamming my hand against the unforgiving wood.

“My son,” my mother calls out, her face ashen as she hobbles over. “Whatever is the matter?”

My heart clenches as I watch her, distressed that my news will cause her harm. Grabbing her by the elbow, I steer us forward, doing my best to lead her to my study. But she stops and wraps her hand around my wrist, keeping me from moving.

“What have you done?”

“What have I done?” I counter, hurt slamming into me. “It’s this charlatan, this harlot. She is the one to blame. Not I.”

“Stop right there,” she cries out, anger making her eyes glint. “You will not speak that way about a lady. I do not care what it is you think she has done, but I do not believe it is as bad as you surmise. I will not believe ill of the girl.”

Sneering, I motion for my mother to go inside the room. “See for yourself. It’s all laid out.”

“I will not. Whatever is in those missives is not for our eyes. But surely you should know it only paints one half of the tales. Are these in her hand?”

Sullen, I cross my arms, irritation at my mother zipping down my spine. “Well, no-”

“Then there is nothing to discuss. She would never harm this family. I’m sure of it.”

“You cannot be serious,” I cry out, my anger tempered only because I do not wish to cause her to become even weaker from my wrath. Taking on a much gentler tone, I pick up the letters and wave them in her face. “The evidence is right here if only you would read it.”

“I choose to believe my heart and my gut. It has not steered me wrong. I implore you, son. Let rationality reign. Do not give in to such base emotions.” Her tone has a hardened edge to it, one I’ve not heard in a long time.

Looking over at her, I note the heightened pink to her cheeks. Why, if I didn’t know any better, she’d look almost healthy, but that’s not possible. I should be grateful to see this as opposed to her normal pallor, but I cannot help but feel even more betrayed that it’s this governess’s actions which draw my mother from her stupor and not anything else.

Exasperated, I sit down on the bed and plop my head in my hands. “There is no other explanation, Mother. She meant to trap me, and I got away unscathed.”

“My son, you are not unscathed.”

Jerking my head up, I glance over at her, apprehension making it hard to breathe. There’s a note of fear shining in her eyes, one I am not expecting to see.

“Mother, what is it?”

“She is in heat.”

“No. That is impossible. The pills-”

“I do not know how, but I know that scent anywhere. Please, despite what you think about her, you must help. You must protect her.”

Another flare of anger threatens to overwhelm me, but I tamp it down for her sake. “And what of my protection? If I do this, if I go to her, it will mean I am indeed trapped.”

“You have feelings for her. I know you do,” she pleads with me, her expression earnest. “Even if they’re smothered with this misplaced animosity you harbor, they’re there.” When her words seem to have no sway, she changes her tactics. “Please, son,” she croaks out. “You must do this for me.”

CHAPTER 26

ROBERT

I blink at my mother’s wilting face, unsure of what exactly to do. Though I hear her words and pleas, I cannot go to Miss Gillet in this trying time. To do so would be to bind her to me in matrimony. I’d be doing the one thing she set out to accomplish all along.

“Mother, I do not understand why you still harbor congenial feelings toward this woman. She clearly came here with the intent of trapping me. And yet, you are the one who’s telling me to entrap myself?” If this doesn’t make her see reason, then I don’t know what will.

Her eyes shine with what looks like unshed tears. Why is she about to cry over this girl, this deceitful wretch? But even as I think of her in those terms, my heart threatens to rebel. This was what I wanted. I wanted Miss Gillet as fiercely as my lungs coveted air.

I just can’t see any way past this betrayal. It will be a pall hanging between us, married or not. With a heavy sigh, I plop my head down into my hands and instantly regret my actions. With my head much lower, Miss Gillet’s scent envelops me, teasing me, threatening me to push aside all the lies.

Storming toward the door, I leave my mother in the room as I hunt down the butler. He was the one who hired her in the first place. If anyone is to answer to these crimes, it’s him.