Page 25 of A Baby to Seal the Duke’s Fate

Honora rested her hand on the edge of the crib. “No, it is not. But it is the only one I have.”

Saying it made the truth worse. She could learn the doors and the staircases, but she could not learn certainty. Not while the duke looked at Cecily as though she mattered, and not while Cecily reached for him as though she understood it was safe to do so. That was the worst of it.

Honora could have hated him if he had been cold. She could have stolen Cecily and run if Belgrave had been what she expected. But kindness complicated everything, and his kindness was beginning to feel less accidental every time she saw it.

And I have no documents to prove who Cecily and I are or where we belong, she thought, the reasons to abandon her plan continuing to form. I only have three days’ wages from this job, and I would be evading a duke with every legal resource in London.

She considered the options twice, imagining every detail. But none of them ended well. The best ending would be her being sent away somewhere, with prison or an asylum being real possibilities, and she would never see Cecily again.

The worst would involve Cecily being sent away as well, with the excuse that her arrival heralded nothing but trouble for the duke and his family. She should have fled the moment Mrs. Pritchard opened the door. Now, she had no choice but to pretend to be the expected nursemaid and hope nothing unexpected happened to bring that into question.

Chapter 5

Leopold went to the nursery before breakfast the following morning. He told himself it was a practical visit, that it was his duty to tend to the needs of the child, the room, or any small want Miss Redmond had discovered overnight.

The nursery door was open when he reached it. Inside, Miss Redmond was already awake with Cecily on her lap, a blanket tucked around the baby’s shoulders. The fire had been stirred, the curtains drawn back to the gray morning. Miss Redmond’s hair was not yet fully pinned, and without the careful neatness she wore in company, she looked younger.

Cecily saw him first. She gave a delighted little sound and kicked both feet once.

Leopold stopped in the doorway. “Good morning.”

Miss Redmond looked up at once. “Good morning, Your Grace.”

She straightened a little, as if she had not meant to be found so unguarded.

Leopold stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “How was the first night?”

Miss Redmond glanced down at Cecily, whose hands were now busy with the corner of the blanket. “She woke twice.”

Leopold’s brows lifted. “Only twice?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“And?”

“She settled quickly both times.”

Cecily chose that moment to smack her palm against Miss Redmond’s collarbone with a pleased air, as though confirming her own importance. Miss Redmond caught the hand gently before it could reach for her hair. Leopold watched how easily she caught the baby’s hand, as if it was completely second nature.

He folded his hands behind his back. “You are up early.”

“So are you.”

“Yes. But I did not expect a new nursemaid to be so quick to rise with a new child.”

Miss Redmond shrugged.

“I have a great deal of practice. I always try to be awake before a child has need of me.”

“So I see.”

Her mouth moved, as though she wanted to smile. Perhaps she does not smile because she is still nervous, Leopold thought.

He looked at the nursery basket on the table and then back at her. “Do you need anything for the room?”

Miss Redmond glanced around. “No, Your Grace. It is well prepared.”

He nodded. “Good.”