Page 37 of A Baby to Seal the Duke’s Fate

She held his gaze. “I know how babies behave.”

That answer was too neat by half.

Leopold kept his face calm. “You said you have cared for a child this young before.”

“Yes.”

“Whose child?”

“A family in the country,” she said.

Barnaby would have called that a dodge. Leopold called it a lie. Or at least a partial truth. She had said she worked in Wiltshire before. But the way she spoke then was as if she was trying to pretend she had never said it. Or like she forgot that was the name of the town she had mentioned.

He nodded once as if the answer had satisfied him, though it had not. “And the child?”

Miss Redmond’s eyes stayed on him. “Would you like to further discuss her teething?”

He could hear the subject change before she made it explicit. She had not misunderstood him. She had taken a deliberate turn with the conversation.

He glanced at the papers on his desk and let it go. “If you believe it needs further discussion.”

“Yes,” she said quickly. “It is making her unhappy and restless, especially late at night. A cold cloth helps. So does walking her when she starts to fret, though neither seems to work for more than an hour or two at a time. I thought perhaps some teething sticks and some chamomile that I can use to infuse water to rub on her gums might help.”

Leopold nodded, though the answer settled uneasily beside all the others. And the more he listened to her speak, the more he could not escape what his mother had said about her accent. And she constantly avoided talking about the other children she said she had cared for.

“Very well,” he said. He might not have believed she was telling the full truth, but he did believe she was genuinely concerned for the child and knew what was in her best interest. “I shall see to it that you have those things before the day ends.”

Miss Redmond curtsied and smiled softly.

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

He had just opened his mouth to ask another question when the door behind him opened.

The dowager entered without waiting to be invited. “We need to speak.”

Miss Redmond dipped her head, silently excusing herself.

Leopold waited until she was gone. Then, he set down his pen. “About what, precisely?”

“The scandal is worsening.”

“I am aware.”

“It is in every society page.”

“So I have noticed.”

“And the version growing in town is becoming less favorable by the hour.”

Leopold gave a short, dismissive motion with one hand. “That is no surprise.”

“It should be enough to convince you.”

“Of what?”

“That the child must be sent away.”

He answered evenly. “No.”