Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
“Is there something wrong with your food?” Octavia asked Henry. She watched him closely, and with worry.
“No…” He said without looking at her. “I’m just not hungry.”
“I’ll have it.” Aaron, sitting beside Henry, reached eagerly for Henry’s plate.
“Enough of that.” Octavia was quick to lash out and grab Aaron by the hand. She raised a warning eyebrow at him. “You have your own plate of food, Aaron.”
“But I want Henry’s,” he pouted and pulled at her hand.
“I am sure there are lots of things you want,” she said without looking away, and without releasing him. “Sadly, as is the way of this world, we don’t always get what we want.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged. “That is for smarter men than me to figure out. Now…” Her raised eyebrow held on him. “Are you going to eat your own plate of food, or are you going to go hungry? Those are your two options.”
To Aaron’s credit, he didn’t appear in the least put out by Octavia’s reprimand. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it. His pout was replaced by a wicked smile and a flashing of his eyes.
Oh yes, he is starved for attention. Maybe I should have let him take the plate, but ignored him? Likely, he wouldn’t have touched it at all once he saw that I did not care.
“I’ll eat my own…” He pried his arm free and fell back in his chair. “But if Henry doesn’t want his…”
“Henry?” Octavia looked at her brother again. “Are you sure everything is fine with your food?”
“It is…” He poked at his plate idly. “Just not hungry.”
She tried to meet her brother’s eyes. From the day he was born, she could count on one hand how many times he had turned down food. And when considering how good the food here was, compared to what they used to eat, she was surprised that she didn’t have to wrestle the plate from his hands.
Something is clearly bothering him. Make sure to follow up later, Octavia. Do not let him think that Aaron is the only one you care about.
“Very well,” she said. “Try and eat what you can.”
It was the morning following Octavia’s kiss with the Duke. She hardly slept a wink last night, the reasons for which were only too obvious to her.
To put the kiss behind her, Octavia was desperate to believe that he had only done so because he wanted to prove to her that she had not won. He did not like his authority being questioned, and by kissing her, he reminded Octavia of where she stood and how little power she had over him.
Even if that was the case, even if the kiss had meant nothing, that did not explain Octavia’s own reaction… one which persisted all these hours later.
Her lips still burned. Her heart still raced.
The feel of his fingers on her chin, of his taste in her mouth, and how effortlessly she had given in…
it haunted her, refused to leave her alone, and had her legs trembling because deep down, in the depths of her soul, Octavia knew just how much she had enjoyed the kiss.
Just as she knew how much she wanted it again.
But it cannot happen again, Octavia. Nor will it! A point was made, that’s all it was, and you need to focus on the task at hand.
“Is it too hot in here, Miss Finch?” a voice spoke from over Octavia’s shoulder, bringing her back into the room.
She, Henry, and Aaron were seated together in the breakfast room, a tradition that she was trying to instill in the two boys because they both required boundaries and structure.
Every morning, no matter what, she wanted to break her fast with them both.
And while she enjoyed it, today, Octavia might have preferred her own company.
“Wh – what?” she blinked and looked around.
“Your cheeks, Miss Finch, they are flushed.” The footman who addressed her was named Thomas, one of the younger footmen who worked for the Duke. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a friendly smile that grew whenever he looked at Octavia.
She chuckled. “No, no, Thomas, I am quite fine, thank you.”
“Perhaps something cold for breakfast instead?” He swept toward her, already reaching for her plate of toast. “I can have the chef –”
“I am fine,” she assured him, taking her plate before he had it in his hands. “But I appreciate your concern.”
“Just doing my job,” he said with a wink.
Her smile was grateful but also reserved. She and Thomas were the same age, they were both employed by the Duke, and Octavia had been alive for long enough to know why he was so kind to her… do not give him anything, Octavia. The last thing you need is one of the staff having a crush on you.
“Right, you two.” She looked between Henry and Aaron. “For today’s lesson, I was thinking –”
“Father!” Aaron perked up, and his eyes sparkled with unbridled excitement.
Octavia’s own eyes widened, and her stomach dropped right through her.
Slowly, she turned, and it took all the control that she had to straighten her face and appear as if the room hadn’t started to spin suddenly. Which, for the record, it had.
“Son.” The Duke strode into the breakfast room. “I hope I am not too late.”
“You’re eating?” Aaron asked eagerly, as if he could not believe it.
“I am,” the Duke said simply as he walked down the length of the table. “I have a rare moment of free time, so I thought I might join you.” He reached his chair at the head of the table and paused. “If that is fine by you?”
Octavia’s heart was already racing. She worked to control it, her breathing also, only too aware of how nervous she must have looked to anyone who watched.
Worse still, she felt the Duke’s eyes on her, and she could not bring herself to meet them. That kiss… that moment… it rushed through her mind, her lips started to tingle again, and she wished the floor would open so it might swallow her whole.
“Yes,” Aaron said. “Join us.”
“I was asking Miss Finch,” the Duke said.
Her eyes widened again. “Yes!” she said a little too loudly. She grimaced and forced a soft chuckle. “I mean… we would love to have you join us.”
The Duke pulled out his chair and sat down, and not once did he look away from Octavia.
Octavia’s first thought was that he was doing this to make another point.
She wondered if that kiss had the same effect on him as it did her, and if he was here now to see how she might react around him.
If that was the case, then maybe the kiss was not a power move at all?
Maybe it had touched him how it touched her?
Then, she remembered the reason that she had sought the Duke last evening. Of course, that is the reason, Octavia. Obviously!
With that in mind, she gave her head a shake, forced composure, and turned to face the Duke. By that point, he had finished watching her, and his expression was one of boredom.
“This is a surprise,” she said politely. “I did not think to see you this morning.”
“Is it?” he said simply. “You should be the least surprised of everyone. Although… no, that is not true. You, more than anyone, have a rather hard time following rules.”
“That is not –”
“Me, on the other hand.” He shrugged. “When I say I am going to do something, I do it. A lesson you might wish to take note of.”
Octavia smirked to herself. She saw right through his reprimand, just as she saw the real reason that he was here. Despite what he claimed, he obviously agreed with her assessment that he needed to spend more time with his son.
She eyed him curiously, careful not to be noticed doing so. For all his dispassion and emotional dissidence, he cared about his son, just as he cared about their relationship. He wanted to do better, and this right here was proof.
Once again, I am forced to question just how much I know about this man. As soon as I think I have him figured out, he goes and does something to surprise me.
“What are you doing today, Father?” Aaron asked. He fidgeted in his seat, a ball of energy that could not be contained.
“Working,” the Duke said simply.
“Oh…” Aaron hesitated, clearly a little put off by the shortness of the reply. “I thought… do you want to join our lesson?” His eyes brightened.
“Doubtful,” the Duke said. Aaron slumped and pouted. Octavia scowled at the Duke. He saw her do so, sighed, and looked at his son once more. “But thank you for asking, Aaron. Maybe next time.”
It was a small gesture, but it meant the world to Aaron, and his smile, all teeth, was proof of the fact.
“Miss Finch, are you certain you are not too hot?” Thomas interjected. “Your cheeks…”
“Oh…” Octavia looked away, not even aware that she was blushing. And it grew worse when she felt the Duke watching. “I am quite fine…”
“You are that,” Thomas said with a coy smile. “Forgive me for saying.”
“Thomas,” the Duke growled. “Why is my plate empty?”
“Oh!” Thomas jumped on the spot. “I am sorry, Your Grace. I did not… I will be right back.” He hurried from the room, and the Duke watched him with narrowed eyes.
Octavia frowned at the reaction. Likely, he was just annoyed that Thomas had not served his breakfast yet. But what if there was another reason… No, Octavia. Enough of that! Do not be ridiculous!
The breakfast that followed was a rather awkward affair.
The Duke was not one for small talk, nor was he one to make the effort. He ate mostly in silence, refusing to join the conversation or looking as if he heard what was being said.
Aaron, for perhaps the first time in his life, was quiet and well-behaved. He stayed in his seat, he did not touch his plate of food, and he watched his father the entire time, a look on his face that suggested the world revolved around him.
Henry, too, was still quiet and moody, so much so that he hardly even seemed to notice the Duke’s presence.
That left Octavia to make the effort and try to turn this little surprise into one worth having.
“I was just about to tell the boys what I have planned today,” she said to the Duke.
He did not respond.
“Would you like to hear? No doubt you are curious.”
He looked at her, a warning in his eyes, but she just smiled back, not giving him the chance to intimidate or cower her.