Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Octavia, can we… I want to ask you something.”
Henry stood in the hallway as Octavia stepped out of her bedroom. He appeared nervous, the way he fidgeted with his hands, how he was able to look everywhere but at her.
“Henry.” Octavia’s chest tightened with worry. “Is something the matter?”
“No, I…” His face tightened. “I don’t think so. I just… I wanted to ask you about something. But I don’t know what you’ll say.”
“I guess that’s why you’re asking, isn’t it?” She walked to where he stood and rested a hand on his shoulder. “You can speak to me about anything, Henry. I hope you know this.”
Her little brother considered her before nodding firmly as if to give himself courage. “I wanted to say that I really like it here. I did not know if I would, but…” He shrugged. “It is better than I thought it would be.”
“I am glad,” she said, still unsure where he was going with this. “I have liked it too.”
“Then why do we have to leave?”
“We…” She frowned. “Who said we have to leave?”
“You did.” He forced himself to look at her, and she saw the hope in his eyes. “You said we might only be here for six months. That after… when it’s over, we would move to the country.”
“Oh.” Octavia blinked. “I… I said that we might do that.”
“Do we have to leave?” Henry pleaded with her. His voice was low, his body was withdrawn, but he continued to look at her with that same sense of hope. “I like it here, Octavia. I know you do too. Can we stay when it is over? I don’t want to go.”
It was true that Octavia considered moving to the country when her time as governess was finished.
The money she had made since starting this job, not to mention that which she would continue to make, was more than she would have dared to wish for, and it would easily be enough to see herself and her brother find a home in the country, able to set themselves up for long enough so that she might find more work.
When Octavia had first realized this plan, she had seen it as a bid for freedom.
Her debts would be paid. Her life would finally be her own.
And as she had always wanted, she and Henry might have a chance at a life that they both deserved…
Henry, especially, will not have to scrounge and suffer as I have had to do.
But that plan, once an idealistic notion of a future that Octavia spent four years wishing upon, no longer felt nearly so fulfilling as it once did.
As Henry looked pleadingly up at her, she thought back to the previous evening, what she and the Duke had done together.
She thought back further, how she had seen the Duke change before her very eyes, the sense that their relationship had grown beyond that of mere employer and employee.
She thought of her own feelings, those which had roared to life last evening, and still lived in her even now.
Is it possible? Might Henry and I have a life here instead…
She wanted to say yes, of course. If this was what Henry desired, she would not deny him. But as those words rose in her throat and touched at her tongue, she was reminded of a reality that could be ignored for a time but not forgotten.
What did she really expect from the Duke? Where could they go from here? He was a duke, she was nothing, and she could not rely on him to… she did not even know!
It was nice to dream of having, but eventually, one had to wake up.
“Nothing is certain,” she said to Henry, unable to admit to him the truth. “And there are still several months until we must consider what happens next.”
He scrunched his face as if angry. “That isn’t an answer.”
“True enough,” she laughed softly. “But it is the best you are going to get from me today.” Octavia dropped to her knees so that she could better look her brother in the eyes.
“Everything I do is for us, Henry. Know that. And when the time comes, whatever decision I make, it will be for that reason. Please, trust me. Can you do that?”
“I…” His face remained tight, and Octavia made sure to look into his eyes because she needed him to see that she was being honest. “I trust you, Octavia. You know I do.”
“Good.” She stroked his face and stood back up. “Then trust me in this. Now…” Taking his hand, Octavia led him down the hallway. “Let us break our fast, yes? No doubt Master Aaron is wondering where we are.”
They walked together to the breakfast room, silence their companion, because Henry undoubtedly still worried about their future and where they might go from here… but then again, so did Octavia.
If only things were easier. If only her life was not as it were. Sadly, as Octavia had learned so often in this world, there were some things that could not be changed, and all one could do was adapt, pray, and do the best you could with what was given.
Evander was working in his study when there was a knock at the door. As his head was bent over his desk, his heart leapt at the sound of that knock, because he thought for a moment that it might be Miss Finch.
Frustratingly, this was not the case.
“Your Grace.” The footman bowed and hurried into the room. “I am so sorry to disturb you, but you have a visitor who requests an urgent meeting.”
“A visitor…” Evander frowned and cast his thoughts to today’s schedule. “I have nobody scheduled to meet with today.”
“It is an impromptu visit, Your Grace,” the footman said with another bow. “I told her that she ought to have sent ahead –”
“Her?”
“Lady Redgate, Your Grace,” he said. “She has arrived just now and is rather insistent.” The footman’s lip curled. “I sense that she is not one used to being told no.”
“Lady Redgate…” Evander considered the name. “Did she say what she wanted?”
“Only that she must speak with you at once.”
Lady Redgate was a name that Evander recognized, even if he was not wholly familiar with its owner. From what people said of her, she was a snob as well as a recluse, the type who was rarely seen in public, for which most people seemed grateful for.
In fact, Evander had only met the woman officially the one time, that was last week at the Opera. He remembered how rude she had been toward Miss Finch, and how he had been forced to step in and remind the elderly woman to keep her opinions to herself.
Her late husband, on the other hand, was a man who Evander had met on a number of occasions.
It was years ago now, when he was still a teenager, but he remembered the man for how cold he was, how self-righteous, just as he remembered his own father praising Lord Redgate as the very embodiment of how all members of the peerage ought to hold themselves.
I can only think of one reason why she might have come all this way… which is the exact reason why I ought to deny her.
No doubt, she had concerns about Miss Finch and Evander’s relationship. And the fact that she thought it was her right to come here and express them directly… I think I will rather enjoy putting her in her place.
“Send her to me,” Evander said. “Now.”
The footman bowed and hurried from the room.
Evander took the next few moments to center himself and prepare for what he was sure would be a tiring exchange. How Lady Redgate thought it was any of her business to stick her nose into his personal affairs was beyond him. But she would know soon enough about the consequences of such things.
So it was that a minute later, Lady Redgate swept into his office.
“Your Grace,” she said politely as she entered. She walked with a straight back, a pointed chin, and a look on her face that suggested she was the center of all things. A typical Lady, really. “Thank you so much for agreeing to speak with me.”
“I do so wish you had sent word ahead, Lady Redgate,” Evander said coldly. “I am not in the business of having my schedule interrupted like this.”
“I thought to do so.” She approached his desk and took a seat without asking. She did so slowly, as if to emphasize her age and frailness. “But there are times when I have become somewhat impatient. When you reach my age, you will better understand.”
Evander said nothing at first, watching the elderly lady as she settled.
She had sharp features and sharper eyes. While her skin was wrinkled, while her frame was bent and frail, and while she was small of stature and withered, there was an undeniable power to her. Even as a duke, Evander felt the need to be cautious.
“If that is the case, then I suppose there is no point speaking around the subject,” he said once she was settled. “You came here for a reason, so I insist you get right to it.”
She smirked at him. “A man of action, just as I have heard about you.”
“Dare I say what I have heard about you?”
“Oh, I am sure all manner of things,” she said, waving him down. “Few of which are true, I assure you. As is the way, most of it can be attributed to my husband, and his legacy is one that is not so easily scrubbed clean.”
Evander scoffed. “And yet here you are, picking up right where he left off.” He made sure to look right at her, wanting the elderly lady to know that he was onto her. “You are here about my governess, no doubt.”
“So, you are as sharp as you are handsome.”
“Whatever it is you wish to say to her, you may say to me,” Evander said.
“Although I would not waste my breath, Lady Redgate. Miss Finch is my governess, and while she is that, she is under my protection. You can judge. You can bemoan. You can start whatever rumors you like. But be warned, I have a long memory, just as I have a very short temper.”
Lady Redgate frowned as she studied him. “Your Grace, I do not know what you think this is –”
“Yes, you do,” he cut over her. “You saw Miss Finch and I at the Opera last week, and now you wish to…” He scoffed. “I am not even sure. Warn me? Give me advice that I did not ask for? Whatever it is, I do not care.”
“Is that what you…” Lady Redgate looked confused. “Your Grace, I think there has been a horrible misunderstanding. Once again, you seem to be mistaking me for my late husband.”
“I saw the way that you looked at Miss Finch, Lady Redgate.”
“At first, perhaps,” she agreed. “As you have rightly pointed out, there is a perception of me in the ton, one that I am forced to encourage for reasons that… well, for the exact reason that I am here. But I promise you, I care little about your relationship with your governess.”
“And why do I not believe you,” he said dryly.
“It is the truth,” she said without a hint of betrayal. “In fact, I would very much like to speak to her.”
“Ha,” he barked. “If you think that I am going to allow you alone with Miss Finch so that you can scare her, then you have wasted your time.”
Lady Redgate sighed and shook her head. While she was a hard-looking woman, she managed to soften her expression, transforming before Evander’s eyes into a frail old lady who was lost and unsure and just plain tired.
“Please,” she said, her voice softening. “There is so much you do not know… so much that I am still unsure of. But I must speak with this Miss Finch. I have spent my life…” Her chin began to wobble. “Send for her, I implore you. Let her decide if my intentions are malicious or not.”
Until this very moment, Evander had been certain of his opinion concerning Lady Redgate.
Just as he had been certain that he would not let her within one hundred yards of Miss Finch.
But the previously rigid and cold Lady had suddenly turned soft, and there was an earnestness about her that was undeniable.
Is this all part of the act? Luring me into a false sense of comfort? If it is, it is a lot to go through just so she can have her say.
“Very well,” Evander said as he came to a decision. “I will send for her, but if I sense that your intentions are malevolent –”
“Then you may ask me to leave,” she spoke over him. “But please, I must speak with her. Just as I promised you, she will want to speak with me.”