Chapter 3
“How are you feeling?” Yvette asked Hugh. “It’s perfectly natural to feel nervous.”
“I’m no -- not nervous.”
She smiled, taking note of his stutter, a clear indication that he was indeed nervous. “Are you sure about that?”
Hugh looked at her across the carriage. His deep blue eyes swam with fear, and she had no doubt that he was drowning in nerves.
But there was something else behind those eyes that she had not noticed before…
was that intelligence? Perhaps it was a perceptive quality that spoke to the young boy being more than what he had initially seemed.
He is undoubtedly more than what I once thought. And looking at him closely now, the similarities between him and his father are so obvious I can’t believe I never noticed them before.
There was so much that she wanted to ask Hugh.
They were seated across from one another in the Duke’s carriage, a journey that would take less than twenty minutes until they arrived at the manor. All night, Yvette had wondered what this morning would bring, and never in her wildest dreams did she imagine what ended up transpiring.
Hugh was waiting in the carriage for Yvette when she walked outside her home this morning. He was still dressed in rags, still looking malnourished and slovenly. But that he was there, and that he was willing and accepting of his fate, was what surprised her the most.
She wanted to ask him more. She was desperate to find out what he knew, what had brought him to this place, and if he had expected things to go this way for him.
Never mind Yvette’s own struggles to comprehend her own role in this. It was Hugh whom she worried about most, and she wanted to comfort him, but didn’t know if he needed it. She didn’t know anything about him!
“I have heard that the Duke is a good man,” Yvette eased him. “I am sure that you will enjoy living with him.” She had not heard such things, but there was no sense in frightening the boy.
“It’s not that…” Hugh looked out the window at the passing farmland. “Wh – what if he… I don’t know h – how to –to – to…” He grimaced and muttered under his breath as his hands shook.
Hugh had a stutter, one that came and went depending on the child’s mental state. When he was comfortable, it was nowhere to be seen. But as soon as he became nervous or afraid, he could hardly string two words together without getting tongue tied.
With all that was happening, English might as well have been his second language for how hard he struggled.
“Wh – what if he does – does – doesn’t like me?” Hugh asked. “Wh – wh – what ab – about my – my – my…” His chin started to wobble and tears began to well in his eyes.
On instinct, Yvette reached out and took his hand. She had never touched him before, as he always kept his distance from her. This time, as soon as she held his hand, she felt him relax, and she squeezed his hand in comfort as she found his watering eyes across the carriage.
Her smile was assured and friendly, and she knew it made a difference.
“You are worried about your stutter,” she said.
He nodded and looked away with embarrassment.
“How about this,” she began softly. “When we arrive, let me do the talking. It might sound strange to you, but I promise that His Grace is just as nervous as you are.”
He snorted. “No he isn’t.”
She laughed. “You would be surprised. This is new for him too, and he will have no idea how to behave around you. Perhaps he will be stuttering even worse than you are.”
That received a smile from Hugh.
“Let me talk for you,” she continued. “Let me feel things out. And regarding your stutter?” She shrugged. “So what?”
“So what?”
“You are his son…” Just saying it sounds insane! “He asked you to stay with him. Believe me, he will love you for who you are, not who you wish you were.”
Hugh forced a smile, but it was unsure this time. And for that, she could not blame him.
Yvette kept a hold of Hugh’s hand for the rest of the short journey, and she reminded herself that she was there for him. She did not care about the Duke. She did not care about being a good governess. She cared about protecting Hugh, whatever that might take.
They arrived at the manor shortly after, and when they did, Yvette and Hugh both scooted to the window so they could see the vast manor as it grew from the earth before them.
It was a magnificent building, three stories tall, built of brick and marble, with large colonnades skirting the front, an enormous garden built around the driveway, and even a gate painted gold which swung open to welcome them through.
“Here we are,” Yvette said, still holding Hugh by the hand. “Are you ready?”
He smiled weakly, and she shared it. As nervous as Hugh was feeling, Yvette felt much the same. This was new to her; she had no idea what to expect, and fear was an ever-present emotion that she had to work hard to hide.
With all that has happened, I haven’t even had a chance to consider how I feel about this. My old life, gone. My new life… I have no idea!
The carriage came to a stop, and they were greeted outside by a footman. He bowed deeply and asked them both to follow him inside, which they did; Yvette held Hugh’s hand the entire way.
The front doors opened to a massive foyer with a ceiling that rose to the third story. It was fronted by a winding staircase, a fur rug ran along the floor, expensive paintings hung on the walls, and even Yvette’s beating heart seemed to echo across the vast chamber.
Her mouth hung open as she took it all in, and so distracted was she by the sheer opulence that she failed to notice the Duke standing at the top of the stairs.
“You made it,” he said, his voice like thunder. “How was the journey?” He started down the staircase toward them.
“Go – good,” Yvette stammered, her heart racing.
“Nothing untoward to report?” he asked.
“Nothing comes to mind.”
The Duke cut an intimidating figure. Tall and thick of body, his features dark, his expression stern, he held Yvette and Hugh in his powerful gaze as he made his way down the stairs.
Each step he took seemed to rock the manor, and the closer he came, the more he grew in size and stature; he was like a tidal wave rising, readying to wash over them both.
Beside her, Yvette felt Hugh turn stiff with fear.
She glanced quickly at the boy to offer him her support and found that he was staring at his feet as his body trembled. Yvette might have done the same, but she was determined to provide a stalwart of support for Hugh. To be brave where the boy could not be.
Easier said than done…
“Miss Norleigh, I wish to start by thanking you.” The Duke stepped onto the lower landing and crossed quickly to where Yvette and Hugh stood waiting. Such was his size and presence that she felt an immediate urge to take a step back. “For doing this, and on such short notice. It is commendable.”
“I did not –” Yvette caught her tongue. Still, the Duke raised an eyebrow at her, and the sheer power behind that single gesture made her feel smaller than she ever had. “I am happy to serve,” she finished in a whisper.
“I am glad,” he said with a single nod. Then, he turned his attention to Hugh. “Now, let me take a look at you.”
The Duke observed his son, who still looked at his feet. Yvette could feel the boy tremble, which did not surprise her, as the Duke was doing nothing to try and make him feel comfortable or more relaxed.
“Look at me, thank you,” the Duke said.
Slowly, Hugh forced himself to look up. His blue eyes were wide in terror, and he was barely able to look upon his father for more than a second before snapping his head back down.
“You are more downtrodden than I expected,” the Duke said.
“Those clothes… your hair…” He clicked his tongue.
“And that smell. Stanley!” He looked at one of the valets who hovered nearby.
“Take the boy to the washroom and have him cleaned and made presentable. A haircut. New clothes. He is my son, and I would like him to look the part.”
“At once, Your Grace.”
“Hugh, stand straight when I address you.” His tone was not cold and demanding, but it was not soft either. “And you should try and make eye contact at all times, where possible.”
Hugh winced and looked at Yvette for support.
She smiled. “Go with Stanley,” she said. “I will come and see you shortly.”
Hugh could not have looked more terrified, but he allowed himself to be led away. Yvette kept an eye on him as he went, noting how he continued to tremble and noting how he did not once look at his father.
Alone, finally, the Duke sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“This is not at all what I…” He spoke to himself, as if he had forgotten that Yvette was there. “How am I supposed to… what a mess.”
Until that moment, all of Yvette’s thoughts had been on the well-being of Hugh. Now that he was gone, she refocused her attention on the Duke.
He stood over her, tall and physically imposing. He wore a frown as he looked where his son had vanished, disappointment evident behind his dark blue eyes. At first, Yvette had been intimidated, but now, having adjusted to the Duke, she felt something else swirling within her.
She felt annoyance.
Having spent several years with her drunken father, Yvette had developed a streak of fierce independence, paired with a short temper when it came to voicing her opinion. Around her father and his congregation, she was able to get away with it. But for a Duke…
“Might I suggest that you redirect your judgment somewhere else?” she said before she could stop herself. “He is just a boy, and it is not his fault that he does not know any better.”
The Duke started in surprise. “Excuse me?”
“Hugh is clearly terrified,” she continued, struggling to keep the sharpness from her tone. “Confused, also. No idea what is happening or what he should think. His entire world has changed overnight, and all you can do is judge him for it. As if you are not the cause.”
Her objection was met with a hushed gasp from the valets who loitered about the foyer. Indeed, she felt the air turn cold as if winter had suddenly come.
The Duke did not appear as upset as he might have been. No doubt he was not used to being spoken to that way, and she saw the surprise filter behind his dark blue eyes. It was as if she spoke an alien language, and he was not sure if he should be insulted or not.
“What did you say?”
“I…” Yvette balked, having only just realized what she said… and who she said it to. She forced her tone to soften. “All I meant was that this situation is new for the both of you. And it might serve you well if you were to remember that. Sorry,” she added.
The Duke continued to look at her strangely.
“As my father likes to say…” She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked down at her feet; the weight of the Duke’s gaze was such that it seemed to force her eyes downward. “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar…”
“I appreciate the sentiment.” He spoke dryly and with extreme disinterest. “Just as I appreciate your being here.”
“Thank –”
“As to your reason for being here,” he cut over her, his tone suddenly sharp. “Perhaps it needs to be restated, to avoid confusion. You are not here to be the child’s mother. You are not here to be my wife. And you are certainly not here to give me advice on how I should treat my own child.”
Her heart started to race. “I did not mean…”
“You are here as the boy’s governess only,” he continued. “To teach and educate him in the ways of the peerage. Beyond that singular task, if you have any more opinions, I suggest that you keep them to yourself. Is that understood?”
“Yes,” she said in a whisper.
“In fact, I see this now as a good chance to address our relationship.” He let that word sit between them, and Yvette forced herself to look up…
and she gasped when she met his eyes because it felt as if he could see right through her.
“We do not have one. You are not to seek me out. You are not to send for me. As far as you are concerned, I do not exist outside of my son. Even then, the only time we speak is as it concerns his education. Do I make myself clear?” A beat passed between them. “Well?”
Yvette’s initial reaction was to bow her head and simply agree. Anything to turn his rancor away from her. Plus, the Duke was so darn intimidating that she could not help but feel the need to submit and even apologize as if she had done something wrong.
What stopped this reaction was the Duke’s eyes.
In them, she saw Hugh, a clear paternal connection between father and son.
It reminded her that the Duke was Hugh’s father, and that he was responsible for this situation and its consequences.
He might have been intimidating. He might have been a touch scary.
But he was in the wrong here, and she would not let him forget it.
“I understand very well.” She held his glare with her own determined one, demonstrating that she would not be walked all over. “Let us hope there is no reason for me to have to speak to you again. Ever.”
It might have been her imagination, but she could have sworn she saw a flicker of surprise pass behind his eyes. Even amusement… but he smothered it quickly.
“Very well,” he said. “My staff will see you to your rooms, and they will instruct you on anything that you need to know while staying here. Now, if there is nothing else…” He raised his eyebrow at her, she looked right back, and he scoffed. “Good day.”
With that, the Duke turned and walked back up the stairs.
Yvette watched him go, her heart racing, her limbs trembling, and a distinct feeling within herself that for as long as she remained in this home, she wasn’t going to like the Duke very much.
Which was fine, as she surmised quite quickly that he wasn’t going to like her either. Not one little bit.