Chapter 4 #2
“Thank you,” Nora whispered, holding them both a little tighter. “Both of you. I do not know what I would have done without either of you.”
“I can think of a few things, but you likely would not want to hear me speak about any of them right now.” Penelope hummed.
Jane giggled, and Nora could not help but laugh as well, thankful to have eased some of her concerns, even just by sharing her problem.
She had a plan of sorts on how she would proceed, and as such, she would no longer wallow in despair.
Later that afternoon, Nora found herself walking the familiar route from her father’s home to her brother’s estate.
It was strange how the path led to a place she had been countless times, but now, her reasoning for visiting had changed. When the house came into view, she inhaled deeply, reminding herself of the importance of her actions and the reasons why her plan needed to be successful at all costs.
She had encouraged herself for over ten minutes to get herself out of the house – not because she was scared of the duke, but rather because she feared she would lose her temper again.
That would not help, especially if she were to appeal to his better nature, and certainly not with so much at stake.
Usually, she walked into her brother’s home as though she owned the place – Cecil insisted that she did, seeing as she had a room there as well for the nights she had spent at his house. But this time, she knocked at the door and waited.
Minutes later, the butler, Mr. Frederic, opened it, surprised to find her on the other side.
“Miss Nora? Was – was the door locked? My apologies –”
“Oh, no. It was not locked. I merely wanted to… come in properly. Is the duke in?”
The butler regarded her with confusion etched on his aged features, and he nodded.
“He is.”
“Wonderful. I would like to speak to him. Would you please let him know?” she asked softly.
“Of course, Miss. You may wait in the drawing room.”
Nora walked into the house, stopping shortly at the sight of a man she had never seen before. He regarded her for a moment, then he bowed curtly.
“Miss Nora. Good afternoon.”
Nora could not help but frown instinctively. “Who –”
“Mr Dante Anderson. His Grace’s right hand,” the butler introduced quickly.
“Ah. How do you do?” she curtsied with a nod, only for her to get the same in return before the man slipped away.
“He’s not the chatty kind, it would seem.” Mr Frederic said with a sigh, looking quite bothered by the interaction that had just transpired.
Nora could not help but look in the direction that he had gone in, feeling just as unsettled by the meeting. She shrugged it off and continued to make her way to the drawing room, settling into a settee as she waited for the duke to come and meet her.
The chair she was sitting in directly faced the wall that carried the painting her brother had given the duke, and she couldn’t help but stare at it.
Even from where she sat, it was certainly a striking piece. The colors were used beautifully, in a way that created both a stunning depiction of life and a haunting visual of death. But she could not understand why it was so spectacular that it managed to get the duke to do what her brother needed.
There had been a look in Godric’s eyes as Cecil had shown it to him, a mix of relief and regret in one that had puzzled Nora greatly. She could not fathom why it was so important.
“Miss Nora?”
At the sound of her name, Nora rose to her feet, whirling around to face the duke.
“Your Grace! Good afternoon.” She beamed with what she hoped was a pleasant expression.
Godric regarded her with mild curiosity, his tone portraying surprise as he said,
“The butler said you wanted to have a word with me.”
Nora nodded, wondering if she seemed too eager to speak to him.
“Yes – well… I would like us to discuss for a bit. If you would be so kind as to lend me your time.”
Godric glanced at the clock on the wall and nodded.
“Very well. You can join me for afternoon tea then.”
Nora curtsied, replying curtly. “I would be honored, Your Grace.”
She followed him to the terrace, where a table had been set, and upon his prompt, she took her seat, waiting for him to settle down as well. Once the tea was served, Godric nodded at Nora courteously.
“Please, help yourself.”
Nora took her time, making her cup to her preference, and once it was ready, she took a long sip to calm her nerves. Then she set the cup back on its saucer and cleared her throat.
“Your Grace, upon some… self-reflection, I realized that I was rather rash yesterday. And that was largely due to my confusion. I knew my brother adored me and felt protective of my well-being, but I had not expected him to go as far as enlisting your help in a bid to keep me safe. Needlessly so, perhaps. My brother has spent most of our lives looking after me, and I do appreciate his efforts. Our closeness and his reliability are something that I do not believe I could trade for the world. However, it would be doing not just myself — but him as well — a great disservice, if I let myself be coddled so viciously.”
She paused, lifting her eyes to his face, hoping to see something — anything — that would indicate her words were getting through to him. The eyes that were looking back at her bore their usual cold expression, whereas his face was calm with attentiveness.
Nora swallowed, encouraging herself to continue.
“My brother has let his protectiveness outweigh his reasoning, and I do love him immensely, but I need to face the truth and acknowledge that his efforts might have gone too far. You have no reason to dedicate so much of your efforts and your time following me about as though I were some young invalid. I am not a child. My father might be… nonchalant about my well-being, but he remains close enough that I know better than to act carelessly, for fear I might ruin the family’s reputation.
I can take care of myself. You do not need to take on such a burdensome role. ”
Godric continued to watch her until she cleared her throat, signaling that she had said all she needed to. She could only hope that he heard about the reason in her words.
The duke blinked slowly and gave her a curt nod.
“That was… a very reasonable argument, Miss Nora. And you are right. You are not a sniveling child that I need to follow closely. And although your father fails to be an… adequate guardian for you, I suppose it is true that his presence does help you behave well enough. You have shown me in your actions that you have a rather wild side —” Nora clenched her hand into a fist on top of the table to prevent herself from speaking out of turn at that.
“But the efforts you have made to set up this… impromptu meeting also tell me that you can behave yourself properly.”
That was likely the best form of approval she would ever get from him. Just as her heart had begun to soar with hope, Godric added,
“However, I have a promise to uphold. A deal was made, and I must deliver on my end of the bargain. Be that as it may, I see no reason the arrangement between us cannot be tweaked in your favor. If you give me your word that you will be on your best behavior, I will be discreet in my efforts to watch after you. I will be close, but I will not interfere in your life unless I deem it absolutely necessary.”
The outcome was not satisfactory at all. Nora would have preferred that he swear off coming near her at all, leaving her completely to her own devices.
But she could tell that this was the best she would get and did not want to waste her efforts by starting another argument that would lead her right back to square one.
So, she raised her head and nodded firmly, holding her hand out.
“Deal.”
Godric’s gaze fell on her hand and then raised to meet her eyes. Slowly, he raised his hand and wrapped it around hers, shaking it gently. His fingers enveloped hers completely, and she was struck by how… warm his touch was.
How could a man who was so cold feel so warm?
Her mind wandered back to Penelope’s words about how he would be as a suitor. Against her will, she could not help but wonder how he treated women he was interested in.
“Anything else, Miss Nora?”
Nora jumped as his deep voice shattered her thoughts and pulled her hand away.
“N-No. That’s all. Thank you for your time.” She stuttered, rising to her feet. “I will take my leave now.”
The duke nodded, and she curtsied quickly and left her brother’s house, her heart thundering in her chest.
His warmth around her hand lingered all the way back to her home.