Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
The following morning, Amelia was determined to approach her duties with renewed enthusiasm.
The previous evening’s conversation with Gabriel lingered stubbornly in her thoughts, and she found herself replaying certain moments far more often than was sensible.
She ought to have been concentrating on David’s education, not on the color of a duke’s eyes or the sound of his voice in a dark kitchen.
Unfortunately, her mind seemed unwilling to cooperate.
Hoping that activity would distract her, she went in search of David.
Mrs. Jacobs informed her that the boy was currently with his nurse, Katie, and directed her towards the nursery wing.
Amelia found the door slightly ajar and knocked gently before entering. Warm steam drifted through the room, carrying the scent of soap and lavender. David sat in a large copper bathing tub while Katie poured water over his dark hair.
“Good morning,” Amelia said with a smile as she stepped inside. David immediately brightened and splashed enough water to alarm the nurse.
“Miss Amelia,” he exclaimed, grinning broadly. “Grover tried to eat my shoe this morning.”
Katie sighed as she wiped the water off her.
Amelia laughed and moved closer. “Katie, may I ask you something about David’s lessons?” she said, clasping her hands together.
“Of course, miss,” the nurse replied as she helped David with his bath.
Amelia’s smile vanished. A pale scar stretched across David’s chest. It was old now, long healed, but impossible to miss. Amelia stared before she could stop herself. Her stomach tightened as questions flooded her mind. Children did not acquire scars like that from ordinary tumbles.
“Miss?” Katie asked gently, noticing her expression. Amelia looked away.
“My apologies,” Amelia said quickly as she backed towards the door. “I just remembered something that requires my attention.”
Katie looked confused but nodded politely. David was already distracted by a wooden boat floating in the bathwater. Amelia left before anyone could ask further questions. The moment the door closed behind her, she stopped in the corridor and pressed a hand against her chest.
The image refused to leave her mind. She walked slowly through the hallway while unease twisted inside her.
Valerie’s coldness towards Gabriel suddenly seemed far more significant.
The girl had repeatedly implied that something was wrong within this household.
Amelia had dismissed much of it as resentment and grief. Now, she was no longer certain.
What if Valerie has been trying to tell me something all along?
Amelia frowned as she continued down the corridor.
Gabriel could be overbearing, controlling, suspicious, and thoroughly impossible, yet she struggled to imagine him deliberately harming a child.
Then again, she barely knew him. A handsome face and a few vulnerable moments in a kitchen did not make a man innocent.
By the time she reached the library, her thoughts were in complete disarray. Valerie sat beside the window, surrounded by books and sheets of paper. Sunlight streamed across her dark hair while she scribbled notes with determined concentration.
Amelia cleared her throat softly. Valerie looked up, then appeared disappointed to discover who had interrupted her.
“Miss Shirley,” she said flatly.
“Miss Warring,” Amelia replied, stepping further into the room.
Valerie set down her pen with visible reluctance. “If this concerns custard, I assure you David remains obsessed with it,” she said dryly.
Amelia almost smiled. “Actually, I hoped we might speak.”
Valerie groaned dramatically and leaned back in her chair. “You really must stop following me about the house,” Valerie informed her while folding her arms. “We made custard together once. We are not friends.”
Amelia blinked. “That was surprisingly direct.”
“I pride myself on efficiency,” Valerie replied. “Unlike certain people, I have a debut to prepare for and very little time remaining.”
Amelia walked further into the room and sat opposite her. “I only need a moment,” she said quietly.
Valerie eyed her suspiciously. “That is what people always say before asking intrusive questions.”
Amelia winced because that was precisely what she intended to do. “Fair point,” she admitted.
Valerie sighed heavily and gestured for her to continue.
Amelia hesitated briefly. “I saw David’s scar.”
The effect was immediate. Valerie’s expression hardened at once. The humour vanished from her face. Even the air in the room seemed to change. Amelia’s pulse quickened.
For several seconds, Valerie said nothing. Then she lowered her gaze to the papers before her. “You should not ask questions about things that do not concern you,” she said quietly.
Amelia leaned forward slightly. “It concerns David, and I am his governess.”
Valerie’s lip pouted slightly. “The person who should have cared for him failed him.”
The words struck Amelia like a blow. She immediately thought of Gabriel.
Valerie had never hidden her resentment towards her uncle. She spoke politely in front of him, but her true feelings were obvious whenever he left the room.
Amelia’s stomach twisted. “What do you mean?” she asked carefully.
Valerie looked up sharply. For a moment, Amelia thought she might answer.
Instead, Valerie stood abruptly. “I mean exactly what I said,” she replied, gathering her papers. “Nothing more.”
Amelia rose as well. “Valerie…” she began.
Valerie cut her off with a raised hand. “Please stop trying to solve everyone’s problems,” she said tiredly. “You have been here long enough.”
Before Amelia could respond, Valerie walked from the library. The door closed softly behind her. Amelia remained standing beside the table, staring after her. Confusion churned inside her.
Valerie had not denied it. Worse, she had not confirmed it either.
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur.
Amelia attempted lessons with David, but her concentration wandered repeatedly.
Every time she looked at the little boy, she remembered the scar.
Every time she thought of the scar, she thought of Valerie’s words.
And every time she thought of Valerie’s words, Gabriel’s face appeared in her mind.
By evening, she was no closer to understanding the truth.
One moment, she felt certain Gabriel could never hurt a child.
The next, she remembered how fiercely protective he was and wondered whether guilt played a role.
Nothing made sense. She disliked uncertainty more than almost anything. It made her feel trapped.
As darkness settled over Anderton Manor, Amelia stood beside her bedroom window and stared out at the moonlit grounds.
Somewhere below, Gabriel was likely still working in his study.
The thought made her stomach flutter for reasons she preferred not to examine.
Whatever feelings existed between them, they would not prevent her from seeking answers. David deserved that much.
Amelia folded her arms and looked out into the darkness.
I will speak directly to him and not back down until I know the truth.
Gabriel had noticed that for the past several days, Amelia and Valerie had slowly been making progress with one another, much to his surprise. The two young women had been speaking more often, and Valerie had even laughed in Amelia’s presence on more than one occasion.
Until this day.
What has occurred?
This thought echoed through his mind the entire day as he realized that something had shifted.
During luncheon, Valerie barely looked at Amelia, and during lessons, the governess seemed distracted and frustrated.
Gabriel observed it all from a distance while pretending complete indifference.
Unfortunately, pretending indifference had become increasingly difficult whenever Amelia Shirley was involved, particularly after they had spoken in the kitchen when he had stared at her pink lips.
The thought lingered longer than it should have as Gabriel sat in his study later that evening and found himself recalling the troubled expression he had seen on Amelia’s face.
She had looked hurt. Frustrated. Confused.
The sensible part of him reminded him that none of that was his concern.
Amelia Shirley would most likely leave before the month was over, either because she chose to or because circumstances forced her to.
Another governess would eventually take her place, and life at Anderton Manor would continue.
The idea should have reassured him. Instead, it left him unexpectedly irritated.
Gabriel scowled at a stack of estate reports and dipped his pen into the ink pot. The accounts from several tenant farms required attention. Repairs to a bridge needed approval. Three letters demanded replies before morning. Normally, such matters occupied his thoughts entirely.
Tonight, they did not.
More than once, he caught himself staring absently at the same page without reading a single word.
A knock sounded at the door.
Gabriel set down his pen.
“Enter,” he called, leaning back in his chair.
The door opened cautiously. Amelia stepped inside wearing a simple blue dress that he had seen several times before. Her blonde hair was loosely pinned up, and candlelight softened her delicate features. For one ridiculous moment, he forgot what he had been doing.
“You should be asleep,” he said, recovering himself as he folded his arms.
Amelia closed the door behind her and offered a faint smile. “That appears to be a recurring problem for both of us,” she replied, clasping her hands together.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “You could not sleep again?” he asked.
Amelia nodded. “My thoughts were being exceptionally uncooperative.”
Gabriel gestured towards one of the chairs opposite his desk. “Sit down,” he instructed.
Amelia hesitated briefly before obeying. He rose and crossed to a cabinet in the corner.
“Port tends to be a good tonic for occasions such as this,” he said, pouring some into a glass. Amelia accepted it without argument. That alone surprised him.
She possessed a warmth that seemed capable of filling any room she entered. Gabriel disliked noticing such things. He disliked it even more because he kept noticing them anyway.
As Amelia shifted in her chair, something caught his attention once again. It was a detail he had observed several times during the past week but never addressed. The sleeves of her dress sat oddly at her wrists. The bodice fit imperfectly. The entire garment seemed slightly wrong. Gabriel frowned.
“Why does that dress not fit properly?” he asked suddenly.
Amelia nearly choked on her port.
She stared at him over the rim of the glass. “That is an extraordinarily strange question.”
Gabriel remained unmoved. “It is also a valid one.”
Amelia looked down at herself before releasing a resigned sigh. “Because it is not mine,” she admitted quietly.
“What do you mean it is not yours?” he asked.
Amelia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “When I left home, I packed rather hastily,” she explained, avoiding his gaze. “I brought very little with me.”
Gabriel listened in silence. Amelia looked increasingly embarrassed. “The maid, Trixie, kindly lent me two dresses,” she admitted. “This happens to be one of them.”
Gabriel stared at her. The explanation made absolutely no sense.
“You possess only the clothing you fled in, of course,” he said slowly.
Gabriel rubbed a hand across his jaw. The more he learned about this woman, the more baffling she became.
Most young ladies who ran away from home at least remembered to pack adequate wardrobes.
Amelia apparently fled armed with determination, questionable judgment, and very few dresses.
The realization somehow managed to be both alarming and oddly amusing.
Without thinking much about it, he made a decision.
“You will have new dresses made.”
She looked perplexed. “Why?” she asked.
The question caught him completely off guard.
“Because you require clothing,” he replied.
Amelia tilted her head. “For one month?”
Gabriel frowned. “Yes.”
“That seems excessive.”
He stared at her in disbelief. “Miss Shirley,” he said carefully, “you cannot spend an entire month borrowing garments from my staff.”
Amelia considered this. “Why not?”
Gabriel felt a headache beginning. “Because it is ridiculous.”
She smiled faintly. “That has never stopped me before.”
Against all reason, he almost laughed. The sensation startled him so much that he immediately stood and walked towards the window. Gabriel looked out into the darkness beyond the glass while trying to ignore the strange lightness that had briefly appeared inside his chest.
The woman is impossible. Foolish. Reckless. Entirely too comfortable challenging me.