Page 52 of The Moonstone Governess
Felicity drew up a chair beside Brenna. “Good heavens, he certainly spares no expense for you.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Thaddius said, walking in just then and drawing up another chair beside Brenna. “We need to talk before Claymore returns. Felicity, you can stay. I want you to hear this as well.”
Brenna regarded him seriously. “What’s wrong?”
Thaddius glanced around. “This. You have to be careful, Brenna. Now, I am not saying the Duke of Claymore is a bad man. In fact, I like him. But he has his faults.”
“I am well aware,” Brenna assured him with a roll of her eyes. “He knows how to get his way…and he always seems to get his way, doesn’t he?”
“But he has also been very generous with you, Brenna,” Felicity remarked. “Is this so terrible? He did not have to give up his suite for you or have meals brought to us.”
“That’s right,” Thaddius said with a frown. “Nor did he have to insist on paying for Brenna’s stitches or lease her house at a cost that is double what any other landlord in the area is charging. And he is now renovating your entire house at his expense. Does this not give you cause for concern?”
Brenna nodded. “Yes, of course. Have I not been vocal about it? But he did not push me into it. Albert’s sabotage of my position at the school did that. The duke offered a practical and very generous solution. Not only will I make money off the lease, but I get a completely refurbished home in the process, and I will also be permitted to live there as his nephew’s governess. He is paying me good wages for this, too.”
Thaddius was not smiling. “Cousin Spencer at the bank says the duke deposited a hefty sum into your account to cover the renovations. Well, he is no miser, I will give him that. But what is he doing, Brenna?”
She pursed her lips. “What do you mean? He wants to settle his mother and nephew here.”
“What is he doing toyou?” Thaddius said. “He is a womanizing hound. Barely a fortnight ago, he was taking women into his bed as a regular habit. Mostly those two promiscuous ladies in his party, Lady Gemma and Lady Sarah. But they were not the only ones. He had only to glance at a woman and she would follow him wherever he led. He treated them all quite casually. Oh, always politely, but he did not give a fig about any of them once he had satisfied himself. To him, they were just disposable commodities.”
Felicity cleared her throat. “Honestly, Thaddius. That is a little too much information for us. Brenna and I are still innocent when it comes tothatsort of thing.”
“I know, but it is all the more reason why Brenna in particular needs to heed my warning. He is circling you like a lion about to leap on its prey. Just be careful. Why is he here in Moonstone Landing, of all places? Why not anywhere else in England?”
“To find himself, I think,” Brenna said. “He has obviously noticed how happy the Duke of Malvern and the Marquess of Burness are here. Not to mention Viscount Brennan, who won Lady Chloe’s heart. He is trying to make a home for his mother and nephew. But most of all, I think he is trying to make a home for himself, an idyllic and safe place that he never had as a child. Do you not see how empty he feels inside?”
Thaddius tossed his head back and laughed. “Empty? This man has everything anyone could ever want, including exquisite women who will jump into his bed at the snap of his fingers. And now he has discarded these very ladies who have warmed his bed for years.”
“Is that not a good thing?” Brenna asked.
“Perhaps. But what if he wakes up one day and suddenly decides to do the same to you?”
Brenna inhaled sharply. “Thaddius! I am not one of those women!”
“No, but it will be much worse for you because you are at risk of falling in love with him. You do not have that toughness these other women have, Brenna. In fact, I am sure he is drawn to you because you are soft and innocent.”
She pursed her lips and frowned. “I am not a delicate ninny.”
“I know. You are intelligent, thoughtful, and can stand on your own, which is more reason why the duke is attracted to you. I just don’t want to see him break your heart. I won’t let him do this to my little cousin.”
“He won’t,” she said, although this was her fear as well. In truth, she was very afraid it was already happening. The Duke of Claymore overpowered her in every way. She had never thought of men in physical terms before, but she could not stop thinking of how wonderful his skin had felt against her cheek when he carried her into his suite after she fell. Nor could she forget the magnificent body on this man.
Yes, she had noticed handsome men before. But she had never felt an ache to kiss them or run her hands along their sleek muscles.
Even Felicity had been bouncing on the mattress, breathing in his scent on the pillows, and urging her to hop onto that massive bed.
Brenna closed her eyes a moment and emitted a soft groan. “He may speak to us politely, but we are not equals to him. I am painfully aware that dukes do not marry schoolteachers. Yes, Cara and her Duke of Strathmore are the exception, but I know this is something quite rare and not likely ever to be repeated. I understand this. He is more likely to marry Lady Gemma or Lady Sarah than ever—”
“Those promiscuous cats,” Felicity interjected.
“Yes, them, before he would ever consider me. Which is the point I am trying to make. He willneverconsider me suitable to be his wife. So, I will be very careful not to allow anything between us beyond a polite friendship.”
“And what of your professor?” Thaddius asked.
Brenna put a hand to her head as it began to throb. “He is out of the question, too. I will never marry a man who thinks to win my hand by undermining the thing I love most.”
“You mentioned it might all have been a terrible misunderstanding,” Thaddius reminded her. “Give me the letters you wrote to him and your headmistress, and I shall post them in time for tomorrow’s mail coach. You said you wanted to send them off as soon as possible.”
