Page 53 of The Moonstone Governess
“I haven’t written them yet,” Brenna admitted.
Thaddius slapped his hands on his thighs and rose to leave. “Well, if you are not too tired, then you must write them tonight. You need to do this, Brenna. Don’t put it off.”
He left her and Felicity to return to his innkeeper duties.
She and Felicity ate their supper, then Felicity helped set her up at the duke’s writing desk so that she could write those important letters. The writing desk was in the duke’s bedchamber and not in the sitting room.
Brenna felt like a trespasser, for being in the same room where he slept felt so intimate, even though the duke was not around. “Why don’t you look through more of those fabric samples while I finish my correspondence, Felicity?”
Her cousin laughed. “Not on your life. We’ve gone through enough of them for today, and my head is spinning. Besides, I think we’re done with our selections. The duke will be quite pleased by all we’ve accomplished, since he seems to be pleased with everything you do.”
“Oh, stop. He wasn’t too happy I took a spill trying todiscreetlyrun out of his room and managed to wake the entire inn.” Brenna laughingly groaned. “I cannot believe he did not sever all relations with me on the spot. Done with the lease. Done with the governess offer. Done with me.”
“If anything, your injury seems to have brought you closer.”
“Don’t say that. There is nothing between him and me.” But Brenna wondered whether the duke would stop in to see her before retiring. She heard he had taken over Lord Hollingsworth’s room for this evening. Of course, most of his clothes remained here, and now Felicity was with her in his bedchamber, and…was her cousin foraging through the armoire? “Felicity! Get out of there. What you are doing is unforgivably rude!”
“He has wonderful taste in clothes.”
“I know.” He had wonderful taste in everything, in addition to being witty, charming, intelligent, wealthy, and so handsome he made her ache just looking at him. He even had an exquisite horse. This man had everything, and yet he was so unhappy.
Felicity began to dig through his drawers.
“For pity’s sake! Have you no sense of propriety? I am going to kick you out if you do not stop going through his unmentionables.”
“Brenna, you are no fun. Where’s the harm? He’ll never know.”
“He will because he seems to have an instinctive sense about everything. Stop. You are distracting me, and I am almost done with my letters. You heard Thaddius. I need to hand them over to him tonight.”
“All right,” Felicity said with a huff, and put Daire’s clothes back in order just as someone knocked lightly at the suite’s door. “Oh dear. Do you think it is him?”
“I don’t know.”
Felicity tossed Brenna a wicked grin. “Has he come to kiss you goodnight?”
“Honestly, Felicity.” Brenna rolled her eyes and gave her cousin a warning glance before she rose and crossed into the sitting room.
“Do come in, Your Grace,” she said, her heart beating a little faster as she opened the door and took him in. He was a big man and filled the doorway.
Dear heaven, she was doomed. He looked glorious.
“How do you feel, Brenna?” He studied her with genuine concern. She knew he was worried about her, but there was such a gentleness in the way he regarded her.
“Much better, Your Grace. Thank you for sending up our supper. You did not have to do it.”
“I know, but it is my pleasure.” He placed his hand lightly atop her brow. “Good, no fever.”
“Please have a seat,” she said, motioning toward the settee. “This is your suite, after all. I’m sorry I have taken it over for the night.”
He waited for her to sit and then settled beside her. “Don’t be. You haven’t demanded anything of me, which is something quite unusual. It feels good to be in the company of someone I know is not scheming to take from me.”
Brenna blushed. “Good grief, why should I scheme when you have given me all of this without my needing to ask for a thing? You know I would not have insisted on any of it. In fact, I really ought to contribute something toward—”
“No,” he said with a chuckle. “Have you gotten any rest?”
She nodded. “Yes, plus a bit of work done. Felicity and I finished going through all the fabric samples. I took the liberty of setting out our choices and adding their descriptions and designs in a new journal I started just for these decorations. Would you care to see what we’ve done?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
