Page 55 of The Moonstone Governess
He grinned. “No, the thought never crossed my mind. You know my feelings about your beau. He is a horse’s arse.”
Felicity was listening in and laughed. “Well said, Your Grace.”
“Felicity! Do not encourage him.” Brenna frowned at him, then took the letters and properly sealed them. “Not every man can be as insufferably perfect as you, Your Grace.”
“Insufferable, am I?” He took the letters from her hand, tucked them in the inside pocket of his jacket, and then gave her chin a light tweak. “I suppose I am. Sorry, little dove. You are not the only one who has strong opinions.”
“Which I voice tactfully.”
“This is why you are the perfect choice to be Matthew’s governess. I have already proved I am an utter failure when it comes to him.” He placed her journal in his travel pouch, along with the shirt, cravat, and other items one needed for an overnight stay. “Do not berate me for being blunt about your beau. I told you I would never lie to you.”
He kissed her lightly on the brow, a gesture neither of them expected, for he appeared as surprised as she was. “Couldn’t resist, little dove. You are looking up at me with those big doe eyes, and it just felt right. By the way, I will not be back until the day after tomorrow at the earliest, so sleep here tomorrow night as well. I do not think you should be alone in your cousin Cara’s cottage yet, not after you put in a full day tomorrow at Stoningham Manor.”
“All I will be doing is watching the work. It isn’t as if I will be doing any heavy lifting.”
“Good gracious, I do not want you lifting so much as a spoon. I mean it, Brenna. Those stitches are still too fresh and might rip if you exert yourself. All the more reason to have you sleep here another night. I’ll make certain Thaddius is aware. The inn’s maids can look in on you throughout the evening, if necessary.”
He poked his head into the sitting room. “Felicity, that goes for you, too. Keep Brenna company here tomorrow night. The inn’s staff will attend to both of you.”
Felicity chuckled. “You don’t have to ask me twice. Sure, I’ll stay. Do we get dinner, as well?”
Brenna gasped. “Felicity!”
He laughed heartily. “Yes, and pay no attention to Brenna’s griping. Anyway, Thaddius knows to ignore her if she dares take out her coin purse.”
Felicity sauntered to the doorway. “You don’t happen to have a brother interested in a wife of humble birth who enjoys toiling in gardens, do you?”
Brenna noticed a shadow darken his eyes for just a moment, but he recovered quickly, setting his mask firmly back in place as he turned to Felicity and responded with a casual smile. “Sorry, no.”
He then turned back to Brenna, running his thumb along the line of her jaw. “Take care of yourself,” he said in a hoarse whisper.
She found it hard to draw her gaze away. “You too, Your Grace. Safe journey.”
Felicity sighed and flopped back on the massive bed the moment the duke left the suite. “Why can there not be more men like him in Moonstone Landing? He must like you, Brenna. He treats you like a princess.”
“Have you already forgotten Thaddius’s warning? And look at how he treated his friends, bringing them along everywhere until abruptly dismissing them and packing them off to Bath?”
“Well, they had been moaning about going there ever since they first arrived. Can you blame him for finally getting fed up and sending them off? They aren’t exactly suffering, since they are traveling there in his fine carriage, and he’s letting them stay at his townhouse in one of the finest crescents. This duke does not scrimp. Everything he does is the height of elegance.”
Brenna said nothing as her cousin rambled on about Daire’s qualities.
Yes, he had many fine qualities.
But he was also a womanizer.
Her head began to throb, but it had little to do with the stitches, since the doctor had given her a little laudanum to ease that pain. She could handle a little physical pain.
The pain in her heart was the problem.
Would the duke take any of the Plymouth ladies to his bed?
He had promised not to lie to her.
Would he tell her the truth if she asked him?
Did she dare ask him?
Chapter Eleven
