Page 70 of The Moonstone Governess
Daire shot him a look.
He wasn’t going to mention Felicity, was he?
Jax said nothing more.
Conversation turned to Juliana’s plans for the next few days. She smiled toward Brenna. “Phoebe, tomorrow we shall be with your sister and her husband, as I am sure the entire village already knows.”
Phoebe laughed. “Oh, yes. Our gossip lines operate with military precision. Chloe and Fionn are very much looking forward to it.”
“The day after tomorrow will be a day of leisure, I expect. The house won’t be ready yet for visitors, but perhaps by next week.”
“I’ve purchased a kite for Matthew,” Daire said. “I hope to spend some time over the next few days showing him how to fly it.”
Brenna smiled in approval. “He will enjoy it much more than he will his school lessons.”
Daire smiled back at her. “You’ll come along, of course.”
She nodded. “Of course. I take my job as his governess quite seriously. Does it not warm your heart every time you hear him laughing?”
“You have no idea,” he said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. “I am still shaking my head over the miracle you have accomplished in this short a time. I did not think it possible for the lad ever to feel any joy.”
Brenna set down her fork, having hardly touched her fish course. “The joy is always there within children. It takes so little to bring it out. A kind word. A compliment. A squeeze of their hand. A moment to listen to what they have to say. And yet it is not something that ever happens for many of them.”
“Well,” Cormac said, “speaking as an adult who managed to botch countless years of his own life behaving like an arrogant, temperamental child, it is a good thing there are wise women like you and my wife in the world, or else there would be no hope for any of us.”
Jax raised his cup of wine. “Hear, hear.”
They all raised their glasses in cheer.
*
Brenna went upstairswith Phoebe to fetch Matthew once the evening had come to an end. Daire and Jax escorted them and Juliana to Stoningham Manor before they headed back to the inn.
Once back at the inn, the two of them shared a bottle of port in Daire’s suite and reminisced about old times before each retired to their quarters for the night.
By morning, Jax had awakened early and was already up at the manor house by the time Daire finished going through his morning pile of documents. Once done responding to the most important ones, he strode to the dining room. “Thaddius, when did my friend ride up to the manor?” he asked, encountering Brenna’s cousin in the hall.
“Oh, quite early. No later than seven o’clock this morning, I would say. But Felicity rides up there with Uncle Simon, and he likes to start early. Lord Bradford mentioned something about helping Felicity move rocks.”
“Rocks?” Daire shook his head. “What rocks? Never mind. I’ll see for myself.”
He was also eager to see Brenna. Mere hours had passed since he had last been in her company, and yet he was already missing her.
To his surprise, he noticed her walking across the poppy field when he rode up. She waved to him and smiled. “Good morning, Your Grace.”
“Daire,” he said, dismounting and leaving Scipio to nibble on the sweet grass at the edge of the road. “I thought we had resolved last night to call each other by our given names.”
“Well, that was last night. I did not really belong at the table.”
“That is utter nonsense. Do not forget Matthew called you a fairy princess. So, you see? A princess ranks above everyone, even a duke.”
“I shall remember this next time I put on my fairy wings,” she said with a soft laugh.
He joined her in walking across the field, having no idea where she was going and not particularly caring so long as he was beside her. “Where is the boy now?”
“Assisting Felicity and Jax.” She frowned lightly. “I know I have asked this before, but is he truly besotted with my cousin? Can he be trusted?”
“Yes, Brenna. He’s quite serious about her. If anything, I am the one holding him back. He’s chosen well, mind you. I like Felicity. But how can one know anything about a person in less than a day?”
