Page 17 of Separated from My Love
Genevieve would make sure he didn’t dismiss Serenity. Brandon’s son needed a governess. He was too bright to go without one, and he needed attention from a woman who cared about him. She might not know Serenity well, but she’d been good with Sebastian in the small amount of time she’d been at the estate. It helped that she had the ability to read minds—it was too bad she’d never been able to read Trenton’s. Serenity had let her guard down long enough for her to get a glimpse into her thoughts. She genuinely cared for the boy, and she may not be ready to admit it, but she had growing feelings forBrandontoo.
It might not be a lot to go on, and some might think she was mad for thinking her suitable, but she believed in following her instincts whenever possible. It was time she started to listen to them a little more. Serenity was, at heart, a good person, and so was Trenton. People made mistakes every day. She should let go of the anger she had welling up inside of her and finally forgive him. It would lighten the heaviness she was carrying around inside. She’d been unreasonable since the moment Trenton had showed up. Hating him for something he had no control over wasn’t helping either. It was hard for her to let go of the feeling he never put her first. She’d wanted him to find her and hehad. The anger inside of her had clouded her judgment. Maybe he was willing to do more for her than she’d given himcreditfor.
She glanced up as Trenton and Brandon walked into the breakfast room. They had been engrossed in their conversation but stopped immediately when they noticed Serenity and Genevieve. The duke’s gaze went right to his son’s face and frowned. He wasn’t pleased to see Sebastian in the room. He strolled over to his side and ruffledhishair.
“Escaped the nursery, did you?” the duke said as he raisedabrow.
“Serenity said I could and Eve agreed,” he said petulantly. His bottom lip jutted out into a full pout. He was preparing to use all of the weapons in his arsenal in order to be allowedtostay.
“It’s fine this once,” the duke agreed. He glanced over at Genevieve and Serenity and gave them a hard look. It was his way of stating his wishes without saying a word. Brandon was rather good at silent communication. Of course, he didn’t realize if Genevieve had wanted to she’d have been able to hear every single one of his thoughts. She respected people’s right to privacy to and refused to invade them on a regular basisthough.
Genevieve wanted to laugh. Somehow, she had a feeling Serenity would do whatever she pleased and drive the duke insane. If she could stay back and watch it all unfold... That wasn’t to be in her destiny though. She had to go with Trenton and return to save her sister. Maybe she’d allow Trenton the chance to win her heart again too. Time would tell if they were truly meant to betogether.
“Serenity and I have come to a decision together,” Genevieve said. “Would you two like to know whatthatis?”
Trenton raised a brow. “That depends. Are we going tolikeit?”
Serenity chuckled. “That remains to be seen. Eve has decided to go back on onecondition.”
“That is?” the duke said, meetingGenevieve’sgaze.
“Serenity is going to stay here and be Sebastian’s governess.” She hoped the duke understood how hard this all was for her. He’d been kind to her when she had nothing. “I have to go back. My sister needs me.” Saying that last part was almost hard for her—having sisters wasn’t something she’d believed she’d ever have. Now she had two… It was just weird allaround.
“So Trenton has explained to me,” the duke said. “I’m not going to proclaim to understand how things work in your time. I won’t stand in your way. It’s unnecessary for Serenity to remainthough.”
When Brandon and Dominic had rescued her, she’d told them both her entire story. It had been easier to explain to them because of Rosanna’s sister-in-law, Alys. They had already been slightly exposed to the possibility of time travel through Alys’s exploits. Rosanna had accepted Genevieve’s story easily and conveyed some of it to the two men. Genevieve filled in the gaps as they traveled back to England. It was then that Brandon had offered her a place inhishome.
“Sera stay,” Sebastian shouted, jumping up to latch ontoSerenity.
Well, where had that come from? Serenity and Sebastian must have bonded far more than Genevieve had realized. He was already putting up a fit at the idea of her leaving. He even created a nickname for her… That wasn’t going to bode well for the duke refusing herassistance.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Serenity said and patted theboy’shead.
Genevieve watched the exchange and an epiphany hit her at the sight. That was the reason Serenity had wanted Sebastian to eat in the breakfast room. She was using their newfound friendship against the duke. How could he deny his son a governess he loved with him around to witness it? She had to admit it was bloody brilliant, and she had a newfound respect for her newsister.
“Fine,” the duke reluctantly agreed. “Serenity can stay. You can start working now. Take Sebastian back up to thenursery.”
“Come with me, munchkin,” Serenity said. Sebastian hopped down and placed his hand in hers. They left the room and didn’tlookback.
“When will you leave?” the duke asked withinterest.
“I’m not sure,” Genevieve said. “I don’t even know how wegohome.”
Trenton smiled. “Lucky for you, we figured it all out. First, we have to go to Weston Manor. From there we will be able to return home. You’ve always had the means todoit.”
If she’d known that months ago, she’d have returned home immediately if there had been a clear path to do so. Weston was the key—that shouldn’t surprise her, but it did. She’d fallen off a cliff at Weston and ended up in the nineteenth century. What did she have to do to return to the future? The idea of willingly jumping off the cliff made her shiver. If that is what it took, she’d gladly stay where she was. Which was probably why she’d never broached the idea of returning to Weston—she had no other clue on how to return, and leaping off a rocky incline wasn’t at the top of her list of things she wantedtodo.
“I’ll have a carriage prepared to take you two there. I’ll write a letter of introduction for Weston. I don’t want him to turn you away because you’re strangerstohim.”
“That’s unnecessary,” Trenton said. “I’m acquainted with his wife. We werefamilyonce.”
Genevieve glared at him. Did he have to bringthatup?
“I’ll write it anyway. It never hurts to be prepared for anycircumstance.”
With those words, the duke spun on his heels and exited the breakfast room. In a short time, she’d be on her way to Weston, and soon after that she’d be returning home. The saddest part though was none of that scared her as much as sharing a coach with Trenton for the journey. There would be no escaping him, and she’d have to face her feelings. Genevieve wasn’t so sure she was ready to do that. There was so much she had to sort through, and with his charm on hand she’d fall for him before she had time to work it all out insideherhead.
Trenton moved to stand behind her. His heat enveloped her and hugged her from the inside out. Her heart beat hard against her chest. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Are you ready?” He brought his hand up and trailed his fingers down her arm. “I refuse to give up on us. This time together is a chance to remember the love we both share.” He stepped away from her and left her alone intheroom.
Genevieve wasn’t sure if that made her happyornot…
