Page 22 of Enthralled in the Governess' Gaze
Victoria helped her step over her wall, and the two set about pulling more books from the shelves to build up their fort. They made the base wider so that they could fit inside it together and then began building up the walls.
Soon enough, Victoria found herself crawling through the doorway they had made so that they could add more to the inside of the structure. Lily was giggling and having a delightful time, and Victoria found she was rather enjoying herself as well.
She became so lost in their game that she almost did not hear the library door open.
“Is anyone in here?” a voice called out.
Victoria froze, panic seizing her as she instantly recognized the voice. It was Lord Harford. She let out a small yelp of surprise.
"Lily? Miss Clifford?" He was drawing nearer to their mess.
Before Victoria could gather her wits, Lily scurried out of the fort and ran across the room to her uncle. Tory crawled out after her, terrified of what his reaction to their activity would be. No doubt he would be furious that they had made such a mess of the books. She heard Lily laugh as she pushed to her feet.
“Come this way, uncle!” the little girl demanded. “Come see what Miss Clifford and I have made!”
Victoria tensed as Lily and Lord Harford round a bookcase and came into full view of the fort. She swallowed and glanced around guiltily as she waited for him to react. She just hoped he did not yell at her in front of Lily…
She opened her mouth to apologize but froze when she realized it was not anger in his expression but amusement.
"My, my," he chuckled. “What have you two been up to?”
“We built it all by ourselves!” Lily exclaimed, tugging on his hand to draw him closer to the structure. “Come on, uncle. Come inside!”
Victoria watched in amazement as Lord Harford got down on the floor with a grin and crawled into the fort after Lily. She stood staring after them in shock until Lily poked her head back out the doorway.
“Come back inside, Miss Clifford!” the little girl commanded. “There is too much work to be done! No dawdling!”
Shaking herself from her stunned stupor, Victoria quickly dropped to the floor and crawled inside to join them.
“This is very lovely, Lily,” Lord Harford was saying as Victoria entered. “You and Miss Clifford have done a fine job so far.”
“Will you help us?” Lily asked, clinging to his arm. “Help us finish the fort, uncle. Please!”
Grinning, he nodded. “Of course, I will help you. Is that all right, Miss Clifford?”
Caught off guard by his question, she barely managed to stammer, “Ye…yes, of course, it is, my lord. We would be glad for the help.”
“Then you must tell me what to do, Lily,” he said, turning his attention back to his niece.
The little girl immediately began giving them both orders, and the three went about expanding the fort together. Lily and Lord Harford chattered and laughed as they worked, but Victoria kept quiet and focused all her attention on her bright-eyed charge.
In the confined space of the fort, she was acutely aware of Lord Harford’s presence. He brushed against her multiple times, and she felt a strange heat begin to build up within her. It seemed to start in her lower belly and slowly spread to the tips of her fingertips and toes. Her heart began to beat harder, and she found herself growing rather breathless.
At one point, they both reached for the same book, and their hands brushed. Victoria’s gaze jerked up to meet his as her breath left her in a small gasp. He stared at her, his blue eyes swirling with something she could not name. Or, perhaps more accurately, did not want to name. His scent surrounded her – woodsy and clean – and it made her shudder.
“The fort is so tall!” Lily exclaimed, cutting through the haze Victoria was being pulled into. She forced her eyes from Lord Harford’s and smiled down at the girl, thankful she was blissfully unaware of the rising tension within the tight four walls of their fort.
“It is quite tall, Lily,” she nodded. “You have been doing such a good job giving us instruction on how to build it.”
“Indeed,” Lord Harford agreed. He still stood right next to her…so close, she could feel the warmth of his breath against her cheek. “It is a very excellent fort, my dear. Very well done.”
Victoria glanced up at Lord Harford, keeping her lashes lowered so he might not notice her looking at him. The way he was with Lily was rather heartwarming…he seemed a completely different person from the man she had met on the ship.
When he looked her way, she quickly averted her eyes and pretended to be extremely focused on placing the book that she held in her hand in place.
Clearing her throat, she murmured, “Do…do you not have things you should be doing, my lord? I would not want to keep you from your duties.”
Lord Harford shrugged. “There is nothing I have to do that cannot be done later. Besides, spending time with Lily is far more important to me right now, especially since I have not seen her in so long.”
