Page 106 of His Duchess of Scandal
“I cannot bear to leave her. I cannot lose her. I willnotlose her.” His head shook sharply, his jaw working through his anger. “I should have protected her. All the times I yelled at her, all thetimes I stopped her from having fun… She is just a child, and I should have protected her today.”
“But—”
“But I got distracted.”
Charles could hear how cold his voice was, but he couldn’t bring himself to soften it. He truly couldn’t find the warmth that had been spreading within him over the last couple of weeks.
“I got distracted by us.”
“We both did,” Hermia said.
No, no, she did not understand. Charles was Phoebe’s father, and it was his sole duty to ensure she remained safe. That was what a father did, and he had failed terribly.
“But she is all right now. Her governess reported that the physician claimed it was a sprain and not a broken bone, yes? She has bruising, but it will heal. She will get better very soon.”
Charles still couldn’t hear it. A sprain, a simple graze, a bruise—no matter what Phoebe got, he needed to take care of her. He needed to ensure her safety, and he would settle for nothing less.
Hermia stroked his shoulder. “Come to bed with me. Let us rest well, for Phoebe’s sake.”
But he didn’t. He stayed in his daughter’s room, keeping vigil over her. And he didn’t speak again, not even when Hermia finally slipped out of the room.
Days passed since the incident in Hyde Park, and Hermia was doing her best not to notice the differences in Charles. He had gone from an affectionate lover to a man who opened up to her over breakfast, to somebody who was not quite the man she had married at the start, but close.
The distance was notable. He was gone from his study most afternoons, with the staff reporting that he was visiting tenants or acquaintances. Hermia never could find him, and the difference from when he had purposefully sought her out over the last couple of weekshurt.
It was a hurt she tried to ignore over dinner that night.
“How is the meat?” she asked. “I asked for a change tonight, and I am uncertain if it is to your taste.”
Charles looked coolly at her. “It is fine.”
She waited for more, ashamed of that hope when more did not come. Instead, she turned to Phoebe, who was gray-faced and sullen, still lethargic from her fall the week prior. The injury and bed rest thereafter had drained her, and Hermia was pained to see her so devoid of her usual energy.
“How are the vegetables?” she asked. “I requested them to be extra buttery for you.”
“They are good, thank you, Hermia.” Even the girl’s tone was short and polite.
All in all, everything felt far too stiff and formal for the bonds they had procured recently.
Hermia smiled despite the twinge in her chest and nodded.
“I noticed your candle flickering past your curfew last night, Phoebe,” Charles said moments later, breaking the tense silence. “I will not have that again, do you understand? A curfew is set for a reason.”
“I was only reading?—”
“I will not have that again,” he repeated firmly. “And you will continue your lessons properly, in the schoolroom. No more wandering outdoors. I wish to receive reports on your progress daily again.”
“But weekly is fine!” Phoebe complained.
“I must make sure your injury has not hindered you,” Charles told her. “Daily progress. I will hear of it all.”
“Yes, Papa,” Phoebe mumbled glumly.
Hermia was at a loss for how to fix the distance he was putting between himself and his daughter after they had grown so much closer. She looked between them, noting how none of them looked at one another, nor at her. Instead, their attention was focused on their dinner plates.
Hermia did not push, did not try to fix this—not yet. But when Charles looked away from her when she tried to catch his eye, she winced through another smile that he didn’t return.
Surely, she had not misread everything between them. Surely, she had not misunderstood so much. Every conversation and proclamation. Every compliment he had given her, and every word that almost sounded like love but was not—surely, she really could not have misreadeverything?
