Page 84 of The Enigmatic Governess of Buford Manor
“You are dressed,” he commented. “Have you somewhere to be?”
She visibly swallowed as if there was a lump in her throat and she shook her blonde hair, loose and flowing about her shoulders.
Has she lost weight? Her eyes seem darker and enshrouded in shadows.
More concern flooded him and Nicholas steeled himself against the mounting distress he was feeling. If she was ill atop all else…
“No, Your Grace,” she replied, approaching slowly. “I merely dressed when Theodore sent for me.”
The duke nodded and gestured for the governess to be seated.
“What do you make of what has happened?” he demanded without preamble. “Were you aware of the relationship between my mother and Captain Balfour.”
“No, Your Grace!”
There was sincerity in her words and Nicholas believed her, his shoulders sagging slightly as he realized that she was just as aghast as he.
“He cannot stay,” he murmured, rising from his chair to pace about the study. “He must go.”
“If you will permit me to say, Your Grace, I do not believe that is what Her Grace desires.”
“My mother is clearly not using her senses to make decisions!” Nicholas growled, whirling to face Rose.
She nodded quickly and darted her eyes downward.
“What has happened in this estate while I have tended to Buford?” he insisted, sensing that Rose was deliberately withholding information. “Why was I not made aware of this atrocity?”
“I was not aware of it until this evening, Your Grace,” Rose whispered, staring at her hand as they wrung nervously. “If I had…”
She trailed off and Nicholas moved around the desk to study her face more closely.
“Would you have told me, had you known?”
Rose lifted her fine face and met his fire-lit green eyes.
“I believe so, yes,” she replied with some evasiveness. The answer was not ringing with the conviction that Nicholas had hoped.
“What has changed?” he asked gruffly, his eyes boring into hers. “Why do I feel as if there are a web of secrets forming in the shadows?”
Shock filled Rose’s face and she shook her head vehemently.
“No, Your Grace!” she gasped, rising in defense. “I would never withhold such a thing from you. I am as awed as you by the revelation that the duchess and Captain Balfour are…”
She seemed unable to finish her thought and Nicholas was grateful for it. He was uncertain he could hear the words aloud without being sick to his gut.
Nicholas drew closer to her and Rose glanced downward, his nearness causing her to tense with nervousness.
“Rose,” he murmured softly. “Is there anything else of which I should be aware?”
Nicholas could see that something else was longing to spill from her mouth but she shook her head quickly.
“Please, look at me,” he said tenderly and she raised her head reluctantly, their eyes locking. Slowly, he reached out to stroke her cheek with long fingers.
“You made me a vow when my father died,” he said hoarsely, his words escaping from his lips in short rasps. “You promised to help me through this.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” she whispered. There was a combination of yearning and shame on her delicate features, as if she battled with some internal conflict of which he was unaware.
“I am making the same pledge to you,” the duke purred softly. “I am your ally, Rose, regardless of what comes. There is nothing you cannot tell me. We must be strong together.”
