Page 34 of Her Duke By Accident
“Obviously, you don’t,” Miss Ayles snapped.
Alicia looked over at her, Lucy in between them, shocked at her willingness to speak so freely. “Miss Ayles?—”
“The duke would never agree to such a thing in Garvey Manor,” the governess interrupted her, holding her chin up in a proud way. “Lady Lucy has at least a year left in her studies before we can think about her debut. She will not be presented to society in any shape or form until she is ready.”
“You speak as though you are her mother,” Alicia said, anger brewing in her chest.
Miss Ayles laughed spitefully. “Her mother would never have made these choices.”
Alicia stopped walking as they neared the stairs leading up to the manor’s front doors. “How dare you make such an assumption about the late duchess?”
A tense silence overtook them all. Miss Ayles’s thin eyebrows raised so high they almost disappeared into her hair. Even Lucy, quiet during it all, stood there, staring at Alicia with shock displayed across her face.
A pit grew in Alicia’s stomach. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?” Lucy replied with a gulp.
“As if there is something I don’t know,” Alicia said. She looked back towards the governess. “You disrespected the late duchess, Miss Ayles.”
Miss Ayles gave a thin, placid smile. “Your Grace?—”
“No,” she interjected. “I don’t know how you managed to walk around here with the sense you could speak so freely. Possibly it is from the duke’s absence, or your own arrogance.”
“Arrogance?”
“You act as if you are the lady of this house,” Alicia snapped, feeling a heat rise to her cheeks. “That is disrespectful, and gives the wrong impression to a young lady like Lucy.”
Miss Ayles let out a surprised laugh. She shook her head, placing a hand over her chest. “Your Grace,” she said, “forgive me for laughing, but I know I am only a governess. I never had the chance to meet the late duchess; she passed before I began looking after Lady Lucy. Perhaps it is my… independence with the governess position.” Miss Ayles smiled at her. “I meant no harm.”
Alicia couldn’t drop the feeling in her chest, the heat of anger that swallowed her up. “I would do better to rectify your attitude, Miss Ayles,” she said. She looked back to Lucy, who stared at the sky as a trio of birds flew by. “Lucy, would you want a ball here at Garvey?”
“Oh, do not decide on my behalf,” the young girl said quietly with a shy look. “If my brother allowed it, I would happily attend.”
Alicia squeezed the girl’s hand. “I will speak to him. It would be a wonderful way to get you prepared for your debut.” She eyed the other woman. “Isn’t that right, Miss Ayles?”
The governess sighed. “Of course, Your Grace. If the duke allowed it.”
Alicia had no problem saying that the governess did not approve of her. Not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things, but Alicia always took too many things to heart, like someone involved in Lucy’s life that didn’t want her around. She breathed deeply as they kept walking to the manor, this time in a steady silence.
Before they could go up the stairs leading to the front doors, Ms. Crawford stepped down, meeting them halfway.
With a bow of her head, Ms. Crawford said, “Your Grace?”
Alicia pulled away from Lucy and approached the housekeeper. “What is it, Ms. Crawford?”
“The duke left a note with Mr. Livingston stating that he will be spending the evening at the Mayfair lodging,” she said.
Trying to hide her disappointment, Alicia pressed her lips together. “Did he happen to say why?”
“No, Your Grace,” Ms. Crawford replied. “Other than that it was business.”
“Business,” she repeated, under her breath in a spiteful manner.
“Your Grace,” the housekeeper said, “it is not… unusual for the duke to spend time away from Garvey in the summer season.”
Alicia crossed her arms over her chest. “And why is that?”
“I can’t explain the duke’s mind as if it were my own.”
