Page 8 of Duchess By Condition
She finished her breakfast and got to her feet, thinking that she would spend the rest of the day exploring the estate, since she hadn’t had the opportunity to do that yesterday. If Noah wasn’t going to want her company, as it seemed he was not, then it made sense for her to take this time to get her bearings.
She made her way out to the garden, which she hadn’t gotten to see yesterday. The roses were in bloom. She walked to a bench and sat down. The stone was cool through her skirts, and the wind dusted her cheeks.
Violet closed her eyes.
This was her home.
This was the home that had belonged to her Aunt Margaret, and Aunt Margaret had intended that it should be hers. Violet would not let go of that. She wouldn’t allow herself to be put out of countenance by Noah. He was clearly suffering, and he needed someone with him. She was sure that her aunt had intended to bring the two of them together, sure that Aunt Margaret would have wanted her to take responsibility for Noah now.
I won’t let you down, Aunt Margaret. And I won’t let him down either. I will be the guardian he needs. I will find a way to convince him to let me in.
And as for the duke…well, he wasn’t going to ruin things either. She couldn’t reason through the sequence of events that could have led that man to believe this house was meant to be his—ithadto be a misunderstanding of some kind. Aunt Margaret would never have sold her home to the duke when it was meant to go to Violet. The paperwork was there, but there was an error somewhere.
Until I figure out what the problem is, I will stand my ground. I won’t let that man chase me out of this house—the home Aunt Margaret intended me to have.
CHAPTER 5
“He understands more than you think,” Molly said sagely. “That Noah is a smart young man.”
“I can tell.” Violet sat perched on a stool in the kitchen, sipping a cup of tea that her aunt’s former lady’s maid had insisted on preparing for her. “I can tell he knows what’s going on. I just wish I knew how to make him see that I’m on his side.”
“Well, I think he knows that you’re going to be his new guardian.” Molly hesitated. “Or that he duke is. He’s not too taken with either choice.”
“You would think that he’d be able to see one option is much better than the other,” Violet said sadly. “Iwantto care for him, and I don’t think the duke has much interest in him one way or the other.”
“Well, he was very close with Lady Westlake,” Molly murmured. “He isn’t fond of you being in her house.”
“He madethatmuch very clear.”
“And I doubt he’s excited about being under someone else’s guardianship either,” Molly went on. “I can see that you want to care for Noah. But to him, all that matters is that you aren’t Lady Westlake.”
“I suppose I can understand that,” Violet allowed. “I’m just going to have to find a way to make him see that I’m on his side, that’s all. He needs to know that he can count on me.”
“It would be wonderful for him to find a bit of trust in you,” Molly agreed. She sprinkled flour on the counter and began to pound the dough for the bread she was making. Violet watched, feeling vaguely envious. It must be good to be able to take out whatever frustrations you were feeling on something that couldn’t be harmed by it. If she’d been able to punch that dough, she thought, she would have been imagining the smug smile on the duke’s face…
She dismissed that thought. He was irritating, to be sure, but that didn’t mean it would do to resort to thoughts of violence. She would find a way to settle her affairs with him. Likely as not, he would be gone very soon, and in the meantime, the most important thing to do would be to make Noah happy and comfortable in his new circumstances.
To do that successfully, she would need to learn more about him. “What can you tell me about Noah? About how he came to be here with my aunt?”
Molly sighed. “It happened three years ago,” she said. “The boy just arrived one day on Lady Westlake’s doorstep. None of us knew what to expect. Of course, we thought she was going to call the authorities. I think Noah thought so too, because he tried to run—it was Williams who detained him. Once we brought him into the house, we saw the state he was in.”
“What state was he in?” Violet’s brow furrowed.
“Well, it was clear he had been mistreated,” Molly said quietly. “You think he’s skinny now…you should have seen him then. We were sure he was a street urchin, because no child who came from a loving family ever looked like that. Lady Westlake sent him for a bath, and the man who helped him reported back that he had bruises on his arms and legs. I think that was when Lady Westlake decided that she was going to keep him, that he had been through enough hard times and she wasn’t willing to allow him to suffer any more.”
“My aunt has always been a very kind woman,” Violet murmured. “She was the person I turned to most often in childhood, so it’s very easy to imagine another child trusting her in the same way. But to think of that poor boy suffering like that…” She shook her head. “I can hardly bear it.”
“You have your aunt’s tender heart,” Molly said gently.
“I suppose I do. I’d like to do something to make it all right, though…who were the boy’s parents?” Violet asked. “Are they still alive? Have they ever been found?”
“No, I don’t think anyone knows anything about that,” Molly said. “I did speak to Lady Westlake about it once, long ago. She was thinking aloud while I did her hair for her, about whether she ought to try to find his mother and father, but she decided not to in the end. After all, as she told herself, if they were the ones responsible for the harm that had come to him…”
“Then it would be a terrible idea to let them discover where he was,” Violet said. “I quite agree. They would probably try to take him back, and the law might well be on their side in that.”
“As far as I am aware, the boy has never asked to be reunited with his family,” Molly said. “I think if he had ever indicated that that was something he wanted, Lady Westlake would have attempted to make it happen. She would have done anything for that child. But since he didn’t want it, there was no reason to question the matter.”
“Still, it does feel like something we ought to know, since we’re keeping him here,” Violet murmured. “After all, how are we to protect him if we don’t know who we are protecting himfrom? If his parents are so dreadful then I think it’s important that we try to understand who they are. It’s the best way to keep him safe…but I don’t know where I would begin to answer a question like that one. If he was found three years ago, as you say, he would have been very young. He might not even know the answer himself.”
