Page 103 of The Governess and the Brooding Duke
She had taken dinner with the children and was now readying them for bed.
‘I have to say,’ said Luke as they were finishing, ‘I have never seen you this happy. Not since we were children.’
‘I am. I have... I found a new joy, I suppose, in the children.’
‘I’m quite relieved to hear you say that, West,’ his sister-in-law said. ‘I worried. I worried you would resent the infant, and when you did not write to us to tell us his name...’
‘Lachlan.’
‘A strange name,’ said Luke.
‘Unconventional perhaps, but I named him after someone who was... Who is a great man.’
‘Who?’
‘You won’t have heard of him. But he is the leader of one of the few remaining Highland clans in Scotland.’
‘Very avant-garde of you,’ said Grace. ‘I like it.’
‘Thank you.’
She laughed. ‘I know you were not waiting for my approval.’
‘No.’
‘My brother is never waiting for anyone’s approval,’ said Luke. ‘He is an island.’
Except he hadn’t been. Not these past months. He had been with Mary. And all had been bright.
‘The governess is lovely,’ said Grace. ‘Brilliant with the children, but she is beautiful. I cannot imagine that many wives would approve of their husband’s hiring her.’
He felt an immediate kick of defensiveness on her behalf.
‘She is very good at her work. And I resent the implication that she might be less able because of her beauty. Or perhaps that she might not be trustworthy.’
‘I did not mean to imply she was not trustworthy, only that women are jealous,’ said Grace. ‘Many wives would worry such a pretty thing could take their place in their husband’s bed. She is young. And striking.’
He could deny those things. But it was impossible. And he would only make himself sound the more guilty.
‘That is true.’
He could feel his brother regarding him. And yet he said nothing. He would have to thank him for that later. Except if he did, it would expose them. And he did not care, not for himself, not now. Caring for the sake of propriety was something he just couldn’t find in himself, not any more. But for her... For her sake, he would not expose this.
Unless...
Out here in the country... Did it matter? He was not married, could she be his mistress? He had a feeling his brother would not look down on her. Perhaps she could even take dinner with them. Grace, he could not be certain. It was entirely possible that his sister-in-law would not approve, and then would not allow the children to be around her. But...
He was not a married man. Many married men had mistresses living in houses adjacent to their wives. He could take dinner with her. She could sleep in his bed all night. And it would not matter what the servants said, for they were his servants.
No, she would not be able to go to London with him, she would not be able to participate in society, and he would have to get a new governess. It would only be right. But if he could have her...
He cleared his throat. ‘She has made a world of difference to the children, and she could have the face of a Nordic troll, and I would still value her the same.’
Of course he would not have taken her to his bed, in all likelihood.
Or perhaps he would have. If she was still her. Still Mary.
‘Whatever you’ve done with your life, do more of it,’ said Luke. ‘Because you are like a different man, West. I have never seen you so at ease.’
