When a Duke Loves a Governess (Unlikely Duchesses #3) - Olivia Drake Page 0,117

fingertip over the engraved coat of arms. How pleased Mama would be to know that her daughter had finally found her grandfather. That had been her dying wish, after all. Upon leaving Carlin House, Tessa would go to live with him, and she would make every effort to forge a bond with her brother and sister, too.

And perhaps someday, she would forget that she had once loved a duke.

The quiet ticking of the clock on the mantel drew her attention. It was half past two in the morning. Sophy would be awake by eight, and if Tessa hoped to get any sleep at all, she had best return to the nursery straightaway.

She lay the pendant on the table, intending to braid her nearly dry hair. No sooner had she reached up her hands to do so, though, than a quiet tapping sounded. As she whirled around, the door opened, and Guy peered into the bedchamber.

A spontaneous joy uplifted her soul. All of her lethargy dissipated as she felt buoyed by the anticipation of his embrace. Oh, she’d been mistaken to think him unloving, because surely he’d come to lay his heart at her feet …

He entered the room and closed the door behind him. Instead of approaching her, however, he paused. “I thought you’d already be asleep. When I saw a glimmer of light under the door, I decided to check on you.”

From across the room he studied her somberly, his hair in attractive disarray, his cravat gone, and his arm still in its sling. There was an indefinable weariness to him that touched her deeply. Yet she found it difficult to read his impenetrable face, and his coolness was far from encouraging. If he loved her, surely he would have rushed forward to seize her in his arms, to cover her with kisses.

Tessa abandoned the braid and let her hair fall loosely around her shoulders. “It’s very late. I was about to go upstairs to bed.”

He frowned. “I told Jiggs very clearly to convey that you’re to stay right here tonight. I won’t have Sophy waking you at the crack of dawn. You need a little time to recover from all that’s happened.”

Her throat taut, she folded her arms and returned his steady stare. “I belong in the nursery. I-I don’t feel comfortable here.”

“Not comfortable?” He glanced around the well-appointed bedchamber. “Was there something you lack?”

Your love, Tessa thought, though she felt too disheartened again to say that aloud. Guy was fond of her, but merely as a friend, and he would wed her out of nothing more romantic than gentlemanly obligation. She craved wild, reckless ardor, the closeness that had immersed them in the bliss of their one night together. But on that occasion she had been naïve enough to mistake fleshly passion for heartfelt sentiment.

Feeling treacherously close to tears, she turned her head to gaze into the fire. “There’s nothing,” she murmured. “Your servants were all very kind.”

He strode to her side. “Yet you look so desolate. You’ve told me very little about your ordeal. Come, my dear, sit down for a moment. It will do you good to speak of it.”

Sliding his arm around her waist, he guided her to the ottoman, then knelt in front of her and grasped her hands in his. The firelight revealed the anxiety etched in the lines of his face. “I have to know, Tessa. What did that brute do to you? How did he lure you away from here?”

“Banfield told me you’d been injured again, that you needed me to come outside to your carriage. But when we went to the mews, there was only a hansom cab and as I looked inside, he struck me from behind. I daresay it’s lucky that I have a hard head.”

Guy didn’t chuckle at her attempt at a jest. His jaw tight and his face grim, he growled, “He knocked you out?”

“Yes. When I woke, I was tied up in the coal cellar.”

He turned her hands over, palms up, and regarded her reddened, abraded wrists. Though his expression was hewn from granite, his touch was soft as he brought them to his lips for a kiss. “You should never have fallen prey to Banfield’s clutches. It’s a wonder you don’t hate me.”

“Hate you? No, those scrapes were only caused by me trying to loosen my bonds,” she said, trying to keep her voice light. “Luckily, he didn’t notice that I had a pair of scissors in my pocket. Once I’d sawed through