When a Duke Loves a Governess (Unlikely Duchesses #3) - Olivia Drake Page 0,71
But she didn’t have that right and besides, the matter of his in-laws had yet to be resolved in a manner that protected Sophy. “I might add, the visit with her grandparents caused your daughter to slip back into her old habits, at least temporarily. It was a very upsetting experience for her, and there was little I could do since they’d ordered me to be silent.”
“Did they, by God? As I’ve placed Sophy under your care, they should have allowed you to comfort her.”
His fiery glare warmed Tessa. “Well, I’m just a servant, after all,” she said demurely. “That’s why I wanted to suggest that Lady Sophy not be permitted to visit with the Norwoods without you being present.”
“You’re right, of course. I shall instruct Roebuck to turn them away whenever I am out.” Then Carlin’s wrathful expression lightened, and he aimed a crooked smile at her. “It seems I am once again in your debt, Tessa. Had I not been out chasing miscreants today, I’d have been home to deal with the ones on my own doorstep.”
She sipped her wine to hide the dizzying effect that his smile had on her. It wasn’t just that his praise pleased her. It was the fact that unlike other aristocrats, Carlin did not hold himself above the rest of humanity. He was not too proud to admit when he was wrong, or too arrogant to heed the advice of an underling. His fairness was one of the traits that made him so very appealing. She could always count on him to listen, even when he’d suspected her of theft and had learned how she’d lied about her background. In fact, Tessa found him to be far less dangerous a man when he was angry than when he was gazing at her with tender admiration.
At times like this she felt in dire peril of losing her heart.
Flustered, she cast about for another way to make herself so useful to him that he would never let her go. “Speaking of miscreants, I’ve discovered something of interest about Lord Haviland.”
“Oh? Tell me.”
“Yesterday, I had a talk with Avis—Miss Knightley. It seems she and Lord Haviland met some ten years ago when she was living in Sussex with her late father, the local vicar. The earl attempted to court her, but she knew he was a rake and would have nothing to do with him.”
“Sensible of her. Respectable ladies aren’t Will’s usual cup of tea.”
Tessa made no mention of the passionate kiss in the gamekeeper’s hut that had been told to her in confidence. “That isn’t all. Apparently, she and Lord Haviland quarreled in the garden after the lecture. Avis said that he stormed out by way of the garden gate.”
Carlin gave a low whistle. “So that explains why he was so tight-lipped yesterday. He threw me out of his house when I asked why no one had seen him depart after the lecture. He must have been protecting Avis’s reputation.”
Tessa found that commendable of Lord Haviland. Perhaps he truly did care for Avis. Yet if Lady Victor were to find out that her companion had been alone with him, there would be an uproar. And the parallel between that situation and Tessa being here with Carlin tonight was uncomfortably obvious.
He was sitting close to her, and more than once she’d caught his gaze dipping to her bosom, as it did now. Being unaccustomed to revealing any flesh, she was surprised by how effective even a modestly cut bodice could be in luring a man’s attention. And by how a mere glance from him could quicken her heartbeat.
She took a bracing sip of wine. “Does this exonerate Lord Haviland, then?”
His gaze snapped back to hers. “Not entirely. Don’t forget, he might have returned later and slipped inside the house before Roebuck locked up.”
“What about the other gentlemen? Have you found out anything yet?”
The duke shrugged. “Little enough. When I tracked down Churchford at his club yesterday, he spent the better part of an hour trying to talk me into letting him finance an expedition to find the pirate’s gold in exchange for a cut of the proceeds. That isn’t something he’d have done if he had the diaries. There wasn’t sufficient time for him to have combed through them and to realize he didn’t already have the treasure map.”
“Perhaps he was attempting to throw you off the scent.”
“Perhaps, although I’m leaning toward a not-guilty verdict for him.”
Picking up the decanter, Carlin offered to refill her