When a Duke Loves a Governess (Unlikely Duchesses #3) - Olivia Drake Page 0,74
drew a shaky breath. “Looking back, I can scarcely believe my luck in getting away. For several days I applied to dressmakers but could find no work until Madame Blanchet hired me at the millinery.”
For next to nothing, no doubt. Guy clenched his jaw and imagined her as a frightened young girl wandering London alone, sleeping in alleys and scrounging for food in rubbish bins. But even that was not as horrifying as the fate that he’d feared had befallen her at the brothel.
With the weight of that worry gone, he felt a portion of his tension dissipate. “It is by the grace of God that you’re here now, and safe.”
Despite his fervent words, Tessa stared forlornly into her empty wineglass. “I felt so … so stupid, though. Other girls had been taken away for apprenticeships, you see, and I had thought nothing of it. I’d envied them, in fact. I’d never once realized what had really become of them.”
“Of course you didn’t,” he said, his voice rough with feeling. “You were a child of fourteen, confined to a workhouse. What could you have known of such matters?”
She gave him a sad little smile, then set down her glass. “Well, Carlin. Now you have discovered the full extent of my fraud. I’m a baseborn hatmaker who barely escaped being sold as a lightskirt. Wouldn’t it set society on its ears if they knew you’d hired a governess with such a disreputable background and no formal schooling at all?”
He disliked hearing Tessa denigrate herself. “Devil take them. As you delight in pointing out, you’ve dealt with Sophy far better than anyone else. Whatever knowledge you lack can be studied and acquired. By the way, how did you learn to read?”
“Mama had taught me my alphabet and a few simple words. Once I left St. George’s, I was determined to educate myself. I read whatever I could find, from fashion journals to hymnals to penny novels.”
“Then your abilities are all the more noteworthy. I’ve met many a lady with every advantage of education who had nary an intelligent thought rattling inside her head.”
Tessa raised her chin. There was a desolate quality to her expression that reached into his heart. “Oh, pray don’t be so gentlemanly, Carlin. It really isn’t necessary. If you intend to dismiss me, I wish you would just do it.”
“Dismiss you?” he said blankly.
“Yes, you said yesterday morning that you needed time to consider if I might stay in your employ. After what you’ve discovered, there surely can be only one course of action. Isn’t that why you summoned me here?”
“Frankly, no. It was any number of things. The heraldry book, the Norwoods, and yes, the orphanage, but only to find out what had happened to you there.” When she still looked unconvinced, Guy brought the back of her hand to his lips for an ardent kiss. Rashly, he added, “I also simply wanted to see you, Tessa. Two days was too long to be separated from you. I crave your company, more than that of anyone else of my acquaintance.”
A glow flickered to life in her eyes and softened her face. All the anxiety melted away as a tremulous smile hovered on her lips. Her bosom rose and fell with several ragged breaths. “Carlin.”
She flung her arms around him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. He was instantly bewitched by her lush breasts and hourglass curves. Holding her close, he rubbed his cheek against her hair and savored her spellbinding scent. Everything about her supple form was soft and feminine, yet he very much liked that her inner spirit was strong and resilient, too. An unwavering warmth of sentiment held sway over him. He didn’t care to examine the feeling too closely; he knew only that no other woman had ever affected him as profoundly as Tessa. His fingers were actually trembling as he brushed back a lock of silky blond hair and tipped up her chin.
He settled his mouth over hers and kissed her long and deep. The wild beating of his blood banished all wisdom to the farthest reaches of his mind. She tasted of wine and desire, a potent combination made more powerful because she was Tessa. He had been burning for her ever since that scorching encounter in the library. No, long before that. He’d been lost since she had first walked into his study more than a fortnight ago, with a jaunty chip-straw bonnet framing the finely etched cameo of