Chapter One

Today had to be the very worst day of Annabelle’s entire life.  

At the very least, it had been the worst day of her life to date and if tomorrow was not significantly better, she did not think that she would be able to endure it. It was only fitting that her night ended in an equally terrible fashion. It was all that Annabelle could do to keep one foot moving slowly in front of the other. Her right leg ached terribly, causing her gait to be uneven and drastically slowing her progress. The bitter night air bit at her through the loose knit of her shawl.

Do not cry… do not cry. Keep moving.

The mantra repeated over and over in her head. She would not allow herself to stop to think of another single word. Not with how frightened she was presently, being in unfamiliar woods, alone, with the nighttime darkness rapidly descending upon her. It was wholly and abjectly terrifying. She would not think about how much damage she did to her ankle by further abusing it nor would she think about the gnawing ache in her stomach from having skipped dinner.

It felt like she had run away from home a year ago rather than a handful of hours.

A tree bough caught the edge of her shawl and attempted to rip it from her nearly frozen fingers as she walked past its branch. Annabelle yelped in surprise and had to pull the thing free with so much force that she feared she might faint in her efforts.

But the interruption broke her mantra.

Suddenly, the world felt overwhelmingly large and frightening. Her path felt impossible — her destination too far to be considered attainable. Everything around her was too much and instantly overwhelming.

For the span of a breath, she almost let it swallow her. For only that moment in time, she allowed herself to feel it before she pushed it down deep inside of her like she had learned to do with every other unpleasant emotion.

Then, she trudged onward.

Her boots were soaked through, and her hem was caked in six inches of mud and muck as she finally left the forest’s edge, approaching the castle she had set her sights on. Hoping to find refuge there was a long shot, but it was also the only option that she had. If only for a single night of warmth and hospitality before she was forced to head out into the world once more.

Though she was proficient at thinking on her feet, the cold hindered her creative process. She knew not what she would do if they were to turn her away.

There were no attendants or footmen to greet her on the way up the small trail, but oddly, it only gave her more hope. It was obvious that the castle was still well cared for, with the gardens well-maintained despite the beginnings of a frost. There was no light projecting from any of the windows. The castle, with its imposing stone walls and grand turrets, loomed before her, its air of authority unmistakable…but she was desperate. Now was not the time for her to be concerned with social decorum.

Annabelle’s frozen knuckles rapped on the castle’s door — unable to bring herself to knock on the ornately designed lion’s head knocker. It looked too cold and heavy for her to bother with. Without any signs of life coming from inside of the castle, her heart started to sink in her chest. She had placed all of her hope on seeking sanctuary here…if she did not find it, she was not entirely certain what she would do.

She knocked again. The longer that she stood in one place, the more the cold started to get to her. It could not end this way. No day could be that horrible.

Footsteps shuffled on the other end of the door and finally, the heavy oak started to pull open. She could have sung, she was so happy. The stern expression on an otherwise pretty, round-faced housekeeper greeted her.

“Might I help you?” She took in the way that Annabelle trembled with the cold and the state of her dress before giving the visitor a chance to answer. “Oh, you poor dear…come inside, quickly now.”

“Thank you ma’am, thank you so kindly,” Annabelle’s teeth chattered against her very best efforts as she quickly ducked inside of the castle walls. She felt leaps and bounds better the moment she was no longer being bitten at by the wind.

The housekeeper pulled her own shawl from her shoulders and draped it around Annabelle’s. She rubbed at her upper arms in hopes of restoring some of the lost body heat. “I had thought that we had received the very last of the applicants on account of the oncoming bad weather…I never would have imagined that a young lady such as yourself would have braved it!” The housekeeper paused, something seeming to dawn on her. “Is there a carriage out there? Good heavens, you did not walk here did you?”

Annabelle smiled sheepishly to hide her confusion at the housekeeper’s implication. “…I’m afraid I did, ma’am.”

She wasn’t foolish enough to inquire about the nature of the applicants. If they felt that she was supposed to be here for some reason or another — she was not going to correct them.

“Come, right in here — there is a lovely fire going.” The housekeeper draped an arm around Annabelle’s slender shoulders and pulled her into a large drawing room. To the far end of the room was a solitary fireplace that served as the only light in the room. Despite the number of large windows and candle sconces affixed to the walls, only the fireplace was lit. A lone tea cart and a modest selection of finger foods were placed on a table near the kettle and a book lay open but upside down on the arm of one of the two high-backed armchairs. “You will have to forgive me, I would have kept the kitchens open should I have known that you were coming. Alas, with the girls having such very strict bedtimes I am afraid that the castle has been rather shut down for a few hours now.”

Annabelle nodded along as if she understood and took the seat across from the housekeeper as she poured some tea. Annabelle accepted the tea happily and cupped the warmth in her hands.

“I’m Mrs. Cecilia Reed, the housekeeper. I’m certain that you surmised as much as the posting implied you would be meeting with me. Mr. Knowles is otherwise occupied, but should you be given the position, you will meet our Steward in the morning. So, what is your name, dear?”

Annabelle’s heart hammered in a moment of panic. She had not bothered to think that far ahead. It seemed very unwise to give her true name, given that she was very much on the run from her family. Furthermore, she had no idea what the woman was speaking about….so a false name might be the best route to take. “E-Emily. Ma’am. Emily Burnett.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Burnett — tell me, do you–”

Whatever the kind housekeeper was about to ask was cut short by the sharp chime of a bell from across the hall. The welcoming smile on Cecilia’s face faltered for only a moment.

“Ah, well — that would be the master of the house then.” She shuffled forward and quickly ran her hands over Annabelle– Emily’s — hair and pushed it into the best semblance of order that she could muster and adjusted the way that her borrowed shawl sat on her shoulders. “Chin up dearie, and do try to maintain eye contact. His Grace prefers to be spoken to in a clear and concise manner. I do not mean to intimidate you, but you seem like a very tough young woman to have walked all of this way by yourself…you will certainly be capable of handling the energy of our two young wards. Go on then, off you go.”

Annabelle perked up, trying to puzzle together what precisely she was throwing herself into, but she did not question the housekeeper further. Reluctant to leave her tea just yet, she drank it entirely too quickly and burned her tongue and throat painfully. At least the warmth was nice. It troubled her to think that whatever position this household was hiring for…the true applicant might show at any moment. She would simply have to play along for tonight and once she had gotten a good night’s rest…she could clarify everything in the morning. It was not as if any decent gentleman would kick out a young woman into the cold, whether she got this mystery position or not.

It felt as if she had somehow walked into a dream and she was merely playing a role.

Anything for a warm bed.

She followed the housekeeper across the hall, then through a cracked doorway, leading to a room unlike the ones before it. Rather than being sparsely decorated and overly formal feeling… this small study was warm and every surface in the room aside from the chairs held books upon books. Small trinkets from far-off lands were placed on top of them and a warm, lingering scent of tobacco and brandy hung in the air. She could have explored every inch of this room for days and been unlikely to discover all of its secrets. The desk was piled high in disorganized heaps of paper and behind it — the Duke of Somerton.

She had heard stories of his stern and bitter features…he was a man rumored to never smile. From her first impressions, she could certainly see why. Despite having summoned the pair of women into the room, he seemed irritated that they were interrupting him with their presence.

“That will be all Mrs. Reed, thank you.” His voice was deep and rich. Soothing, like warm hotcakes covered in butter and syrup on a brisk morning. He did not look up from his work as his quill scratched across the surface of his parchment. “Sit.”

It was not a question, but a command, as he gestured with the end of his quill to one of the armchairs across from him. Unsure of what else to do, Annabelle complied immediately. She chose the seat closest to the fire on the left side of the room. He did not speak, so neither did she. It gave her the unique opportunity to study his features, to really absorb his long aquiline nose and strong jawline. He was broad and well-muscled. That much was apparent even through his formal clothing. His rolled-up sleeves revealed arms, strong and veiny, as thick as her thighs, hinting at the power he possessed. Raven hair hung in soft waves around his face in a length that was certainly longer than was considered fashionable by the other men of the ton. He had small specks of ink on the edges of his sleeves and circles of apparent exhaustion under his eyes. A very serious-seeming gentleman but something about him intrigued her.

“Your Grace, I must thank you for –” she started, and he scratched a line across the parchment that startled her. It was a wonder that the tip of his quill had not scratched clear through to the desk beneath. He lifted his deep brown eyes from under his brow up to her for the first time and she was transfixed. He was an intimidating sort of handsome…but she could hardly blink for her reluctance to tear her eyes from him for a single moment.

He studied her thoroughly. From the crown of her head to where her hands gripped her borrowed shawl and back again…but clearly did not find her wanting. It felt as if he were testing her, silently. Did he do that to every woman that he met?

No wonder some find him unpleasant.

As if he read her mind, he began, “There is no need for pleasantries, my lady, for the hour is late and I would prefer to conclude my business here. As I am certain you have been informed, my household is in dire need of a governess. I have very strict rules that I shall expect to be followed and conditions that I would expect you to adhere to without question should you be hired. The two young ladies in question will require a very firm, steady hand.”

“Your Grace, I—”

“I am not finished,” he clipped. Something flickered behind his eyes. “One of those conditions would be to not interrupt me while I am speaking to you. Is that acceptable to you?”

“…Yes, Your Grace.” She held her breath, waiting for his response.

He nodded once and his focus dropped back to his paper as he spoke. “I have a schedule that will be given to you of the girl’s day-to-day routine and I will not tolerate it being deviated from. Of course you will need to be responsible for both of them which can be troubling for some. They have run through a great many, highly recommended governesses in the past.”

He kept talking, but her attention drifted to the trinkets and tchotchkes that he had around the space as he prattled off his rules and expectations. She had no desire to actually be a governess… so it did not apply to her. Small elephant statues that seemed to be from India, books with titles in languages she could not hope to decipher, elegantly crafted candles, and most intriguingly of all…a pearl necklace on a small stand by the window.

Annabelle’s eyes lit up as a wave of familiarity passed through them at the object in question.

Could it truly be?

Her hand began to drift its way toward it to examine it further on instinct so much so, she had to consciously make an effort to keep it fixed on her lap. The spacing and the ornate clasp alone would have been memorable, but that particular necklace had once belonged to her mother… her real mother… before her tyrannical uncle had ripped apart Annabelle’s entire estate and inheritance for any sum of money that he could get his greedy hands on.

What was her mother’s Necklace doing here? Of all of the places that it could have wound up… how was it here? Annabelle squinted and leaned forward in her seat to see it more clearly, but stopped the moment that the Duke broke off from his words. He turned slowly in his chair to see what it was that she was looking at so very intently.

He glanced back at her, his gaze intense, waiting for her to ask about whatever it was that had so diverted her attention… but she was transfixed. The Duke’s brow rose in curiosity, but he did not call her on it. She could not leave without that necklace. One way or another fate had brought a family heirloom, her only connection to her past back into her life, and if she had to pretend to be a governess in order to get it back, then that was exactly what she was going to do. She would stay a day longer.  

Chapter Two

It was hard to look at the young lady directly. Francis Fitzroy considered himself a man not easily distracted, by nothing and never. A man of unwavering dedication and focus, he prided himself on his ability to excel in any endeavor he undertook. He ran his household with efficiency and a no-nonsense approach.

He was not the sort of man to fill his social calendar with anything that did not need to be there. Outside of networking and communicating with his business contacts, he did not enjoy spending time at balls or entertaining women looking to seduce him into marriage through insipid conversation. He found most people to be painfully tedious. Routine. He was arrogant enough to believe that he could read people and their intentions — he felt that once he spent ten minutes with someone, he could get a decent read on not only their character but what they wanted from him. Everybody always wanted something.

The employment posting that he had placed for a governess some months ago had yielded little fruit. He paid well enough to make it enticing but unfortunately, the subjects were unwilling to be governed. Always underfoot. Always in his way… getting into things… mucking about in places that children ought not to be. Each interview before this one had been the same. The women of various ages and backgrounds had all promised that there was no child too unruly. There was no challenge that they could not face, they welcomed difficult personalities for whatever reason they spouted. They all started conversations by listing their accolades and yet when they were put in front of the children, every single one of them left running.

This young woman, however, appeared absolutely terrified from the get-go.

No, terrified was not the correct word. It was not nerves either. She seemed… flighty. Normally that would not appeal to him but her eyes were affixed so widely that she was very much the deer in the meadow. She could not focus on any one thing for longer than a moment. She shifted in her seat, her gloved fingers nervously toying with the delicate lace of her shawl. While her demeanor and posture implied that she was a lady of good breeding in some fashion or another, he could not get a good read on her.

Which was wholly unacceptable.

Even more unacceptable was the fact that he found her unequivocally handsome. When he found a woman physically pleasing in his opinion, it was ordinarily easily displaced. Yet, he found himself unable to tear his eyes from her. An unfamiliar desire stirred within him, the urge to gather her into his arms and protect her from any harm.

Something about her made him feel the need to comfort her… to offer her a seat closer to the fire and a bedchamber for the night. The hour was late and she had arrived alone, she did not have so much as a bag with her.

A fact that suddenly piqued his curiosity.

If she were arriving to apply for a position, surely she would have been accompanied by a carriage, or at the very least, arrived with belongings, a traveling cloak? Rather, she looked as though she had simply left her house that afternoon and decided to run through the woods for amusement.

As such, he kept rambling with the hopes of getting a reaction out of her. He did not normally enjoy speaking quite so much.

“Do you have much experience with children?”

Her eyes had traveled to somewhere behind him. Curious as to what could have captured her so when nothing else he had said seemed to register, he glanced back. Knick-knacks and various books… nothing overly attention-grabbing, he did not think.

“Hm?” She hummed distractedly as she dragged her focus back to him.

“If you are not willing to take this seriously, then I would rather not waste either of our times,” Francis said sharply.

“Apologies, it has been a very long day, Your Grace. I assure you, I am very serious. I am unmarried and do not have any children, but it has always been a lifelong goal of mine to govern. I am convinced that it is my true calling.”

She held his gaze. Her almond-shaped green eyes locked clearly on his without fear or intimidation, and he was the one who looked away first. She was lying. He could not see why, or for what purpose – but she was lying. Something she had seen in his study had changed her entire demeanor. She sat straighter in her seat, her hands dropped to her lap neatly and stopped their fidgeting. Something had caused her to change her mind and he was desperate to know what it was. A puzzle sat before him, begging to be solved. Never before had he encountered a woman who so thoroughly captivated his interest.

“I see. Did you have experience with younger siblings then, perhaps?”

“No, Your Grace. I was an only child,” she answered plainly.

“The two young girls in question, Lilly and Penny—erm, Lillian and Penelope, have very… strong temperaments. What makes you believe that a woman with no prior experience should be considered for the position?” Francis asked.

Emily smiled. “I hardly think that my experience is what matters most here, Your Grace. Forgive my candor as I do not mean to offend, but it would appear that if you are entertaining interviews at such a late hour, you are rather desperate. I am willing and capable. I assure you, Your Grace, that my determination and commitment will become evident in due course.”

His lip twitched into a smirk in spite of himself. He had said that pleasantries would not be necessary.

“How old are you, Miss Emily?”

“…Old enough,” she stuttered.

“Please do not feel the need to be coy. I understand it is rude to inquire as to a lady’s age but you seem very young, and I fear that the girls might not respect a woman so close to their own age. I cannot tolerate disrespect from them.”

“I am six-and-twenty, Your Grace,” she lied easily. Too easily. He could feel it. Something about the way she hesitated only a second before answering. “But I am flattered that you find me so youthful.”

She was almost too confident. If he was being perfectly honest. She had only been here a handful of moments and yet her entire demeanor shifted a number of times. She wanted something from him and it was not a job. What could it possibly be? What could she have decided that was so important to her since wandering into the room?

Francis set his quill down and pushed aside his work, pointedly clearing the space in front of him. Then, he laced his fingers together on the desk and watched her with open curiosity. She was a very pretty thing, now that he allowed himself the permission to truly look at her. Freckles covered the bridge of her nose and muttered sparsely over her cheeks. A small beauty mark under her right eye and one just to the left of her chin drew focus to her full pink lips. She possessed a slender nose and a dimple in the center of her chin, lending her otherwise heart-shaped face a more angular appearance. Her gown, though modest and of simple cut was undeniably becoming, but he could have provided her with far nicer than that.

It surprised him that he even wanted to — that a thought such as that could even cross his mind.

“Do you have any of your papers with you, perhaps? I suspect that since you arrived in such a… state, you are unlikely to have them.”

“You are correct, Your Grace, I am afraid that I do not.”

“Did you lose them perhaps? I do hope that nothing untoward happened to you on your way here. I could not stomach the notion that something happened to you on my grounds or its surrounding lands,” Francis ventured.

“Oh! No! Nothing like that, Your Grace…”

“So you simply misplaced them before setting out on your journey?” Francis did not pause to wait for an answer that he was fairly certain he could guess at. “Shall I send out a search party for your missing carriage or perhaps, you were simply too excited about the prospect of gainful employment that you frolicked out of your home.”

He watched intently as she shifted in her chair and struggled to come up with some story that might make even the smallest amount of sense, all things considered. He knew that she did not have one, but he had not yet decided on whether or not that bothered him. It was a risk bringing a stranger into this house, he knew that much. However, he did not believe on any level that this woman across from him was a threat.

“Your Grace, I think that you seem to have formed a rather… unsavory impression of me perhaps but…”

There it was, a flicker of honesty. His thumb brushed his bottom lip in contemplation before he held up his hand to stop her from speaking. “It is of no consequence what I think of you, the only opinion that shall matter will be that of my wards.”

She pressed her lips together as if debating what she ought to say next, and settled on nothing at all.

“I suppose that we shall have you meet the girls over breakfast and get to know one another. I will have to make my final assessment then.”

Her eyes widened in delight. “Truly?”

He dipped his chin into a nod. “You stated your name is Emily?”

She fidgeted for a moment and nodded. “Yes, Your Grace.”

“What is your real name?” he asked directly. Discovering her tells would be an intriguing endeavor for the forthcoming future.   

“W-what?”

“Do not be nervous, I do not blame you for lying. Your reasons or past do not concern me. I simply require your true name for legal purposes.”

“My name is Emily Burnett… .as I said.”

“No, it is not.”

Her jaw set firmly and her eyes narrowed. Was that irritation at being caught in her lie or something else entirely? He needed to know.

Francis rose from his seat and slowly walked around the desk until he could lean against the front of it. His knee brushed hers in the process and caused her to flinch in a nervous charm that allured him even more. “You speak the name as if it is foreign to you. As if you need to pause for a moment to recall the name that you have given yourself. I know not why you feel the need to pretend in this fashion, nor do I care. If your uneasiness is due to my proximity or the fact that you are aware that I am on to your ruse, that also does not concern me. What concerns me is that you will do this job the way that I demand it, and uphold my standards. Is that clear?”

She shifted once more, clearly uncomfortable, but did not move to put any additional space between them. Her chin lifted in his direction with an almost defiant air to her. She would not be intimidated by him. That much was obvious.

          Despite his best efforts to behave himself, his gaze involuntarily dropped to her shawl which had slipped from her shoulder, revealing the curves of her pale collarbone and bosom. It sent his pulse frantic and his eyes raised to meet hers. Everything seemed to disappear around them. What he would give to know what she was thinking at this very moment too. It would be no hardship on him whatsoever to see her around the castle for the upcoming days. At least until he could solve the riddle of her true nature and figure out what about her intrigued him so.

          She looked as though a rebuttal lingered on the tip of her tongue but remained silent.  

She was so close that he felt a strong temptation to pull her shawl back into place if only to brush against her body for a fleeting moment. However, the opportunity was denied to them both when his study door burst open with a heavy thud.

Chapter Three

It appeared to Annabelle that even the simplest of conversations could be enthralling to the right eavesdropper. A youthful creature, looking no older than the age of nine, bounded into the room unapologetically and loudly. If she took any notice of the tension in the room between its occupants or the way that the Duke’s shoulders seemed to seize when she ran toward him — she was not deterred.

The long-suffering sigh that Francis heaved was so soft that had Annabelle not been sitting so close to him, she might have missed it entirely. It was evident that this was one of the young girls whom she was to become a governess for, but discerning which one was an impossibility. The young girl did not even pause to acknowledge her. She wrapped her spindly arms around the Duke in a half-hearted hug which was not reciprocated before continuing to skip through the room, not caring in the slightest for the hour or that she was likely in a great amount of trouble.

A few moments later, Mrs. Reed appeared in the doorway, clutching her side as she struggled to catch her breath.

“Apologies, Your Grace… she was faster than I… snuck down the stairs and slid down the banister. It is fortunate that she did not snap her thin little neck! She gave me quite a fright!” Mrs. Reed wheezed.

The muscle in Francis’ jaw twitched with barely concealed irritation.

“I could not sleep, Your Grace!” The girl chimed as she started to skip around the desk. She touched everything within reach. Books and papers pushed out of place, knick-knacks nearly toppled from her careless prodding as she looked for anything that might serve as an excuse to remain in the room longer. “My mind simply would not allow it!”

“Your mind ought to be more occupied with sleeping,” Francis spoke through clenched teeth.

“But it is so full of ideas! Penny and I were reading the most lovely story! It told of a princess who was cursed! Naturally, Penny and I could not decide which one of us ought to be the princess… and which the witch.”

“Heresy,” Francis muttered under his breath. “If such stories prevent you from sleeping, then I shall have them removed.”

“No, you cannot!” The young girl, Lilly, as Annabelle surmised, was positively aghast at the very suggestion that one of her beloved stories might be taken away. “When I grow up, I will be a princess like the one in my stories and then I shall cast a kindness curse on you so that you will buy me every story that I should ever like!”

Lilly stuck her tongue out at the Duke in the most unladylike fashion. Her nostrils flared and the beginnings of a temper tantrum were evident in the way her features pinched together.

Francis took her firmly by the arm and led her toward the chair. He pulled her down into it a touch more roughly than he had meant to and the young girl’s bottom lip jutted out in a pout. Her arms crossed belligerently over her chest and she refused to look at him as he spoke. “You will be lucky that all you lose is that book, young girl, for you have broken yet another one of my rules.”

“Your rules are stupid! Why can I not play!”

Annabelle was honestly a little surprised that she didn’t stomp her foot in irritation too.

Francis seemed at his wit’s end. She could not claim to know him well enough to understand his temper or how badly he might behave if he were incensed, but it was obvious to her that he was exerting a lot of control to maintain his composure. She could not help but wonder just what their relationship was. Lilly looked nothing like him, she clearly was not his daughter — legitimate or otherwise.

“What will your royal name be?” Annabelle interjected. It was a question seemingly out of nowhere but it served the exact purpose that she wished for it to — both parties turned their focus to her curiously. “If you are to be a Princess, you shall need a royal name, as well as a Kingdom.”

“…Well I do not know…”

Annabelle nodded. “I thought not. For if you were serious about being a Princess, then you would know that a Princess could never speak to one of her subjects like that… let alone her King.”

Lilly seemed dumbstruck. Her jaw dropped as she floundered for a response.

“Can you imagine what it would look like to your subjects to see a princess speak to a king in such a way? She ought to apologize. A princess knows that her duty is to her kingdom, first and foremost. Above all things. A good princess is not allowed to simply follow her every impulse.” Annabelle shrugged, then gracefully clasped her hands in her lap. “I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting young Penny, but as she is the one in bed and you are not, I suppose that she would be a better choice to be princess.”

Lilly scooted forward, her expression suddenly serious. “No… no, I can be a good princess. I do not wish to be the witch!”

Annabelle nodded sagely. “But your actions have to reflect that, do they not?”

Slowly, Lilly turned her attention to Francis still leaning against the desk. Her smile turned bashful as she looked up at him. Her blinks were slow and her smile was repentant. “I petition the king for a pardon…”

Annabelle tried not to smile. She did not wish to shatter the ruse they had constructed. It all hinged on whether or not a man as strict and by the rulebook as Francis was willing to play along, even for a moment. All he had to do was pretend to pardon her and then Annabelle was fairly confident that she could coax the young girl back up to her bedroom. In the doorway, Mrs. Reed waited silently. She did not appear to be breathing at all.

Francis’ grip on the desk tightened until his knuckles started to turn white. He did not wish to. No doubt he would rather have Lilly pulled from his study and shut back up in her room until she listened to reason. Annabelle wondered if these were the first young children that he had ever come into contact with. How could he have become the guardian of two young girls in the first place? When the moment was right, she very much was looking forward to asking him the story there.

“You are pardoned,” Francis said finally. It seemed like the words physically pained him, but the effect they had on Lilly was instant.

She giggled with excitement and flung her arms around Francis’ middle as her cheek pressed into his sternum. “Oh thank you, king! Thank you! I shall be a good princess! I promise!”

“…Yes, see that you are. You are dismissed,” Francis finished awkwardly as he waited for Lilly to release him. Watching the interaction, she could not help but wonder if there was ever a circumstance in which he allowed himself to relax. Not simply to stop working, but to truly relax. There had to be a different side of him and she desperately wished to see it.

With a graceful flourish, Annabelle rose from her seat and extended her hand to the young girl, the delicate lace shawl slipping from her shoulders to rest upon the velvet chair. Lilly placed her hand in Annabelle’s happily and allowed herself to be pulled toward the door. She seemed a sweet child, but desperate for attention. Clearly, the Duke was reluctant to give it to her. He was likely one of those who felt that children ought to be seen and not heard. But he had played along, so perhaps there was still some hope for him yet.

“Will you be here when I wake up, ma’am?” Lilly asked sweetly as she tucked herself into Annabelle’s side.

Annabelle glanced back over her shoulder for confirmation. She smiled softly. “Yes, dear child, I do believe that I shall be here when you awaken. You shall have to introduce me to your sister. We can spend the day getting to know one another. Perhaps if we are very successful in our tasks, we shall have the time to start planning your princess names.”

“Oh! Yes please!” Lilly grinned happily. “What is your name?”

“You may address me as Miss Emily if it pleases you.”

“Very much so!”

Annabelle passed Lilly off to the housekeeper who held onto Lilly’s hand a touch more firmly than perhaps she needed to. It seemed she was afraid that the young girl would pull free out of her grasp and run back off once more.

Their footsteps receded down the hall, and the soft murmur of their conversation eventually faded from Annabelle’s hearing. The housekeeper was likely putting the young girl back to bed and hopefully accomplishing the task without also waking her sister. If Penny was anything like Lilly, then she was certainly going to have her work cut out for her.

“You seem like a natural.”

Annabelle spun on her heel, taking great care to not allow her gaze to shift back in the direction of the pearl necklace in the window. If she stared at it too much, he was going to catch onto her. “It is simple enough; she seems to be a sweet child.”

“Then you are already doomed to fail if you have been bewitched by her so easily.”

“Charmed is more like it. I am not so easily manipulated, as you will come to learn, Your Grace.”

“It would appear that there are a great many things that I will need to learn about you.”

His tone was suggestive and more than a little ominous. She would not pretend to know what it was that he could mean by that. He was not pressing the issue of her name any longer, but there would only be so long that he allowed her to be here under his employ without any papers or identification. His willingness to suspend disbelief would only carry her so far. She would have to act quickly to regain access to her precious family heirloom as well as learn how it was that he came to have it in the first place – that is if it truly was her mother’s. She would also have to spend some time crafting a more convincing backstory that would be easy enough to remember for the next time he asked her personal questions. She would be prepared then.

“I could say much the same, Your Grace, but as you are intent on hiring me, effective immediately, we will have plenty of time to get to know one another,” Annabelle said playfully. It was a gamble as to whether or not he would find her confidence irritating to him, or charming. She was hoping for the latter.

Francis smiled, more a subtle upturn of the corner of his lip than a full smile, but it still softened his face in the most compelling way. “I suppose that is very true.”

With a bold, yet playful air, she extended her right hand towards him, as if they needed to shake on it in order for their deal to be struck properly. Francis glanced down at her hand and his smile widened fractionally. Instead of shaking her hand, he lifted it between them until he could kiss the back of her gloved knuckles softly. His thumb caressed the delicate ridges of her hand, and he offered her a single, firm nod, his eyes locked on hers the whole time. “I will have you shown to your rooms. I look forward to seeing how long it takes them to shatter your confidence, Miss Burnett.”

“And I look forward to proving you wrong.” She could not stop the smile that spread over her features prettily. She could feel her face warming as he had not let go of her hand, nor had she pulled away from him. The subtle challenge in his eyes made her heart race.

No, it was more than that. It was more than just the way he made her fluster — something felt off. Her brow pinched and she tightened her grip on his hand to keep herself steady. “Apologies, Your Grace, I think that the day is finally catching up with me.”

“Of course, you have endured quite a lot. You are more than entitled to a good rest.” He reached behind him to the desk and lifted the bell that he had used to summon the pair of them earlier. A servant approached the open doorway. “Goodnight, Miss Emily.”

Look out for the Official Release on the 1st of May!