Seduced by the Brooding Duke Read online

  “It’s lovely,” said Laura to Mr. Grove. “I’m sure it will work perfectly.”

  “I will give you time to settle in a bit, and then I will send Lady Emily up to the schoolroom,” Mr. Grove said as he took his leave. “I’m sure you are eager to get started with her.”

  Laura simply nodded and set her bag and the bundle on the dresser. She couldn’t believe that just this morning she had woken up in a small, barely-standing farmhouse, and now, she was standing in this grand home with these fine things. It was all a bit overwhelming, but she knew she had to keep her mind on her goal.

  Now, what does a governess actually do?

  Laura started by picking up the bundle and walking out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her. She placed the bundle on the table in the center of the room, and carefully untied the rope and removed the cloth. She folded them both up neatly and sat them on the desk, which she had failed to see before, as it was hidden by the entry door.

  She also noted a book case filled with at least 100 books, more books than she believed she could possibly read in a lifetime. Though Laura could read, she was slow and took her time. She hoped, of course, she had enough of an education to make this ruse believable.

  Laura walked back to the table and spread out the books that she had brought. I suppose I should have a schedule. Perhaps she would talk to Lady Emily about that when her young student arrived.

  Once more, Laura looked around the room, and then walked over to the large windows. She could see a smaller building in the distance. It had a chimney and smoke was flowing out of it. She then saw a man walk out carrying a large container. The man had ginger hair, just like Lady Emily. Oh!

  Laura’s heart skipped a beat as she realized that she was looking at the Duke of Farnworth. Though she had met him yesterday, and he had hired her, she felt a bit less nervous so far away from him, so she closely watched him. She hadn’t realized it then, but she could see that he had a manly physique which was more like the physique of a laborer than a Duke. Though she couldn’t see every detail of his face, she remembered that he was handsome.

  It is a shame I have to kill him.

  Laura continued to stare down at the Duke, who was going in and out of the building, getting lost in his movements when suddenly there was a quiet knock at the door.

  Chapter 7

  The mid-afternoon sun was hot, or at least it felt hot thanks to the morning rain, which had made the air feel thick on Alexander’s skin. He was getting tired, but there was still a lot of work to be done. He was so focused on working toward finding a remedy to their missing ale problem, that he had barely thought of Emily or the new governess all day.

  Bernard had come up with a temporary solution to boil more batches of ale at a time, but it involved Alexander running himself ragged carrying kettles in and out of the building to wash them. The men still didn’t know what happened to their casks, nor what they would do about getting more ingredients, but at least they could use what they had on hand in the meantime.

  “That’s the last of the wheat in the kettle that is boiling now,” said Bernard as his head stuck out of the door. “We can’t do much more this afternoon without ingredients except let these cool and place them in the casks with the yeast.”

  Alexander nodded. “I understand. You can leave for home if you want. I can look after things here.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of leaving you with this,” said Bernard.

  Alexander smiled. He knew that Bernard was not only a good business partner, but also a good friend. Though he hadn’t known Bernard as long as his best friend, Graham, Bernard was certainly one of his closest friends.

  “We will get through this together,” said Alexander, finishing up his cleaning. “I’m sure the solution is right in front of us”

  Bernard was silent for a moment, and Alexander saw that he was staring at the ground. “Alexander…it really is…right in front of us.” Bernard looked up and ran back into the building as he said, “Come with me! I have an idea!”

  Laura walked to the door and opened it slowly. In front of her was a ten-year-old girl with stunning green eyes and long, beautiful ginger hair. Though she was young, Laura could already see that she had a mischievous look about her.

  “Lady Emily, I presume?” Laura said with a smile.

  “Yes,” Emily replied. “Are you my governess?”

  “Yes, I am Miss Elkins,” replied Laura. “Please come in. This schoolroom is yours.”

  Emily walked through the door and looked around slowly, and then looked at Laura. “You don’t look like a governess.”

  Laura’s heart sank as soon as Emily uttered those words. Does she already know?

  Emily continued. “My former governess was old and had gray hair. You are young and pretty.”

  Laura took a sigh of relief, and then responded, “There are all types of women who serve as a governess, My Lady.” She knelt down near her young charge. “You are right. I am young, but I know I can teach you more than your old governess did. And I will try to make it fun.”

  This got a smile from Emily. Laura was fairly certain that most governesses wouldn’t insure their students had fun, but since she wasn’t really a governess, she didn’t let it bother her for too long.

  “Lady Emily, I would like for you to sit at the table and tell me about what you learned with your previous governess,” said Laura.

  Emily pulled out one of the chairs and sat down at the table. Laura did the same. “Her name was Miss George, and she taught me about writing and reading. We also learned about where places are on the globe, and I know French.”

  “Anything else, Lady Emily?” Laura asked.

  Emily was silent, but then said, “She also taught me drawing and sewing, and to not misbehave.”

  Laura tried to hide her smile. “All of those are wonderful things. Are there any subjects that you want to learn about that she didn’t teach?”

  “I want to brew ale like my brother,” Emily said excitedly.

  Laura smiled again. Emily was a very sweet child. “I don’t know much about brewing, Lady Emily. But I do know that you are a lady, and thus, you can have someone make ale for you.”

  Emily frowned, and crossed her arms in front of her.

  “Do you have something to share, My Lady?” asked Laura. “Why do you want to learn how to brew ale?”

  “Because then I can see my brother more,” explained Emily.

  For a moment, Laura didn’t know what to say. She had come into this home seeing red, and she had no thoughts about what the death of the Duke of Farnworth might mean to others, including his sister. “Is your brother your only family, Lady Emily?”

  Emily nodded. “Well, sometimes Uncle Bernard and Aunt Louisa visit, but they aren’t really my family. I just call them that.” Emily then smiled and said, “Uncle Graham comes too, and he always brings sweets and gifts.”

  “I see,” replied Laura. “And your parents?”

  “They died when I was a babe,” said Emily. “I never really knew them. I only ever had my brother, but he’s very busy working, so I don’t see him a lot. I thought if I learned about brewing, I could see him all the time.”

  Laura certainly felt for the young girl. It must be difficult for her to grow up without a lot of affection or the love of a family. At the same time, however, this brother, who Emily seemed to look up to so much, was a murderer, and he had killed Laura’s brother. Already the wheels were turning in Laura’s head. Can I really do this?

  “I understand, Lady Emily,” acknowledged Laura. “I can see how that would be very difficult for you. Perhaps your brother will marry soon, and you will have a wonderful sister-in-law.” Though Laura knew this would never happen if her plan was successful, she wanted to make sure the girl liked her.

  “Yes, I hope that will happen,” said Emily. “But my brother doesn’t seem interested in marrying. He’s only interested in his ales.”

  “Lady Emily, I’m sure your brother onl
y wants what is best for you, and for now, it’s to become educated.,” said Laura. “Shall we begin with your reading lesson?”

  Alexander quickly followed Bernard into the brewery building. “What are you thinking, Bernard?”

  “Well, have you ever had ginger beer or spruce ale?” asked Bernard excitingly as he turned to look at Alexander.

  “Ginger beer, no, and I don’t know what spruce ale is,” acknowledged Alexander. The truth was, he was an excellent brewer, but he generally tried to stick with traditional ales and brews. Even the stout recipe he had recently tried wasn’t quite “new” in the eyes of the public.

  Bernard chuckled. “You have to get out there with the people, Farnworth.” He ran into his small office and started shuffling through papers. “I know it’s here somewhere.”

  “What’s here?” questioned Alexander who was puzzled by Bernard’s actions.

  “I have some correspondence here. All about how new and exciting ales, like spruce ale, made with the buds from pines, are high in demand.” Bernard continued to search, but then stopped and turned toward Alexander once again.

  “Here’s my idea,” Bernard said. “We take the ale that we have made today, and age it as we normally would. We also have a bit stored away that we can use.” Alexander nodded, still wondering what Bernard’s great idea was. “Then, starting tomorrow, we can start making other ales, like spruce ales and ginger beer.”

  Alexander’s eyes widened. There were pine trees all over this land…hundreds, perhaps thousands of pines, each with buds growing right this second. “Bernard…this could work. This could save us!” Alexander exclaimed. “You are a genius, friend!”

  Bernard continued with excitement in his voice. “We can go out tomorrow and start collecting buds from the pine trees, and we can even send Lady Emily and Sarah out. She would love that!”

  “Yes!” said Alexander, but then he went silent. Laura. “Wait. Emily’s governess started today. She will have lessons tomorrow. She can’t go collect pine buds for us.”

  Bernard’s face fell slightly. “I’m sure her lessons are important. But since it’s only the first day that the governess has been employed, perhaps she wouldn’t mind if Lady Emily took a couple of hours out of the daily lesson to help gather pine buds.”

  “I can ask her tonight. I haven’t formally welcomed her, yet, so when I do, I will make sure to talk to her about tomorrow.” Alexander’s mood brightened considerably.

  “I am sure it won’t be a problem. I can also talk to Grove to see if he has extra staff that he can spare tomorrow from the house to work in the brewery. We will surely need a lot of buds if we are going to make this a success, but it’s the best idea we have right now,” said Alexander.

  “I agree,” said Bernard, “And I look forward to getting started tomorrow. Why don’t you head home? You have had a long day out in the sun. I will lock up.”

  Alexander couldn’t argue with that. His body was sore, and he was still rather sweaty. He also felt the need to look his best when he spoke with Miss Elkins later in the evening. “Good night, friend, and thanks for saving our brewery,” he said with a smile. Bernard smiled back, and Alexander walked out of the office door, and started to make his way to the big house. As he walked, he glanced up into the windows of the second floor, and he swore that he saw someone looking out before they quickly disappeared.

  He saw me.

  Laura quickly moved her body away from the window. She had been staring down at the Duke, and she was certain that he saw her doing it. She wasn’t quite sure why she was watching him, but she did know that she felt nothing but hatred for the man.

  Her lessons with Emily had gone well, and she really thought that the girl was very smart and intelligent. At the same time, however, Laura could see a bit of a wild streak about her, which was not unlike Laura herself at that age.

  Laura moved away from the window and began to tidy up the schoolroom. Though she was not a real governess, she understood based on her limited knowledge that they generally did not have a lot of interaction with others after the learning day was over. She was also beginning to get hungry, but she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to eat with the rest of the staff or if she ate alone.

  Laura continued to clean up the schoolroom, and she figured that she should probably spend the rest of the evening planning for Emily’s lessons for the rest of the week. She also wanted to think about how she could get Emily to trust her and how long that might take. Although it was only her first day in the estate, she felt as if she was on the right path.

  When another hunger pang hit her, Laura decided to walk down to the main floor and see if she could find Mr. Grove. There, she could ask him about her dining arrangements. She quickly checked her appearance in the looking glass, which hung on the wall, and opened the door to the hallway.

  Laura stepped out through the door and made her way down the hallway. She was still a bit shocked by the lavish décor of the home. She continued down the corridor and came to the stairway. She didn’t see or hear another person, though that didn’t surprise her as the home was so large.

  As Laura made her way down the stairs, she finally heard noises coming from the dining room. She came to the bottom step and was going to make her way toward the noise when Mr. Grove took a step out of the doorway.

  “Oh, you startled me, Mr. Grove,” Laura exclaimed, holding her hand against her heart.

  “Apologies, Miss Elkins,” Mr. Grove said. “I was just coming to speak with you. I wanted to make you aware of your dining arrangements.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Grove,” said Laura, doing her best to remember her manners. “I was wondering about that, myself.”

  ‘Our previous governess preferred to eat alone in her sleeping quarters. The other governess we had often ate with the rest of the staff,” explained Mr. Grove. “The decision is yours. Where did you prefer to eat during your last assignment?”

  Laura paused. She had not been prepared for this question. On one hand, she had never eaten a meal alone, but on the other hand, she knew she was only here in the house for a short time, so she didn’t want to get too close to the staff. She also didn’t want to arouse any suspicion, and she wasn’t certain that she would fully be able to hide her true intensions.

  “At my last assignment, I ate in my sleeping quarters, so I would prefer to do that again, if possible,” Laura explained to Mr. Grove.

  “Wonderful, Miss Elkins,” replied Mr. Grove. “I will have dinner sent up to you when the rest of the staff takes their meal.”

  “Thank you very much, Mr. Grove,” said Laura, hoping that the meal was sooner, rather than later.

  “Are you settling in well, Miss?” asked Mr. Grove.

  “Yes, I am. Thank you for asking,” replied Laura.

  “And was Lady Emily well-behaved during her lessons?” Mr. Grove enquired.

  Laura nodded, “Oh yes. She is a very intelligent child. I am looking forward to continuing lessons with her tomorrow.”

  “Wonderful!” said Mr. Grove with a smile. “His Grace will be pleased to hear that.”

  At that moment, the Duke walked through the entry hall and approached Laura and Mr. Grove. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest. “I will be pleased to hear what?” he asked.

  “Welcome home, Your Grace,” said Mr. Grove. “Miss Elkins and I were discussing Miss Emily’s lessons.”

  Laura stood still and saw the Duke turn his head and look at her. He asked, “Did my precocious sister do well?” She could barely stand to look into his eyes and respond. This man had her brother’s blood on his hands.

  “Yes, Your Grace,” Laura responded quietly. “She is a very intelligent girl.”

  She saw the Duke smile at her, and she could tell that he was thinking about what to say next. After a brief and awkward silence, he said “I was hoping that you and Lady Emily might be available tomorrow afternoon. We have a small job at the brewery that we require help with. I have to take her from her lessons,
but I think she would enjoy an afternoon outdoors.”

  Laura was not going to give this evil man any pleasure if she could help it. “Your Grace, Lady Emily is far behind where she should be in her lessons, and I don’t know if taking time away from her lessons so soon is prudent.”

  She studied his face to attempt to gage his reaction, but his response came quickly. “Of course, Miss…Elkins,” the Duke responded. She wondered if he had briefly forgotten the name she had given him. “It is best for my sister to continue her lessons as planned.” He smiled at her once again.

  “Miss Elkins,” the Duke continued with a smile. “If it would please you, I would invite you to join Lady Emily and I in the sitting room this evening after dinner.”

  Now it was Laura’s turn to pause and try to come up with a quick excuse. The lessons. “Thank you for asking, Your Grace, but I must admit that I am not feeling well this evening.”

  She could tell the Duke was surprised that she had declined the invitation, but the less time she had to spend with this man, the better.

  “Perhaps another time then,” the Duke said to her.

  “Yes, Your Grace,” Laura responded, and watched as he turned and walked away, slightly shaking his head. She looked at Mr. Grove, who had witnessed the entire conversation, and said, “I hope that was all right. I do feel as if I need to rest.”

  Mr. Grove looked at her and smiled. “His Grace is an agreeable man and was only trying to make your transition here easier. I assure you he has taken no offense.”

  Laura sighed, and said “Thank you, Mr. Grove. I must return to my sleeping quarters.”