Page 18

CHAPTER TWELVE

“ O h no. Oh no, no, no.” Julian muttered in a fit of panic, then rather sternly. “No. Cease this wailing at once.”

It seemed his order only served to further agitate Nicholas and the boy began to cry even harder.

Julian was utterly concerned that they might wake Anna up and he quickly moved away from the door, pacing about the room like he had seen her do to soothe him, shocked and appalled when that did not immediately calm the child.

“Why are you being so difficult? I did not mean to rouse you. Go back to sleep, you tyrant.” Julian instructed once more, doing a weird dance of awkward limbs as he tried to move in a way that might distract Nicholas from whatever might have upset him.

Nicholas’ tears persisted and Julian grew frustrated, holding the boy close with one arm, freeing up the other hand to point at the child.

“I have ordered you to stop crying repeatedly. You have ignored my orders repeatedly. I am a duke and my rank is second only to the royal family. You would do well to know your place, you fiend – what am I doing? Have I gone mad?” he groaned, exasperated.

His pacing continued and he tried to recall what else he had seen Anna do to soothe the child, his mind slowly supplying him with a memory he wasted no time putting into action.

Gingerly, he rested a hand on Nicholas, gently patting the child’s chest as he shushed him softly, feeling as though he was on the verge of losing his mind but ultimately left with no other choice on how to handle the matter.

“Hush, Nicholas, hush. You are far too superior to wail about every single inconvenience. You will learn when you’re old enough.

For now, we shall understand these signs of weakness, but eventually you must learn to leave such childish habits behind.

I trust that when the time is right, you will do what is expected of you. ”

Strangely enough, the boy calmed down, but was still weeping and Julian’s confidence grew and he continued to walk around his room while speaking to the infant.

“I cannot believe what I have had to put up with for my brother. Your father is a truly irresponsible and selfish man. I worry about putting you in his care, but it is what must be done. I am a firm believer in facing the consequences of one’s actions – no matter how dire they are.

That is not to say that you are a punishment or anything of the sort.

But we are both old enough to acknowledge the fact that you are no picnic in the park either.

But that is no fault of yours, it is merely your nature as of now.

As I said before, with time, you shall abandon these childish mannerisms. But your father has refused to act according to the expectations that come along with his age and it saddens me every time I am called to provide something pertaining to his freedom.

I can only hope that he does better, for your sake. ”

He looked down at Nicholas and a rush of satisfaction flashed through him as he realized that the child had stopped crying but his eyes were still wet and he looked utterly unhappy.

“It is quite unfair how quickly you have grown so attached to my duchess. It is improper to cling to the wife of another man, even if she might be your aunt. But I must know – why do you like her so much? Do you understand that you will likely never meet a woman as combative as she? Argues over every single thing, that woman. If she had her way, she might fight me for my right to breathe. With how stubborn she is, I’m afraid there is a chance she might win.

I have never known a more headstrong individual before – perhaps I should involve her in the family.

I believe she might just easily convince a few stubborn investors to take my side.

“She does have a few redeeming qualities, I suppose. Not something I would ever admit out loud, in public, so do not ever bring this up again. I think she has done a lovely job with you. Most women would have given up the battle long ago – you are quite a terrifying menace when you decide that the air in the house is yours to pollute with noise as you wish. I would have certainly attempted to toss you out of a window, more than once. I have little patience – a trait I suspect you might possess as well. But I am glad that you were not my responsibility, for most of your stay. I am not merely saying that for my benefit. You were spared from heavy disappointment, let me tell you.”

Another glance downward and Julian found Nicholas staring at him with rapt attention, looking as though he believed Julian was saying the most important thing he ever had the pleasure of listening to.

Bemused, Julian tapped Nicholas’ nose with the tip of his finger gingerly, grinning as the boy made gargled sounds of joy.

At least he listens better than his father, Julian thought to himself.

“When you are older, I hope you will be a man of good character. It is far too easy to fall prey to meaningless vices and irresponsible ways. I hope that you will courageously choose to face the challenges that come your way and emerge stronger because of it. You are a braver creature than you give yourself credit for. You have managed to thrive without your parents, in a very strange and new environment. Even though, you owe much of that to your reliable guardian – do not tell my wife I said that about her or I promise, I’ll put you in a basket and send you down a river like they did with Moses in the Bible.

Now that I think about it, they likely were not equipped to care for such an extreme youngling, given the circumstances at that time.

I do hope you will not push me to such extremes. ”

Talking to the infant about anything and everything felt strangely freeing to Julian, who had never talked so much before in his life. Soon the weight in his arms grew warm and comforting as he marched about, letting his lips spill whatever came to mind.

The next time he took a look at the child, he discovered Nicholas had fallen asleep.

“Thank goodness,” he sighed, walking over to the cradle. “I thought my jaw was going to fall off.”

Carefully, he lowered Nicholas into his cot, pulled his light covers over him and stayed close, waiting to see if he would awaken again.

But it seemed that listening to affairs that did not concern him had worn out the little boy and he continued to sleep.

Still, Julian found it difficult to look away and leave his side, his gaze at ease as he simply stared at the sleeping boy.

Eventually, he was able to convince himself that everything was fine and would continue to be that way and turned to leave… only to come to a stop almost immediate, because standing at the door was his wife.

Anna’s gaze and stance were soft, as was the smile that graced her lips and Julian lost his own tiny smile he’d had while watching Nicholas, his embarrassment curling his lips into a frown as he left the nursery and closed the door.

“Do not wake him.” He warned without any heat, his spine stiffening as she followed him closely.

For a moment, he feared that she might have heard all that he had said about his brother and tried to brace himself for an incoming argument. But it never came.

Instead, Anna sauntered up to his side and told him with a coy grin,

“You are being rather sweet right now. I had no idea you had such a gentle side to you.”

“It did not make any sense for me to have him wake up the whole house over a little tantrum. It was easier to care for him myself.” He replied bluntly, turning down the hallway that led to his study, irritated when she continued to follow him.

“Right, right. And so, you held him for nearly twenty minutes rather than passing him off to someone else.” She nodded to herself as though she had gained understanding of some secret.

“The time hardly mattered if at the end of the day, I could ensure that he was resting.” Julian responded blankly.

“Of course. How magnanimous of you, my husband.”

“You sound surprised. Serves you right for only seeing me as a lowlife cretin whose only desire was to see you suffer.”

“You wish for me to believe you have other desires? Remarkable. Tell me more. Do you also harbor dreams of being a nanny?”

Finally at his limit – and also at the door to the study – Julian turned around to face Anna and snapped,

“I took care of the boy for a moment because I did not want to wake you up. You do plenty for him already, asking you to sacrifice your sleep would be cruel.”

It seemed as though he had finally managed to silence Anna and he stepped closer towards her, his eyes dark as he added,

“I was trying to help you, but here you are, being ungrateful. You should be thanking me.”

Anna scoffed, but it sounded more like a soft huff of annoyance because the closer he got to her, the more flustered she became. It was unfair how easily she lost her ability to think whenever he was close to her.

“Come now, wife, I am still waiting for my gratitude. For however long we will care for Nicholas, we need to show him that we are well-mannered. The most basic manners are apologizing when you are wrong, and expressing gratitude when you are grateful. Do not set a bad example. Give me what I am owed,” Julian insisted, his soft voice sinking deeply into her mind.

The duke found it entertaining, how quickly her skin grew red and he momentarily wondered how far the blush would go, his loins aching to find out.

He nearly suggested that she thank him by going down to her knees, biting his tongue in time but unable to get the picture of her staring up at him, eager and wanting.

“It isn’t a difficult thing to do,” he pressed, moving even closer. “As someone who regularly provides child care, I had reason to believe your strength was more that met the eye. Was I wrong? Do you not know how? Would you like me to teach you?”

Anna flinched as his face drew even closer and she quickly said,