Page 13 of An Unforeseen Kiss (Captivating Kisses #4)

E den awoke in the incredibly comfortable bed, relishing the feel of the mattress and luxurious sheets.

She had the Duke Millbrooke to thank for being placed in such a room.

Despite her first impression of him as simply being a handsome rogue, Millbrooke had proved to have some depth to him.

She doubted even a handful of men in the ton had even held a babe, much less one not their own.

Agreeing with his sister’s idea of bringing their children to town during the Season was almost unheard of, but the duke seemed eager to go along with it.

She guessed he was a man who would do nothing halfway, even in the raising of his children.

Where most titled gentlemen saw their children only rarely, Millbrooke would stand out for his belief in actually having a close relationship with his children.

In some ways, the duke reminded her of Papa.

Her own father had been handsome, attentive to both his child and invalid wife.

He had never made Eden seem less because she had not been born a son, and he certainly continued to love and be faithful to his wife despite the fact she could not move from the waist down and would never bear him an heir.

Papa had let Eden and Mama know how precious they were to him, and she could see His Grace also cared a great deal for his own family.

She almost envied the lady who would become his duchess.

Not only would she hold a grand title and be a leading figure in Polite Society, but she would also have a handsome husband who truly cared for his children.

“Enough,” she said aloud.

Thinking about the duke this much was merely borrowing trouble.

While she believed Millbrooke to be an honorable man, she did not travel in the world he ruled.

Instead, she merely flitted about its edges, helping to educate his two cousins.

At least he had had Verina and Justina’s interests at heart.

The duke was providing a wonderful place for them to continue their studies, and he had also offered the use of his stables to them.

As she washed and dressed, she even had gotten over her upset of being made to come to tea each afternoon.

She reflected on tea yesterday, recalling how she had quietly listened to the conversation about her.

Eden planned to do the same for future teas.

She supposed Lady Traywick would try to draw her into the conversation more.

Yesterday, her employer had been too excited to be reunited with her daughters to give Eden much consideration.

At teatime, she supposed she might share, along with the girls, what they had been studying or where they had ridden.

Small contributions would be enough of an effort on her part.

As for her other meals, she did not mind eating alone in her bedchamber.

Quigby had given her the choice last night of dining in the servants’ hall or having a tray brought to her room.

She had opted for the latter, thinking the Millvale servants might be uncomfortable speaking in front of her.

After all, she was a stranger to them. Dining in her guestroom gave her a nice respite.

She was with her charges a great part of the day.

She could eat in solitude, reflecting upon the day as she planned lessons for tomorrow.

It would also give her time to read for her own enjoyment.

His Grace’s library had some excellent choices in it, and she did not think he would mind her borrowing a volume to read, as long as she returned it to the shelves.

She sat at the dressing table, a luxury she did not have at Traywick Manor, and undid the braid she slept in each night, brushing out her honeyed hair, which she thought was her best asset.

Her mother had loved to brush Eden’s hair, and she closed her eyes as she ran her brush through it, her scalp tingling, recalling how much she enjoyed the attention from Mama.

Her mind wandered, and suddenly, she pictured the Duke of Millbrooke brushing it.

“Bloody hell!” she said, upset at the image, and even more upset at herself for daydreaming about something so foolish.

Placing her brush on the table, Eden stared into the mirror, wondering if the duke had found her attractive.

Her hazel eyes were almost amber now, far lighter than the shades of brown and yellow they usually were.

The only time her eyes went this amber was when she was upset.

She silently chastised herself, then she decided not to be so hard on herself.

She might be on the shelf, but it did not mean she couldn’t look at and appreciate a handsome, virile man such as Millbrooke.

It had to be because she saw so few men in her life.

Traywick Manor was full of women. Lord Traywick was away much of the year, though he would be leaving university after his upcoming final year of study.

The guests Lady Traywick invited to visit were almost always ladies.

They came for tea or to discuss a book they had all read.

They talked about gardening and children and parish matters.

Occasionally, the countess had guests for dinner.

Eden rarely went down for those events unless the numbers were not even, and she was asked to come in order to round them out.

Even so, she slipped away to her room when the ladies left the gentlemen to their port and cigars.

So, she was not used to being around titled gentlemen.

And Eden could daydream all she wanted, but the Duke of Millbrooke was not for her.

No man was. Millbrooke would peruse the Marriage Mart next spring, while she would continue to work with Lady Verina for another two years and Lady Justina for three.

After that, Eden would need to find another family.

Hopefully, they would take to her and her to them, and she would have several years of polishing new young girls into young ladies.

It was a bit sad, living such a transient life.

At least she had been at Traywick Manor a good five years and had a few more years to go.

Perhaps she should look for a position with even younger children next time, so that she might remain in the same household for even longer.

Her thoughts drifted back to her first pupils, girls who had been only four and six years of age.

They had been sweet-natured and so eager to learn.

Their father had ruined Eden’s time with them, and it still angered her that he had forced her from the household as if she had done something wrong instead of him.

At least she had felt safe at Traywick Manor all these years, and that feeling now extended to Millvale.

If the duke had had foul intentions toward her, he would have acted upon them yesterday while they were alone in the library.

Instead, he had put up with her insubordination—to a degree.

She truly hoped he understood her apology to him was heartfelt.

She had been raised to have exquisite manners and knew not to cross, much less insult, a duke.

Millbrooke was likeable. And handsome. Not to mention the first male she had been around in a long while. Naturally, she would be drawn to him.

But her interest had to stop now. She did not want to give off any signal to him that he might misread.

She was no lightskirt. She must earn her living, and that meant acting beyond reproach.

Her reputation was everything. Being dismissed from Lord Kessley’s household after a few months was one thing.

Thanks to Lady Kessley’s sympathy, Eden had been put in contact with Lady Traywick and been offered a post. To lose another position—and after so many years—would be disastrous. She would curb her tongue.

And keep her thoughts about the dreamy duke to herself.

A knock sounded, and she went to the door, finding no one in the corridor. Confused, she closed the door, only to hear a rap again. This time, she realized it came from within the bedchamber and found a door she had not previously spotted. Opening it, she saw Justina standing there.

“It is a connecting door, Miss Snow,” her charge said. “Val asked at dinner last night in which room Mrs. Quigby had placed you, and he is the one who told us that these two rooms connect. Verina would not let me knock on it when we came up for bed, though.”

“I did not want to awaken you if you were asleep,” Verina said from where she sat, brushing her hair. “Would you mind helping me, Miss Snow?”

“Certainly,” she responded, crossing the threshold and accepting the brush Verina handed to her. After smoothing the girl’s locks, she created several braids and then pinned them atop Verina’s head.

“You always have a way with hair, Miss Snow,” Justina complimented.

“I think you should try a new hairstyle on your own hair,” Verina added.

“Why?” she asked. “No one cares what my hair looks like anyway. After all, I am only the governess.”

“You are a very pretty governess,” Verina corrected. “And you tell Justina and I that we should always look our best and put our best foot forward. You should do the same.”

“Yes, you should,” seconded Justina.

“Very well. Let me go back to my bedchamber.”

Both girls followed Eden into the room, watching her as she unpinned her hair.

“Your hair is a beautiful color, Miss Snow,” Verina said. “It is too bad that you were not able to make your come-out, for you would have had numerous gentlemen vying for your hand.”

She had shielded them from the whole, harsh truth, that of her wicked cousin booting her from her childhood home.

Eden knew they would have to grow up at some point, but she wished to keep such evil from the pair as long as possible.

It had surprised her, though, when she had shared as much as she had about her past with Millbrooke.

She wondered why he was easy to talk to.

“You are woolgathering, Miss Snow,” Justina teased.

Eden blinked. “You are right. I am not quite certain where my thoughts wandered off to.”

They watched as she sectioned her hair, braiding her long strands and then pinning them up.

“You look lovely,” Verina praised.

“If you ever get tired of being a governess, you could be a lady’s maid,” Justina declared.

“Hush,” Verina told her sister. “Miss Snow is a governess. She is not a servant.”

Justina’s eyes welled with tears. “I did not mean to insult you, Miss Snow,” she apologized.

“There is nothing wrong in being a lady’s maid,” she assured the girl. “They do honorable work, but I understand what Verina meant by her remark. As a former gentlewoman, it is more proper for me to take on the role of governess or companion because of my background and breeding.”

“Would you ever wish to be a companion, Miss Snow?” Justina asked. “I ask because after Verina and I make our come-outs, you will have to leave us. Perhaps you could stay and be a companion to Mama. I think she would like that.”

That situation would be ideal. Lady Traywick’s nature was kind and undemanding. It would also give Eden a chance to see the marriages that Justina and Verina made and the children they would birth. It would be the closest thing to having a family as she would ever have.

“That is in the future,” she said dismissively, not wanting to let the pair know just how desperately she might want that very situation. “I am concerned with the present. Your present. Today, we will return to our usual routine. Spelling. Poetry. History.”

“But we just arrived at Millvale,” Justina whined.

“Tia and Lia mentioned last night at supper that we take a ride about the property today. Val said that you would chaperone us. He told us that he had given you permission to use the stables and the four of us would be allowed to ride out with you.”

She swallowed the unnamed emotion thickening her throat. “While it is lovely that His Grace is allowing us the ability to continue our rides, he also knows we are to use the library for our lessons. You know we do those in the morning and ride in the early afternoon.”

“I told Val as much,” Verina said. “That our routine was to do lessons first and then have the afternoons to ride and be outside. I explained that some of our lessons occur in nature. He thought that very clever of you, Miss Snow.”

Rising, Eden said, “Off you go. Down to the breakfast room. Your cousins are probably waiting for you. Tell them that we will ride together at half-past one this afternoon if that is convenient for them.” She paused.

“Once you finish breakfast, come to the library. I will have your lessons ready by then.”

Justina sighed dramatically, while Verina laughed at her sister. Both girls left using Eden’s bedchamber door. She went to the adjoining door and closed it. Though it had a lock on it, she would not use it now. The girls might need her at some point, and she wanted them to have easy access to her.

A knock sounded at her door, and she answered it, finding a maid with a breakfast tray.

“Come in,” she said, and the servant went to the small table by the window, resting the tray upon it.

“I’ll fetch it when you’re done, miss.”

Eden lifted the silver cover, finding eggs and ham on a plate and a cup of fresh strawberries accompanying it. A smaller plate held buttered toast points with a crock of orange marmalade. She smeared the marmalade on one and bit into it.

“Heavenly,” she proclaimed.

The eggs and ham were cooked perfectly, and the strawberries were a delightful surprise.

She finished her meal and then set the tray outside her door, hoping that would be more convenient for the maid.

After making her bed, Eden retrieved the satchel she had brought and carried it downstairs to the library.

She removed journals for the girls since the first assignment she would give them today would be to write about their impressions of Millvale.

Since Justina’s mind wandered more easily, she placed hers on the table more in the center of the room and Verina’s on the table by the window, along with freshly-sharpened pencils. They would practice their handwriting with ink another day.

While waiting for her charges to appear, Eden scanned a shelf of books. She pulled a volume of William Blake’s poems and set it aside to take to her room later.

She was examining a book of Wordsworth’s poems when a voice nearby asked, “Are you a romantic, Miss Snow, and always reach for poetry?”

Her heart sped up as she turned, clutching the volume to her. With all the calm she could muster, Eden said, “Good morning, Your Grace.”