“My Lord,” she said, as she began walking down the stairs. “I was just coming to find you. It is almost time to ready yourself for bed.”
Priscilla lifted her hand from his shoulder, and then looked down at him. “Good night, Lord Seton. I’m sure we will talk more about this tomorrow.”
* * *
Oliver was tired, and as he sat at his desk, he was having difficulties concentrating. His evening with Lord Kenley had lasted longer than he originally thought it would. He was invited to dinner, and had met the Baroness and their daughter, who was the same age as Jamie.
Lord Kenley had tried much of the evening to sell more goods to Oliver, including discounts on bottles and corks, but the glass was a bit too thin for Oliver’s liking and the corks were too short. He was, however, still interested in the steam lift, though he suspected that Lord Kenley had an ulterior motive.
Oliver knew that he would have to try the lift before making the purchase. He would also have to find the money to give to Lord Kenley. He was a wealthy gentleman, but most of his wealth was tied up in his home, the distillery, and other investments. He would have to talk to his solicitor about his options.
Standing up from his desk to try to ward off his heavy tiredness, Oliver walked over to the window of the office. He could see Jamie and Miss Ainsley walking together outside. Though he was quite a distance from them, he could see Jamie was laughing. He was glad that his son seemed happy with her.
After the debacle with the town peddler, Oliver was a bit worried that he had come down too harshly with both Jamie and Miss Ainsley. In fact, as he was travelling home last night, his mind was heavy with the thought. Miss Ainsley had convinced him that it was very important for Jamie to interact with others and to see and learn from the town. Looking back on it, it seemed as if Oliver had been a bit rash with his decision.
Chapter 12
The sun was warm on Jamie’s skin as he and Miss Ainsley walked across the grassy land. They were heading towards the area where the forest met the fields, as she was going to teach him about the different types of trees in the area.
He had to admit that he was a bit nervous about going to his lessons today after Miss Ainsley had caught him trying to prank the housemaids last night. However, she had been nothing but nice to him.
“Lord Seton,” Miss Ainsley said, as they walked at a swift pace. “I hope you enjoy our lesson today. I find different types of trees to be quite fascinating. I think you will, too, and I can relate it to your future vocation as distillery owner.”
“Why would I need to learn about trees?” He had no idea what trees would have to do with whisky.
“Well,” Miss Ainsley explained, as they continued to walk. “The barrels that your whisky is aged in are made of wood. Do you know what type of wood?”
Jamie thought a moment. He knew his father had told him at some point, but he couldn’t remember. He shook his head.
“It’s oak,” she explained, as she pointed in front of her. “And your barrels are made from the oak found in this forest right ahead.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Much of the ingredients that your distillery uses comes right from your land, including the grain.”
“I didn’t know that. But how did you know it?”
Miss Ainsley laughed. “A man I know is very interested in distilling, and through him, I have learned to understand the process.”
“Did you ever drink whisky?” Jamie asked her, as they continued to walk closer to the forest.
Miss Ainsley laughed again. “I have had a taste here and there, My Lord. I must say, I greatly prefer wine or a nice cordial. Have you had it?”
“Wine?” Jamie asked, confused.
“No, My Lord,” Miss Ainsley laughed. “Whisky.”
“Oh! Yes, I have had a taste.”
“And did you like it?”
“No.”
Miss Ainsley laughed loudly. “Too bitter?”
“Yes. I much prefer small beer or ciderkin.”
“Well, we didn’t come out here to talk about small beer or whisky. Our lesson today is nature. Look at this tall tree, right there.”
Jamie watched as she pointed to a tall, grand tree to their right. “Do you see the grey bark? It has deep ridges and furrows. You can also, if you look up at the tree, see the acorns.”
Jamie looked up, and he could see small groups of acorns growing. There were also old, cracked, and broken acorns at the base of the tree.
“These acorns will ripen over the next couple of months, and then fall,” Miss Ainsley explained. “Each of these acorns has the potential to grow into a new oak tree. What you must understand, though, is that it can take twenty or thirty years for an oak tree to mature. But, if not cut, it can live for hundreds of years.”
“Wow! That’s amazing.”
Miss Ainsley smiled. “Yes, it is amazing. You know what else is amazing?”
“What?”
She looked at him and her expression changed a bit. “It’s amazing that you thought that you could trick me last night in order to play a prank.”
Jamie gasped, and looked at Miss Ainsley, apprehensive about what she might say next. However, her stern expression soon changed into a smile.
“My Lord, I haven’t yet revealed this about myself, but when I was a young child, I was a master prankster.”
Jamie’s mouth fell open. “Really?”
“Really. And because of that, I daresay you would be unable to prank me. If you think about it, since I have been here, have you been able to pull off any of your planned pranks?”
Jamie thought back for a moment. He had planned to trip his father…or Wright…in the dining room, but that plan was foiled by someone. He had also tried to prank the housemaids, and that, too, was stopped.
“Were you the one who removed the string in the dining room?” He wanted to be a bit discreet, just in case she didn’t know about that. Perhaps he could do the same thing again…if she wasn’t aware of it, of course.
“I did remove the string, My Lord. It would have been very dangerous for your father or Mr. Wright. Either of them could have been injured, and at a minimum, quite embarrassed.”
Jamie nodded. “I think you have caught me every time.”
“I think I have, too. And that’s one of the reasons I wanted to bring you out here. I am going to propose a partnership…a prank partnership.”
“A prank partnership?”
“Yes. I will give you the secret of pulling off pranks, but only on one condition.”
“What’s the condition?” Jamie asked curiously.
“You don’t pull a prank that could hurt someone.”
Jamie thought about this for a moment, and then he nodded. “I agree.”
“Wonderful. Now listen closely, My Lord. The secret to getting away with pranks is this: you always must act like the perfect gentleman. All the time. This way, when a prank happens, you are the last person that will be suspected. If you are a mischievous person, you would be the first suspect. However, if you change your behavior and maintain a gentleman-like behavior, do you think people would suspect you?”
Jamie smiled and shook his head. “No, Miss Ainsley.”
“So, will you start acting like a proper gentleman?”
“Oh yes, Miss Ainsley. And I will start right now!”
* * *
“Wright?”
“Yes, Your Grace?”
“Please ask Miss Ainsley to join me in the library after dinner.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Oliver was finishing up his work for the day, and Wright had just come into the office to give him an urgent letter. Oliver fumbled with it as he tried to open it, as he was distracted by the thoughts of meeting with Miss Ainsley.
“Do you require anything else, Your Grace?”
“No, Wright,” Oliver replied, unfolding the letter. He could see that it was from one of his malt suppliers. He quickly scanned the letter and saw the words “
disease” and “totally demolished.”
“Wright,” Oliver said loudly. “One moment.”
He frowned, and then crumpled the paper up into a ball. “I need one more thing from you, and it’s likely to take a couple of days.”
“Anything, Your Grace.”
“The grain fields on the north side of town. Do you know them?”
“I do, Your Grace.”
“Do you know who owns them?”
“I do not, Your Grace.”
“Very well, Wright. Please find out who does. We have lost a major grain supplier.”
“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I will do my absolute best to find out.”
Oliver nodded. “Thank you, Wright. Please let me know as soon as possible.”
“I will,” Wright replied, and then quickly walked out of the door.
Oliver allowed his head to fall into his hands. He read through the letter again and sighed. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. His costs were out of control, he was understaffed, and now one of his major grain suppliers had lost their annual crop to disease. He had to find relief, and fast.
He turned in his chair to glance out of the window. He was hoping for a glimpse of Miss Ainsley, but to no avail. So Oliver turned back to his desk, pulled a large book out of his desk, opened it, and began to write down some numbers. He had to see how much trouble the distillery would be in without this supplier.
* * *
When Wright informed her that the Duke wanted to see her after dinner in the library, Priscilla wasn’t quite sure what to think. On one hand, he might want to meet with her to scold her for something, but on the other hand, it could be a good meeting.
Priscilla looked at herself in the mirror and tried to make her curls look a bit neater. If she was meeting with the Duke, she wanted to look her best. Though she would never expect him to be attracted to her, she could at least feel a bit more comfortable in his presence.
She brushed her hands down the front of her gown, and she could feel her bony hips beneath the cloth, even with her corset, petticoat, and shift. She had always been thin, but as she became an adult, she simply couldn’t get curves, no matter what she did.
Priscilla sighed and looked at the clock. She was supposed to meet with the Duke in ten minutes, so she knew she had to leave her quarters.
When she arrived, the footman opened the door for her, and Priscilla walked into the library. The Duke stood in greeting, a large smile on his face. He held a glass of brandy in his hand, and his bright blue eyes seemed to be shining. Her heart skipped a beat when their eyes met, and a surge of energy moved through her body. She noticed that he immediately looked away. Did he notice that spark?
“Please, come in, Miss Ainsley. I’m so glad that you joined me. Would you care for some wine?”
“Yes, please.” She could feel her hands trembling. She followed the Duke across the room, and he motioned for her to sit in the chair across from him. He was smiling at her. She returned his smile and sat down.
“I hope I am not keeping you from any other plans this evening,” the Duke said. “I simply wanted to meet with you and see how you were settling in here.”
Priscilla took a glass of wine from the footman, who brought it over on a silver tray. “No, Your Grace. I didn’t have any plans, and I think I am setting in here very nicely.”
“Wonderful. That’s something that I think should be noted. We are very happy to have you, and I have seen a great change in my son since he has started his lessons with you.”
“Oh, Your Grace,” Priscilla replied, feeling a bit more comfortable thanks to the jovial mood her employer seemed to be in. “I adore Lord Seton, and he is such a charming, smart, and intelligent young gentleman.”
The Duke smiled, and Priscilla could see his cheeks begin to redden. “I admit,” he said, taking a big sip of his brandy, “raising Jamie without the influence of his mother has been a challenge. Thankfully, I have highly trusted members of staff, such as Miss Slade, who help to teach him morals and right from wrong.”
“Yes, Miss Slade is a lovely person. Lord Seton seems to like her, too.”
“Indeed. Speaking of teaching, I must apologize to you, Miss Ainsley.”
“Oh?”
“My behavior the other day was out of line,” the Duke said. Priscilla could see a sense of remorse in his eyes. “I have had some…annoyances…with the distillery this past week, and when Jamie was talking about the peddler, I admittedly took it too far. I should not have banned you from taking Jamie to town. You have my permission to take him again.”
“No apology is necessary, Your Grace.”
“No, I insist.” His eyes looked so sincere and kind, it was hard for her to stop staring into them. He paused and stared back, and they sat in silence for several seconds, simply staring at each other.
The Duke looked away first, and again Priscilla could see him blushing. At the same time, she could feel the heat burning in her own cheeks. She didn’t know if it was from the wine or the company.
“Miss Ainsley,” the Duke then said, lifting his glass for the footman to fill again with brandy, “Since it seems as if things will work out with your position here as governess, I would like to get to know you a bit better.” He smiled a crooked smile at her, and she could feel her heart beating fast.
“And I would like to get to know you better, too, Your Grace.”
As soon as Priscilla said that, she wondered if she had gone too far. Yes, she wanted to get to know him, but she was not of the same social class as him, and she didn’t know if that comment was too forward. Thankfully, he smiled.
“Perhaps we should spend more time together, then, Miss Ainsley.”
If she thought she was blushing before, it was nothing compared to how she probably looked now. She swallowed hard, smiled, and said, “Yes, Your Grace. I would like that.”
* * *
Oliver was still in shock. He couldn’t believe that he had told Miss Ainsley that they should spend more time together, but he was very glad that he did.
He had to admit that he had conflicting feelings about her. On one hand, he found her to be incredibly attractive. If there were no social rules nor standards, he would probably be unable to control his animalistic urges around her. Even last night, he kept drinking brandy to try to keep his erection at bay.
On the other hand, he had believed that he simply was attracted to a beautiful woman, but after talking to Miss Ainsley, he realized that he actually might be developing real feelings for her. This scared him, as he hadn’t had feelings for someone since he had met his late wife.
Oliver leaned over his desk and pushed the whisky orders aside. He pulled out a blank piece of paper and began drafting a letter to his closest friend. He would invite him to dinner, or perhaps they could meet somewhere, if Darnerton was unavailable. Since they didn’t live very close to each other, sometimes this was the best option.
In addition to wanting to hear what Darnerton thought about his attraction to Miss Ainsley, he also wanted to let him know what was happening with the distillery and with Lord Kenley. He hoped that Darnerton would have some sage advice.
Oliver finished up his letter, and then folded it tight. He dripped the wax on the fold to seal it, and then pressed his crest into the pool of wax. He turned to the footman and said, “Please see that this goes out today.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” he said, taking the letter and leaving the office.
Oliver sat back in his chair and sighed. The last thing he needed right now was to be falling for the governess, but that seemed to be exactly what was happening.
* * *
“Lord Seton,” Priscilla said, facing her student in the classroom. “I have decided that today is the day that you are going to teach me something.”
“What?” he said, obviously caught off guard.
Priscilla smiled at him. “Remember, a few days ago we had a deal. I would allow you to leave early, but in exchange, you were going to teach
me something the next day. However, we ended up going to town that day. So you never had a chance to show me what you know.”
“So what do I have to teach you?”
“That’s up to you. I will give you a little time to create a brief lesson. It can be on any topic. Is that adequate?”
“Yes, Miss Ainsley.”
She watched as Lord Seton put his head down and began writing on his slate. Priscilla was happy for a few minutes without teaching. She hadn’t planned anything for today, thanks to her evening with the Duke, so she was behind. This would give her a chance to at least create a plan for the rest of the day.
The Devious Seduction 0f A Wayward Duke (Steamy Historical Romance) Page 11
