She exhaled with relief. This would not cure Aaron of his disobedience. Likely, come tomorrow, he would be back to right where he started. But she was already beginning to get a better understanding of who he was and why he acted the way he did. And now that she had him figured out, she was certain she could manipulate him.
“Fine,” she sighed as if upset. “I guess we can take a few minutes. You win.”
As she walked toward Aaron, Octavia got the sense that someone was watching her. She paused, tilted her head, and turned quickly. Her eyes rose up the house, finding a window on the upper level. And there, standing in the window, was none other than the Duke.
A cold shudder ran through her body. There was just something about the Duke that made Octavia feel… uncomfortable. She was a woman who liked to be in control of her own life, to do as she wished and how she wished it, but the Duke’s presence was powerful and commanding and she felt relatively weak before him.
He owns me completely, he knows it, I know it too, and I am not sure how I feel about it… yet.
Nonetheless, she smiled and waved, which saw him quickly retreat as if it spooked him.
Octavia smiled to herself. Another small victory today, as she saw it. The son, the father, slowly she was starting to figure them both out.
Chapter Seven
It was almost sunset, so Octavia had to hurry.
She had just left Aaron with Miss Spencer, who asked that she do so because she needed to get him ready for supper. As strange as it was to think, Octavia was almost sad to see her time come to an end with Aaron. Sure, he was troublesome, he was purposefully disobedient, and he seemed to take pleasure from annoying her.
But they had spent many hours together today, and finally Octavia felt as if she was getting a handle on how to properly control the young child. What was more, she had come up with a rather brilliant strategy that she was certain would help to rein him in even more.
It is not discipline that the child needs. It is not a firm hand. What he craves more than anything is attention, only he does not know what that means. Growing up alone as he has done,he mistakes bad attention for good, and what I need to do is show him the difference.
So it was that she landed on this idea of hers. All she needed was permission from the Duke to enact it. Hence, her hurrying.
When she reached the outside of the Duke’s office, she paused and took a calming breath. It was not yet nighttime, so she was perfectly within her rights to see him – this still fell well within the rules he had given her. But even was she not worried that he might be annoyed, Octavia’s body trembled at the mere thought of being alone with the Duke again.
He was just so intimidating. Worse, he knew it, and he did it on purpose. The same way his son enjoyed upsetting her, the Duke enjoyed reminding her of where she stood… that being, at the very bottom.
Another calming breath and she knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” his deep voice growled.
“It is Octavia…” She exhaled again. “Miss Finch.”
A pause. Her body continued to tremble. Through the closed door, she sensed his annoyance at being disturbed…
“Come in,” he commanded.
Octavia did not hesitate, figuring it was best to get this out of the way quickly. She had no desire to spend more time with the Duke than was needed, and hopefully, after this singular meeting, she might be able to avoid him completely.
The office was typically dark, and that darkness grew more so the deeper the office stretched. There, the Duke sat at his table, his hulking frame seeming to take up more space than was possible. He was a shadow growing from the desk, a commanding presence that she wanted to look away from but was drawn to.
Octavia’s entire body shook as she stepped into the office, and she was sure to stay back as if afraid to get too close.
“Thank you for seeing me,” she said, her voice cracking. “As you will notice, it is not yet nighttime. I am still within my rights to see you.”
He glanced at her with apathy before bowing his head and focusing on his work. “If it were after dark, I would not have let you in.”
“Just making sure you are aware.”
“And if you continue to point out the obvious, night will fall, at which point you will be breaking your promise to me.” He glanced at her again, held his stare so that she felt it, and then looked back down. “Whatever this is about, I suggest that you hurry.”
Octavia’s expression hardened. Once again, she got the clear impression that he was being purposefully short with her. Was he trying to upset her? Or was this just his natural way of being?
It does not matter, Octavia. Say what you came here to say and leave.
“It concerns your son,” she began quickly. “Aaron. I… I spent today with him, several hours in fact. And while we managed to get along rather well, I do worry about what will happen once our lessons begin.”