“My support?” he asked without looking up. “For what?”
Octavia glared at the top of the Duke’s head.
The anger built, and this time she did not bother tempering it. Whether he was testing her or not felt irrelevant. Octavia hadbeen calm. She had been patient. And while that voice in her head warned her not to overreact, she chose to ignore it… much like the Duke was ignoring her.
“I had wondered where your son learned to behave the way he does,” she said coldly. “Now, I have my answer. However, as he is just seven, I am certain such behavior can be trained out of him. For someone like you, I doubt there is any hope left.”
The Duke paused his work…
“It is clear to me that you and he have less than a perfect relationship,” she continued, her tone as cold as ice. “For that, maybe I should be grateful. As I see it, the less he sees of you, the better. No doubt, it will be good for him.”
Slowly, the Duke looked up from his work.
Octavia braced herself, expecting fire behind his eyes. She had crossed the line, she knew, and would now have to grovel and beg not to be fired.
Typical! I have done nothing wrong, and once again, I am paying for it.
Surprisingly, the Duke did not appear angry. Rather, he almost looked amused. There was a smirk on his lips, and he chuckled deeply.
“I was wondering how long it would take.”
“Excuse me?” she stammered.
“Before you broke.”
“I…” She blinked. “I did not break.”
“You did,” he said simply. “Although you did a good job of hiding the fact. No doubt, you are so angered right now that if you had a knife in your hand, then you might use it on me. And what from I know of you, you would think it justified.”
Octavia started. “What… I am not angry. I was just… I do not like being ignored.”
“My son…” The Duke groaned as he stood from behind his desk. It was a subtle movement, but so large was he, so dominating, that the room appeared to shrink around him. Octavia was struck by the sudden urge to take a step back. “He is hard work. Rarely does he listen. And always does he push and poke to see what he might get away with.”
“I… I do not understand.”
“If you are to last six months with him, you will need to be patient.” He stepped around the desk and started toward her; each step was heavy so that she felt it vibrating up her legs. “You will need to learn to control that temper of yours.”
“I don’t have a temper…” Her voice cracked.
“Yes, you do,” he said. “It is not a bad thing, for we all have one. But where to use it, and when, that is something you must learn. If you do not, I am afraid that my son will undo you. Likely, you will not last a week.”
Just as he spoke about Octavia’s temper, she felt it flare.So, it was a trick!He was testing her to see her reaction. And Octavia, typically, had failed.
“I will,” she said with an effort at confidence, hard to find as the Duke came for her like a storm in the dead of night. “Assuming you grant me this request. Your son is…” She swallowed. “He is not a bad child, nor is he purposefully troublesome. All he needs is an outlet, and someone else to bounce off.”
“Your brother, you mean.”
“It will help,” she said. “I know it will.”
The Duke stopped short of Olivia, standing less than two feet away. He stood a solid foot taller than she did, his shoulders so broad that they blocked off the room so that his presence dominated it entirely. And those eyes… they looked down at her, forcing her attention, refusing to let go as if a hand had reached out, taken her by the throat, and made her look directly at him.
“When I hired you, Miss Finch, I asked that you tell me the truth of who you were.” His voice was deep and dark. “Which you did, and without contradiction. I do not trust easily, especially where my son is concerned. And while I sense there is more to you thanI know, I sense too that in this bid to help him, you are being honest.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I am.”
“For this reason, I hired you. And for this reason, I have trusted you with my son. You do not need to come to me with every little thing. In fact, I would prefer if you did not.”
“Oh…” She blinked, tried to look away, but could not bring herself to do it. “So… I… my brother…”