“I’ll have it.” Aaron, sitting beside Henry, reached eagerly for Henry’s plate.
“Enough of that.” Octavia was quick to lash out and grab Aaron by the hand. She raised a warning eyebrow at him. “You have your own plate of food, Aaron.”
“But I want Henry’s,” he pouted and pulled at her hand.
“I am sure there are lots of things you want,” she said without looking away, and without releasing him. “Sadly, as is the way of this world, we don’t always get what we want.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged. “That is for smarter men than me to figure out. Now…” Her raised eyebrow held on him. “Are you going to eat your own plate of food, or are you going to go hungry? Those are your two options.”
To Aaron’s credit, he didn’t appear in the least put out by Octavia’s reprimand. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it. His pout was replaced by a wicked smile and a flashing of his eyes.
Oh yes, he is starved for attention. Maybe I should have let him take the plate, but ignored him? Likely, he wouldn’t have touched it at all once he saw that I did not care.
“I’ll eat my own…” He pried his arm free and fell back in his chair. “But if Henry doesn’t want his…”
“Henry?” Octavia looked at her brother again. “Are you sure everything is fine with your food?”
“It is…” He poked at his plate idly. “Just not hungry.”
She tried to meet her brother’s eyes. From the day he was born, she could count on one hand how many times he had turned down food. And when considering how good the food here was, compared to what they used to eat, she was surprised that she didn’t have to wrestle the plate from his hands.
Something is clearly bothering him. Make sure to follow up later, Octavia. Do not let him think that Aaron is the only one you care about.
“Very well,” she said. “Try and eat what you can.”
It was the morning following Octavia’s kiss with the Duke. She hardly slept a wink last night, the reasons for which were only too obvious to her.
To put the kiss behind her, Octavia was desperate to believe that he had only done so because he wanted to prove to her that she had not won. He did not like his authority being questioned, and by kissing her, he reminded Octavia of where she stood and how little power she had over him.
Even if that was the case, even if the kiss had meant nothing, that did not explain Octavia’s own reaction… one which persisted all these hours later.
Her lips still burned. Her heart still raced. The feel of his fingers on her chin, of his taste in her mouth, and how effortlessly she had given in… it haunted her, refused to leave her alone, and had her legs trembling because deep down, in the depths of her soul, Octavia knew just how much she had enjoyed the kiss.
Just as she knew how much she wanted it again.
But it cannot happen again, Octavia. Nor will it! A point was made, that’s all it was, and you need to focus on the task at hand.
“Is it too hot in here, Miss Finch?” a voice spoke from over Octavia’s shoulder, bringing her back into the room.
She, Henry, and Aaron were seated together in the breakfast room, a tradition that she was trying to instill in the two boys because they both required boundaries and structure. Every morning, no matter what, she wanted to break her fast with them both. And while she enjoyed it, today, Octavia might have preferred her own company.
“Wh – what?” she blinked and looked around.
“Your cheeks, Miss Finch, they are flushed.” The footman who addressed her was named Thomas, one of the younger footmen who worked for the Duke. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a friendly smile that grew whenever he looked at Octavia.
She chuckled. “No, no, Thomas, I am quite fine, thank you.”
“Perhaps something cold for breakfast instead?” He swept toward her, already reaching for her plate of toast. “I can have the chef –”
“I am fine,” she assured him, taking her plate before he had it in his hands. “But I appreciate your concern.”
“Just doing my job,” he said with a wink.
Her smile was grateful but also reserved. She and Thomas were the same age, they were both employed by the Duke, and Octavia had been alive for long enough to know why he was so kind to her…do not give him anything, Octavia. The last thing you need is one of the staff having a crush on you.
“Right, you two.” She looked between Henry and Aaron. “For today’s lesson, I was thinking –”