What does he want, really? Surely, it cannot be so simple as to show me a good time?
It had been easier when Octavia assumed that all the Duke wanted from her was to satisfy his physical demands. At least that way, she could tell herself that she only wanted the same thing. There was nothing serious about this; she did not have to worry about the future, and she could simply enjoy herself without having to consider the future.
Now… something felt different. The Duke had changed, and she saw it more and more. He treated her with respect and compassion and deep interest; he was open and honest with her, even kind. It was almost as if he was starting to fall for her. But surely, there was just no way.
“I know you are a fan of music,” he said simply. “So, I thought it was safe to assume that you might wish to attend the Opera. This is your first time, yes?”
“It is,” she said. “But that is not an answer.”
“You have been working hard,” he said next. “You deserve a night out.”
“That is still not an answer.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You aren’t going to let this go, are you?”
“Based on what you know of me, what do you think?”
He watched her across the carriage. His dark eyes, they held her stare, unblinking and searching, done in a way that she knew was designed to unsettle her. He wanted her to back down, as always, so he could prove that he had her in his power.
Octavia did no such thing.
While she looked forward to tonight, and while she relished the chance to spend more time with the Duke, she needed to know what his plan was for her. Whether it was worth getting her hopes up… or if she needed to stay grounded in reality because she knew too well that when something was too good to be true, it almost always was.
Also, she could not forget that she had less than six months as his employee. Is that why he acted this way? Knowing there was an end date, an easy excuse to dismiss her when the time came?
“Fine,” he sighed. “Honesty, then.”
“Are you capable of such a thing?”
“I have been doing some thinking, Miss Finch…” He exhaled deeply, and the seriousness of his tone faded slightly. “Do you remember what we spoke about last week? What I spoke about.”
“You mean… your past marriage?”
“More than that,” he said. “About wanting to change. About wanting to be a better person, if not for me, for Aaron. For so long, I have acted a certain way and been perceived as a certain type of man because of it. This, I always thought, was for the best, the only way that things could be.”
“But…”
“But that is not the case,” he said. “I am trying to do better, to change. And you have been the cause of that. Now, it might sound silly, and you still might not wish to believe me, but I wanted to thank you. Nobody else has bothered to help me the way you have, and nobody else has cared.” He looked right at her, his expression earnest. “I owe you, Miss Finch, and while it might be a little clumsy, this is the best way I could think to repay you.”
Octavia was not such a fool as to think that he was telling her the entire truth. Some of it, she was certain, was honest and real. Indeed, she had seen with her own two eyes how much the Duke had changed this last week.
Even still, she doubted that his inviting her to the Opera tonight was done purely as a means to thank her. He wanted something else, she was sure of it, she just wasn’t sure what.
While it might have been easy to assume that what he wanted was to continue where they had left things a week ago, she doubted that it was that simple.
If he wants me like that, he knows he does not have to go through all of this effort. This… this is something more.
“All right…” Octavia leaned back and attempted to drop the accusation from her gaze. “I believe you. For now.”
He chuckled. “That will have to do.”
Her heart fluttered as the ride continued, just as he continued to watch her across the carriage. While it was insane to imagine, and impossible to believe, it felt to Octavia as if the Duke was courting her.
But there was just no way…
Even if Octavia had allowed herself to believe that the Duke was starting to see her as something else, reality came calling the moment that they arrived at the Opera house.
They climbed from the carriage together, Octavia with her arm linked through the Duke’s. The crowd around their carriage was made up of members from the peerage, all of whom recognized the Duke and bowed their heads with respect; some even parted for him, as if not daring to get too close.