ROMANCE: CLEAN ROMANCE: Summer Splash! (Sweet Inspirational Contemporary Romance) (New Adult Clean Fantasy Short Stories) (43 page)

              The duke sighed heavily, and Lady Olivia realized where the few strands of gray that were making their way through his curly locks came from. “And now you have met my heir, little Lord Mischief himself,” he told her.

              “Otherwise known as Buxley,” said the mop-topped little prince and executed a more perfect mock curtsey than Lady Olivia had ever managed to execute herself.

              “There is a reason this house is run with ship-shape efficiency, Lady Olivia,” continued a duke, reaching out a hand to ruffle the boy's blonde hair with affection. “Buxley here has managed to scare off the last four governesses, and I do hope you are made of far stronger stuff.”

              Olivia was surprised. It seemed that all of the rules the duke was so set on enforcing came from a misguided desire to provide his children with structure, rather than to be tyrannical. He truly cared for his children, and that simply endeared him to her even more. And then it was impossible not to notice the bright little face peeking out from behind Duchess Katherine's skirt. Olivia knelt down and was met by a pair of eyes so merry that she had to swallow a laugh as the Duke of Worchester's youngest daughter stepped out shyly to meet her.

              “I am 'lisbeth,” lisped the round-cheeked child, her eyes wide and green and tilting up at the corners. Lady Olivia did not know when she had encountered a child quite so lovely, and at her simple hello, Elizabeth rushed right to her and enclosed her with her small arms. Lady Olivia's heart managed to break wholly and utterly as she thought what the last few years must have been like for a child so small; the duke, for all his obvious adoration of his brood, could not have been overly physically affectionate with them. Olivia snuck another peek at him. He was so utterly
English
.

              As she hugged the little girl back with all of her might, Lady Olivia felt a shift take place inside of her. It was remarkable, but she suddenly felt as if she would do very well in this home, and perhaps her presence could inflict some change. It all went surprisingly splendidly until later that week.

              Perhaps she should have been suspicious of so uneventful a week, but Olivia simply saw it as fortune finally smiling down on her. The girls seemed so lovely, and so receptive and insightful to their lessons that Olivia found it a pleasure to be in their company. Lisbeth especially always seemed ready with those green eyes to smile and hug. And yet the evenings in Westchester Abbey always seemed to drag on for Lady Olivia. It was on a particularly stormy night after the rain had come down in torrents on the soft grass outside that she found herself staring out of her windows. The house had a darkness to it, as if there was an emptiness that the years had not been able to fill. It was inevitable that it would be on this night, long after Mrs. Huxting had tucked away the children into their overstuffed beds with clean sheets that Olivia would at last be alone with her thoughts.

              They ventured on Ben Soothley briefly, for he was becoming a distant memory, a slash of pain on the surface of a past she no longer cared to remember. She wondered if the duke had any inkling of her past, if it had managed to follow her all the way to this charmingly shabby house, and if he did, did he think her foolish? It occurred to her that his opinion was becoming increasingly important to her. So far, from what she had seen of the man, he was distant, remote. The only time life came into his eyes was when the girls would come down for a late luncheon organized by the inestimable Mrs. Huxting or Buxley would pull yet another caper. So far, he had left frogs in her bed and torn up several of her books. Growing up with an eccentric aunt with far-flung friends had prepared her for much more than a boy who had too much energy and too much time. A quick talk with Mrs. Huxting and the stable master had set a structure in place for Buxley that was far more effective than anything the duke himself had organized.

              Initially, he was furious.

              “Who exactly do you think you are, Lady Knightbridge, to make my son into a stable hand?” he had raged, his smooth and weary exterior suddenly ruffled and animated.

              “Lady
Olivia
, thank you. With all due respect, Duke, Buxley needs structure outside of the schoolroom—”she began, but the duke would have none of it.

              “My son is not a commoner!” he shouted.

              Olivia struggled to keep her composure. Really, the arrogance of the man! “And nobody would think of him as such. But titles and lands or not, Buxley is still a growing boy and he needs to expend his energy outside of mathematics and geography. The brain is not the only muscle he has to exercise. Let him work his arms, his legs. I think it will do him a world of good and in a week, you will tell me how correct I am,” she told him, and watched him reel back in complete shock. Being as inexperienced as she was with men, it was the first time she had seen the effects of her unorthodox upbringing on a member of the upper class. Given his credit, the duke said nothing, simply turned and walked away. He continued to say nothing even as Buxley's behavior began to improve vastly; the boy simply had no extra energy to work his mischief around the house, and he seemed to acquire an innate sense of duty that was evident to one and all.

              Ah, the duke. So isolated in his—

              A warm pair of tiny arms encircled her legs, nearly giving Olivia a heart attack. When she looked down, it was none other than Lisbeth, who was clutching her with a grip so tight and an expression so terrified that Olivia immediately sank to her legs to be on the girl's level.

              “Darling, did the storm scare you?” she asked. Lisbeth nodded, and Olivia unlocked the vice grip from her dressing gown. “You know, thunder is when the gods of old come out to play. Sometimes they do not realize what a ruckus they make.”

              Lisbeth broke out into the crackle of a smile. “Come. I will take you to your room and you will sleep and dream of the gods playing, and how large they are and how small you are, and how you are always, but always safe.” It was a long trip down the hallway, and a sudden noise alerted them both. A peek down the grand staircase revealed a dripping wet Katharine, who was sneaking in from goodness knows where at a very late hour. Unable to help herself, Olivia cried her name aloud.

              The girl looked stricken and trapped, like a deer in a trap. “Do not worry your precious self about where I was,” she snarled, and Olivia was taken aback by the venom in her voice.             

              “Don' talk that way to Mis' 'Livia!” cried Lisbeth, clutching Olivia's hand tightly and fiercely. If she had not been so shocked at Katherine's reaction, she might have smiled at the show of bravery her small savior was showing right now.

              “Oh what do you know, you little brat. You'd hug anyone,” said Katherine.

              “Katherine!” gasped Olivia. She quickly secured the now crying child to her room and comforted her quietly. When she came back out, Katherine was attempting to scurry off into her own bedchamber, but Olivia caught her by the wrist and took her back to her own quarters.

              “How can you speak to your sister that way? And where were you, the stables? You have gotten mud all over your dress.”

              “Do not concern yourself of where I was tonight.”

              “I most certainly will concern myself, young lady! I am your governess and I cannot have you tramping about at all hours of the night, most likely catching cold—”

              “You are not my mother.”

              Olivia swallowed hard. “I am aware of that. However I do not see how that affects what I am currently saying to you.”

              “I heard all about you, Lady Olivia,” sneered Katherine. “You and that ridiculous story with Mr. Soothley, how he married Lady Cynthia and led you on all the while. And now here you are, so desperate to make something of yourself that you are willing to endear yourself to a child in order to secure a husband.”

              Olivia was in shock. Katherine has seemed so sweet, so innocent. It seemed that no matter how far away she got, she would never be able to escape that dreadful story of the engagement that botched her life, and now, it appeared that she was being punished for it. “Katherine, what in heaven's name are you speaking of? Who is this husband I am trying to secure?”

              The girl's eyes flashed. “My father, of course. Mr. Soothley was too low on the totem pole for a titled lady like yourself, so you decided to get someone with a name and land behind him, did you not?”

              In that moment, Lady Olivia Knightbridge felt herself grow up. For sitting across from her, the bottom of her gown dripping with mud and wetness, was a girl just ten years younger than herself who was hurting so badly that all she could do was lash out at someone she thought was taking her remaining family and protection away from her. She could see it in her eyes, in the way her bottom lip quivered to keep from crying as she spat out the hateful words that she herself did not quite believe. And it was obvious as the day Olivia was born—in this moment, she could not allow the child to sting her. She had to step outside of herself and take the other point of view. If she wanted Katherine to trust her, she would have to put her feelings first.

              Olivia sucked in a deep breath and sat down on the edge of her new bed gingerly, as if completing a delicate balancing act. “Your mother was lovely to you, wasn't she?” she began, but it was wrong.

              “Do not dare speak of my mother, you fortune huntress!” hissed Katherine. Olivia held up a hand.

              “Ben Soothley was the first man who noticed me when I came out on the ton,” she said, and was surprised to find that she was not entirely removed from the story like she had hoped. “And Lady Freeworth was my first friend. I had hoped that the search for a suitable match and friend would not take me long, for the only company I had growing up was my aunt, and it was lovely to be around young men and women for the first time. I had no idea what I was doing, or how to properly behave. I had nobody to teach me.” Olivia looked down at her hands. “I never wanted sympathy, not even after I found out. I realized later that Ben had been courting us both because Lady Freeworth's parents did not approve of the match.”

              Despite herself, Duchess Katherine's face wrung in sympathy. “They used you? Both of them?”

              Olivia nodded, feeling something choke the back of her throat. “I never cared about his title or his money—I was so blinded by his charm and his interest in me; perhaps I did not want to see the truth. People do little foolishness sometimes.”

              Katherine was starting to look just slightly uncomfortable at her own foolishness.

              “Frankly, I ran. I ran as far away as I could from London because I did not want to think about the fact that the socially appropriate thing to do would be to go back on the marriage market. That is not for me. If ever love comes into my life, I will welcome it, for that is what I have always wanted. But to go looking for it just for the sake of others around me? Never.”

              The young duchess sat down next to her on the bed. “You seek a love match?” she asked softly, her hands in her lap. Olivia nodded. “Like my mother and father,” she breathed softly, and Olivia felt something catch in her chest. Could it be possible that she—no. She pushed the thought down and concentrated on the girl next to her, so vulnerable and so sad.

              “Were they very much in love?” she asked her.

              Katherine's eyes lit up. “Oh yes! I know that Buxley and Lisbeth will not remember as I do, but she and Father adored each other. They had grown up together as children, and everyone always said it was an unrivaled match. It is what I wish for myself one day, as well,” she confided in Olivia, all of her outer malice completely erased.

              “I understand, dear. I wish you happiness, and I am sure you will find it,” she told her, and when Katherine turned her eyes on her, they were wet. “Darling, what is the matter?” she cried, and without thinking, gathered the girl into her arms.

              Katherine went softly into the embrace; Olivia thought about how young she seemed in that moment, not so much older than little Elizabeth. Suddenly, she was tired. She squeezed Katherine's shoulders and the girl looked up at her, wet eyes shining.

              “Oh, I could just die from shame from the way I spoke to you!” she cried. “And to poor little Lisbeth...”

              “Darling, listen to me. Your sister will love you no matter how much you yell at her and no matter what names you call her. She is a wonderful girl.”

              “Not like me?” Katherine's voice was tremulous.

              Olivia smiled. “Very much like you. We all have days we are not proud of. But if we realize that about each other, then it makes it that much simpler to accept our own little flaws.”

              “I like you very much, Lady Knightbridge,” whispered Katherine against her new governesses' neck.

              “The feeling is mutual, dear heart,” answered Olivia. “And for you, just Olivia.”

              Morning would come soon.

*              *              *

ONE YEAR LATER

              Lady Olivia Knightbridge was an undeniably happy woman.