She Vanished After the Duke Rejected Her—But When He Found Her Working as a Maid at Another Lord’s Estate, the Eight-Year-Old Boy Beside Her Revealed the Secret She Had Hidden for Nearly a Decade

PART 8

The days that followed were strange and difficult. Elizabeth kept her distance, and he did not approach her, respecting the space she had asked for. But he could not stop thinking about her, and he could not stop thinking about the boy with the dark curly hair and the gap-toothed smile who was his son.

He watched the child from a distance whenever he could, careful not to draw attention to himself. Tom was often in the kitchen garden or the stables, playing with the other servant children. He seemed happy enough, though there was a certain guardedness in the way he held himself that suggested he had already learned that the world was not always kind.

It broke Everly’s heart to see it.

He wanted to go to the boy, to introduce himself, to tell him that he had a father who cared about him. But he knew that such an introduction would be premature. Elizabeth had not yet made up her mind.

On the sixth day after their conversation by the lake, everything changed.

He was in the library, pretending to read, when the door opened and Elizabeth came in. She was not wearing her maid’s dress. Instead, she wore a simple but respectable gown of dark blue wool, and her hair was arranged more carefully than he had seen it since his arrival. She looked nervous, but there was a determination in her face that he recognized.

“I have made my decision,” she said.

He set aside his book and rose to his feet. “And what have you decided?”

“I have decided that I will allow you to meet your son. But there are conditions.”

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

“You will not tell him that you are his father. Not yet. He is too young to understand, and I will not have him confused or frightened. You may introduce yourself as a friend of the family. Nothing more.”

“I understand.”

“You will not try to remove him from my care. Whatever happens between us, he is my son, and I will not give him up.”

“I would never try to take him from you. That is not what I want.”

“And you will make no public announcement until we have both agreed on the terms. Acknowledging him will have consequences for both of us. I will not be rushed into anything before I am ready.”

“Agreed.”

She let out a long breath. Some of the tension in her shoulders seemed to ease.

“Very well. If you wish to meet him, he is in the kitchen garden. He will be there for another half hour, at least.”

Everly stood very still, hardly daring to believe what he was hearing.

“You are certain?”

She nodded. “He has been asking about you, actually. He saw you walking by the stables the other day and wanted to know who you were. I told him you were a guest of the family.”

“And what did he say?”

A small, reluctant smile touched her lips. “He said, ‘You looked like someone important.’ He has always had a good eye for that sort of thing.”

Everly felt something warm bloom in his chest.

“Be patient with him,” she said quietly. “He is a good boy, but he can be shy with strangers.”

“I will be patient. I have waited a long time for this.”

He made his way through the house and out into the kitchen garden. The afternoon was cool but clear, the light soft and golden. Tom was sitting on the same upturned bucket, poking at the dirt with a stick. He looked up as Everly approached, and his face brightened with recognition.

“You’re the duke.”

“I am.” Everly was surprised by how steady his voice sounded. “And you are Tom, if I remember correctly.”

The boy nodded, grinning. “That’s right. Tom Bailey. Did you come to see the garden?”

“I came to see you, actually. Your mother told me you might like some company.”

Tom’s eyes widened. “My mama? You know my mama?”

“I do. I have known her for a very long time.”

The boy considered this information with the same serious expression he had worn during their first conversation. “She never mentioned you.”

“That does not surprise me. But I hope that can change. I would like to be a friend to you, Tom. And to your mother as well.”

Tom studied him for a long moment, then shrugged and returned his attention to the dirt. “You can sit down if you want. But there’s only the one bucket, and I’m using it.”

Everly laughed—a genuine laugh that surprised him with its ease. “Then I shall sit on the wall.”

He lowered himself onto the low stone wall. It was not the most dignified perch for a duke, but he found that he did not care.