Sure enough, there was a small kitten high upon a tree branch.
“It looks scared,” Caroline whispered. “May we rescue it, Miss Sarah?”
“Perhaps,” she mused, walking over. The limbs were rather low, but she tried whispering to the kitten, hoping to encourage it to come down. It was a fluffy grey kitten with white face and socks, which looked as if it was someone’s pet and not merely a farm cat. Despite all her coaxing, the stubborn cat refused. Though from a closer look, it truly seemed afraid.
“I am going to climb the tree,” she announced. The tree was gnarled and had some very easily accessible branches, so it did not look difficult to Sarah.
That excited the girls.
“May we join you,” they chorused.
“Today is your first lesson in tree climbing,” Sarah said with studied seriousness. “However, you will only observe my actions. When you are a bit taller and stronger, I will show you the necessary steps.”
The girls appeared as if they would burst from delight. Sarah hurriedly grabbed onto the lower branch and hauled herself upward. It was rather easy, but the cat darted away and jumped from the tree when she reached him. The girls cried out, and Sarah started to laugh.
“What a contrary cat!” she called out, hopping down and turning around to falter. “Your Grace!” Her heart leaped with traitorous gladness.
“I am trying to understand precisely what you were doing, Miss Bellamy.”
“Miss Sarah was teaching us how to climb trees,” Caroline chirped. “It is such great fun, papa. Charlotte and I will learn when we are a bit taller.”
Sarah winced when the duke’s eyes grew chilled. “Is that so?”
He told the girls to run along and greet their aunt, who was coming up the trail.
“Your Grace, I—”
“Your actions were indiscreet,” he said with icy civility. “You are to teach my daughters proper conduct, Miss Bellamy, not how to climb trees or skip stones on the lake.”
She had done that with them yesterday and had not been aware he watched. “Teaching them how to have fun and how to appreciate the outdoors is also important, Your Grace; you should try it sometimes,” she murmured.
Good heavens, Sarah feared she had overstepped. However, instead of apologizing, she lifted her chin. A glint entered his eyes, and he said, “I expect an update on their lessons soon.”
“At the end of the month, you shall have a faithful account of their progress, Your Grace.”
“Good.”
He did not move on, and Sarah’s heart started to stutter. For the last several days, whenever they encountered each other, they only exchanged polite greetings and sallies, then the duke would continue on. She had taken command of her blushes after the first week and could look at him without the memories of their time teasing her. This was the first he had ever looked at her with such…hunger. She met the duke’s regard. Something hot and uncomfortable hovered in the air between them, and she glanced away, feeling unexpectedly nervous and hopeful. She did not like that dash of hope, for it hinted at her absurd expectations. Still, the desire in his eyes was not to be mistaken or dismissed. “Your Grace—”
She had no notion what she’d been about to say, but she saw with considerable relief a laughing Lady Esther rounding the corner with a rather beautiful girl by her side. The duke’s expression shuttered, and he stepped aside while his sister made the proper introductions.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Anna,” Sarah said with a smile.
The girl had charming and elegant manners. After exchanging pleasantries, the duke and Miss Anna strolled away while Sarah and Lady Esther fell into step behind them, at a discreet distance.
Lady Esther sighed, and what a satisfied sound it appeared.
“Robert has finally found someone. They do make a lovely couple, don’t they.”
Sarah slowed down, unable to understand the piercing ache that went through her.
Lady Esther frowned. “Is everything well, Miss Bellamy?”
“Yes, only a small ache in my side. Please carry on without me. I shall only slow you down.”
The duke’s sister grinned. “Wonderful, now I have an excuse to stay with you and give Robert the privacy to steal a kiss or two. That is perfectly permissible between a courting pair.”
Sarah nodded numbly and slowly gathered all the silly dreams she had still been harboring inside about the duke and locked them away.