Page 87 of Stolen and Seduced By the Duke

Pierce knew that tone. "Mrs. Norris."

"Yes, Your Grace?"

"If I hear even one word of this discussed elsewhere in the household, I shall know precisely where it came from."

She placed a hand over her heart. "You have my word."

He regarded her suspiciously for another moment before nodding. "Good. Have the steward sent to me at once."

"Yes, Your Grace." Mrs. Norris gathered her linens and hurried away with surprising speed for a woman who had spent the last twenty years managing Ravenfield House.

Pierce watched her disappear around the corner and sighed.

He had intended to leave the investigative work to his solicitor, to find the new information concerning Augusta. It was practical. Necessary.

But now I must leave Ravenfield for a while.

This was precisely why he had kept his life uncomplicated for so long.

Family made everything considerably more difficult.

CHAPTER 21

Margaret had been in the library for nearly half an hour when the door opened behind her. She stood upon the small ladder, one hand resting against the shelf as she examined a row of books, and turned at the sound of Pierce's measured footsteps.

He had a particular way of entering a room that made it feel as though he had already decided something was being done incorrectly.

"What are you doing here so late?" he asked, closing the door behind him and looking at the books scattered across the nearby table.

"I am looking for something to read to Hugh," Margaret replied, stepping down from the ladder with a book tucked beneath her arm. "I have run out of books to read him."

Pierce's brows drew together, and Margaret immediately recognized the expression. It was the same one he wore whenever he was preparing to issue an order.

"I have not approved any books," he said, moving towards the table and examining the books as though they were documents of national importance.

Margaret stared at him. "You have not approved of my reading a book to a child?"

"I have not approved the subject matter of the books."

She slowly placed both hands upon her waist. "I do not require your permission to read to a child, Your Grace."

"You require my approval of the subject matter."

"The subject matter?"

"Yes." Pierce lifted one of the books and inspected its cover. "I will not have Hugh exposed to nonsense."

Margaret's eyes narrowed. "He is one year old."

"Precisely."

"He cannot even speak properly."

"He understands more than you think."

"So do I," she replied, snatching the book from his hand. "And I understand that you have become quite impossible."

His mouth twitched. "You say that as though it is new information."