Page 41 of The Duchess Debt

The woman pulled her spine impossibly straight. Not a trace of a smile or pleasant expression showed anywhere on her round face as she announced to the fireplace, “Drastic changes are not good for a child.”

“Change can be a very good thing,” Verity replied and gave Helena a reassuring glance. “Especially if it means having a new person in her life who loves her.”

“If it were so, ma’am.”

Helena felt the prick of that. “Pardon?”

Nanny Potts swung her gaze to Helena, and her eyes widened, as if she realized she’d just greatly overstepped. “Apologies, miss!” She careened into an off-balanced curtsy. “What I meant is that I haveconcernsabout the kinds of activities Lady Alice has engaged in since your arrival at Grangely Park. They’re not at all the kinds of things she normally does, and they do not fit within the prescribed activities that His Grace has set out for her.” She turned fully toward Verity now. “I am concerned, my lady, that they are not at all appropriate for a gentle girl of Lady Alice’s age, nor at all appropriate for the daughter of a duke.”

“Such as?” Verity inquired.

“Riding lessons, ma’am. My little lady is small and delicate, and horses are big and dangerous.”

Helena bit back a laugh. Alice wasn’t nearly as fragile as Nanny Potts made her seem. “His Grace bought a pony to fit her. It’s quite small.”

“Ponies are known for their mean dispositions,” Nanny said to Verity, ignoring Helena. “I trust my little lady even less with one of those.”

“My father, the previous duke, taught me to ride practically before I could walk,” Verity mused. “I was gallopingand jumping before I left the nursery. I am certain Lady Alice will do just as well.”

Nanny’s mouth pressed into a hard line. “And fishing, ma’am? What daughter of a duke needs to learn that for her role in society?”

Helena winced. The woman had a point. “But that’s not at all the reason why His Grace should teach—”

“Fishing gives her fresh air and sunlight,” Verity interrupted before Helena could accidentally share the truth. “Besides, I’ve seen His Grace with a fishing pole several times in the past, and I do not think any fish are in danger of losing their life.”

The nanny’s normally pale face flushed, yet she boldly announced the crux of her displeasure. “It isn’t right, my lady, for a duke to spend so much time with his child and to be in the nursery as much as he is. It simply isnotdone! Men of His Grace’s rank should only see their children during their half-hour presentations before dinner and not a minute more.”

Goodness. Was Nanny Potts truly as old and rigid as that? Evening presentations were going the way of the dodo bird. Helena smiled reassuringly. “I don’t think gentlemen—”

“And I am greatly concerned about the effect it might have on Lady Alice.”

Helena pulled in a patient breath. “What effect would that be?”

“Teaching her that it is all right to overstep her place.”

Helena froze as the memories from five years ago flooded back.You’re not good enough to be a duchess, Gabe’s brother Adam had pointedly told her directly to her face, while James Wentworth had said the same behind her back.You’re overstepping… Her heart lurched into her throat, and she forced out hoarsely around it, “How so?”

“The fishing lessons, the dinners in the dining room, the picnics among common laborers at the bridge site—” She shook her head as if Alice had committed the biggest scandal since the Prince of Wales secretly married a twice-widowed catholic. “A child, and especially a girl, needs to learn boundaries and her place in the world. If she’s not taught early, there will be heartache later when she doesn’t conform to what is expected of her as a young miss or wife and mother. It could very well lead to scandal, possibly even ruin, and what kind of life could a young lady with a ruined reputation have? She’ll be a pariah, outcast from society, and what respectable man would want to marry her then?”

Helena felt Verity’s eyes land on her, but Helena didn’t return her gaze, using all her willpower to keep her face neutral and not let the pain show. She didn’t even dare to blink away the sudden sharp stinging in her eyes for fear that Nanny Potts would see. Did the woman have any idea of the wounding she’d just given Helena?

“I only want the best for my little lady,” the woman persisted, her voice now trembling with emotion as her hands tangled in her worsted wool skirt. “I hope you both can understand that.”

“We do.” Helena forced a smile and somehow kept her voice from trembling. “Like you, all I want is for Alice to have a good life, and please be assured that everything I do is in her best interests. I’m simply attempting to come to know her better and to reassure her that she’s not losing her father to me.” A lie. But Helena didn’t dare utter the truth. “Life here at Grangely Park will settle down once the wedding is over, and we’ll all return to a more normal routine, including the nursery.”

Nanny’s mouth tightened, as if not believing her.

“Your position here is safe,” Helena assured her, wondering if perhaps that was the reason for her worries. Shemight think a new mother for Alice would replace her. “Alice will continue to need you a great deal during the next few years, and I know that she is in good hands with you.”

“Are you and His Grace planning to have children, miss?”

A happy smile spread across her face. “We are, and we will most likely start our family right away. Then, you will be needed more than ever to care for the new children.”

“Do you plan to send Lady Alice away?”

Helena’s smile faded.Speaking of overstepping a person’s place…Yet she answered the woman honestly. “I don’t know if we’ll enroll Alice in school or hire a tutor to teach her here. His Grace and I will have to make that decision when the time comes.” When Nanny Potts didn’t seem mollified by that, she added, “I want the best education for Lady Alice, and so does His Grace. But you can be assured that you will be needed here to care for her and our other children for the foreseeable future.”

The nanny glanced at Verity with an inscrutable expression, as if waiting for Gabe’s aunt to interject. But Verity said nothing to undermine Helena’s authority, thankfully, and simply raised her teacup to her lips to take a sip.