It is only natural for me to want to see my acquaintance, is it not?
“Yes, Miss Meyer, that is what I meant to say. Hopefully the servants would be willing to home the remaining cat after you, Cecilia, and myself take care of the other three.”
As Anthony said this, he noticed Colin and Kenneth raise their eyebrows and exchange conspicuous glances, but they offered no further comment. Just as Anthony was about to question them as to what they were implying with their knowing glances, Fletcher entered to announce that dinner was ready.
* * *
“No, please, Miss Meyer. Do have a seat. It would be no trouble at all to request for one more place to be set. Oh, this is most embarrassing.”
“It’s quite all right, Your Grace,” Meredith replied with a smile. “Besides, I also need to prepare for tomorrow’s lesson.”
Fletcher had not realized that the Duke had intended for Miss Meyer to dine with them again tonight. So when Miss Meyer and the gentlemen came into the dining room and saw only three places set, the Duke instantly expressed his displeasure.
Truth be told, Meredith was hardly surprised by this occurrence. It simply served as yet another reminder that she was, indeed, from a different world than the Duke and his friends.
Or rather, we are of the same world, but from different sides of it. This is exactly the sort of thing that Ma’am Tabitha was referring to when we were in the kitchen.
So Meredith bid the three gentlemen a good night after politely declining one last time their invitation to dine with them for the evening. After exiting the dining room, she passed by the library to look for any maps of Greece.
Regardless of whether or not His Grace plans on sitting in for tomorrow’s lesson as well, I will always try to bring history to life for Lady Cecilia.
Meredith also recalled that the Duke had entrusted Meredith with Lady Cecilia’s overall development. Did he still mean it now that he knew the truth behind Meredith’s own educational background, or lack thereof?
* * *
“And that is all I have to report, Your Grace.”
“Thank you, Miss Meyer. And since I had the good pleasure of observing your lesson the other day, I know for a fact that you take your duties seriously.”
“In truth, apart from discussing Cecilia’s progress, I made this appointment because I believe I never got to properly thank you for the meal and for bringing the best out of Cecilia, and out of… me.”
This comment struck Meredith as quite peculiar, but she welcomed it nonetheless. She pondered its meaning for the rest of the day.
Bring out the best in him? But how, exactly?
Even after lunch, when Lady Cecilia excitedly tugged Meredith to the stables to check on the kittens, Meredith found herself unable to focus. There was just something in the Duke’s tone of voice and the way he looked at her that just struck her as...
I must have been imagining it. I must be overthinking it. Yes, that’s it. That’s what Ma’am Tabitha would say. He was probably just being polite.
Since they had done the lesson in the morning, Meredith was quite free for the rest of the afternoon. His Grace had not sat in for today’s lesson for he said that he had some urgent business to see to.
Back in her room, Meredith did everything she could to while away the hours. She prepared the next lesson, confided in her journal, toyed with her dinner, and thought of potential names for her new kitten, which Mrs. Oakley reckoned would be ready to be weaned from its mother quite soon, given that it had already conducted a solo expedition into the kitchen.
But none of this was sufficient enough to distract her from the Duke’s words or from the image of the Duke himself. She was just now realizing that he had dropped the half-smiles around her. In fact, over the course of the last few days, she had seen him display a range of expressions.
He had rolled his eyes countless times in the presence of Lords Farellshire and Gillinghamshire. He had scoffed and chuckled and had even turned bright red at one point.
And when he speaks to me, he no longer seems to carry that distant, yet civil, aristocratic manner. It’s as though he shows more of his true emotions around me now.
Once more, Meredith was confronted with the fact that she naturally had no way of confirming these notions. For all she knew, all of this could simply be the result of her vivid imagination. So she decided to put it out of her mind and get some rest.
Except she couldn’t. After what felt like ages, Meredith still felt just as restless. It was quite annoying.
I don’t think I have ever been so bothered about anything so trivial and inconsequential in my life.
She rolled around her bed, paced around her room, and made faces in the mirror. As she settled on the chaise lounge, she noticed the full moon.
No wonder I am struggling to get to sleep, the moon is shining almost as bright as the sun.
