Chapter 4

Gemma could not believe that this was happening. She could not believe that she had just been offered the job. It was so exciting she could hardly breathe. She had come to the Hetshire House hoping and praying that she would be able to make her dreams come true, but she did not know that it would come so easily. The duke seemed to really warm to her as soon as she showed a little of her true personality, which meant he did not ask any questions about her true heritage.

Thank goodness.

It was great to know that she had not been tripped up at the first major hurdle.

Which was why she most definitely should not be giving herself another hurdle to attempt to overcome, but it was very hard for her to take her eyes off her new employer. He was magnetic in ways he did not even seem to realize. There was something about the confident way that he carried himself, something about his chocolatey smooth voice that sent a shiver down her spine.

She honestly did not know how she was going to spend every day around this man. The only way she could keep going, was to keep telling herself that she was unlikely to actually see a lot of him because she would be spending so much time with the young boy.

"Benjamin, where are you?" The duke called out as they walked through the giant hallways of his massive house. It was unbelievable to Gemma really, thinking that the duke had this whole building, almost to himself, whereas she and Hannah had to share a room. "Your new governess is here, and she would like to meet you."

"No!" As soon as the boy's voice tolled through the home, Gemma's blood ran cold. She was not expecting a cool reception from the child. "I do not need a governess and I do not want one. I told you that. I do not want to meet anyone new."

Uh oh.

This was not good, but Gemma had plenty of experience with children acting difficult. As she grew older in the orphanage, she became the child who would calm down tantrums and ensure that everyone was where they needed to be. That experience was going to help her out right now. Turning things into a game had always worked out well for her in the past, and she hoped the same would happen now.

"Ah, I did not know we were playing Hide and Seek," she declared with a loud chuckle. "That I can do, but if I find you, Benjamin, then you must search for us afterwards."

The duke might have been looking at her like she had lost her mind, but that did not stop her from covering her eyes with her hands and counting to ten very loudly. Since Benjamin had not said he did not want to play, she could at least assume it was going well. That he wanted to play along with her.

As soon as she got to ten, she started to creep around the house, making loud comments about trying to find Benjamin. Eventually she heard little giggles flowing through the house which was a good sign. He was joining in and actually leading her towards him without even realizing it.

"Ah, there you are!" she cried out the moment she spotted a small dark-haired boy, cowering behind his bed, peering over the top to see her too. "Good hiding place. But now it is your turn to count, and we will hide."

"You and my uncle?" Benjamin asked as he rose to his feet, his dark brown inquisitive eyes dancing with delight. "He will hide too."

"Oh most certainly," Gemma agreed, even though she was not too sure if she could count on the duke to have some fun. She did not know anything about him yet and he did come across as a little stiff. She could only hope that he would not let her down. "So, are you ready to count?"

As she spun on her heels, the moment Benjamin started the countdown, she spotted the duke, who was actually smiling a little. Relief flooded her as she saw that he did intend to join in with her after all.

As she tore off to hide behind one of the doors, not wanting to make her hiding place too challenging for Benjamin, she saw the duke creeping into one of the wardrobes… which was going to be fun. She was quite pleased that he had joined in.

She could not help but giggle to herself. She was not sure how she expected this job interview to go, but she hadn't imagined playing games! If she was able to run things how she wanted with Benjamin, then she was most definitely going to be very successful, she just knew it.

It did not take long for Benjamin to finish counting to ten. The sound of his footsteps tiptoeing around the house brought a grin to Gemma's lips. Especially as he drew nearer to her, and she knew it would not be long before he laid eyes on her.

"There you are!" Delight flooded his gaze. "I found you."

"My, my." Gemma crouched down to meet his eyes. "You are a very clever boy. But now we have a really hard job. We have to find your uncle."

She could not stop her heart from racing with excitement at the thought of seeing the handsome duke again, and not just because he had already offered her the job. Of course, it was not long before she got to see the duke's smile again because Benjamin found him easily.

"Well, since you are so good at that game, Benjamin, then as your new governess, Miss Gemma Casely, then I will have to ensure that we play every single day. If you are good in your lessons, that is."

He excitedly agreed with her, letting Gemma in. He might have been insisting that he did not need a governess not so long ago, but she had won him over.

"I will make up a room for you," the duke told her happily as he ruffled Benjamin's hair. "Since you will be required to stay here throughout the week."

That sounded delightful, she would love to live in a space this large, but she most certainly did not intend to leave Hannah behind. "There is one thing, if I may. On weekends, would I be permitted to go home for Saturday night?"

The duke stared at her a little curiously, before deciding to accept this condition. "Yes, that will be just fine. You can start on Monday."

Benjamin's beaming smile caused her to look forward to her future even more. She knew now with even more confidence that she was going to make the best of the opportunity. It was her dream, and she was most certainly going to become the best teacher anyone had ever seen. Benjamin would adore her, and the duke too. She was going to show this family that they had made the right choice, because if anyone could help them overcome their grief, it was her.

Saying her goodbyes to the family was thrilling too, especially the moment that she shook hands with Cole and that all too familiar fizzle of excitement tore through her body. She had never been lucky enough to experience anything like that before, so it was a thrilling sensation. One that she was secretly looking forward to as a perk of the job…

***

Gemma almost tripped over her feet excitedly as she raced to the tavern after a long afternoon at the seamstress shop, which she headed to right after her job interview. Thankfully though, it was her very last day at that job, so she did not need to worry about the strain of sewing. With a bit of luck, it was not something she would ever have to partake in again.

Her boss had not been too happy about her quitting the work; he had said that she would not be easy to replace. But Gemma did not care. Her life was about to take a turn for the better, and that was all she cared about.

"Hannah! Hannah," she cried out happily as she raced into the tavern. Luckily, it was not quite so busy, and she could capture her best friend's attention easily. "I did it! I absolutely did it."

Hannah's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean? You did what?"

Gemma could not help but laugh. Hannah knew exactly what she was talking about, she just seemed surprised, that was all. "I got the governess position, I was offered the job, I am going to become a teacher."

Hannah dropped the rag in her hands. "You did? Oh my, I cannot believe it."

"Yes, I will be working at Hetshire House, and living there too. Throughout the week anyway. Do not worry, Hannah. I have negotiated to have Saturday nights off so that I can come home and help you at the tavern."

"Oh my." Hannah clutched her hand to her chest. "I am so happy for you… but a little worried too… I am concerned even more now, because if the duke discovers who you are then you will have to face the consequences of that…"

"Oh you do not need to worry about that," Gemma reassured her. "He was far more interested in my experience as a teacher than my background. He barely asked me any questions about where I have come from at all."

"But that might change when you are working in his home. He might start digging around, and then he will discover that you are a poor orphan. If you do get caught, Gemma, you will be fired and you will never work anywhere as a governess again."

Gemma could feel the intensity of Hannah's worries, but she was not about to get swallowed up in them. She smiled and assured her friend. "The duke is a kind person. Very lovely. I am most certainly not too worried about him turning on me."

"Why are you blushing as you talk about him?" Unfortunately, Gemma's reassurance seemed to give her friend something else to panic about. "Oh my goodness, Gemma, is he handsome? Are you attracted to him? Because you do know that is something you most certainly ignore. You must not mix the workplace with pleasure. There are often very attractive patrons in the bar, but I have to do everything that I can to ignore those people because I am at work, and I must be professional."

Gemma could not help but laugh at the firmness of her friend's words. "I know. I understand that. I am sure I will not see much of the duke anyway. It is the young boy that I am going to be working with. This will not be an issue."

That was a little unfortunate. Gemma would have liked to spend more time with the handsome duke, because he absolutely intrigued her. She wanted to know more about him, in a way she did not normally care to know other people. Especially those she was working for.

"So, you are going to keep away from the duke?" Hannah insisted, still not quite ready to let that go. "You will focus on your work and not the duke?"

"Of course! This is my dream come true, Hannah. I will not do anything to mess that up."

Gemma knew that she was not going to be able to fully reassure Hannah with words alone. That would take time. She was going to have to throw herself wholeheartedly into her job, giving Benjamin everything that he needed to be a strong and confident young boy. That was her main priority; everything else was going to simply be a bonus to her dream coming true.