The Forgotten Duchess

Chapter Ten | Study

"I was going to clean up your office," she blurted out.

He seemed surprised by her answer and dropped the kitten to the ground softly and poured himself a drink. Ginger came crawling straight to her and Vivienne placed the feline in her lap.

The glass of brandy swirled as he set in on the desk before taking the only empty seat in front of her.

"Do explain how cleaning my office has you opening my ledgers instead?"

Vivienne wanted to wither under his gaze, but she forced herself to meet his amber-coloured eyes. "I got distracted," she admitted.

The duke took a sip of his brandy, "That much is evident."

He was silent once more and Vivienne knew he was waiting for her to respond. She didn't know how to bring up the subject, so she went with honesty. "I didn't want to be indebted to you, so I thought that cleaning your study seemed like a fair payment."

"I've told you more then once that there is no debt. You are not required to do anything for me."

Internally Vivienne shook her head. To have so much power that fulfilling such large request were insignificant was truly amazing. But she wanted him to see her as someone other than the poor delicate lady she'd been. Ever since her arrival at Chalcott manor she'd caused more trouble and for some reason, she didn't want the duke to view her as a foolish lady. She had much more to offer, and she would show him starting with the ledger.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to open her mouth, "Actually when I was cleaning—"

A slight cough by the duke interrupted her but she continued "I came across your accounts and there was some troubling information."

The duke's tone as tense. "That seems unlikely, I checked them yesterday, performing the calculations myself and it was all in order."

Vivienne realized that she was travelling up a slippery slope. Her words made it seem as though she was accusing the duke of being incompetent. She didn't know much about other men, but something told her that nobody got away with insulting the duke's intelligence.

She was much more careful with her next words. "I didn't mean it like that, Your Grace. The accounts were well organized, and the numbers were summed up correctly."

The duke drank the rest of his brandy. "Then I don't see the issue, Lady Vivienne."

Vivienne knew he was losing interest and patience; she had a few seconds before he completely disregarded her. "Here," she handed him the calculations she conducted.

"And what is this?"

Now was her time to shine. "I did a few calculations regarding your lands and the amount of crop that was being produced. For the area you own, the yield should be much larger, yet it seems to be smaller."

The duke's studied her for a moment, "And what comparison do you have? I doubt that you've been farming or studying the accounts of other society members."

"I haven't looked at other books Your Grace, however, back in Flaxpool I did help farmers with basic calculations in regarding the amount of yield they would produce. It helped them to know how much they could keep and the amount that they could sell. My governess, Agatha would assist me."

The duke sighed. "I trust my steward Lady Vivienne. I will not go about accusing a man whom I've known for the last five years simply because some Lady demands I do so."

Him calling her some lady hurt but she brushed it aside, he hadn't lied, she was nobody to him. Vivienne wanted to shout in frustration, but she forced herself to keep her voice cool. "Please do not place words into my mouth Your Grace. For I did not say to investigate your steward."