Ian shifted his gaze to Tess. ?
?This is my ward, James Mortimer, and his nurse, Mrs. Dixon.”
Tess sent the woman a polite smile, but returned her focus to the boy. Jamie turned shy for a moment and hid his face in Ian’s shoulder, then peered back at Tess.
“She won’t bite you, scamp,” Ian said, adding in an undervoice, “she reserves her bites for me.”
Tess visibly swallowed her retort at his provocation and offered her hand. “How do you do, Master James? I am pleased to meet you.”
The boy giggled and clasped her hand briefly, then buried his face against Ian’s chest again.
“Say good morning to Miss Tess, Jamie. She is my new duchess. She will be living here at Bellacourt from now on.”
He raised his head to gaze worshipfully up at Ian. “With us?”
“Yes, with us. It would be kind of you to welcome her.”
James considered Tess seriously before pointing at her. “Pretty lady.”
“Yes, she is,” Ian agreed. “But a gentleman does not call attention to a lady’s looks if he knows what is good for him.” His tone turned more firm as he held the child’s blue-eyed gaze. “Mrs. Dixon will bring you your present shortly. For now I must attend to some matters with Miss Tess. But I will visit the nursery later today.”
“So we can feed the ducks? I want to feed the ducks, Eee-ahn.”
Ian glanced out the window at the gray autumn day. “There are few ducks left this time of year, imp. But if it doesn’t rain again, I will show you how to build a fort out of leaves. The gardeners have saved a large pile especially for you.”
Jamie squealed and clapped his small hands. “You promise?”
“Yes. Have I ever broken my promises to you?”
“No.” The toddler beamed, then abruptly changed the subject. “I have a new friend her name is Sheila and she has a lamb, his coat is so soft when you pet it, you should pet it Eee-ahn and you will see how soft.”
“I want to hear all about your new friend and her lamb, Jamie, but for now you should go back to your breakfast.”
“Yes, my grace!”
Ian relished the violent hug the child gave him. Then, still grinning, Jamie scrambled down and ran back to his nurse, who led him from the room after giving the duke another curtsy and a humble, apologetic look.
When they had gone, a profound silence reigned.
Tess stared down at her plate, avoiding Ian’s gaze. It was several moments before she finally spoke. “Why did you not tell me about Jamie?”
Ian hesitated, knowing he had to choose his words with care. “I planned to eventually, but there has scarcely been time in the past two days.”
She looked up, her dark eyes measuring him. “Is he your son?”
Ian parried her question as he picked up his coffee cup. “Why would you assume he is mine?”
“He looks very much like you.”
Although he didn’t reply directly to her observation, he responded with a significant part of the truth, not wanting to lie to her. “Jamie is not a by-blow, Tess. When his mother bore him, she was wed to one of my London footmen. Jamie was a mere baby when he lost her to the same influenza epidemic that took your mother. I legally made him my ward to give him a better life.”
Tess’s sympathy was immediate at the tale of a helpless baby growing up motherless, yet he could see the distress on her face. Any genteel young lady would be angry and hurt to think her husband had sired a child out of wedlock, which was clearly what she had assumed of him.
“I never heard any rumors that you had a ward, natural born or not,” she murmured.
“My servants are protective of Jamie and shield him from the gossips as much as possible.”
“How old is he?”