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present appearance suggested so. Leah had never met a father whose devotion ran so deep.
    “Name your price,” the duke demanded in a breathless voice as if he had chased the carriage down on foot. “And I will double it.”
    Double whatever sum she named? Leah’s cherished dreams of travel and adventure, which had seemed shattered only moments ago, suddenly glittered brighter than ever. “You truly want me to take charge of your son?”
    “Of course not!” His Grace flared up. “There is nothing I want less. But Kit wants it and I dare not refuse this fancy of his no matter how little I like the idea. So tell me your terms of employment and I will tell you my conditions.”
    His hostility to the notion of having her as Kit’s governess stung Leah harder than she expected.
    “I believe we should do it the other way around.” She crossed her arms in front of her. “ First you tell me your conditions then I shall decide what amount of compensation I require to comply with them.”
    The duke scowled only to have his forbidding expression spoiled by a wide yawn.
    “Very well,” he agreed once it had passed. “For my son’s protection I must set firm limits on what you can and cannot do with him. No more cavorting around pretending to be his horse. Kit will remain safely in his bed. You may work with him for one hour in the morning and another in the afternoon. You will cease at once if he seems tired or unwell. You will not stir up discontent with his situation or the precautions I must take for his safety.”
    Leah’s spirits sank. If she accepted the conditions His Grace demanded, she would never be able to help Kit break out of his stifling prison. Instead, she would end up bound hand and foot by the duke’s rigid limits.
    “In that case, sir,” she replied, “I fear there is no salary I could name that would render such a situation tolerable to me. I am sorry you have gone to so much trouble to hire me back, but I must decline. I could not teach under such conditions.”
    She was taking a risk, she knew, in rejecting the duke’s offer. Perhaps that had been his aim, to present her with conditions she would be forced to refuse. Then he could place the blame for Kit’s disappointment on her. But if the duke truly was prepared to go to any lengths to insure his child’s wellbeing, he would be obliged to compromise.
    Hostile silence bristled between them as His Grace considered her refusal and his response.
    What could he be thinking? Was he weighing the danger he feared she might pose to Kit against the torment of more sleepless nights trying to comfort a disappointed child? Or had some part of him begun to recognize the consequences his excessive protectiveness might have upon his son?
    “Tell me then, Miss Shaw, under what conditions would you be prepared to accept a position as my son’s governess?” A glint of steely determination in his tired eyes warned Leah against pressing too far with her demands.
    “What about this?” she proposed. “I will do my utmost to avoid anything that might bring harm to your son. In return, you must promise not to interfere with my methods of teaching. That is a reasonable compromise, surely?”
    The earl’s brow creased in a dubious frown. Or perhaps it was only a look of deep thought.
    “And your salary demands?” he asked, giving her hope that he meant to agree.
    “I make no demands.” She strove not to take offense at the way he had phrased his question. If she were as weary as he appeared, she might be hard-pressed to maintain proper civility. “I ask only that you honor the terms I accepted from your sister.”
    “Very well, then.” The duke thrust out his hand. “We have a bargain.”
    Leah reached out to grasp his hand only to hesitate at the last moment. “There is one more matter we should settle.”
    “What is that?” His Grace sounded suspicious of this last-minute provision.
    “It is something your sister agreed to when she engaged my