The duke's conversation with his son was interrupted by an unexpected visit from a servant. The butler announced that Lady Weinstein had arrived and was awaiting an audience in the living room. The two looked at each other in surprise.

Why did this woman arrive so suddenly?

— Father, I'm going.

Dickens Senior nodded at him. Watching his son go to meet Grace, the man did not cease to be overcome by vague doubts. He hoped that everything would go according to their plan. Meanwhile, Roger went downstairs and saw that the Duchess's younger sister was actually waiting on the sofa.

The young woman looked calm and at ease. She smiled at the sight of Roger.

«Sir Roger, what a lovely morning, isn't it?»

The guy was embarrassed.

«Lady, you're right.»

The young gentleman ordered tea and snacks to be brought. They sat opposite each other in a friendly atmosphere. At the same time, it was impossible to guess that anger was bubbling inside Grace right now. The woman's fingers were clenched on the handle of the cup.

— Lady Weinstein, what are you here for today?

Before starting a conversation, white rectangles with answer options appeared in front of me. There were three of them in total. Roger and the rest of the world around me froze, as if I pressed pause in the middle of the current movie.

«Sir Roger, is there anything you want to tell me?»

«Hypocritical bastard, how dare you and the Duke deceive me?!»

«Act like nothing happened.»

Ha… I couldn't help but chuckle. As expected, the game even provided for such a turn of events. Or maybe she just knew in advance and deliberately led me to this betrayal? Nevertheless, I have only thirty seconds left to make a decision.

As much as I didn't want to get angry and make a scandal, at this moment I had to control myself. A fleeting burst of emotion wasn't worth my future. Before I break off my relationship with the Duke, I have to think carefully.

I chose the third option. My mouth opened and I automatically uttered the following phrase:

«Sir Roger, actually, I wanted to discuss your proposal.

— Eh?

— I remember you said that you wanted to really study with me, — I smiled, — I thought about it and decided to agree.

Roger stared at me in surprise. He didn't seem to expect me to really change my mind.

— You… Are you serious?!

I nodded.

— I came to plan the schedule of our classes, — took a sip of tea, — I think it's worth starting with the basics of fine art. You've never done this before, have you?

Roger shook his head slowly.

— In that case, it's worth studying the theory first. In the near future we will go to the Museum of Art. I will personally give you a tour.

Roger's gaze grew wider and wider. A couple of days ago, he invited me to the exhibition himself, but then I refused. Now she called him personally. It was really hard to believe that I changed my mind so quickly.

Grace, as the daughter of the Weinstein family, received the best education in all industries. She was also well versed in literature and painting. It won't be difficult for me to pass on some knowledge to Roger, especially since my body remembered most of the skills on an instinctive level.

That wasn't the point. Was I really going to train him? It seemed like we both didn't know that.

«Sir Roger, what do you think?»

The young man looked at me carefully.

— good… I agree to be your real student.

***

This time I returned to the estate completely exhausted. After spending half a day on the road, my legs were squinting from fatigue. Plus, there are so many discoveries in a short period of time… I definitely needed a rest.

Nura informed me that Rubiella was already asleep. When I asked what she had been doing all day, the maid replied:

«Little mistress… uh… I was playing in my room.»

«You mean she never came out?»

— Yes, — the girl nodded vaguely, — I invited her to dinner, but she refused.

«I see,» I sighed, «then you can go to bed too.»

Before going to bed, I decided to look into my niece's room and check on her. Rubiella was really fast asleep, hugging her teddy bear. I smiled and sat on the edge of the bed.

In the dark, I removed a couple of dark strands from her face.

If you think about it, right now this child was my only relative.

I was going to sit with her for a while and go to my room until I noticed Ruby's strange behavior. The girl suddenly began to toss and turn in her sleep. It looked like she was having some kind of nightmare.

— no! Ruby will behave herself! Please don't…!

Suddenly Ruby started screaming. Her face contorted as if she was in pain right now.

— Let go! Let me go! I don't want… It hurts me!

Ruby's condition was getting worse. Out of excitement, I decided to try to wake her up.

— no!

The girl resisted for a while, then finally opened her eyes. Rubiella was breathing heavily, and when she saw me, her pupils dilated. She stared at me for a couple of seconds, and it seemed she couldn't figure out if it was a dream or reality.

It was the first time Ruby had behaved like this in front of me. Of course I couldn't help but worry. But before I could calm her down…

She had another attack. Noticing that the room was dark and it was the middle of the night, the girl hid her head under the pillow and covered her ears.

— Ruby… — I could only utter one word.

— Light! Turn on the light! I'm scared…!» she screamed.

I was stunned. It was really weird. However, seeing Ruby's reaction, I immediately hurried to fulfill her request. She found a wick lamp in the dark and successfully lit it after several attempts. I put it on the nightstand next to the bed.

Looking at the small flame of light, Rubiella calmed down a little. I didn't expect that at the age of ten she was still afraid of this kind of thing.

At that moment, I myself did not know how to behave correctly.

While the girl was recovering, I helped her get back into bed. And just in case, I decided to spend the night here today. I lay down next to her, hugged Ruby to my chest and stroked her. I did everything exactly like my mother when I was a child, too, I could not sleep for a long time.

— It's okay… — I said softly, — The nightmare is already over.

Ruby was trembling in my arms. After which, after a couple of minutes, her breathing finally recovered. Calming her down, I myself involuntarily began to fall asleep.

— …Aunt, how glad I am that you are.