As the Duke had observed, my own tuition at Court had been unstinting. The ducal children, and my own, would benefit from those rigorous demands, and from my own ability to engage in polite conversation, walk gracefully, hold a tune and entertain competently on the strings of a lute. I found myself able to apply my skills with confidence. There was only one rule to be followed to the exclusion of all else. Reticence must command with an iron hand. Discretion must guide my every action. I became used to seeing the Duke: at a distance, at close quarters in the midst of his family, but in public always with that careful separation between us. There must be no suspicion, no careless moment of intimacy to cause an in-drawing of breath from a casual observer. No indiscreet comment that presumed knowledge that should not exist. How it kept me on my toes, to dance to this complicated tune. And I learned to tolerate that void between us, knowing that it would be bridged when he could.
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