“This is what honorable people in our position do,” she said. “I find another position. You provide a reference. I leave.”

“That’s our only choice?”

Cat had never been stupid. He was her employer. He called her names, for God’s sake. No matter what his private feelings, in some way, she would always remain his servant. She had to remember that she was important, because nobody else would.

She refused to acknowledge the stinging of her eyes. “I leave,” she told him, “and we remember each other with fondness.”

“With fondness?”

Before she could lose her nerve, she took a step toward him. He didn’t move to take her in his arms. He didn’t reach out to touch her at all. He simply stood in place, watching her.

She let her fingers brush his cheek. “With great fondness,” she whispered.

His hand came up and caught hold of hers. His eyes glittered. For a moment, his touch was warm on her fingers, his head bowed close to hers.

For just one moment, the words he did not say hung between them. They lingered like a seduction, crackling against Catherine’s skin. His arms didn’t come around her. His lips didn’t touch hers. Only his fingers played over hers, his breath whispering against her cheek.

“No,” she said aloud, denying herself as much as him. “I’m just your governess. That is all I will ever be, so I must insist on being the best governess I can be.”

He let out a breath. “Catherine.” His fingers slid down her wrist. ”You’ll never be just anything to me.”

She couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. He was the one who straightened, the one who turned away, his movements deliberate and angry. His jaw clenched; he glanced at her unhappily.

But they’d said all they could say. Everything else between them…well, that wouldn’t happen.

He tilted his head. “Get out,” he said. “I have work to do.”