She couldn’t see the farms from here – which meant, thankfully, she couldn’t smell them either – but she could taste the freshness in the air. They might border London, but this place didn’t have the tang of urgency she associated with London Town.
Thankfully.
They placed blankets on the ground next to the lake's gently drifting water, and Katherine set out the books from her bag. She closed her eyes to enjoy the sun for a moment before turning back to her students.
“Very well,” she said. “Now, last time, we were going over our letters – A is to apple as B is to…?”
“Ball,” Ailsa answered promptly. She was already quite the reader, but it didn’t hurt to go over the basics now and again at her tender age. “And button, and brogues, and…”
“Very good,” Katherine interrupted with a smile, and the girl glowed with pride. “Davina? What about C? Can you think of any – what are you doing?”
Davina wasn’t paying attention at all. Her hands were lost in the loose soil next to her blanket. At hearing her name, she looked up and held up her prize. “Look! Worms!” she said enthusiastically. “I found three!”
Ailsa giggled, then covered her mouth. Katherine only just managed to keep the smile from her face.
“Girls,” she scolded, though both she and the children knew there was no harshness behind it. “Come now, we must have our lessons.”
Though at least they can still talk. On the journey here, neither said a word from their grief and uncertainty.
“I have a question, Miss Kathy,” Ailsa said after a moment. “But it isn’t about the lesson.”
Katherine raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead, dear,” she said. “You know that I always welcome questions, and I’ll give you answers when I can.”
Ailsa smiled a little bashfully. “I know. I just … when are Dina and I going to officially meet our uncle? I ken… I know we met him back home, but we haven’t really seen him since we got here. He is our guardian now, after all.”
“He does n’ae like us,” Davina said in what she probably thought was a wise tone. “He is n’ae interested.”
Katherine was surprised, and she stared at the little one. “You know that isn’t true, darling. The duke is just a very busy man.”
The children exchanged looks – looks too old for their tiny faces. Ailsa hesitantly said, “Well, yesterday, Dina and I were walking in the hallway. He kind of ignored us, and then, when Dina tried to talk to him, he told us we should be in bed, as if he was angry!”
“Told ye, he does n’ae like us,” piped up Davina.
Ailsa shrugged. “It’s all right. Our mummy and daddy are deid … dead. We shouldn’t expect love and affection so much anymore.”
That broke Katherine’s heart. What an awful thing for a child to say! Worse, what a horrible thing for these poor girls to think. She would have to speak to the duke and let him know his behavior was unacceptable.
But carefully, Kathy. You can’t reveal your secrets.
“You know I love you, girls,” she said, trying to keep her voice light. The more she thought about what they’d just said, though, the more she boiled in a fury. No doubt the man was grieving – but did he not know that his nieces were, too? This behavior was beyond unacceptable.
“We love you as well, Miss Kathy,” they chorused.
“Now, back to lessons,” Katherine said. She had to distract them somehow, though her own mind was far, far away from any thought of letters now. “Davina, B is to ball as C is to…?”
“Curly! Like the worms!” Davina said proudly.
Katherine couldn’t help it. This time she laughed, and the rest of the lesson continued in a much more lighthearted manner. After their letters, she helped with their numbers. Ailsa even read them a whole passage from her favorite simple book.
Afterward, they spent some time in the lovely gardens, exploring their beautiful new home. Still, Katherine could see the sleepiness in Davina’s eyes. The little one usually took a short nap just before luncheon, and the meal was approaching.
“Let’s go up to the nursery, girls,” she said. “You can play a little before it’s time to eat.”
Both agreed, and she took them back to the house, holding hands.
A few seconds after they entered the nursery, Davina had already flopped down on her lacy white sheets and fallen asleep. Ailsa, acting the little mother she was at heart, moved over to tuck her in.
“Shh,” Ailsa told Katherine. “I’m going to stay here and play quietly. You should go and wash up and let Davina sleep awhile, Miss Kathy.”
Katherine kept her face sober, because she knew Ailsa took her duty of care for her little sister very seriously. She loved these girls as if they were her own children. How could she not? How could anyone not?
She made sure Davina was comfortable, and then kissed Ailsa’s forehead before leaving the room. As soon as the nursery door closed behind her, her fury returned from its dormant state at the bottom of her belly.
“We shouldn’t expect love and affection anymore.”
Well, now, that was entirely unacceptable. Katherine was not going to let her little charges live in such a manner, no matter how self-important and mysterious the Duke of Beresford might think himself to be.
She straightened her skirt, fixed her hair, and took a deep breath, before marching off in the direction of the duke’s study. It was high time she and Richard Johnson had a little chat about the immediate future.
Chapter 3
The Chess Game
“Your move,” Stephen said smugly, moving his knight decisively and pocketing one of Richard’s rooks. “Honestly, where is your mind today? I know I’m better than you in general, but this is just a poor show.”
Richard brushed off his friend’s teasing with an exaggerated eye roll. The worst part was that Stephen, though he joked, was obviously concerned – and no wonder. Richard glanced at the board, frowning at the limited number of black pieces remaining, since Stephen found it amusing to always play as white. He realized he hadn’t lost this badly in a long time.
It’s Isla. It’s Lucas. It’s those girls.
He knew he should have paid more attention to the little things since they arrived. It wasn’t so easy, though; he had never once learned how to speak with children in all his nine-and-twenty years. He wasn’t like Stephen. How did he know he wouldn’t say something wrong and upset them even further?
“You’re their guardian now, Richie,” Stephen said, a little more gently. “Isla, Lucas – they’re gone, and they’re not coming back. The girls don’t have anyone else but that governess of theirs.”