Gerald then took his leave. Alice took herself outside to walk in the garden. Fresh air and greenery always helped her think more clearly.
But from the uncomfortable question of allowing Gerald to tell Lord Tarrant about her problems, her thoughts drifted to notions of a friendship between a man and a woman. Exactly what did Lord Tarrant imagine it would entail?
What did she know about bringing up young girls anyway? She’d never had anything to do with children.
* * *
* * *
Miss Coates’s Seminary for Young Ladies was a tall, gray, stone building just outside the village of Daventry. Surrounded by a neat green garden, it didn’t really look like a prison for young hoydens. Though appearances could be deceptive.
Inside, James met Miss Coates, a tall, thin spinster with a calm, intelligent mien. Once he’d established his identity and shown her his credentials, her attitude warmed considerably. “I’ve never before taken in a child as young as Deborah,” she told him, “but her grandmother was adamant that the girls had to stay together.”
“Her grandparents were of the opinion that the girls were difficult to handle. I believe ‘hoydens’ was the word they used.”
“ ‘Hoydens’?” Miss Coates laughed. “Far from it. They have all the usual energy of children of that age.” She eyed him. “I understand that Judith and Selina spent their earliest years traveling with Wellington’s army.”
“That’s correct. Their mother returned to England for Deborah’s birth.”
She nodded. “That explains why they follow orders so well. They’re lively and high-spirited—at least Judith and Deborah are—but they’ve never caused me or my staff any real difficulty.”
He wondered again at his mother-in-law’s description of them as hoydens. “And Lina?”
She hesitated, then said, “Selina is a dear, sweet child, but quite shy and withdrawn.”
James wondered what that might mean, but he said nothing.
Miss Coates continued, “Your daughters don’t sleep in the dormitories, as the other girls here do. They have their own bedchamber. During the day, my servants care for Deborah, but outside of class time and in the evening, she is with her sisters.”
“I see.” He was agreeably surprised by the woman’s good common sense.
She gave him a thoughtful look, then said, “May I speak frankly, Lord Tarrant?”
“Please do.”
“Judith and Selina take good care of their little sister, but it is far from an ideal situation. Judith seems to feel she is responsible for both her younger sisters, and though she handles the responsibility well, she needs to be a child again, not be a little mother at the age of eleven.”
“I quite agree.”
“What are your intentions for the girls, then?”
He raised a brow. It was not for this spinster schoolmistress to question his intentions—he was their father. For a moment he was tempted to give her a sharp set-down, but he had to admit she had impressed him, and it did seem as though she had attempted to do her best by his daughters.
Though there was that letter . . . He pulled it out and placed it on the desk in front of her. “How do you explain this?”
She glanced at it and nodded. “I’m afraid that was my fault.”
“In what way?”
She sighed. “Judith had fallen behind on her evening assignments, claiming she was too busy with Deborah to do them. I informed her that if that was the case, perhaps Deborah would be better off sleeping with Betty, the maid I’d hired to look after her during the daytime. I was bluffing, of course—I would never have separated them—but Judith didn’t know that, and she was, naturally, furious.” She gave him a rueful glance. “Quite a temper your eldest daughter has.”
He tapped the letter. “This letter is completely different from all the others I’ve received from the girls.”
She grimaced. “I know, they copied the others from model letters. You probably won’t believe me, but that’s not the common practice here—their grandmother gave strict instructions as to how they should communicate.” She lifted her chin and looked him in the eye. “I caught Judith trying to smuggle this letter out. I confiscated it, read it, and then posted it myself.”
His jaw dropped. “You posted it?”
“I did,” she said composedly. “And it achieved what both Judith and I intended.”
“And what was that?” This woman was surprise after surprise.
“It brought you here.” She leaned forward across her desk. “Those girls need a home, Lord Tarrant, not a room of their own in a boarding school, no matter how good the school, and I pride myself that this is one of the best. I’m quite willing to keep them—they are dear girls, one and all—but it is my opinion that they need to be part of a family, to belong, to have a home and to feel loved.”
He blinked. “I couldn’t agree more. While I thought they were happy and being well looked after by their grandparents, I was content to leave them. Life in the army was no life for small girls, not without their mother.”
“And what has changed?”
He refolded the letter and tucked it away. “My older brother died recently, and I inherited the estate and the title and the responsibilities. I now have a home to offer my children, and the income to support them. I have resigned my commission and intend to make my life here in England, with them.”
She sat back, smiling. “I am so glad.” She picked up a small bell and tinkled it. A moment later a young woman appeared. “Would you bring down the Tarrant girls, all three of them, please.” The young woman’s gaze slid to James, but the headmistress said, “Don’t explain—just tell them they’re wanted in my office.” The young woman left.
James waited. Impatient and absurdly nervous, he rose to his feet and began to pace around the headmistress’s office. The door was open. He could hear footsteps and voices on the stairs. He glanced at the headmistress. “If you don’t mind, I’ll . . .” and he was out in the lobby, gazing up the stairs, waiting for his children.
They came down the stairs in a group, three across, Judy and Lina on the outside, little Deborah in the middle, holding their hands. The teacher or assistant, or whatever she was, brought up the rear. Not that James even noticed her. He had eyes only for his daughters. They’d grown so much.
They saw him and came to an abrupt stop halfway down the stairs. “P-Papa?” Judith said uncertainly. Then, at his smile, “Papaaaaaa!” she shrieked, and letting go of her little sister’s hand, she leapt down the stairs and flung herself at him, just as she always used to. He caught her and managed not to stagger back.