“All right,” Garrett said. “You’d better start running.”
“You’ve got to catch me first,” Chatwyn said, then turned and bumped right into Miss Periwinkle, who took a firm hold of his hand.
“Begging your pardon, Lady Kitson,” the governess said. “He was thirsty and I brought him in for a sip of water. He slipped away from me while I was pouring it. I hope he didn’t disturb you. I’ll take him back outside.”
“Wait.” Julia walked over to Chatwyn and looked down at him with a glaring stare. “I want your attention right now, young man.”
His smile faded and he fixed his gaze on his mother’s perturbed face. “Yes, Mama.”
“What have I told you about a ball in the house?”
He didn’t move his head but shrugged and rolled his eyes to look up at Garrett, as if he’d been his partner in this offense. There was no doubt he knew he’d done something his mother didn’t like.
“Chatwyn, this is not a time to be amused,” she said sternly. “Look at me and answer.”
His smile faded again and he said, “Don’t throw a ball in the house.”
“That’s right. There will be no more outside play for you today. You must go to your room and sit in the corner with nothing to occupy your hands but your fingers. It should be a good time for you to practice counting.” She looked at the governess. “If he gets up, Miss Periwinkle, you are to scold him and put him back in the corner. He must stay there a full hour. After that, he’s not to come belowstairs the rest of the day. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, my lady,” she said timidly.
“Go.”
Garrett reached down, picked up the ball, and threw it up in the air a couple of times before saying, “Don’t you think that was a little harsh? He didn’t hurt me when he threw the ball.”
“It’s not that he hit you,” she said, with a twitch of a little smile. “I wouldn’t have minded if he’d hit you a little harder.”
Garrett chuckled. He loved her spitfire attitude. “You are always full of surprises.”
She accepted his praise with a nod. “I hate to admit it, but I do realize Chatwyn has a discipline problem. He knows better than to throw a ball or anything in the house. We’ve had more than one broken vase to contend with because of his wild pitches, but broken porcelain is easy to clean up. He recently threw a ball and overturned a lamp that caught a rug on fire. It could have burned the house down if the duke and I hadn’t been in the room and put it out quickly. So I would thank you not to tell me how to discipline him.”
That put Garrett in his place rather quickly. The only thing he could say was, “I’ll be more careful in the future.”
Julia clasped her hands together behind her back and lifted her chin and shoulders. “I was attracted to you the moment I saw you, Mr. Stockton. I should have never given in to our first kiss. It’s so much harder now to deny myself.”
“Passionately? I will never be sorry about that, Julia.”
Garrett’s stomach tightened and he strode up next to her. She remained still and calm. “We aren’t bound by vows to anyone else. What we do together will hurt no one. We are both free to do as we choose.”
Her gaze swept down his face, and he couldn’t have been more convinced that he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted any other woman.
She turned away and murmured, “No, I’m not free. My first duty is to my son. Right now, he should be the only man in my life. I’ll walk you to the door.”
He started to grab her arm to stop her, but remembered how headstrong she was and knew he had to be patient with her. She wasn’t a woman to be rushed into anything. He must take his time and save this fight for another day.
“Before you go,” she said, handing his hat and gloves to him, “I wanted to ask you if we might share the good fortune your donation brought to the school with others. We can’t possibly use all the things you sent over. Do you mind if we donate some of it to another charitable organization?”
Her request didn’t surprise him. “Are there more children or dogs you want to help?”
“No,” she laughed softly. “It’s for the Sisters of Pilwillow Crossings. They can sell the excess of what we can’t use. The money will help them with their charitable work. They feed the poor three days a week and also help supply bandages and other things for those in need.”
“Do with it as you wish, Julia. Share it all if you wish. There were no strings attached to it.”
“Thank you. I’ve been thinking on this all day and before I have it packed, I’ve decided to let each girl pick a fabric, thread, and adornment for trim to have as her own. Since it was a gift to them. That way, when they are skilled and ready to sew on their own, they can make a dress of their choosing.”
An unfamiliar feeling stole over Garrett. He had endangered his life countless times on the seas and in gaming hells all over the world, but this was the first time his heart had ever been at risk. That was startling. But he had no doubt this lady was worth any price.
“That’s a considerate gesture. You are very caring of others, Julia.”
“One of the girls at the school gave me the idea. I remembered that she said when she makes her own dresses, she’s going to put many bows on them. I want her first dress to be special.”
Garrett smiled. “It will be.”
“I hope to hear you have good news soon, Mr. Stockton. Time is running out.”
Chapter 14
Julia and Brina sat quietly in straight-backed chairs in a dark corridor of the abbey, waiting to see Sister Francine. There were the occasional sounds of voices and footsteps, but otherwise the big, cavernous building was quiet and oddly cold for a place that was known for giving out compassion and expecting nothing in return. Brina seemed calm and patient. Julia, on the other hand, was anything but.
She would cross her feet at her ankles and then thirty seconds later she would uncross them. For a time, she’d studied the braided fringe on the bottom of her velvet reticule. She’d smoothed her gloves more than once, brushed her dress often, and touched her bonnet countless times. None of her twitching seemed to bother Brina, who was, somehow, managing not to move a muscle.
The quietness was giving Julia too much time to think. Which wasn’t a good thing. If she wasn’t doing something to keep her busy, she was thinking about Garrett and how she yearned to be with him again. Dreaming about his kisses, caresses, and how desperately she wanted to be with him again but realizing the dangers of doing so. The only thing it accomplished was creating frustration inside her.
She supposed it was bound to happen one day. That there would come a man who would awaken all her feminine senses and make her desire him beyond all others and continue to take chances to be with him. She had certainly thought on that the past couple of days. But she always came to the same conclusion: the risks were too great that the duke would find out and make good on his promise.
And there was the intolerable Mr. Pratt. She didn’t know why but he hadn’t come to give lessons yesterday or today. It had been a blessing. She prayed the duke had finally listened to her pleadings in her letters and realized the error of his decision and dismissed the man.