He saw joy spark in the woman’s eyes, but there was something else there too, something too quick for Richard to identify. He fancied it looked almost like fear … but that didn’t make any sense. No doubt, his sorrow was confusing his mind.
“Thank you, Uncle,” little Ailsa said. She held out her hand so formally that Richard almost wanted to laugh, but he held it in as he took the small hand and shook it.
Davina finally clambered down from Stephen, walking over to Richard with a look of open curiosity on her face. “We’re gonnae live with you?”
“You are,” Richard agreed. “Your father was my brother. Is that agreeable to you?”
The four-year-old pouted her lip, considering him, then said, “Will ye buy me a new Kitty?”
A cat? But they make me sneeze!
Still, how could he refuse? The girl had asked so earnestly, and both her parents were gone. “Stephen, you can arrange an animal, can’t you?”
“Wait, Uncle, Kitty isn’t—” Ailsa started, but Stephen spoke over her.
“Of course, I can, Richie,” he said. “Anyway, ladies, I’m very sorry, but your Lord Uncle and I have some preparations to make before we leave. Miss Kathy will take you round to say your farewells.”
The group separated, the men walking off in one direction and the governess and girls heading in another. When they were clear of the crowd again, Richard sighed.
“Well,” he said, “The most painful part is done. I wasn’t expecting to add another person to my staff today, that’s for sure.”
Stephen shrugged. “Well, a built-in governess can only be a good thing. You know how tiring finding the right person for a job can be.”
He sounded so confident. Richard wished he could share his friend’s attitude. Perhaps it came from being the son of a duke’s affair with a black London shopkeeper? It was an open secret, of course – but nonetheless, he’d been passed off as the legitimate third child of the duke’s marriage and raised alongside his white brothers. Maybe it came from hearing and dismissing rumors all his life – rumors that were, of course, true, but that didn’t seem to bother Stephen unduly. Whatever it was that made him so easygoing, Richard envied it.
“A good thing?” he asked. He glanced over to the other side of the area, where Miss Wright and the girls had stopped to talk to someone else. He couldn’t help the uneasy feeling in his stomach, which seemed to hint that something was about to change forever. Richard didn’t like change very much. It had taken everything from him. “If you say so, Stephen. I certainly hope you’re right.”
Chapter 2
The Governess
The new governess at Beresford Manor was a proper young woman of mysterious background named Kathy Wright. At least, that was what most people thought. Katherine was glad, as the little white lie had made it much easier to steel herself to return to England after four long years of anonymity and freedom.
But I had to come back. I couldn’t very well abandon the girls to London without me. Bad enough that…
Katherine cut off that thought, her eyes filling with tears, as they had every time she’d thought of her deceased friends over the last week. They’d been so good to her after everything. She was loath to think what position she’d be in now if Isla and Lucas hadn’t stepped in to help.
“At least I’m in the countryside rather than in London,” she muttered to herself as she fixed her hair in the mirror above the fireplace in the schoolroom. Katherine wasn’t vain, but she knew she was pretty enough. She strove to present herself as well as possible, especially when on duty. It was good for the girls to see how a lady should behave.
Ha! As if I, of all people, can talk of how a lady should behave.
She scowled, brushing the thought away. Instead, her mind turned back to the days spent journeying from Scotland to here. It had only been the four of them in the carriage – Katherine, the girls, and the affable earl. The duke had gone ahead on business.
Katherine had taken a liking to Stephen immediately. Who wouldn’t? His kindly manner, the way he put the girls at ease, and the way he cheerfully leveraged his noticeable physical differences – she admired it. She thought she might have already found a good friend in him.
Then, when she had arrived here, she was reacquainted with Richard, Lord Beresford. He was reserved and quiet,