“Do you often travel, Your Grace?” she’d asked him.
“As often as most men,” he’d replied.
Another time, she’d spied some flowers in a vase and idly asked, “Which is your favorite color, Your Grace?”
His green eyes had blanched as if in pain under his red-brown hair, but his only reply was, “I have never thought about it, Miss Wright.”
It didn’t seem to matter what question she had asked over the past week – general or personal, big question or small, he avoided answering. This was a man determined not to speak about himself in any way.
So, why do I find him so intriguing?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a hesitant little knock at the door. She fixed a smile on her face and opened it, revealing the two Johnson sisters standing there, hand-in-hand, ready for their daily lesson.
“Miss Kathy!” Davina whined immediately. “Ailsa will n’ae let me go play!”
“That’s because it’s time for lessons, Dina,” Ailsa said sternly. Katherine had to hide her smile. It always made her giggle how much Ailsa acted like a little mother toward her sister.
“But I don’t want to do lessons,” Davina protested furiously.
Katherine saw the tell-tale signs of a four-year-old tantrum about to spring forth, and knew she had to intervene immediately. “Well,” she said, “Nobody wants to be stuck in this stuffy classroom all day. I have a good idea, though – why don’t we go outside? It’s a lovely day, and we can have our lessons there.”
“By the loch?” Ailsa asked excitedly, then frowned. “I mean, by the lake?”
Katherine decided not to comment on the mistake. “Yes, why not? Does that sound nice, Davina?”
Davina looked uncertain for a moment, then said, “Are there ducks?”
“I think so,” Katherine replied.
“I like ducks,” Davina said, nodding her head. Before the other two could react, she had already turned and started walking away from the classroom. Katherine smiled to herself, took Ailsa’s hand, and followed.
***
The gardens of Beresford Manor were breathtaking in a very English way. While their Scottish manor had overlooked wild fields and farmland, these gardens were beautifully kept. The grass was uniformly and neatly trimmed, an array of flowers of all colors – roses and tulips, the kind of neat, well-kept gardens Katherine remembered from her own childhood.
The lakeside held its own beauty. The water was a clear blue, reflecting the sky. A perfect image of the manor was reflected on the shimmering water too, towering imposingly, just as it did in real life.
It was quite an old building, large, and stonewashed in a way somewhat different from the general contemporary style. Katherine thought it must have belonged to some medieval country lord and been continuously renovated since then. Still, the high arches and the ivy growing on the side s– natural against the uniform – was not just beautiful but genuinely enticing.
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