Sebastian glanced at Catherine, a glint in his eyes. “I’m afraid not.”
Sophie sent her friend a sympathetic look. “His mama is terribly ill.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Teddy.”
The stable lad’s face flamed. “Thank you, sir.”
“He loves horses.” Her daughter bent at the waist until Sebastian’s attention shifted back to her. “The only horses he sees all day are Guinevere and Gypsy. Sweet creatures, but they cannot compare to a whole barn full of horses.” She rose up on her toes as if to punctuate her statement, an expectant look lighting her cherub face.
“Hmm.” Sebastian rubbed his jaw. “As it happens, I have a whole barn full of horses.”
Sophie clapped her hands together, looking from Sebastian to Teddy. “I know.”
In a conspiratorial whisper, Sebastian asked, “Do you think your friend would like to join us later this afternoon?”
Her daughter let out an excited squeak. “Teddy, the earl has invited you to see his horses. Maybe he’ll let you ride Cira, too.”
Catherine raised an eyebrow, but Sebastian kept his gaze on the boy.
Teddy smiled, revealing the beginnings of a new tooth coming in. “Thank you, m’lord.”
“Oh, dear me.” Sebastian laid an exaggerated hand to his chest, a look of consternation on his handsome face.
Sophie and Teddy shared a worried glance. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I just recalled something very important. Something that might change your mind about visiting my stables.”
Catherine watched her daughter slip her hand into Sebastian’s. “Don’t worry, sir. Teddy and I will want to see your stables, no matter what.”
“Truly?” He looked between two pairs of earnest eyes. “Even if I don’t have a red horse?”
Sophie frowned and Teddy looked bewildered. Catherine covered her mouth to hide her smile.
Then Sophie noticed Sebastian’s lips twitch. “Oh, Bastian. Horses are nothing to joke about.”
“Sophie,” Catherine scolded. “You must not be so informal with his lordship.”
“I gave her leave to do so.” Sebastian sent her daughter a gentle smile. “Didn’t I, sprite?”
She giggled. “Yes, Bastian. If I’m a sprite, does that make Teddy a brownie?”
Sebastian, bless him, tousled poor Teddy’s hair. “What do you say, lad? Would you like to be a brownie to Miss Sophie’s sprite?”
He gave them another gap-toothed grin. “Brownies like barns, don’t they, sir?”
“Indeed, they do.”
“Then I shall be a brownie.”
“And I a sprite.”
“And I Bastian.”
Three pairs of eyes turned toward Catherine. “What?”
“What shall we call you?” Sophie asked, bouncing with excitement.
“Um… Mama?”
Sophie groaned, Teddy ducked, and Sebastian smiled.
“Let us give your mother’s nickname some thought, shall we?” Sebastian suggested. “In the meantime, I believe sprite has a few guests she needs to greet.” He glanced at Catherine for confirmation.
“Off you go,” she said.
“Come on, Teddy,” Sophie said. “Let’s see who we can get to bob for oranges.”
“Oranges don’t float,” he protested.
“Precisely, you silly brownie!”
Catherine shook her head, enjoying Sophie’s boundless good cheer.
“She is a marvel,” Sebastian said.
“Yes.” Catherine peered up at him. “You’re very patient with her, Bastian.”
A tinge of color darkened his cheeks, and Catherine’s unsteady wall crumbled to the ground.
“Years ago, when my wards were young and grieving over the loss of their parents, I made many mistakes.” He met her gaze. “Not knowing if I would be alive or dead from one day to the next, I taught them skills that might one day save their lives, and I ensured they never had to be concerned about finances.”
“Where is the fault in your actions, sir?”
“I kept them at arm’s length, praising them rarely and hugging them never.” He released a shaky breath. “I told myself it was for their own good. So they would never feel the devastating loss of a guardian again.”
“In your own way, you were trying to protect them,” Catherine said. “No matter how hard we try to do right by our children, we will inevitably get it wrong at times. Take my current circumstances, for instance.”
As if they read each other’s mind, their gazes sought out Sophie.
“Yes, well,” he said. “I lied. To myself. You see, before joining the Alien Office, I wanted a wife and family. Desperately. But after my mentor’s and his wife’s brutal murders, I suppressed the need. Keeping the two young deBeaus at a distance was as much for my protection as theirs. In the end, I fell in love with the little terrors anyway. Too bad they will never know.”
“Pardon, m’lord. Ma’am.” A maid with cropped sable hair and a scarred left cheek held out a tray of oysters nestled in scallop shells. “Care for one?”