as confident as she could, even as her heart was shaking within her. “You will not speak of her in that way. I know that until this point I have been very quiet and agreeable to everything you have asked of me. I have grown up under proper tutelage, I have laid aside my own likes and dislikes for what you think is right – I even delayed my introduction to society because you were afraid the war would distract from my chances of a proper marriage.”
Her words were having some effect. Her father took a step backwards. It was slight, but Margaret saw the opening he was allowing her to continue speaking. She kept her voice quiet but firm.
“I wanted to do everything you wished because I love and respect you. But this situation is different. It is not my own desires that I would be sacrificing. It is the life and happiness of a little girl. I know you never approved of Molly Smith, but she was my childhood friend.” Margaret’s eyes filled with tears. “I just watched her die, and in the final moments, I promised her that I would take care of her little girl. We have the financial means to raise a child, and I wish to take her as my ward.”
“You have not thought this through,” Lord Somerville said, more tempered now that he had listened to his daughter’s plea. “You are only thinking out of a place of kindness and compassion, not out of the wisdom of knowing what the world will bring against you. It is not the done thing – taking on the burdens of those who are lower in society and less careful with their morals. You will face censure in some circles.” He took a step forward and reached out a hand to his daughter. There was a gentleness in his gaze. “I know that I asked you to postpone your introduction into society, but this coming season will be your chance, at last, to place your name alongside that of the other young women of the Ton. I don’t want you to be held back by anything.”
“I know you want the best for me, Father,” she said quietly. “But I do not think it is a fault to make a sudden decision out of compassion. Perhaps, if I had more time, I would not have done it – and I think I would have been a lesser woman had I allowed myself to be so dissuaded from what is clearly the right path. I am certain I want to care for the girl.”
Lord Somerville moved his hand from her shoulder and sighed. “You remind me so much of your mother when you are like this,” he said. “She could be stubborn too.”
“But you will give your blessing?” she pressed.
“I will relent,” he said. “But you must know that a child is not a pet or a toy. You are offering to take on the position of the girl’s guardian, and that means education and care. That means you are eventually going to have to get that girl into the bath she obviously dreads – that means responsibility, and an anchor to the world that a young, unmarried girl should not have to endure.” He shrugged. “And it certainly means you will need to change her name.”
“What?” Margaret asked, her mind spinning. The whole day had an aura of the nightmarish about it, and now it felt as though the list of responsibilities was being recited to another woman, somewhere far away.
“The girl. You call her Poppy, but that will give her away as peasant-class the first moment someone hears her name. You will have to choose something more sophisticated.” He put a hand to his forehead. “These are the things you need to think about.”
Margaret swallowed hard but nodded. “Thank you, Father.”
He turned to leave, pausing at the door to add quietly, “There will be time enough in the morning to cover all these worries, Margaret.”
She nodded and slipped out of the parlour to the stairs. She paused at the guest room and looked inside. Carrie was there, seen through the crack in the door, tucking Poppy into bed. The little girl was lying on her side, facing the door. She had plainly refused not only the bath but the change of clothes as well. She was still wearing the tight little dress, her dirty hair hanging in her eyes.
Margaret stood looking at her for a long moment