What Happens in Piccadilly - Chasity Bowlin Page 0,13

of familiar surroundings, my lord. And I know that you care for them, but I think it more important that they know it. You show them that by taking an interest in them, talking to them, by hugging and kissing them, letting them know that their presence isn’t just welcome here but desired,” Callie stated. “I realize it isn’t fashionable, but you do not strike me as one who is a slave to such things.”

“What you describe is unheard of except among the serving class!”

Callie shrugged. “And do they often not look happier for it? I’ve no doubt that you often slipped down to the kitchens as a boy to wheedle some treat from the cook, did you not?”

He grinned. “Of course, I did!”

“And did those treats often come with an embrace or some sign of affection?”

His grin faded and he regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. “Always.”

“Which of those things—the treats or those simple demonstrations of affection—do you recall most fondly now?” she demanded.

*

Winn stared at the girl before him. She wasn’t a girl, precisely, but it was better for both of them if he could think of her as one. Calliope St. James was ridiculously beautiful, ridiculously appealing and was currently in the process of reducing him to a sentimental, calf-eyed fool. She was demanding, far more assertive than he would have ever imagined given her appearance, and was pushing him into dangerous territory, toward things he wasn’t ready to address. But it was quite obvious to him that, ready or not, for the sake of the children, he might have to forgo his own comfort to some degree. “Your point is well taken, Miss St. James. I shall endeavor to be more openly affectionate with them. But I’m not entirely certain it will be well received. The children seem to be resistant to such things… or anything that hints at civility and domestication. They are lovely but quite feral, I’m afraid.”

She smiled, that sort of knowing half-smile, half-smirk that all females seemed to have perfected from the cradle. It was maddening and alluring all at once. “Of course, they are. All children are feral, my lord. Some are just domesticated earlier in life than others. As for their hesitation over matters of affection, well, children are always resistant to things that are good for them… eating their vegetables, washing behind their ears, going to sleep at reasonable hours. Why, if we were to allow children to refuse everything they are resistant to, the world would descend into chaos.”

Winn looked about his house. Dusty floors, dusty furnishings, fireplaces that had not been cleared of ash, a footman turned butler and no housekeeper in sight yet—they’d already descended into chaos. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?” he posed caustically.

“It could be worse.”

“How?” he demanded.

A slight smirk played about her perfectly formed lips. “Bed wetting, bodily injury, one of the children could have an affection for amphibious creatures found out of doors and best to remain outdoors. Really, the possibilities for how that could occur are endless, my lord. Best not to tempt fate anymore by discussing it. And I have children to take for a walk.”

“What’s the real reason you’re taking them for a walk before beginning lessons? And don’t tell me that it’s to reward them. We’re both smarter than that,” he observed. Miss St. James—seductive, beautiful, innocent, forbidden—was also a master tactician.

That half-smile transformed into a full-blown grin, satisfied, a bit smug, and blindingly beautiful. “Children, by nature, are active creatures. They long to run and play. In order to properly engage their minds, all that energy must be expended first so that they might sit quietly and take in what is being taught. Is it terrible to let them think it’s a reward?”

“No. And I don’t see any reason why it can’t be both,” he replied. It was a perfectly sensible approach and he frankly couldn’t understand why no one had thought to employ it with them before. “There is much to be admired in your approach, Miss St. James. There is much to be admired about you entirely.”

Her lips parted in surprise at the compliment. But if it had taken her aback, it had rocked him to his core. It was an inappropriate thing to have said to her. She was the children’s governess, not some pretty miss he would flirt with at a ball. Giving voice to his rather complicated appreciation of her many attributes would only strain the bounds of what had to