Captain Jones's Temptation - Audrey Harrison Page 0,9

unique way of using an inheritance,” Samuel said. His tone was interested, and he watched Esther with curiosity.

“Perhaps. Or it might be seen as the right way to live, helping others who are not as fortunate as ourselves.”

“That sounds as though it involves a lot of effort. I am all for an easy life.”

Esther walked towards the door. “Just when I was beginning to think you were a reasonable gentleman, you revert to what I have come to expect, even on such a short acquaintance.”

“And that is?”

“A nodcock, sir. An utter nodcock. I shall see you this evening; please excuse me.”

Samuel bowed as Esther left the room, a faint smile on his lips. It seemed the fiery Miss Esther was not quite what he had imagined at the start. She certainly was not afraid to stand up to him, a feat indeed when one towered over her the way he did, even though she was tall. Prim in appearance she might be, but there was nothing retiring about her at all. Interesting.

His anger after their first interchange was beginning to turn into curiosity.

He had never been curious about anyone, but it seemed Miss Hardy was a bit of an enigma. She was certainly out of the ordinary.

Chapter 3

All doors and windows had been locked, and all the children had been fed in what had once been the ballroom of the house. It acted as dining room and any other space that needed to have a large area. The long gallery was often used for games, if the weather was wet and the children needed some exercise. Esther had smiled when deciding the use of each room. She doubted the ancestors whose likenesses hung from the walls would have approved of how she had started to use the house. The fact that those paintings were occasionally unfortunate enough to be a little damaged by a badly aimed ball was not a cause for concern to Esther. She was not purposely cavalier towards the contents of the house, but she wanted a home, not a mausoleum, for her girls.

After evening stories and the nightly routine in the nurseries on the second floor, Lydia brought Isabella to the dining room. The child seemed happy enough, sitting by the fire, playing with her two small dolls. It was an unusual circumstance to have the girl in the dining room with them, but necessary. Their dinner had been slightly shorter lately to enable them to put her to bed at an appropriate time. Esther hoped that the gentlemen would not expect a meal of hours long, or Isabella would likely fall asleep on the rug.

The rest of the group gathered around the table. Matthew was seated between Esther and Lydia, and Samuel was at Esther’s other side. She had wondered about placing her “brother” at the head of the oblong table but had decided against it when there were only the four of them present.

“Shall we have your company tomorrow on our ride out?” Matthew asked, more than happy to be seated between two pretty partners. Lydia was as dark as he was blonde, her eyes the colour of chocolate and as warm and welcoming as a damaged man could wish for, even after her initial reaction to him.

“No. I am afraid I have no time for a ride – school duties restrict our movements during the day,” Lydia answered.

“Do you teach?” Matthew asked Esther.

“Sometimes. I did very often in the beginning, but now I’m usually keeping the wheels turning behind the scenes and supporting my teachers as needed.”

“Not all the teachers live here?” Matthew asked.

“Just Lydia and I in the main house. The dower house is used as accommodation for the other teachers. They live and eat over there. I wished to have a little privacy during the evenings when the children are in bed. We have a couple of nannies, I suppose you would call them, who care for the girls once lessons are over. I wanted there to be a change in who cared for them, as if they were at home and being taught there,” Esther tried to explain.

“You’ve obviously put a lot of thought into how you wish your school to be run,” Matthew said.

“Yes. I looked at many schools, plus drew on my own experience of the ones I attended. I looked at all the worst parts and made sure that I changed those aspects.”

“But it must cost you more to have more staff.” Samuel had been listening closely