recommendations, like. They’re going to send word.”
“You asked them? Lucy, you are a gem.” All the better because these servants would have heard about the robbery and its aftermath; she wouldn’t have to explain or, dishonestly, not mention it. It was a great relief.
Charlotte’s stomach roiled, and she became more conscious of her various pains. “Do you suppose we have anything in the house for a headache?”
“I’ll go and see,” Lucy said.
***
Ethan leaned over his aunt’s kitchen table, a cup of tea dwarfed in his big hands. He realized he was clutching it so hard it was like to break, and he eased off. But he couldn’t be rid of the urgency that’d gripped him since saying good-bye to Lucy. She’d been so scared. The fear and sadness in her eyes had shaken Ethan to the core. He wanted to hit things. He wanted the power to make the world different. He felt he would do anything—anything—to protect Lucy, to save her from being alone and afraid. He’d abandoned his post with a muttered excuse. And now, here in his aunt’s home above the grocery, the need to make people listen had rendered him almost incoherent.
He faced his puzzled grandparents across the table. John and Edith Trask had been a solid anchor and a refuge all his life. When he couldn’t get on with his father and couldn’t go out into the forest, their cottage was his haven. Gran was a champion cook, and her home was always full of luscious things to eat. Ethan got his size and his even temperament from Grandad, who’d been head gardener at Sir Alexander’s country place. He’d counted on them all his life. But this time they couldn’t seem to understand.
“What’s so special about this girl?” asked his Aunt Liv. She’d settled her bulk beside him, and he could hardly ask her to leave her own kitchen. She liked to tease him, though, and always found the tenderest place to poke. She clearly was not going to miss this conversation.
“She’s all alone…” What could he say—that Lucy was brave, spirited, alluring as other girls had never been? When had he even decided those things himself?
“We’d like to help, but we’re heading back to Derbyshire next week,” Gran said. “You know how lucky we are to have our own cottage and not to be needing to work away from home. There’s things that need to be done there.”
“I know.” Ethan stared into his tea. His grandparents had labored all their lives, and accumulated enough to lease their own patch of land. It was an admirable achievement. They deserved to be left to enjoy it. Yet he couldn’t help asking them for more.
“You thinking seriously of this girl?” asked his aunt. “You en’t in a position to be doing that, young Ethan.”
She was right. And it made no difference at all. “It’d be temporary, like,” he said. “I’ll ask around, find someone else as soon as may be.” But no one else would be as good, he realized. He wanted people he could trust to look after Lucy. “It’s just… they need somebody right away. She’s… they’re all alone in that house.”
“Where there’s been criminals breaking in,” his grandmother added.
Ethan felt mean and small. How could he ask the two of them, who were getting on in years, after all, to expose themselves to danger? “Just the once,” he answered. “And nothing since. Sir Alexander reckons there won’t be another try.” He had heard him say that, speaking to one of the men he’d set guarding the place when he’d come by for orders.
“Tom’s looking after our garden at home,” said Grandad. It was the first time he’d spoken since Ethan arrived. “We could spare a bit more time.”
Gran met his eyes, and they shared a moment of the silent communication that forty years of marriage had brought. She shook her head. But it was resigned amusement, not a no. “Mind you do ask around, Ethan, and find someone else,” was all she said. “We need to be going home.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Relief coursed through him, and gratitude. They’d never let him down.
Aunt Liv, now that it was decided, got into the spirit of the thing. “You could hire on Tess Hopkins to help out. She lost her position because the young gentleman at her last place wouldn’t leave her alone. And her barely fifteen!” She grimaced in disgust. “There’s no young men in this house?”