The Virtuous Ward - By Karla Darcy Page 0,15

give her. In truth, she enjoyed the game but her governesses eschewed it as a male pastime and she had found few others in the neighborhood who knew the rudiments of the game. Her eyes followed the movement of Max's hand as he returned the queen to her square and lifted a knight, his long fingers caressing the ivory figure. For some unknown reason her face felt hot and she shifted her eyes to the hands in her lap.

"Now, Amity," Max said, placing the chess piece back on the board and taking a heartening sip of his brandy. "What cockle-headed notion have you got that you must needs rush into marriage?"

"Well to be honest I should very much like to have a child. Someone of my own that I might love and cherish." Amity paused, looking up into Max face to see if he understood her words. "And of course the babe would love me," she finished softly.

Max noticed that the clear blue eyes shone with a particular brilliance as she spoke the last sentence. He was reminded again of her interchange with Cousin Hester earlier in the evening. His brows bunched over his forehead as he stared at the grave little figure across from him. Suddenly he thought he suspected the truth and he reached out cupping her chin in his hand.

"What was your mother like, Amity?" he asked, watching with pleasure the startled look at the abrupt change of subject. Her face was so expressive, shrouding few of her thoughts. He wondered if after a year in society she would still be so trusting. He was surprised at the dreamy expression that flitted across her face and the faraway look in her eyes as she remembered her mother.

"She was glorious, Max," she whispered. "Her name was Divinia and the fashionable set called her 'Goddess Divine.' She was petite, almost doll-like, with enormous periwinkle blue eyes and a soft pink complexion. Her hair was golden, as if the sun's rays were caught in each curl. Everything about her was beautiful."

"And did you love her a great deal?"

"I fear it was much like worship. She was everything I wanted to be," Amity admitted, her voice shaky with emotion. "I was a great disappointment to her."

Max stared down at the veil of tears that filled Amity's eyes and cursed under his breath. Remembering the scrawny child Amity had once been, he could guess as to her mother's reactions, but he suspected from the girl's words that Divinia had not been pleased with her child's looks. Amity appeared to have no awareness of her own potential as far above the touch of most pretty girls. Looking down at his ward, he caught a vulnerability beneath her smiling, sweet nature, a feeling that she was unattractive and that no one really loved her.

Max cursed himself for having neglected the child for so long. She must have been lonely on an isolated estate with no family to love her. He could not undo the damage he had done but he could make up to her for all that she had missed. He would show her that her uncommon looks were to be applauded not dismissed. He would be famly for her, love her like a brother and then she would blossom into the beauty he knew her to be. He leaned foreword and pressed a gentle kiss to her soft, white forehead.

At the press of his lips, Amity smiled in contentment and nestled her cheek into the cushion of his hand. "Then you will arrange for my marriage?"

"First things first," Max said, dropping his hand and reaching once more for the brandy snifter. "One needs go slow, my enthusiastic child. You must learn not to dash into a situation. I am relieved to note that you have lost the habit of knocking things over."

Amity laughed, remembering the first time he had seen her. "It seems to happen when I am nervous. My last governess cautioned me to take a deep breath at every quarter hour and then I would not be so prone to knock things about."

"Did it work?" Max asked.

"No," Amity said, her face an embarrassed grimace. "The first thing I hit was the clock and then I never knew what time it was."

Max chuckled at her remark, but then his face shifted to more sober lines. "Perhaps you should strive to think a little before you leap into action. A lady who desires to be married needs to display qualities that will