to mention the neglect of her education.”
Tessa had a strong suspicion about the identity of these newcomers. It irked her to have to tolerate such criticism when it was their neglect that had turned their granddaughter into a spoiled imp. With cool politeness, she said, “And who may I ask are you, sir?”
“We are Lord and Lady Norwood,” he said. “And we have come to see about the safety of our precious granddaughter.”
Lady Norwood lifted a gloved hand to her generous bosom. “We returned from Brighton the very instant we read that terrifying account in the papers about what happened here. Oh, our dear baby girl might have been—”
“Lady Sophy is in perfect health, as you can see,” Tessa cut in, not caring if she was rude. How could they be so foolish as to refer to the robbery in front of a four-year-old? Sophy was gazing up in curiosity, for the servants had been strictly warned not to frighten her with tales of burglars. “May I suggest that you discuss any matters of concern with His Grace in private.”
“Carlin is out,” Lord Norwood said, his knob of a nose twitching as if the duke’s absence had been planned as a personal affront to his in-laws.
“So inconvenient,” drawled his wife. “Well, we should like to visit with dear Sophy in the drawing room as we haven’t seen her in ages. I shall send for strawberry tarts. Those are your favorite, aren’t they, darling?”
Sophy bounced up and down. “Jam tarts, jam tarts!”
Tessa scarcely knew what to do. “But, milady, it will spoil her luncheon.”
“Nonsense,” Lord Norwood huffed. “A little treat never hurt any child. Now where is that blasted footman?”
The poker-faced servant in blue-and-gold livery came forward to lead the way up the staircase. Upon being shooed away again by her grandmother, Sophy slipped her hand into Tessa’s as they mounted the steps and went along a wide corridor to the magnificent gilded drawing room. All the while, the Norwoods kept up a critical commentary about the decor. Annabelle would have found that rug a bit threadbare. Or Annabelle would have changed those draperies to a paler blue to lighten up the room.
“It is a dreadful misfortune that our daughter never had the chance to become duchess,” Lady Norwood said, picking up a china shepherdess from a table and turning it over to check the maker’s stamp on the bottom. She eyed the painting over the mantel as if to calculate its value before sinking onto a chaise and arranging her skirts. “Annabelle would have been the perfect mistress of so grand an establishment. She would have spruced up this house and turned it into a showpiece.”
Tessa was so flabbergasted that anyone could find fault with the palatial mansion that she couldn’t formulate a reply. Not, of course, that the Norwoods would care about the opinion of a governess, anyway.
“Ann-bell was my mama,” Sophy said proudly, tugging Tessa over to a chair. “She was the prettiest mama ever.”
Sophy had never known the mother who had died shortly after her birth. Touched by the girl’s devotion, Tessa smiled. “Very pretty, indeed, I’m sure.”
“Pretty?” Lord Norwood scoffed as he used his cane to lever himself into a chair. “Why, she was so beautiful, so charming, so utterly delightful that all the gentlemen called her the Angel.”
Tessa’s mind instantly produced an image of Carlin kneeling in adoration before his wife, a haloed beauty draped in a gauzy white gown. Annabelle the Angel. An ache assailed Tessa’s bosom. How could a man ever recover from losing the love of his life? No wonder he had gone away to wander the world for so many years. He must have needed time to overcome his grief.
Lady Norwood’s voice pulled her back to the present. “Such a pity you don’t have your mother’s green eyes, Sophy. Like perfect emeralds, they were. But then, you take after your Papa’s side.”
As the frowning girl stuck out her lower lip, Tessa said quickly, “I think Lady Sophy’s eyes are a lovely shade of topaz.”
Lady Norwood’s mouth pursed, and she lifted her fingers in a dismissing wave. “Pray sit over by the door, Miss James, you oughtn’t be here with the family. And do not speak unless you are spoken to first.”
Tessa had no choice but to do as she was told.
From her new perch a short distance away, she fumed in silence to see how the Norwoods permitted Sophy to do as she pleased, whether it was knocking over the stack