With that, she turned on her heel and stomped from the room, leaving Selina standing in the middle of it and wondering just what she had gotten herself into here.
She took a steadying breath and determined to put the housekeeper’s vitriol from her mind. She’d known that she wouldn’t exactly receive a warm welcome.
Why then should she allow a bitter old woman’s words to get to her?
Because you’re worried that there’s some truth in her words.
Annoyed with herself, Selina turned and set about unpacking the small valise she’d brought.
A noise sounded behind her, and she turned to see Timothy standing in her doorway, his light brown eyes huge as he stared up at her.
“Good afternoon, Timothy.” She smiled down at him, waiting for him to speak or even move. But he just stood there. Staring.
“Would you like to come in?” she asked him gently.
“Papa says you’re going to stay with us,” the boy said shyly, though Selina was pleased to see that he took a definite step into the room.
Gaining his trust was important.
“Indeed I am,” she answered before moving to sit at the small table by the window. There was another chair across from the one she now occupied, and she hoped the lad would come and sit in it. But she couldn’t and wouldn’t force him to.
He was a shy little thing. Untrusting and wary. And who could blame him, given what was happening to him?
“Why?”
“Well, your papa thought I might be able to help you sleep better at night, Timothy,” she said carefully.
“Is that why your room is next to mine?” he asked, coming closer.
“I’m sure it is,” she said. “And Mrs. Healy’s is beside this one. Would you like to meet her?”
Timothy frowned, and Selina’s breath caught. He looked so like his father.
“I suppose so,” he said, and Selina couldn’t help but grin.
“But why is she here?”
“She’s my friend,” Selina said simply. “And I wanted to have a friend with me.”
Timothy tilted his head slightly, studying her.
Selina simply sat and waited.
Finally, he shuffled closer.
“I don’t have a friend,” he said softly, and Selina’s heart nearly broke.
“Isn’t your papa your friend?” she asked.
Timothy shrugged.
“He plays with me,” he said with a little frown. “And when I got scared in the nursery, he let me move to the bedchamber beside him, even though Grandmama told him I shouldn’t. Does that mean he’s my friend?”
Selina couldn’t help but laugh at the innocent question.
“Why, yes. I believe it does,” she said. “And I hope that now that I’m here, you and I will be friends, too.”
Timothy smiled widely before his expression became all seriousness again. Far more serious than a child’s should be.
“You helped the nightmares to go,” he whispered. “You sent her away.”
The breath caught in Selina’s throat.
“I’m glad that you’re going to be my friend.”
Selina couldn’t help herself.
She jumped from her chair and pulled his little body into a tight hug.
“I’m glad that I’m going to be your friend, too,” she whispered, holding him close.
Philip tried not to let panic overwhelm him as he moved from room to room searching for his son.
Usually, they spent time before the dinner hour together, talking about their day, perhaps taking a walk around the gardens.
It was unusual, he knew, to have a child join them for their evening meal. But Philip had taken all of his meals with Timmy since Charlotte’s death. He had been more pleased than he could say when Selina had insisted that she wanted to keep Timothy close, and Mrs. Healy had questioned why on earth the child should be left to his own devices.
There was a lot to be said, Philip had discovered, for not standing on ceremony or adhering to social constructs. It was an easier, more carefree life for Timothy, and for Philip.
And Philip didn’t know if it was coincidence or not, but since Selina’s arrival, Timothy hadn’t had any nightmares or terrifying ordeals. He slept soundly and had stopped crying out for Philip or anyone else.
He’d begun to relax, in truth. And believe that things would be well.
For over a week now they’d spent their mornings with Selina and sometimes Mrs. Healy. But Philip had taken to leaving Timmy in Selina’s care for the afternoons as he tended to his correspondence and business interests.
But Philip and Timothy always spent this early evening time together
Yet he’d been searching for an hour now, and still there was no sign of his son. And all of his old fears