Lord Edward's Law (Women of Wintercrest) by Maggie Ryan Page A

to lunch.  They were quiet as they ate, neither sure of what to speak about.  Mrs. Bremmer watched the two and shook her head.  Goodness, this man had no idea how to handle a special little one.  He was most obviously interested in Lucy but just as obviously unable to assert his authority.  She shook her head, knowing that he would never find Edward giving him permission to wed their little one.  He was far too weak, and whether or not Lucy agreed, she needed a strong, strict man to lead her down life’s many paths.
    The two continued their lessons after luncheon.  Lucy was busy working down a column of problems when they heard the front door open.  Lucy looked up and Charles began to stand when he froze in place.  The sight before him astonished him.  Instead of seeing a replica of his student, he saw a very pretty little girl.  She stood beside her husband who was removing the cloak from her shoulders.  Lucy saw her face flush as she realized they had a guest, but Louisa didn’t try to move or turn away.  Edward handed both his coat and Louisa’s cloak to the waiting Molly who made a small curtsey before taking them away.  He gave his wife a small push and she seemed to come awake. 
    She dropped her own small curtsy and greeted their guest,  “Good afternoon, Professor Lloyds.” 
    Charles finally managed to reach his full height and found his voice.   “Ummmm, good afternoon, Lady Wintercrest, Lord Wintercrest.” 
    Edward grinned knowing the sight of his wife surprised the professor.  Edward certainly didn’t feel the need to explain anything to this man.  Instead, he looked down at his small wife and spoke quietly but clearly as her eyes met his.  “Go to your room, Louisa.  I’ll be up in a moment to tuck you into bed and we will discuss how important it is to pay attention during services.  Mrs. Bremmer will escort you while I check on Lucy’s progress.”  Louisa’s earlier smile disappeared, but she nodded and hurried out of the room; Lucy watched as she was followed up the stairs by Mrs. Bremmer. 
    Her attention was returned to Edward when he spoke,  “And how is our little student progressing, Charles?” 
    Charles shook his head as if to clear it and said,  “She is doing very well, Sir.  I believe she will pass her exam; both today and tomorrow.  She has worked extremely hard today.”  Edward nodded and smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.  I’m glad to know our girl is quick to learn her lessons.  I’ll allow you to continue.  I need to attend to my wife, but I will return shortly and Lucy may take her test.”  Charles simply nodded, not knowing how to respond.  Both he and Lucy watched him climb the stairs before they turned to each other.
    “Do you need a break , Miss Furniss?” Charles asked quietly.  Her face was flushed with embarrassment for her sister, but she shook her head and they were soon going over another set of equations. As she worked through the problems she found herself listening for any sounds of distress from upstairs, but other than the sounds of servants moving about the house attending to their duties, she heard nothing.  Charles watched as she finished the list of problems, finding that he was thinking about how Lady Wintercrest had appeared. Louisa Wintercrest appeared even younger than she had when he was her professor.  While still extremely beautiful, he found that he would describe her more as fetching or even sweet.  She had looked years younger than her twin sister.  Charles considered himself an educated man, but he was discovering there obviously were some things he knew nothing about.  He glanced over at his student and smiled seeing her concentrating on her paper, her tiny teeth nibbling on the end of her pencil.  Her feet were crossed at the ankles and swinging slightly back and forth, a few inches above the floor.  The women were both very tiny things weren’t they?  While his student was an adult young woman, he