things,” I nodded toward the child.
“Sorry. Never expected to see ’im much less speak to ’im. Blimey, though, I can’t believe he knew ya.”
I opened my mouth to set Bridget straight about how Sean knew who I was then I shut it. Mrs. Frye and Mrs. Murphy followed by an entourage of people bore down on us, and I really didn’t want anyone to know about last week anyway.
Mrs. Murphy pulled the nurse along as the nurse repeatedly excused herself from blame to a dark-haired woman next to her. Extremely petite, the woman wore the most elaborate lace and satin day dress I’d ever seen. She didn’t appear to be listening to the nurse’s excuses; instead, the woman’s eyes were anxiously searching over the child. The Earl of Dartraven, whose expression seemed to be one of worry and something akin to fear or pain, kept looking at the woman then at the child then back to the woman. From the droll look on Sir Warwick’s face, I gathered he’d followed the group out of boredom rather than concern.
Mrs. Frye had fire and brimstone sparking in her eyes ready to condemn Bridget and me to an everlasting punishment for disturbing the Killdaren. I nipped any lectures in the bud and spoke before she could find her tongue. Quite a feat considering her sharp words were always on the tip of her tongue.
“Mr. Killdaren found Rebecca and brought her to us. He said she was on the stairs to the bell tower.”
“Cassie, this is Miss Prudence, Rebecca’s mother.” Mrs. Frye’s stern glare reminded me of my lowly position.
“My lady.” I made a proper curtsy to Prudence.
“The tower! She was in the tower!” Smaller than I, and as pale and delicate looking as a lily, the woman was almost too beautiful to be real. Everything about her glowed, the pearl of her skin, the black silk of her hair, the ruby of her mouth, the gold of her eyes, to the tears on her cheeks. I had to blink to assure myself that I’d seen correctly. She knelt before Rebecca and pulled the child into her arms. “Oh, my little dear!”
“The stairs leading to the tower,” I clarified. “Mr. Killdaren said to tell the nurse that if the child is left unsupervised again, she’ll be relieved of her post.”
“Well, I never!” gasped the nurse, her face growing impossibly redder.
The Earl of Dartraven cleared his throat. Glancing his way, I thought his blue eyes appeared more watery than before, but decided I was imagining things because when he spoke, his voice was cold. “At least the chit is unharmed.”
Prudence gave the earl a sharp look. “Her name is Rebecca.”
I wondered if the tension between them was because the earl had refused to accept Rebecca as being his granddaughter. I didn’t even know what the etiquette in regards to illegitimate descendants was. But I was certain Prudence’s presence in the Killdaren household was completely improper.
Prudence turned her back on the earl and spoke to Rebecca. “Darling, how did you ever wander so far from your room all by yourself? That’s almost across the whole castle.”
“D-d-didn’t.” The little girl said. “H-h-help.” Rebecca didn’t say anything more and Prudence bundled Rebecca into her embrace again.
A strange feeling swept over me, making me want to take hold of Rebecca’s hand again. No one seemed to notice any oddity in the child’s choice of words.
“Well, now that everything is settled, we can all get back to the day.” The earl sounded deliberately loud and jovial as he planted his finger in Sir Warwick’s chest. “You, sir, are getting slack in your old age. Our appointment for whist was set to begin thirty minutes ago. You’re late.”
“ Au contraire .” Sir Warwick looked as if he’d just come in from riding. “I’m a fashionable twenty minutes late and our appointment was for billiards.” He nodded toward the billiard room. “Shall we? There’s a hundred pounds at stake, I believe.”
“Fifty, you reprobate.” The earl and Sir
“Sorry. Never expected to see ’im much less speak to ’im. Blimey, though, I can’t believe he knew ya.”
I opened my mouth to set Bridget straight about how Sean knew who I was then I shut it. Mrs. Frye and Mrs. Murphy followed by an entourage of people bore down on us, and I really didn’t want anyone to know about last week anyway.
Mrs. Murphy pulled the nurse along as the nurse repeatedly excused herself from blame to a dark-haired woman next to her. Extremely petite, the woman wore the most elaborate lace and satin day dress I’d ever seen. She didn’t appear to be listening to the nurse’s excuses; instead, the woman’s eyes were anxiously searching over the child. The Earl of Dartraven, whose expression seemed to be one of worry and something akin to fear or pain, kept looking at the woman then at the child then back to the woman. From the droll look on Sir Warwick’s face, I gathered he’d followed the group out of boredom rather than concern.
Mrs. Frye had fire and brimstone sparking in her eyes ready to condemn Bridget and me to an everlasting punishment for disturbing the Killdaren. I nipped any lectures in the bud and spoke before she could find her tongue. Quite a feat considering her sharp words were always on the tip of her tongue.
“Mr. Killdaren found Rebecca and brought her to us. He said she was on the stairs to the bell tower.”
“Cassie, this is Miss Prudence, Rebecca’s mother.” Mrs. Frye’s stern glare reminded me of my lowly position.
“My lady.” I made a proper curtsy to Prudence.
“The tower! She was in the tower!” Smaller than I, and as pale and delicate looking as a lily, the woman was almost too beautiful to be real. Everything about her glowed, the pearl of her skin, the black silk of her hair, the ruby of her mouth, the gold of her eyes, to the tears on her cheeks. I had to blink to assure myself that I’d seen correctly. She knelt before Rebecca and pulled the child into her arms. “Oh, my little dear!”
“The stairs leading to the tower,” I clarified. “Mr. Killdaren said to tell the nurse that if the child is left unsupervised again, she’ll be relieved of her post.”
“Well, I never!” gasped the nurse, her face growing impossibly redder.
The Earl of Dartraven cleared his throat. Glancing his way, I thought his blue eyes appeared more watery than before, but decided I was imagining things because when he spoke, his voice was cold. “At least the chit is unharmed.”
Prudence gave the earl a sharp look. “Her name is Rebecca.”
I wondered if the tension between them was because the earl had refused to accept Rebecca as being his granddaughter. I didn’t even know what the etiquette in regards to illegitimate descendants was. But I was certain Prudence’s presence in the Killdaren household was completely improper.
Prudence turned her back on the earl and spoke to Rebecca. “Darling, how did you ever wander so far from your room all by yourself? That’s almost across the whole castle.”
“D-d-didn’t.” The little girl said. “H-h-help.” Rebecca didn’t say anything more and Prudence bundled Rebecca into her embrace again.
A strange feeling swept over me, making me want to take hold of Rebecca’s hand again. No one seemed to notice any oddity in the child’s choice of words.
“Well, now that everything is settled, we can all get back to the day.” The earl sounded deliberately loud and jovial as he planted his finger in Sir Warwick’s chest. “You, sir, are getting slack in your old age. Our appointment for whist was set to begin thirty minutes ago. You’re late.”
“ Au contraire .” Sir Warwick looked as if he’d just come in from riding. “I’m a fashionable twenty minutes late and our appointment was for billiards.” He nodded toward the billiard room. “Shall we? There’s a hundred pounds at stake, I believe.”
“Fifty, you reprobate.” The earl and Sir
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