A Guardians Angel (20 page)

But it was true, too, that these children needed each other now as they struggled to remake their lives without their beloved father. To be separated from the duke now might do irreparable damage. She must help the duchess to understand that.

Glancing toward the window and its view of Harrington Grange, she wondered how she could expect the duchess—or Justin—to change when she could not change herself and her determination to help those she loved.

“But Rodney did not say we could not continue to call at Harrington Grange on Thursday afternoons,” argued Thomas as he climbed the stairs with Angela.

“The duchess has insisted that you complete your history class and that Leonia study her music this afternoon.”

“Rodney did not say we could not go.”

“I know, but I have seen nothing of him since we returned from Scotland. Until he countermands his mother’s orders, you are obligated, as his ward, to obey her. You need to study with Mr. Weare now.”

Thomas grumbled something under his breath.

Angela knew she would be jobbernowl to ask him to repeat it. It would be just as silly to own that she was as frustrated. Every day, she had to soothe Leonia’s tears and ease Esther’s outrage that Wallah was not welcome anywhere beyond the nursery. Seth hid behind Angela whenever the duchess came near him, although Angela had to confess that Her Grace had been kind to the little boy.

Although she might be ruining her tenuous friendship with Thomas, Angela escorted him to the upper floor and the nursery to leave him under Mrs. Meyer’s supervision until Mr. Weare finished his midday meal. The rotund governess seemed perturbed by the fact that Angela had come with him. Looking from the sullen boy to Angela, she shook her head in dismay.

Mrs. Meyer said, when Thomas had stamped away, slamming the door to his bedchamber resoundingly, “Thomas is my responsibility, not yours. I would thank you not to distress him more.”

“I am not distressing him, but he has to recognize that he needs to acquiesce to the duchess’s commands.”

Mrs. Meyer adjusted the small glasses that perched on the very end of her nose, clearly amazed that Angela agreed with her. “Forgive me, Miss Needham. I fear the children have had little in the way of decent upbringing in that wild land where they were born. Such a savage place it is.”

“Nonsense! They have excellent manners … usually.” She walked through the nursery’s main chamber. Peering into the room beyond where Esther slept, she saw Esther and her younger brother playing with a stack of blocks. The scene could have been of any family in any English country house—save for the monkey chewing on a red block. Angela turned back to the governess. “They have been taught pretty manners. They simply—like any children who think they can escape the canons of propriety—choose to ignore them when it is convenient or when they are frustrated from doing what they truly wish.”

“Have you had much association with children, Miss Needham?”

“No.”

Mrs. Meyer raised her chin, revealing another pair of chins beneath. “
I
have spent the past three decades tending to children. I started first as a nursery maid and now am a governess. Let me tell you that I never have seen children who act like these. They can set one all on end before the morning is half passed.” She shivered. “And to think that Thomas gave the duchess back talk …”

As if on cue, Seth let out a shriek and aimed a block at his sister’s head. Esther ducked as the block sailed past her to strike the fireplace mantel.

Not waiting to see if the governess would scold them or simply suffer a
crise de nerfs
, Angela took Esther by the hand and said, “Come with me.”

“
He
threw the block!” Esther protested.

“And that is why
he
shall not get to go for a walk in the garden.”

With a superior smile, the little girl scooped up her monkey and walked out of the room. Seth’s lower lip quivered.

Angela bent to whisper to him, “I shall take you for a walk tomorrow morning when the dew is heavy. Then we might find a fairy beneath a leaf.”

His eyes brightened. “I would rather find a frog.”

“Why?”

“Esther is afraid of frogs.”

She laughed. She could not halt herself.

When she went out into the hall and away from Mrs. Meyer’s frown, Angela was astounded when Esther insisted on bringing the perambulator. The little girl put her monkey into it and tucked a doll’s blanket around the creature. Wallah glowered at her, but subsided when Esther gave him a piece of dried fruit to nibble on.

“You must be certain that Her Grace does not chance upon you taking Wallah out of the nursery,” Angela said with a smile. She did not add that she would not have agreed for Wallah to come along, except that she guessed the monkey needed fresh air as much as Esther did.

“Can Leonia come with us?”

Angela lifted the perambulator and carried it down the stairs. The monkey chattered at her, clearly nervous, until Esther peeked into it. Then it subsided and ate its fruit. Setting the perambulator on the foyer floor, Angela replied, “Leonia is practicing her singing. Hush! Mayhap you can hear her.”

“I do not want to.”

“What a horrible thing to say!”

“But true.”

Angela chuckled. Leonia had no musical gift. Her torturing of the scales had set every nerve on edge when Angela had passed the music room door earlier. “That is why I thought you might enjoy walking in the garden and enjoying the pretty flowers.”

“What is in the garden that
I
would want to see?” Esther scowled. “I like the flowers in the conservatory better. They are more like the ones we had at home.”

“At home?” Seeing the child’s morose expression, Angela put her hand on Esther’s shoulder. “Do you mean in India?”

“That is where I was born. I hate England! And I hate everything and everyone here!”

Angela stared after her as Esther raced away, pushing the perambulator at a pace which was sure to upset the monkey. The situation was just getting worse. Angela glanced toward the duchess’s rooms. The duke’s mother was doing what she deemed in the best interests of the children, but it was going to undo all that Angela and the rest of the staff had worked to achieve.

A quick search of the garden told Angela that Esther would not be found. The little girl would come back to the house when she finished her sulk.

With a sigh, Angela went back into the house. She would apologize to the little girl later. Now, Leonia should be almost done with her lesson, and she was certain to need a chance to talk with someone about every slight—real or imagined—from the duchess.

Climbing the stairs, Angela paused on the landing. She could see the tip of the chimneys at Harrington Grange from here. If she hurried, she might be able to reach the house and return before Leonia finished her lesson. But on what excuse?

“Mayhap ’tis time for the truth,” she said to herself as she continued up the stairs. But even that had been useless when last they spoke.

The corridor was dreary. She had seen clouds gathering on the horizon. The walk in the garden would have been short even if she had not sent Esther up into the boughs. As she loosened the ribbons of her bonnet, she smiled wryly. The weather was as bilious as her mood.

Angela gasped when a form appeared out of the shadows that were gathering near every door. Heat clamped on her cheeks when she looked up into the duke’s startled face. He wiped the emotion from his features before she could react to the unexpected sight. All that was left was the unhealthy tinge that had clung to him for days.

“Miss Needham,” he said as he snapped closed a book he was carrying, “you should not linger in the shadows.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” When he regarded her steadily, she felt obligated to add, “I was about to take Esther for a walk in the gardens, but—”

“Esther? Odd, after my mother’s comments about Leonia’s unreadiness for the
ton
, I would have thought you might spend this afternoon working with Leonia.”

Angela fought to keep her smile. How he had changed since his mother’s arrival! He had been coolly polite before, but now he was coolly rude, treating her as if she were the lowest servant in the house. Raising her chin, she said, “I was on my way to talk to Leonia just now, Your Grace.”

“I urge you to hurry to that meeting. My mother was speaking of taking her on a call tomorrow afternoon. If you deem it necessary for Leonia to have further instruction, that must take precedence over any other activity.”

She nodded, recognizing his attempt to protect Leonia from another scold by his mother. Nodding toward him, she realized he had already returned his attention to his book. She continued along the corridor. It was going to be a very long afternoon.

No, she would not succumb to brooding like everyone around her. Nor would she allow the children to sink into melancholy.

After an hour of reading in her room while she waited for Leonia, she went to the nursery and collected the children, who were sitting in the classroom with Mr. Weare. The tutor did not hide his relief that she was willing to entertain them so he could enjoy his usual reading in the afternoon.

Taking the children to Leonia’s room, Angela offered Esther a gentle smile. The little girl’s eyes flooded with tears, and Angela put her arm around her narrow shoulders. She could not give Esther a scold simply because the little girl was nostalgic for the only other home she had ever known.

Thomas and Seth perched on the bottom of the chaise longue while Esther toyed with the fringe on the drapes as the storm went past. They all looked up in dismay as Leonia came into the room, the now-familiar tears on her face.

Handing her a handkerchief, as she did each day after Leonia’s lessons with the duchess, Angela said, “I believe it is, as Thomas reminded me, Thursday.”

“Yes, it is.” Leonia dabbed at her eyes. Abruptly she looked up. “Do you mean …?”

“It is Thursday,” Angela said, smiling at each of the children. “By taking the air now, we shall be gone from Oslington Court for exactly the two hours until tea.”

Seth jumped to his feet. He started to cheer, then glanced at his brother and sisters and sat, nodding as they did.

Angela sighed. The duchess’s arrival had done the very thing the duke had asked her to avoid. The cheerful spirit within these children had been doused, leaving them wraiths. Mayhap that was how the duchess expected children to act, but Angela missed the mischievously shared looks and the smiles that signaled trouble yet to be discovered.

The children acted as if they were skulking through enemy territory as she led them down the back stairs, through the garden, and into the field between Oslington Court and Harrington Grange. As soon as they were out in the grass, Thomas let out a cheer. Seth and Esther danced about, ignoring the heavy air that warned that the storm would eventually reach them.

“We did it! We escaped!” crowed Leonia.

Angela knew she should chide Leonia for speaking so, but how could she when she agreed? Her heart was singing with the anticipation of seeing Justin again. The evening at Lord Milborough’s wedding had been magical until the argument began, and she was eager to see if they could resolve their differences. Then mayhap they could discover if the magic had followed them back here.

When Leonia began to sing, Thomas grimaced, then joined in. Angela swung Seth and Esther’s hands as they strolled through the field. Keeping an eye on the dark clouds, she was glad to see that they were not growing thicker. The storm might linger to the west. She sighed. A storm would mean that they could remain longer at Harrington Grange.

Esther raced up to the door and knocked. Bouncing from one foot to the other, she grinned at Angela. How Angela wished she could act just the same! Her heart was cavorting at the prospect of seeing Justin again.

The door opened, and Mrs. Graves peered out. Her smile was strained. “I am sorry, Miss Needham. Lord Harrington and Delicia are not within. I do expect them back for tea. If you and the children would like to wait …”

Angela swallowed another of the sighs that had come too often since the duchess’s arrival at Oslington Court. She saw the children’s shoulders sag with regret. Unwilling to add to their dejection, she asked, “Do you know where they went?”

“I believe they were going to look for berries. With the storm coming, they should be here soon. If you do not want to wait, Miss Needham, you should hurry back to Oslington Court. The storm is not far off.”

“Thank you. Will you let Lord Harrington know that we called?” As the door closed, Angela added, “Do you know where they might be, Thomas?”

“No.” He dug his toe into the dirt between the stones in the path. “We never have gone berrying.”

Looking both ways along the road, Angela saw no one. She held out her hands. No one spoke as the younger children slipped their hands into them. Walking back along the road toward Oslington Court, she waited for one of them to speak. The only sounds were their footsteps and the distant sound of thunder.

She should say something—something about next week and the opportunity to visit with Justin and Delicia then. What could she say that would not be hypocritical? She did not want to wait another week to see Justin. Tears clogged the back of her throat, searing and threatening to overflow.

Abruptly Seth jerked his hand out of hers. With a shriek, he raced along the road toward where the walls of Oslington Court shadowed the road in the fading sunlight. She stared after him in amazement. When she saw two people walking toward them, she had to fight her feet that wanted to run with him to Justin and Delicia. Instead, she froze, unable to move, even when Esther tugged on her hand.

The distance between her and Justin melted away as she stared at him. He was dressed as he had been the first day she met him, including the butterfly net balanced on his shoulder. But then he had been a stranger. Now he was a part of each thought.

As Esther took Delicia to one side and began to prattle as if she had forgotten Delicia could not hear a single word, Justin paused before Angela. His hand rose to cup her cheek.