by Alta Hensley
"Is shunning my Gia part of the tradition?"
"I can assure you that they were not ignoring your little one. Words were exchanged, and they might have been a little terse, but it is nothing that will persist. These girls are put in the same room together every day. Sooner or later, they will learn to be friends," Nanny Vivian said. She glanced back over her shoulder through the window, at the girls playing with their dollhouse. "I will have a word with Teresa and Gracie. Mollie should be here shortly, as well. Perhaps I will suggest that she sit with Gia and color."
"That would be appreciated," Theo said.
"Mollie?" Gia asked.
"Have you met her?" Theo hoped she had no qualms with her, as well. Surely in a school such as Ashby, Gia would have known all the littles.
"I may have stumbled into her on my first day on the job as a nanny," she said. "I am sure we will get along fine."
"Do not worry," Theo said, his hand falling to Gia's back, rubbing over the laces as he tried to calm her nerves.
Nanny Vivian retreated back into the playroom. Though Theo could not hear what words were being exchanged, it was clear that they were being firmly lashed out. Would that be enough?
"I will keep a watchful eye over you. Perhaps, if the girls are still giving you trouble, you could give me a signal from the window." He did not imagine he would be allowed to stay with the girls and play in there with Gia.
"What kind of signal?" she asked.
"I have never seen you twirl your hair. Perhaps if you do that, I will know to come to your rescue."
A faint smile found its way to her lips. The redness that had once looked like a rash from her crying had all but faded.
Theo leaned in, giving his little love a hug and a kiss on the top of her head. "Now go back in and try to have fun."
"All right." She retreated from his embrace and headed for the door.
He watched her walk into the playroom and his heart ached, hoping he would not have to ever see her cry again. Theo knew it was unlikely, and at least he had not been the cause of those tears, yet it still pained him to see her sad.
Gia quietly approached the table and took a seat, resuming her coloring.
From the window, Theo watched, making sure that she did not give him a sign that she was in trouble. Would she tell him if she was?
Chapter XII
Gia returned to the playroom deep in thought. She did not desire to spend her afternoon with girls who behaved so childishly. She had been aware that there would be some responsibilities of being little that she could handle, and playing quietly or even with friends was one of them, but these girls were not her friends. She had learned that quite early on, thanks to the callous taunting.
With no friends to play with, she retreated to the table at the back and sat down once again, resuming her coloring. When Mollie arrived, would she be any better, or would she treat her the same as Gracie and Teresa had? Did she even need friends at Ashby? After all, she had her papa, who obviously cared tremendously for her. Gia glanced up to the window and his eyes locked onto hers. He nodded toward her, and she relaxed as she began quietly to color.
"Did you really think tattling will win you friends?" Teresa asked. She sounded smug, and proud of her accomplishment of tearing Gia down. "Just wait until Mollie gets here to play. She is my best friend in the whole world!"
"I don't care," Gia said under her breath, loud enough for Teresa to hear but not for Nanny Vivian to know what was being said. It had not been harsh, but the annoying brat who had been her own charge just two days previously apparently could keep her insults quiet enough for no one but the littles to hear.
The door to the playroom squeaked open, and Gia glanced up to see Mollie talking to a dark-haired gentleman before walking into the room. His eyebrows were thick and bushy, growing out in nearly every direction. He could have been handsome, once. His eyes were filled with hope, but around them were wrinkles that appeared to have saturated his skin for many decades. He easily could have been her father's age, possibly even a few years older. It was not uncommon for women to wed an older man, one who was stable and had the means to take care of his wife, but this gentleman seemed of such an age that his caretaking abilities might soon be reversed, and he would require assistance himself.
"Who is he?" Teresa asked, seeming to forget about her nastiness for a brief second.
Mollie strolled inside, the door clicking shut behind her as she glanced Gia over without saying a word to her. It was almost as if she had been surprised to discover that the woman who had been a nanny, was now a little.
Teresa scooted over beside the dollhouse, making room for her best friend to sit down.
Mollie smoothed down her skirt before sitting on the floor, with her legs to the side, the sea green gown flowing out in front of her. "His name is William Upton. I realize it is a little less conventional," she said, glancing toward the window as he and papa Theo spoke. "He is to be my papa."
Teresa's hands balled into fists, and her nostrils flared as she breathed. "No."
"No?" Mollie repeated, a frown settling on her forehead. "What do you mean, no? I do not care about his age. Are you not happy for me?"
"You are not to marry papa William, because he is mine!"
Teresa's unruly shout drew the attention of Nanny Vivian.
"Teresa, do not make me come over there. If I have to get out of my chair a second time today because of your nastiness, I will paddle your bottom so hard you will not sit for a week."
"I am sorry, Nanny Vivian." Teresa cast her eyes down to the floor.
Was it an act, or did she feel genuine remorse and fear of being spanked? Gia always found it difficult to tell whether the young woman had been pretending to be sorry with fake tears, or whether they had been real cries of regret and sorrow.
"You are forgiven." Nanny Vivian turned her back, once again chatting animatedly to Nanny Beth. What the blazes were they talking about that warranted ignoring their charges?
Mollie pushed herself off the floor and stood up.
"Where are you going?" Teresa asked, her tone demanding of a response.
"Your nanny may have forgiven you, but I have not." Mollie turned and walked away from Teresa, coming to the table where Gia sat. "Can I color with you?"
Gia glanced up, surprised that Mollie had spoken to her. "Yes." Did the girl not remember that she had been the nanny she had stumbled into on her first day on the job?
Mollie reached for a blank sheet of paper and pastels, sitting across from Gia. "I do not know how you tolerated her as your charge," Mollie said.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of Gia's lips. "Thank heavens those days are over." She did not dare glance over her shoulder to see the look on Teresa's face.
"I should be the one who is grateful," Teresa said, inviting herself back into the conversation as she stood up, doll in hand. "To have you as a nanny was dreadful. You did not even know how to inflict pain when you spanked me."
Gia's mouth clamped shut. It was not for her to tell everyone how Teresa had cried and begged for no further punishment.
"You failed as a nanny. That is why you were forced into becoming little, as punishment for doing such a terrible job with me." Teresa smirked proudly.
Gia did not wish to fight with Teresa. She twirled her dark curly strands, her fingers pulling at the locks, signaling for her papa to come in and help settle the situation down before something dire occurred.
The door did not open. No adults seemed to be paying the littles any attention.
She continued twirling her curls, and her eyes darted cautiously toward the window to find that her papa's back was turned as he leaned against the glass pane, speaking with the older distinguished gentleman who apparently desired Mollie as his little.
Teresa continued provoking Gia, mocking her venomously. "Your papa could never love a street urchin like you!"
Gia's eyes widened. How had the girl discovered details of her life before she had bec
ome a nanny? Anger boiled in her blood and she pushed herself from the chair and stood, ripping the doll from Teresa's hands. She snapped the head off and then pushed the dollhouse over, knocking it into its side, whereupon the roof tumbled off and the contents spilled into the back of the wooden unit.
Gia chased after Teresa, grabbing her by the waist and lifting her skirt, tearing her bloomers down as she smacked the girl's bottom.
"Get off me, crazy loon!" Teresa screamed.
"Little Gia Hayes!" Nanny Vivian shouted as she stood, the squeak of her chair tearing through the room, causing a chill down Gia's spine. If no one else was going to take matters into their own hands by disciplining a very naughty Teresa, then Gia felt she had no choice but to do what was necessary.
"She called me a street urchin!" Why had her nanny and papa paid her no attention? Surely if they had been watching, she would not be the one to blame. "You are a bad girl!"
It took both Nanny Vivian and Nanny Beth to pull the two girls apart.
"You are the only bad girl I see," Nanny Vivian scolded Gia. "As a little, you are not to touch another girl, to punish or torment her. Is that understood?" Vivian did not even wait for an answer as she pulled Gia over her lap and sat down, pulling the girl's bloomers down to reveal her bare bottom. Nanny Vivian spanked the roundness of Gia's cheeks, searing them with each peppered swat.
Gia squirmed, fighting the punishment. "It is not fair!" she shrieked, her voice growing an octave higher as her arms flailed in time with her legs. "Teresa was being mean. Calling me names. Saying I am nothing more than a street urchin. She deserves to be punished."
Her bottom clenched with each swat, the sting radiating over her bottom and down to the bone, forcing her face to scrunch up as she writhed in an attempt to break free.
Nanny Vivian kept a strong hold around Gia's waist, keeping her from moving. "You will accept your punishment if you wish to stay at Ashby."
Giana did not wish to leave. She had nowhere to go. That had been the entire point of the outburst—that Teresa had known where she had come from. How had Teresa discovered that she was nothing more than a poor girl who had been living on the streets? Mollie had seen the way Gia had been dressed, before her proper bath. Had she told Teresa or another girl of the incident?
Papa Theo stepped into the room. His shoes stomped as he walked, and with each thump as he approached closer, Gia did not know whether he was coming to punish her or save her from Nanny Vivian.
"What the blazes is going on?" Papa asked.
"Your little Gia decided to take it upon herself to discipline Teresa." Nanny Vivian did not relent in her punishment, each swat to Gia's bottom was growing in intensity as the throbbing pulsed through her round, plump cheeks.
"We had a signal, Gia." Sadness and disappointment filled his tone, which only made her heart ache and her stomach tense. Was he disappointed in her?
"Yes, but you did not come. I would have pulled my hair out and you would not have paid me any attention." Gia was facing the ground; she could see only the tops of his shiny black shoes as he stood over her, towering from up above.
Her papa sighed and she did not know what he was feeling. Would he abandon her already? If he did, what did that mean for her schooling at Ashby? She did not wish to leave and be tossed back out on the streets. Gia could not become a nanny again. The littles would pay her no attention, and besides, she had not been very good at her job. She enjoyed being cared for and looked after—when it did not involve the nastiness of other littles.
Nanny Vivian did not lessen the blows to Gia's bottom. Giana squirmed and hissed, trying to break free as each swat, from the top until just above her thighs, where she sat, burned like fire. "I do not wish to see you discipline any little, ever again. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Nanny Vivian," Gia said. She did not shed a tear, though her eyes burned and her nose tickled.
Her nanny lifted the bloomers back up around her waist and helped her stand.
"But she is a street urchin!" Teresa said, pointing at Gia. "I heard Nanny Beth say it this morning."
Nanny Beth's cheeks reddened. "That is not what you heard, and it would serve you well to mind your manners. Go and put your nose in the corner. I do not wish to hear another sound from your lips."
Teresa stomped to the corner and stood, facing the wall.
Gia did not feel entirely satisfied with little Teresa's punishment. Did she not deserve to be spanked? She had been cruel to Gia from the moment she walked into the playroom. Forcing her nose into the corner would unlikely stop the behavior from reoccurring. How was it fair that she was the only one getting disciplined with a spanking?
"What is this about being a street urchin? You know it is not true. Why would you let such cruel words affect you, when you know they are lies?" her papa asked.
Gia's eyes cast down to the floor, on her papa's shoes. Oh how she wished he had not come in to hear the hurtful words spill from Teresa's lips.
Papa Theo glanced at Nanny Beth. "I do not know why you would spread such hurtful rumors about my little Gia, but if this behavior from both the nannies and littles does not stop immediately, I will remove Miss Hayes from Ashby at once. I may desire a little, but I do not wish for her to be distraught and emotionally torn to shreds because of a sick fantasy of building yourselves up. The lies you have come up with are vile, and I will be speaking with the headmaster to ensure that this does not happen to Gia or any other student at this school in the future. Gia, come with me." He held out his hand for her to take.
Gia glanced cautiously up from Nanny Beth to her papa. How had Nanny Beth known about her being a street urchin? Had it been the way she had looked when they had first met? The dirty clothes and her skin covered in grime? She could not remember the last time she had taken a bath before arriving at Ashby.
With nothing else to do, she took her papa's hand and followed him out of the playroom.
"Where are we going?" she asked, glancing once over her shoulder toward the glass window, to see Teresa still standing in the corner and Mollie coloring as if nothing had happened. The girl was smart to keep her head down and stay out of trouble.
"We must speak with Mr. Hartley at once. I do not know how he intends to run a school of littles with the nannies telling horrid tales about the girls. That is not setting a fine example. I want to be reassured that this outlandish behavior will not be tolerated and will never happen again."
Gia found it difficult to walk any further as he headed for the headmaster's office. Her feet remained planted on the ground. Would Mr. Hartley reveal to her papa that Nanny Beth and Teresa had spoken the truth? It was a harsh one, but it had not been a nasty tale spun from jealousy or any other emotion.
"What is wrong, Gia?"
She found the words difficult to speak.
Theo tugged at her hand and then paused to face her. "Is there something you would like to tell me? Anything that might shed light on why such mean things are being bandied around? Did you do something that has you embarrassed, perhaps?"
Why did he have to give her an out, as if she was not actually a street urchin, but they had only assumed that due to a silly mistake? Maybe it was for his own benefit, perhaps he needed to believe she was of a high status in society. Though, if she were, surely she would not have been employed as a nanny.
"What do you want from me?" Gia asked. Her hand trembled and she broke her hold on her papa, folding her arms across her chest, prepared to dishearten him. After all, she seemed to disappoint everyone in her life. Her own parents had kicked her out and vowed never to speak to her again.
"Honesty, Gia. We agreed to be truthful with one another." His hands came up to rest on her arms, keeping her close without embracing her fully.
"I have been honest with you." She found it difficult to meet his stare. His intense steely gaze had her unsettled.
"Then why can you not look at me?" Papa asked.
"Because Nanny Beth was right. I am a street urchin."
>
His hands pulled back and fell to his sides. Had she hurt him with the realization that she was not as perfect as he had once imagined her to be?
"I do not believe that to be the case," he said. "Perhaps you spent some time without a home after your parents passed, but you are far too proper to have grown up on the streets."
Her stomach knotted at the realization that she would have to tell him the truth.
Chapter XIII
"Is everything all right out here?" the headmaster asked as he stepped out from his office with William Upton in tow. "He was just telling me there had been an outburst in the playroom, and voiced his concerns for his little Mollie."
"It was nothing that could not be handled by the nannies," Theo said. Why was he defending Gia? She had been the cause of the commotion. Well, in truth, it had not been entirely her fault, Teresa had been goading her into a fight, but it had been Gia who had suffered the most for the tantrum and scene she had made. Theo had considered interjecting, and pointing out that if Nanny Vivian had been keeping a watchful eye over the girls, it would not have escalated to such a state of trouble. But the reality was that his little Gia could be a handful, and perhaps she needed to be reminded that she was no longer a nanny, and that any power she had once had as one, was gone.
"Very good. Why is Gia not back in the playroom?" Headmaster Philip asked.
"I thought it would be nice to take her outside for a stroll. Is that all right with you, sir?" Theo asked.
"It is unconventional. Our littles are rarely allowed out. I am sure you can understand the fear and scandal that might follow, should our school of littles be discovered by someone on the outside."
Theo did not back down. "Yes, I am sure there is some cause for concern, however, given the size of land, I think it unlikely that anyone will happen upon Ashby. We do not intend to walk far, or travel as far as the train station. I hear you have beautiful gardens, and though it is not quite spring, with the flowers in bloom, I am sure the path will be to our enjoyment."
