“Do you want some tea, Uncle Duncan?”
Before Brigit could object, he pushed away from the door and started toward them. “Of course I do. I’m so thirsty I could drink the ocean dry!”
June went into peals of laughter; Julie giggled and managed to spill tea onto the saucer.
Duncan towered over the children’s table, and Brigit wished he’d just bend down, gulp the tea, and depart. He didn’t cooperate. No, he didn’t. Instead he picked up each soldier, precisely set one to the left of each of them, then scanned the room. Who would have ever imagined what he did next? The big, handsome ship’s captain swept a china doll from a bed. He pulled out the last little chair and folded his tall frame onto it. He sat the doll on his knee and surveyed the table.
“You’ve gathered a fine spread here. Shall I ask a blessing?”
The girls folded their hands and pretended not to peek. Brigit compressed her lips to keep from smiling at the fact that she and Duncan were doing the selfsame thing. He said a short, sweet prayer, and they all chimed in, “Amen.”
“Are you hungry?” June started pushing tiny plates at him.
“Ferociously hungry, and so is my little cousin, aren’t you, Fortuna?” He toggled the doll and raised his voice into a falsetto. “Why, yes, I am.”
“Fortuna?” Julie scrunched her face.
“Oh, haven’t you ever met my cousin? How remiss of me. June, Julie, and Miss Brigit, allow me to present my cousin, Miss Hunter. Miss Fortuna Hunter.”
Chapter 6
Brigit choked on her tea. She managed to murmur a greeting to the doll and watched Duncan waggle his brows. “I was sure you must have met her. All of her friends were here today to pick up their little sisters. She told me to be sure to have some cake.”
“June, serve Mr. O’Brien—”
“Duncan,” he interrupted.
Brigit nodded acknowledgment. “—Duncan some cake.”
June leaned forward, then halted. “Do I have to use a fork?”
“If you use your fingers, I’ll have to lick them clean.”
Never had a tea party been so charming. Brigit delighted in watching how Duncan played with his little nieces. He unabashedly enjoyed them. Someday he’d make a wonderful father.
Miss Emily bustled into the room. Brigit suddenly sobered. What am I doing?
“I thought I heard merriment in here. Duncan, John wanted to speak with you about something.”
“Mama, we’re having a tea party!”
Emily petted her daughters’ curls. “I can see, darlings.”
“Tea and treats before bed,” Duncan said as he rose. “I’m sure you’ll have sweet dreams.” He kissed June and Julie, then left the room.
Suddenly the whole room seemed far bigger and dreadfully empty. Brigit quickly picked up the mess and crumbs, placed everything on a tray, and dampened the end of a towel so she could wash up the twins.
“So you enjoyed your party?” Miss Emily asked as she helped her daughters into their flower-sprigged flannel nightgowns.
“Uh-huh.” The twins answered in unison.
Brigit started to comb Julie’s hair so she could plait it for the night. “They have very nice manners, Miss Emily.”
“As do you.” Miss Emily smiled easily. “You’ve said little about your family, but I’m guessing you’re more accustomed to directing staff than being a member of one.”
Her words made Brigit draw in a quick breath. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I—”
“No, no. You misunderstand me. We’ll talk later.”
Later. The taste of the much-too-sweet tea and treats suddenly came back and switched to bitter, and Brigit swallowed hard. Lord, You know I need this job. Aye, You do. Whate’er I’ve done wrong, help me. My parents need the money I make, and if—
“Ouchie!” Julie reached up and grabbed the base of her braid. “You’re pulling too tight!”
“I’m sorry.” Brigit loosened the weave a tad and deftly tied the tail of the plait with a bit of ribbon.
“She complains of that almost every night,” Miss Emily said as she tied June’s matching braid. “When you girls go to school next year, Julie’s going to scream half the time when the boy behind her tugs on her pigtails or dips them in the inkwell.”
“I won’t let them do that to her.” June’s outraged words rang with certainty.
Emily laughed. “You might be too busy taking care of yourself to guard her.”
June and Julie scrambled into the bed and snuggled together. Brigit picked up the tray as Miss Emily bent over to kiss her daughters. “Let’s say our prayers.”
“We already said prayers with Brigit and Uncle Duncan.”
“You can’t pray too much.”
Brigit headed down the stairs, dread in her heart. In the slim month she’d been here, she’d seen Miss Emily shelter her children. The easy laughter in the nursery didn’t mean all was well—it merely showed a mother’s regard for her children’s innocence. Whatever she wants to talk to me about, it’s surely not going to be a good thing.
Miss Emily’s words echoed in her mind. “You can’t pray too much.”
John wanted to give Duncan a receipt for a special order he had waiting in Massachusetts. The postal delivery brought the letter to the dock today, saying the ring for Emily was ready to be picked up. As brothers-in-law went, Duncan knew he’d been blessed with the best God ever made. Each year John made it a point to give Emily an anniversary surprise. For their upcoming fifteenth anniversary, he’d commissioned a diamond and sapphire ring.
If Emily caught wind of it, she’d cancel the order and spend the money on charity. John donated generously to any number of causes, but Emily always managed to ferret out some family in need. John had learned to dodge Emily’s openhandedness by sneaking around and evading her questions. When he managed to give her the gifts, she was always so touched that she cherished whatever it was … and John would simply assure her she could name whichever needy situation she knew and he’d give twice as much to it.
Diamond and sapphire. Duncan saw a sketch of it. Emily was still a simple woman at heart, and she’d not want anything ostentatious. John and the jeweler traded letters until the design reflected the perfect style. Duncan hid the slip of paper in his Bible, knowing full well he’d be sure to take it with him on his next voyage.
He came out of his bedchamber as Brigit carried a tray down the stairs. Now there was a fine lass. Her startling eyes matched the blue dress she wore, and it seemed a smile never left her lips. He’d stood in the doorway of the nursery, watching how she sat at that little tea table with his nieces. Not a one of the young women in Emily’s Bridal Brigade would have ever set up such an enchanting party for two little children and join in as she did. The few minutes he’d watched her, he’d been impressed by the way she gently took the opportunity to reinforce basic decorum and yet encouraged the girls to use their imaginations and pretend.
How had she known June and Julie had felt left out today? Duncan remembered being that young. His sisters were so much older, and once Emily was to wed John, Duncan felt that he didn’t exactly belong in their world. He wouldn’t admit it to a soul—it would have sounded babyish—yet John understood. Just before the wedding, John took Duncan aside and gave him a shiny, new Seated Liberty quarter. He’d told Duncan he was a worthy part of the family—a full quarter of it. John, Emily, Duncan, and Timothy—there were four of them, all starting a new life together. If ever he felt he didn’t belong or wasn’t wanted, John ordered Duncan to pull that special quarter from his pocket and rub it. He’d not needed to. The quarter itself served as such a potent reminder that Duncan counted it as his greatest earthly treasure. He watched Brigit disappear behind the kitchen door and jingled the coins in his pocket. She’d understand. Aye, a woman like that who bothered to make children happy would. And it made her a treasure in her own right.
Later. Later turned out to be a mere half hour after they tucked the twins into bed. Miss Emily passed b
y Brigit and murmured, “Come to the kitchen.”
Too nervous to do much of anything, Brigit sat at the kitchen table and kept her hands knotted in her lap. Miss Emily set the creamer on the kitchen table next to the simple earthenware teapot and started to stir her cup. “The day I hired you, your speech and mannerisms told me you’d not grown up in a humble village cottage. Plain as could be, you’d known what it was to have a fine education and social exposure. Oddly, though, your hands weren’t the soft, smooth ones of a person of leisure.”
Since the lady of the house posed no direct question, Brigit held her silence.
“Each time I’ve an opening, I ask the dear Lord to bring the right lass to that position. He gave me that sense of rightness about you, Brigit Murphy. I hired you on, but I didn’t pry one bit. No, I didn’t—but I am now.” Miss Emily took a sip of her tea, then softly urged, “Tell me how you came to be here.”
“’Tis the same story I’m sure you’ve heard many times over by now. The blight struck, and the famine grew worse.”
“But your family owned the land; they didn’t till it.”
Brigit nodded.
Miss Emily reached across the table and pushed Brigit’s cup and saucer closer. “If a sip of tea cannot soothe you, you’re surely not Irish. Drink up, lass.”
The sip of tea did give comfort. Brigit smiled.
“I live in a fancy home, Brigit, but ’Twasn’t always the case—and sure as the sun rises, you’ve heard that fact. Fortunes can change just as fast as a tide. ’tisn’t the surroundings that define who we are; ’tis our hearts.”
Which is why she’s so comfortable sharing tea with me in a humble kitchen instead of her fancy parlor.
“So let the tea loosen your tongue,” Miss Emily said, “and share your heart with me.”
Brigit traced the edge of the saucer with her fingertip to delay answering the personal invitation. “Mum always said there wasn’t such a thing as too much tea, but I doubt she’d shared a children’s tea party ere she made that pronouncement over her next cup.”
“Where’s your family now?”
“Mum and Da live in town.” She lifted her cup and half-whispered, “On Willow Glenn.” Naming the street that teemed with tenements left a sour taste in her mouth, so she took a hasty sip.
A beauteous smile brightened Miss Emily’s face. “So you’re not here alone. Have you any brothers or sisters?”
“Nae—just the three of us there are.” Though Miss Emily treated her with great warmth and Christian kindness, Brigit tried not to pour out all her private business. This woman wasn’t her friend; she was her employer. “God be praised, we all stayed together.”
“Do your parents have enough to eat?”
The tea nearly sloshed over the brim in Brigit’s cup. “That they do, ma’am, and I thank you kindly for asking.”
“Before I met my husband, about all I could buy was milk; and even then I had to water it down. We near starved.”
“So that’s why Duncan likes milk now.”
Miss Emily gave her a slow smile. “Aye, and it’s sweet you are to understand that fact.”
Miss Emily asked several leading questions, then finally poured herself a second cup of tea and let out a satisfied sigh. “I can see my faith in the dear Lord wasn’t misplaced. Truly, you’re an answer to prayer.” Miss Emily asked Brigit to take on the duty of working with Anna Kathleen and Lily on social skills—conversational abilities, personal grooming, and the curbing of their hoydenish tendencies.
“Anyone could see you possess the refinement to handle those matters, Brigit, and the responsibility also carries with it an increase in wages.” The grandfather clock chimed from deep within the house. “Now then, since we’ve settled things, I’m supposing we ought to turn in for the night.”
Brigit rinsed out the cups and pot, then barely slept that night because she lay in bed praising the Lord for His generosity and goodness.
“Bad pennies always turn up.”
“I beg your pardon?” Brigit stopped dusting the dainty porcelain statue of a shepherdess on the hallway table. With no one else around, she thought Duncan had addressed his words to her.
He cleared his throat. “I—um—I was trying to recall the old saying ‘Bad pennies always turn up.’ What of the good pennies?”
She shrugged. “Mayhap some kind soul spent those in a charitable way.”
“Could be.” He walked off, muttering to himself.
Pennies. Brigit smiled to herself. She’d been waiting for Duncan to leave so she could go clean his chamber. Last night, Miss Emily had assigned her the responsibility of regularly tidying his chamber. Nothing specific was said, but Brigit gathered Miss Emily had caught wind of Trudy’s infatuation and wisely chose to place distance between Duncan and the giddy maid.
The sheets smelled like fresh air. The scent filled the room as Brigit snapped the sheet to unfold it across Duncan’s bared mattress. She smoothed it, tucked in the corners, and swiftly added the top sheet and covers. Crisp cases slipped on the pillows, curtains drawn open, and water exchanged from his washbowl, and she’d gotten a fine start on her chores for the day.
Arms full of sheets, she headed into the hallway and ran smack into Duncan. “Oh, I beg your pardon, sir.”
He braced her elbows and frowned. “Aren’t you working awfully hard?”
Brigit wrinkled her nose. “Not at all. Sprucing up a home is a constant thing, but Miss Emily is diligent to keep matters well in hand. Besides, Mum always said hard work ne’er hurt a body.”
“Hmpf.”
“If you’ll excuse me, sir—”
He turned loose of her and peered over her shoulder into his room. “Are you done now?”
“Not quite. I’m to salt-sweep the carpeting; but if you’d rather, I can come back after I’ve done a few other chores.”
Duncan pushed past her and scowled at the beautiful green-and-gold Turkish carpeting in his room. “It looks perfectly fine. There’s no need for you to tend the flooring.”
What man worried over the details of housekeeping? Baffled and also torn by allegiance to Miss Emily, Brigit moistened her lips and murmured, “I’ll check with the mistress.”
“I’ll talk with Emily. If you wait a moment, I’ll give you something to place in Timothy’s room. He asked to study star navigation, and I have a few charts….”
Mindful of propriety, Brigit stayed outside the chamber as Duncan went in. She watched Duncan cross the room with his self-assured stride. He stopped at his desk and reached for the key in the lock, then froze.
Duncan turned around. “There were tiny golden hearts dangling from this key.”
“Perhaps they fell off.”
He stepped back so he could survey the carpeting. His scowl evaporated. He stooped and grabbed what looked to be short, thin red cords with a trio of hearts. “Here we are.”
“Now aren’t those pretty wee things!”
“Aye, and I’m glad they’re not lost. Many a year ago they belonged to my sister Anna—God rest her soul. Em and I plan to give them to her namesake someday. In the meantime, I’m to keep them out of sight. Last night I decided since little Anna Kathleen wouldn’t be in my chamber, I could put them on my keys and enjoy them myself for a time.”
“I’m sorry you lost your sister.”
“Did I hear my name?” Miss Emily came down the hall.
“Aye.” Duncan grinned at his sister. “Anna’s three golden hearts fell off the key, but they’re found.”
“Good!” Miss Emily beamed. “Timothy said you’d promised him navigational star charts. I thought to take them to the library instead of his room. Titus is curious, but he’ll crumple the edges. Best we think to unfurl them on a table downstairs.”
“Fine.” Duncan lifted his chin in an unconsciously imperious move. “Brigit, I’ll take the charts below. You may leave.”
Duncan waited until the maid was out of earshot, then gave Emily a thunderous look. “Do you need mo
re funds to run the household?”
“Why, no. John is quite generous. What makes you ask such a thing?”
“You’re working Brigit too hard.”
Emily gave him a withering look. “Now, our Duncan—”
“Don’t you ‘Now’ me. That lass is underfoot no matter where I go. She said you’d ordered her to salt-sweep my carpeting.”
“I did.”
“It doesn’t need it!”
Emily smiled at him in her I’ll-be-patient-with-you way. “I won’t let things get filthy ere I see to them. Maintaining a smooth home means doing things on a routine. ’tis time for your carpeting to be either beaten or swept. The salt will brighten the colors, but if you’d rather have all the furniture moved so Brigit can beat—”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Emily hitched her shoulder. “Then ’twill be salt-swept.”
“Then don’t have her change linens and dust, too.” To escape Emily’s calculating look, Duncan turned to rummage through his desk. “I may have been but a scrap of a lad, but I remember all too well how exhausted you were from cleaning before John brought us here. I thought you’d kept sensitive to not overworking anyone else as you’d been.”
“Has Brigit said anything to you? Complained—”
“Not a word,” he interrupted. “It’s just that everywhere I go, she’s right under my nose. I don’t see you working any of the other maids that much.”
“Brigit is well educated. The children love her, and I have her work with them more as a result.”
“That might account for a portion—but not enough.”
Emily let out a choppy sigh. “Very well. I’m keeping Trudy and Lee working together. Trudy’s developed an infatuation for you, so I took pity on you and—”
Duncan lifted his hand. “Enough said. After she leapt into my arms from the stairs, I’ve taken to avoiding her like the plague. And since we’re on the subject, Em, I insist you cease playing Cupid. I won’t stand for it.”
“We’ve always been a social family. I’m not about to stop having people over because you’re marriage shy.”
Brides of Virginia Page 20
