Caroline lifted him into her arms and held him tightly. “Rest assured, Jamie, that is not going to happen here. Now let’s get you into a dry nightshirt and put some fresh sheets on the bed, shall we?” She glanced at the older children. “I imagine one of you has discovered the whereabouts of the linen cupboard.”
“I have.” Tommy stood and left the room.
“Come along, Jamie. Piers, if you could find him another nightshirt while the girls strip the bed?”
The bath was between the nursery and the schoolroom, convenient enough for children and governess to share under normal circumstances, and in this case for all four children. Caroline guided the boy inside and washed his face and hands, then ducked out and allowed Piers to help Jamie change, since he couldn’t manage by himself with the cast. Meanwhile, she warmed some milk on the small gas plate in the pantry off the schoolroom and poured six glasses, which she took with her on a tray back to the boys’ bedroom. Now she understood why the girls had wanted to be in the nursery suite. It would give them a feeling of closeness and accessibility when they needed one another, though honestly the governess’s bedroom was probably further away than Caroline’s room across the hall.
“I thought we could all use this.” Caroline smiled when Tommy, after being elbowed by Wink, jumped up to take the tray from Caroline’s hands. “It’s been an eventful day for everyone, and this will help us get some rest.”
Sleep eluded her, though, even after she was back in her decadently comfortable bed. What was she to do with these waifs, who fought vampyres, saw ghosts and had dreams of the future, along with heavens knew what else? They needed someone—that was a certainty, but Caroline wasn’t at all sure she was up to the task. Teaching these urchins to be gentlemen and ladies was a monumental undertaking, even without considering their special abilities.
Then there was her employer. He’d been utterly polite—had never even touched her other than to shake her hand, and yet something about him made her stomach quiver—something that had never happened with another man. Her instinct for self-preservation was urging her to run from this odd house full of odd people.
And yet—
No place she’d ever worked had been more welcoming. Even the stones in the walls seemed somehow warm and accepting. Here, she thought, was a place where it might not matter, that she, too, was a bit—well—odd. And Miss Hadrian—Miss Dorothy, rather—was an intelligent woman who appreciated that quality in others, and a keen proponent of workers’ rights. Caroline would never be mistreated here. She could avoid the dark and brooding baronet, and simply do her job.
Resolutely, she ignored the pang of disappointment she couldn’t quite suppress at that thought, then rolled over and began counting sheep. Strangely, this time the sheep seemed to be clockwork ones.
The next few days settled into some sort of awkward routine, punctuated by episodes of utter chaos, which gradually became fewer and further apart. Lessons were progressing—not necessarily smoothly but progressing nonetheless. Though lacking formal education, the children were clearly all bright and eager to learn anything they considered interesting or useful. Subjects they found dull were quite another matter, though Caroline relished the challenge of engaging their interest.
On her first full day, Caroline had met with the housekeeper, Mrs. Granger, and arranged to have Sally Kendall installed as a permanent nursery maid. It turned out the girl was the eldest of eight, so she knew a little something about managing a horde. Now at least, there’d be someone in charge of the nursery on Caroline’s half-days, or to mind the others if Caroline had to take one or two off for some errand or another.
Mrs. Granger had proved to be a stern and disapproving woman, but she was devoted to Sir Merrick and Miss Dorothy, and determined that if they wanted to keep these orphans, keep them they would. Mountjoy the butler looked grim with his droopy face and sad eyes, but Caroline was already beginning to suspect a warm heart lurked beneath his air of haughty superiority. Cook had been won over by Jamie’s drawing of flowers in her kitchen garden, so the nursery would continue to be well fed.
Though Caroline had had little contact with any of the other servants, she was satisfied that she’d established a functional working relationship within the household. They usually had luncheon with Miss Dorothy, who also dropped by the nursery on a daily basis to visit the children and chat with Caroline. It was lovely, having an intelligent adult to talk to for a while each day. Sir Merrick, she had barely seen at all, which suited her just fine.
Her fourth morning at Hadrian House was brisk, with ominous dark clouds gathering in the skies that could forebode either snow or sleet. Still, Caroline determined that her charges were in sore need of an excursion, so off to the park it was, though instead of walking several blocks to Hyde Park, as they had for the previous few days, she settled for the smaller confines of St. James Square, which was just around the corner, allowing for a hasty retreat if the skies opened up. Each of the females had brought a sturdy umbrella, though Wink and Nell had dropped theirs to join in a game of pseudo-cricket with the boys. It was fascinating to watch them invent the game as they went. They had the bat and ball, but none of them knew the rules.
Ah well, at least they were getting some exercise and both girls were wearing skirts. It was a beginning. When they urged Caroline to join in the game, she shook her head resolutely and sat on a bench like a proper governess—even when her toes started itching. Since they were the only group bold enough to brave the weather, retaining her staid demeanor was even more difficult.
Jamie, with his broken arm, was not allowed to bat or bowl and quickly grew restless with his assigned task of chasing down the ball when it went over the heads of the others. He found an oak tree with a split trunk and shimmied up into the crotch before Caroline spotted him and darted over.
“Seamus McCann, you come down right now. It’s just about to—” lightning flashed, thunder cracked and the freezing rain began in a torrent, “—rain.”
Jamie wobbled and Caroline caught him by the back of his shirt and steadied him. When had he removed his warm coat and cap? Sleet stung Caroline’s cheeks. “Jamie, come on.”
This time, he obediently slid down into her arms.
“Get your things.” She set him on the ground and turned to see the others scurrying to re-don their outerwear. Wink had opened one umbrella and pulled Piers under it, while Tommy collected the bat and ball. Nell and Jamie shared the other umbrella and Caroline beckoned Tommy under hers. They reached the edge of the square before a gust of wind turned all three brollies inside out.
“Hurry.” Caroline checked for traffic, then urged them all across the street. Before they reached the middle, though, a closed coach raced around the corner at breakneck speed, bearing down on them.
The broken umbrellas and sporting goods were dropped as they all ran from the oncoming coach. Piers had been lagging a little, but now Tommy grabbed the younger boy and pulled him bodily out of the road, just as the carriage bolted past, splattering mud on Caroline’s clothing and even her face—it had been that close. Wet, cold and now terrified, they huddled next to the corner house catching their breath.
“Stubble propriety,” Caroline said through her chattering teeth. “There are no more crossings. Just run.” Lifting her skirts, she followed her own advice, her slick-soled boots and multiple petticoats assuring she was behind even Piers. Down one block and around a corner they ran, then up the marble steps to the front door of Hadrian House, where Tommy’s fist pounded, demanding entry. Johnson opened the door immediately, barely raising an eyebrow at the wet and muddy horde that tumbled in. When Caroline skidded into the foyer, the burly servant closed the door behind her and did his best to suppress a grin.
“Ask Sally to bring some hot chocolate up to the nursery, please.” At least that’s what she meant to say. Due to the cold, there was a good bit of stuttering involved. Caroline and Johnson both bent to help the children remove their sodden coats.
&nb
sp; “What is the meaning of this debacle?” The thin, nasal voice was educated, but it was not Sir Merrick’s booming baritone.
Caroline looked up sharply. “I’d say the circumstances speak for themselves. Not, sir, that it’s any of your concern.” The speaker was of good height and had once, perhaps, been strongly built, though now he was quite lean, with a deeply lined face and a ring of salt-and-pepper hair surrounding a bald pate. Sir Merrick stood beside him, his face an expressionless mask.
“Soiled urchins should use the kitchen door, if they must be allowed to enter a house at all.” The older man thumped his brass-tipped walking stick on the carpet for emphasis.
“The front was closer.” Caroline finished stripping off Piers’s coat and handed it off to Johnson. Irritation was warming her rapidly. “And as at least two of these children have health issues, I was inclined to worry more about them than about the carpets. Now, Sir Merrick, if you please, we’ll be off to change into dry garments.”
Sir Merrick nodded at the children. “I need to speak with Tommy and Miss Bristol. The rest of you run along.”
They obeyed him instantly, dashing up the stairs in a clatter. Caroline handed her own serviceable cape to Johnson and stood rigidly, her features schooled into what she hoped was a polite expression. Beside her, Tommy stood, almost preternaturally still, though she could sense him watching, aware of every motion around him. This child was also gifted, though she’d yet to discover in what way.
“Miss Bristol, Tom, allow me to present Mr. Edwin Berry, who is to be Tom’s tutor. Edwin, this is Miss Caroline Bristol, the governess for my younger wards. Let me also present your new charge, Master Thomas Parker. I assure you, they do not make a habit of tracking mud and rainwater through my front door.”
Mr. Berry did not say a word in greeting, just stared rather rudely.
Caroline dipped her head to her employer. “Certainly not. The storm came up suddenly, and there was an incident with a reckless driver that frightened the children. Good day to you, Sir Merrick, Mr. Berry. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go see to my charges as well as to my own repairs.” At Sir Merrick’s nod, she marched toward the stairs, but was unable to resist lingering to watch for just a moment.
“Good afternoon, sir.” Tommy held out his hand, which the tutor conspicuously ignored.
Instead, he gave Tommy a glare. “Please clean yourself up as best as possible, then meet me in the library in fifteen minutes. I warn you, young man, tardiness shall not be tolerated.” With a brief bow to Merrick, he turned on his heel and stalked away.
“He’ll get better with time, lad,” Merrick muttered to Tommy, clapping the boy on the shoulder. “For now, best to do as he says.” Then he too, disappeared, back into his study, leaving a somber Tommy to follow Caroline up to their rooms.
Just like that, the semblance of ease Caroline had achieved with the children was gone.
Edwin Berry was, to put it bluntly, an ass.
Caroline wanted little more than to see the snooty bastard’s balding head on a shining silver platter. How dare he criticize her management of the children? According to the toplofty Mr. Berry, nothing Caroline was doing with her charges was up to snuff. They were too loud, too unruly, and she was obviously made of the same inferior stuff. In just two days, the dreadful man had terrorized Jamie, Piers and Nell, made Wink withdraw into her machines, and turned Tommy into a somber ghost who had apparently been told to stay as far from the others as possible.
The one and only good thing that had come from his highness’s occupation was that even the disapproving Mrs. Granger had thawed slightly toward Caroline and the children. Mr. Berry had criticized her menus one too many times it seemed, so now the housekeeper, who still crossed herself whenever she was in the children’s presence, had become a reluctant ally against the new arrival.
Lessons without their ringleader had become particularly difficult. Wink was angry, Piers jealous and Nell, listless. Jamie simply sulked. Caroline had never been prone to headaches before, but she was rapidly developing the tendency.
“Jamie.” She moved around the table to stand beside him. “You must master your sums. This is not a choice, but a requirement. I know you’re capable, but you need to apply yourself to the equations for more than two minutes at a time. There will be no games until after you complete your work.”
“Wanna go outside.” For the third day in a row, the freezing rain had curtailed their outing, and all of them, even Caroline, were feeling restless.
“Finish your lessons,” she instructed, rather more sharply than she’d have liked. “And perhaps after luncheon, we’ll find some way to take some exercise.”
“Yes, Miss Caro.” Yet another thing Mr. Berry had loudly disapproved of was the rapid slide into informality that had occurred in the household. Uptight prig. No one had called her Caro since her mother died, and Caroline found she liked it very much indeed.
She managed to keep control over them for another hour until their meal was served, with Miss Dorothy as a special guest. Since the advent of Mr. Berry, the children had not been invited to dine with the family. Caroline approached Dorothy about her concerns and received permission to use the ballroom for some games. “After all,” Dorothy said, “it’s not like we ever use it for entertaining.”
Caroline had noticed. While Sir Merrick and Dorothy both went out on a regular basis, there never seemed to be gatherings here at Hadrian House. While it was a trifle unexpected, it suited Caroline fine, and besides, it was truly none of her business. With a smile of relief, she accepted the offer.
Shortly thereafter, Caroline led her jubilant students down to the ballroom. The vast space with its shining parquet floor, gilt paneling and soaring ceiling was nearly empty of furnishings, just a few chairs shrouded in dust sheets clustered in the corners and on a musicians’ dais at one end. Gathering her students into a circle in the center of the room, Caroline pulled an oversized handkerchief from her pocket and initiated a game of Blindman’s Bluff. Corner boundaries to the field of play were marked with their discarded shoes. Within minutes, their grudges were forgotten as they darted and laughed, sliding in their stocking feet on the slick floor. Even Caroline was convinced to take a turn, and she laughed along with the children as she twisted and lunged, trying to find them by their giggles.
“Over here, miss,” Jamie called from some distance to Caroline’s left.
“No, over here.” That was Wink, who was so graceful, Caroline couldn’t have heard her steps even if she’d had shoes on.
“But I’m over here,” Nell’s musical voice called out.
Piers whistled as he ran from one side of Caroline to the other.
Caroline spun, reaching for Piers, and slipped, landing on her fanny in a froth of petticoats. Her laughter must have convinced the children she was unharmed, so instead of coming to her aid, they simply stopped moving and giggled as well.
“What is the meaning of this?” The sharp rap of a brass-tipped ebony stick on the floor instantly dried up all the laughter in the room.
Caroline slowly peeled the blindfold from her face and turned toward the sound of Mr. Berry’s outraged voice. The tutor and Tommy stood at the far end of the room, dressed in fencing gear. She dipped her head as she rose somewhat clumsily to her feet, her skirts tangling around her ankles. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. Would you care to join our game?”
“We most certainly would not.” Berry looked down his pointed nose, which wriggled, making him look remarkably like an irritated badger. “Please vacate this room at once. Master Thomas must practice his swordsmanship.”
“Swords?” The hopeful cry went up from all of them, particularly Wink and Jamie. A sinking feeling filled the pit of Caroline’s stomach as she remembered that all of these children were experienced in combat, and had, in fact, defeated monsters, both alive and undead.
“We want to practice too,” Wink called, running over to Tommy with the others on her heels.
“Yes, plea
se,” Piers chimed in. “It’s been forever since we’ve gotten to do any fighting. We’re like to forget how.”
With his good hand, Jamie reached for one of the epees Tommy carried. Nell just stared wide-eyed at Tommy.
“Leave this room at once.” Crack!
The hard wooden cane smacked down on Jamie’s hand.
The lad howled and pulled back, shoving his fingers into his mouth, which only partially muffled his cries.
Tommy dropped the practice swords and turned on his tutor while Wink raised her arm for a punch, but checked her swing at the last moment.
“Mr. Berry!” Caroline rushed forward and gathered Jamie close to her hip. “Kindly control your temper, sir. There is no call for that kind of behavior.” To keep herself from striking the man, she knelt beside Jamie and eased his hand from his mouth. “Come, love, let me see your fingers.” She studied them carefully, but could detect no broken bones or swelling, though the poor boy would undoubtedly be bruised.
“You’ve been told to leave. Now, be gone, before I report this outrage to Sir Merrick.” The tutor sniffed loudly. “Master Thomas, you shall do an extra page of Latin conjugations as punishment for mishandling the fencing equipment.”
“Rest assured, you may report whatever you like,” Caroline said. Tommy ignored his tutor to reach out a hand and assist her to her feet, before he bent to retrieve the fallen epees. “I shall be making a report of my own. And Mr. Berry? I’ve a little warning for you. If you ever, ever, lay hand or stick on one of my charges in the future? I will personally deal you three blows for every one you land on a child. And I will be sure to use a large, heavy object when I do so.”
His already-erect spine stiffened even further. “Miss Bristol,” he began with a sneer, “I sincerely doubt you have the physical capability to do me an injury. Furthermore, it is clear you are also lacking in mental capacity, even more so than most of your sex. I shall certainly report this to Sir Merrick, if only to prevent you from causing further harm to his wards.”
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