Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
That wasn’t what I wanted her to say. Adults rarely said what I wanted them to say. It was truly frustrating. “I could leave Alice a note.” Although my handwriting wasn’t excellent and I wasn’t sure how to spell very many words.
Miriam nodded as if thinking this idea over. If she agreed, I could have her write the note. Alice would likely be able to read it then. “Yes, well, that is a good idea, but what of your mother? Wouldn’t she be worried if you went walking with a stranger in the forest?”
I shook my head. “Not at all. My mother is dead. I have very little memory of her. She was blonde and spoke with a lovely accent. My father said she was French.”
The smile left Miriam’s face and I remembered that talking about dead people often bothered adults. I wasn’t sure as to why, but it always made them frown. Alice said it makes them sad to think of someone no longer living. “Don’t be sad. It is alright. I have Ashington. Alice said I am very lucky indeed.”
“Yes, I believe Alice is right,” Miriam agreed with a smile not as bright as her other one. I did wish I hadn’t mentioned my dead mother. I liked her other smile.
“Alice is often right, I am afraid,” I told her. “Ashington said that was what made her an excellent governess.”
“I will have to agree with Lord Ashington,” Miriam replied.
It was then that Alice’s voice rang out, calling my name. Miriam heard it too and she lifted her gaze from me to the path that led back to the cottage. If Alice caught me talking to Miriam, I would be in trouble. Possibly punished with no jam for many days.
“That’s Alice. She’s awake,” I told Miriam, staring toward the cottage, hoping Alice didn’t come walking out of it.
“Perhaps it might be wise if you hurried back before she decides not to take you to the fairy forest. Would be a shame to miss such a lovely adventure,” Miriam said.
I nodded my head in agreement. “And the jam,” I added.
“Yes, of course, the jam.”
“It was lovely to meet you,” I told her.
She curtsied again and replied, “it was indeed a pleasure Lady Compton.”
Smiling, I turned and ran back toward the cottage. I did so like it when people curtsied to me. I would suggest that Alice do so, although I did doubt she would. Alice wasn’t an easy one to convince of much. Hopefully my leaving the cottage wouldn’t be cause to punish me. Perhaps Alice had slept well and was in a fine mood. One could always hope.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Earl of Ashington
Lady Wellington had informed me that Miriam had gone for a walk amongst the gardens. After another lively breakfast with Miriam, her aunt and uncle and her sister this morning, I had taken my leave to the office to catch up on work. I hadn’t intended to be so long, but I had looked up from my desk to find it was well past noon. Lady Wellington had been coming in the front door with her shoes in her hand and flushed cheeks from the sunshine when I came out of the office.
I was glad to see Miriam’s family felt so comfortable here. It said much for the future if her family liked me and Chatwick Hall. I had to keep in mind they hadn’t met the most important person just yet, but the more I came to know of them, the more I believed they would react the way I needed them to. The way Emma needed them to.
Lady Wellington’s disregard for the way society believed one should behave was a blessing really. She didn’t have strict ideas of what a household should and should not be. I had rarely seen her in shoes since her arrival. She also found it amusing to tell stories about her family and home in America that would make most ladies of the ton blush with embarrassment.
I scanned the grounds as I made my way around to the gardens, looking for Miriam’s red hair I was sure would shine with the day’s bright sunlight. It wasn’t until I reached the back of Chatwick Hall that I saw her sitting amongst the roses again. She was staring off toward the path that led to the cottage, and for a moment, I felt a shred of panic. Had she walked back there? Had she seen Emma? Then she turned her head before I could worry too deeply and smiled at me. The relief from just a simple smile was greater than she knew. I returned one of my own and made my way over to the woman I was almost sure would be exactly what I needed in a wife. Introducing her to Emma, however, would wait. I wasn’t ready to take that step.