‘A gentleman by the name of Matthew Parkes. He works for me, meaning I pay him to do jobs.’
Pete looked at Edward for a long time. ‘Could I work for you, Sir?’
Something flashed in Edward’s eyes, the look gone too quickly for her to read. ‘Possibly. Let us talk about details later. For now, perhaps you would come to Glanmore House as my and Miss Hornel’s guest. We can see about getting some games to play to keep Miss Hornel occupied. What do you think?’
‘Can we go, Pete?’ asked Silas, sliding his hand into his older brother’s. ‘I’d like to see the big house and play with Miss Hornel.’
‘All right,’ said Pete, ‘but only if you swear Matthew Parkes will come and look after Ma.’ He addressed Edward as an equal and Kate was impressed with the boy. One day, he might become a great man, if only he were given the opportunity.
Edward nodded solemnly, treating Pete like they were indeed peers. ‘I swear it.’ Kate’s heart cracked open and she worried it would never be the same again.
Chapter Twenty-nine
After much convincing, Kate managed to persuade Pete and Silas into having baths, the process taking all of the skills she had honed over her long years as a governess. Pete was old enough to be conscious of his body and hid behind the screen for the five minutes in which he cleaned himself. Silas, younger and happier to be wet and warm, soon relaxed into the water and wanted Kate to talk to him while he splashed the contents of the tub onto the rug near her hearth.
While his brother played, Pete prowled around the edges of Kate’s sitting room, grumbling about how the water had made him itch and fiercely muttering all the reasons he would never wash again. He was wearing clean clothes that Emily had somehow managed to alter in the brief moments from when she had seen him standing in the entrance hall and the end of his bath. The woman was a genius with a needle and thread and her work had only compounded Kate’s guilt at not going to her or any of the Dashworths for help in the first place.
Edward had disappeared shortly after their return to Glanmore House, his stern features and Emily’s red-rimmedeyes hitting Kate in the heart harder than any punch. Before he left, he’d given her a letter that had arrived from Simon. While Pete made another circuit of the room, glaring at his tormentor, the bath, she pulled the letter out and read.
New York, October 1819
Sister,
I have arrived safely. The weather in this country is nothing short of an abomination. It is like summer, despite being the autumn.
My investigation is going well, but I do believe I will be some months in this country. I hope the Dashworth family is continuing to treat you well. Write back and inform me if not.
Yours, etc.
Simon
‘Well…’ she huffed out. ‘I do not believe it was worth waiting thirteen weeks for this.’
‘What is it?’ asked Pete, his annoyance at the water temporarily forgotten.
‘A letter from my brother. He is in America. I have been waiting for three months for word from him and he has sent me barely anything.’
Pete shrugged. ‘You’re lucky he’s written anything at all. If I had a sister, I wouldn’t.’ With that pronouncement, he set off again, clearly not done with his diatribe against cleanliness.
Jane entered, a footman following her with trays of food, enough to feed a whole army, certainly too much for two little boys. Silas was out of the bath in a flash, not worrying about covering himself before running towards the food.
‘Dry yourself, please, Silas,’ Kate said, before he could soak her room. ‘And remember to put some clothes on. There are ladies present.’ She nodded to Jane.
Jane smiled. ‘I’ve five younger brothers, Miss. There’s very little I have not seen. I’m to watch the boys. Lord Edward has requested your presence in the Blue Lounge.’
Kate clutched her dress, her fingers burrowing into the folds. ‘Did he say what he wanted to see me about?’
‘The boys, I expect, but he didn’t say, Miss.’
Kate was pushing the door open to the lounge with no conscious thought as to how she had got there. The last twenty-four hours had existed in a whirl of emotion and she had no idea how she was feeling; numb if anything.
Edward was moving around the lounge, straightening the already tidy cushions. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. Fury surged through her, not at him but at the woman who had made this lovely, lovely man so anxious years after she had gone from his life, that he still could not relax in his own home.
‘You wanted to see me.’
‘I did. There is much we need to discuss.’
He made his way over to the table containing the newspapers and began folding them.
