‘Then I shall share it with the household?’
‘Yes,’ she said dabbing her cheeks, rising once more from the window seat. ‘Goodnight, Your Grace. Thank you for your kindness.’
‘Thank you for yours, Miss Potts. You take a great risk for my family by taking on this charade.’
She nodded and began to walk away.
‘Do not forget about the dress fittings tomorrow,’ he called to her.
Her shoulders slumped. ‘Oh, yes.’
He smirked. ‘Do you not enjoy the idea of new gowns?’ he asked, intrigued by her lack of enthusiasm.
‘No, Your Grace,’ she said, facing him. ‘Just the idea of being pricked with more needles.’
He chuckled and she left the room, leaving William optimistic for the morning and the success of his ruse. Perhaps their success was as simple as just believing.
Chapter Eleven
‘And which letter is “M” as in milk, your favourite drink?’ Hattie asked, smiling at her young charge as she sat on the small reading-room floor rug upstairs. They stared down at the written alphabet ‘map’ they had constructed full of pretty images and the large capital letters of the alphabet.
Each day they added pictures to it and reviewed it like a trivia game in the afternoon before Millie’s nap. Hattie was impressed by how quickly Millie had taken to it. Seeing her progress each day was breathtaking and its own reward.
Millie looked at the map, walking around it thoughtfully and searching. Once she saw the letter she sought, she smiled, bent down, and pressed her index finger on the ‘M’ before gazing up at Hattie for approval.
Hattie clapped in excitement. ‘Yes! And what else in this room starts with the “M” sound?’
Millie laughed and pointed to herself.
‘Wonderful!’ a female voice from behind them called out.
Hattie turned in surprise to see Lady Buchanan standing in the doorway watching them.Blast. Hattie flushed and scrambled to stand to properly greet her.
‘No, no, my dear, let me join you both. It looks like glorious fun!’ She smiled and set aside the reticule and gift she had in her hand on a nearby table.
Millie rushed to the woman’s side and flounced into her lap as soon as Lady Buchanan was sitting on the rug with them. Millie hugged her and giggled in happiness.
‘What an intriguing way to review one’s letters,’ Lady Buchanan said, studying the large sprawling parchment before them. ‘I am impressed by how taken my niece is with you, Miss Potts.’
Hattie smiled. ‘Thank you so much for your kind words, Lady Buchanan. I have loved my time with Lady Millie. I find I am learning as much as she.’ It was true. Each day, Hattie learned so much about how to teach and how Millie learned and adjusted her plans accordingly. ‘Some days what I plan does not work, but she loves her letters. I think she may be a lover of books like her grandfather, the late Duke of Wimberley.’
Millie hugged Lady Buchanan’s neck and the woman returned the little girl’s hug. ‘And the late Duke would be thrilled. He loved to read and learn. And he was incredibly kind, just like His Grace, my cousin.’
Hattie nodded and dropped her gaze. ‘Yes. His Grace is kind. Much more so than I expected, if I am honest.’ She lifted her head and smiled as she fidgeted with her hands in her lap.
‘Then why did you look so pained when I said it?’ Lady Buchanan asked with a smirk. She ran a hand down Millie’s hair.
‘I fear I will disappoint him with our ruse,’ she replied, her stomach clenching as she admitted her fears aloud. ‘I know nothing of being a proper lady.’
‘But that is why I am here!’ Lady Buchanan said, smiling.
Just then, Millie’s nurse came to gather her for her afternoon nap.
‘Perfect timing, Miss Bellows,’ Lady Buchanan offered, righting herself to standing. ‘Miss Potts and I were just about to begin.’
She pressed a kiss to Millie’s cheek and Millie waved goodbye to Hattie before she clutched Miss Bellows’s hand to go down for her afternoon rest.
‘Now, come with me, Miss Potts, and let us begin. We do not have a moment to waste.’
