Good heavens. The man must be mad. That could certainly account for the trouble with maintaining a governess. Mrs. Browning had mentioned yesterday that Meredith was the third one to be hired in the last four months, and she hoped Meredith planned to stay. Meredith didn’t see that she had much choice. She had only gotten the position because the duke had secured it for her. If she resigned, she would likely be giving up her only chance to teach, and she would be back on the marriage mart next year.
“I see,” she said, injecting as much diplomacy into her voice as she could muster.
She understood his position to some degree. Learning about one’s heritage was important. It could help form the girls’ sense of belonging to something solid and unchanging. Even as members of the MacBride clan were buried or marriages brought new ones into the fold, it would forever be a family—theirfamily.
Despite the importance of studying one’s heritage, however, crowding sheep into a foyer was the mark of insanity. “P-perhaps we should move the lesson outside. W-where there is more room.”
The front door opened behind her. “What is going on here?”
Lord Blackwood’s baritone voice rumbled through her, filling her with pleasant tingles. His steel blue gaze narrowed on his brother as he pulled off his riding gloves. The color was high in the earl’s cheeks as if the cooler morning air had kissed them. She couldn’t look away from the picture of vitality he presented.
“James, I asked you a question.”
She decided to come to Mr. MacBride’s rescue. “Good morning, my lord.” She curtsied to the earl to remind herself of her position as much as to show her respect. “Mr. MacBride has rightfully pointed out that I should be teaching my students about their heritage. We were just discussing how to move the lesson outdoors.”
The earl’s eyes flared. “You can tell us apart.”
Heat flooded her face. She hadn’t given it any thought when she’d walked through the door and identified the earl’s brother at a glance, but they were different in ways she couldn’t miss. Lord Blackwood was more refined in his dress, and it was reflected in the way he wore his cravat. A simple cascade with a cravat pin. By comparison, his brother was showy with his elaborate knot and colorful waistcoats, although James MacBride would hardly be called a dandy.
There were subtle differences in their voices and eyes, too. Mr. MacBride’s sparkled with mirth—or perhaps madness. She wouldn’t rule out the possibility. Lord Blackwood’s eyes, however, vacillated between intense interest when she spoke and kind acceptance. His response to her had a tendency to knock her off kilter, as did the smile he aimed at her now.
“I suppose Icantell you apart, my lord.”
“Amazing,” Lord Blackwood murmured. “Well, it appears James and I should move the flock outside, so you can begin your lesson.”
He opened both doors and urged her to step aside. Meredith shuffled further into the foyer and pressed her back against the wall. He yelled for someone in the castle yard to gather a couple of men to help drive the sheep back to the paddock.
“Yes, milord,” a gruff voice answered before muttering something she couldn’t decipher. She could only guess that the speaker thought the situation was as odd as she did.
Lord Blackwood maneuvered behind one of the sheep and gave its rump a tap with his boot. “Go on. Outside with you.”
At first, the animal didn’t budge, but with persistence and a harder shove to its hindquarters, it nearly jumped on its neighbor’s back. This set off a round of anxious bleating as they flailed about on the marble floor. Eventually, the sheep nearest the open doors tumbled outside. The others began to follow, calling out to each other.
A few stragglers tried to break away, but there was nowhere for them to go when Lord Blackwood spread his arms wide, creating an imaginary barrier. Wisely, all other doors leading from the foyer had been closed, blocking alternate routes of escape. Mr. MacBride discouraged the ones that tried to dart up the stairs by clapping his hands and making a racket that would scare the devil himself.
Meredith pressed her body further back against the wall, praying her toes wouldn’t be trampled. In the end, she suffered no ill harm. She couldn’t say the same for the foyer floor, which was smeared with muddy hoof prints. Lord Blackwood surveyed the damage and sent a scolding look in his brother’s direction. Mr. MacBride simply raised his eyebrows as if he was oblivious to what he’d done wrong.
Meredith glanced up at the girls. The youngest had their faces pressed between the railing slats. “Are you wearing boots?” she asked.
Rebecca shook her head while her sisters called out, “No.”
“Then you should don them before we go outside.”
The girls scrambled to do as she’d requested. Mrs. Browning followed, assuring Meredith that she would hurry them along. Their excited laughter could be heard from the corridor, fading as they moved further away.
Mr. MacBride grinned. “It looks like you have everything well in hand, Colin. I am planning a trip into the village this morning, so I will excuse myself.”
She and Lord Blackwood dumbly watched him as he picked his way across the foyer and walked out the front doors. They stood in silence a few moments until Meredith couldn’t bear it any longer. She cleared her throat.
“I am afraid I know nothing about sheep,” she said. “Your nieces are unlikely to learn much from me today, but if you have books I could borrow, I could educate myself soon enough.”
His full lips eased into a smile. “I thought perhaps you would tender your resignation after my brother’s antics. I don’t know what he was thinking.”
His comment rang false. She had a strange feeling he knew exactly what Mr. MacBride had been thinking, and she didn’t find it reassuring.
“Does your brother often engage in such...?”Madness? Unpredictability?“Um, capers?”
“No.” Lord Blackwood’s dark brows veered toward each other. “On second thought, yes. All the time. Does his behavior worry you?”
“Not at all.” Surely, she had imagined the hopeful inflection in his voice. “Now, about those books.”
“I am happy to lend you a few from the library, but may I offer my assistance today? The girls are expecting a lesson.”
Her smile was restrained, and somewhat stiff. Otherwise, she would be beaming, and the earl would realize how giddy his offer made her. “I think that would be wise. Thank you, my lord.”
