She’d felt taken care of.
Safe.
Because she’d wanted to see her prince’s face, she’d opened her eyes and kissed him. It had been sweet, warm, and light. She’d felt a happiness course through her she’d never felt before.
It had felt right.
Everything will be all right, she thought, as she turned, curled back into her pillow, and slept.
Chapter 16
“Your Grace,” Higgins gasped. “The castle is invaded by children.”
Gabriel dropped the book he’d been reading and stared at Higgins. He must truly hallucinate now.
“Come and see for yourself.”
Indeed, as he hurried down the corridor, he heard the babble of what could only be correctly pinpointed as children’s noises.
What on earth?
The chatter increased. It came from the library, which Birdie had insisted on refurnishing.
Without thinking twice, he burst into the room.
Immediate silence descended as eleven heads turned towards him in various states of astonishment.
There was Birdie, standing in the middle of a circle of approximately ten children who sat cross-legged on the floor, their chalkboards on their laps. They stared at him with open mouths.
Gabriel stood shell-shocked; he expected them to burst into shrieks, tears and hysterics, for the daylight that poured through the windows clearly shone on his face.
The Monster of Dunross in plain daylight.
He braced himself.
“Children, this is the Duke of Dunross. Get up and say, ‘How do you do’ to His Grace,” Birdie instructed.
The children scrambled out of their chairs and chanted in unison, “How do ye do, Yer Grace.”
Gabriel flushed. “Er. Hello.” Turning to Birdie, he asked, “What is the meaning of this?”
Birdie folded her hands. “We have decided to open a village school. The children have received no education at all since the old schoolteacher left. Besides, the school building in the village is about to collapse. Since there is so much space here,”––she waved her hand about––“I thought it would be an excellent idea to set up the school in one of the outer buildings here.”
“We?”
“Some women in the village and myself.”
“I see.”
“And today we have library day. We are choosing books to read for the week, aren’t we, children?”
They nodded eagerly.
“Miss, may I ask a question?” a black-haired boy asked after he stood up.
“Miss?” Gabriel echoed.
“I thought it better to use my maiden name while I teach,” Birdie explained. “To keep identities apart. And yes, Johnny, you may ask a question.”
