“I noticed Mr. Warner vacuuming the pool this morning. Is that one of his regular duties here?”
“No, not really. He used to manage all of it down there, but now he just takes care of the chemicals and temperature control. A pool man is supposed to come once a week to clean and maintain it, but the bloke canceled on Thursday, so Mr. Warner stepped in.”
“Well, if I can ever be of help down there, just let me know.”
Mrs. Warner reached out to squeeze her hand. “You’ve already been so much help to the children. I can’t ask another thing of you. And I told Master Spencer as much last night. He said to thank you too. We both think you are just what we needed.”
Meredith smiled. “Thank you. I’m glad you think I’m doing okay.”
“You’re doing much better than okay. I’ve never seen a governess or nanny get on with the children like you do. And, believe me, I know Princess Katerina can be a handful. I’ve had plenty of times when I wanted to paddle that girl.”
“I’m still trying to connect with her. I think she needs a friend. But it’s not always easy.” Okay, that was an understatement. Kat was the most difficult child Meredith had ever crossed paths with.
“She can be terrible prickly, I’m sure. But you keep it up, Miss Meri. You’ll get through to her.”
“I hope so.”
As Meredith excused herself, she more than just hoped so. She silently prayed for God to help her to get through to the girl. Kat had a log-sized chip on her shoulder. And it wasn’t onlyagainst Mishka, although he was her favorite target. Sometimes she aimed her fiery darts at Mrs. Warner, sometimes at Meredith, and she’d probably have kicked a dog if there’d been one handy. By now Meredith had strong suspicions that Kat had been bullied at her school. But that mystified her. Who would bully a princess that everyone knew was heir to the crown? Or did such things not matter to everyone? For all she knew, there could be unrest in more ways than whatever Master Spencer was handling. The world in general seemed a wobbly place at times.
12
At the end of Meredith’s first two weeks caring for the royal children, she had seen progress. Mishka no longer feared water and could almost swim. He had a decent dog paddle and was comfortable floating on his back. He didn’t love the water like Kat did, but he seemed to enjoy their pool time. And Kat seemed to tolerate him a bit more. She also appeared to almost like Meredith. Sometimes. Possibly it was because she appreciated a sparring partner with her beloved sports. And that was okay. It was fun to see her improve and her confidence grow. And thanks to the daily tennis and football sessions, Mishka was getting a bit more skilled.
In the afternoons, Meredith had sneaked academics into the schedule in the form of reading and writing in journals. Naturally, this came easily for Mishka, but it was like pulling teeth with Kat. Meredith allowed the children to do their academic activities at a place of their choosing. Mishka usually snagged the library, but Kat preferred to hole up in her room—and not necessarily doing anything academic. So far when Meredith had checked on her, the girl was either onher computer or listening to music with headphones. Finally, Meredith confronted her about it.
After discovering Kat, kicked back on her bed and clearly not reading or journaling, Meredith snuck up and tugged off her headphones. Kat sat up with fiery eyes, but Meredith just smiled.
“Tell me, Princess Katerina, how are your grades at school?”
Kat scowled then shrugged.
“Does your grandmother expect you to be a good student?”
Kat rolled her eyes and flopped back down.
“I’m not stupid, Kat. Of course she does. After all, you’re going to rule your country someday, right?”
Kat looked slightly doubtful but sat back up.
“Here’s the deal, Kat. I’m a teacher. And I’ve seen how much students lose during their summer holiday if they’re not engaging their brains. It makes it harder to get started up again. But the students who spend a bit of time reading or doing something to exercise their brains fare better.” She paused to see if any of this was sinking in. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Maybe.”
“Wouldn’t life be easier for you if you didn’t have to catch up this fall, to get back to where you were at the end of your school year?”
Kat shrugged.
“It’s one thing to show up at school with improved athletic abilities so you can earn better positions on your teams and impress your peers. But as the future queen of Rotslavia, it seems to me you’d want to excel in academics too. You know, to earn the respect of your classmates. And more than that, for your own sake.”
Kat flopped back again, her face getting that blasé I’m-tuning-you-out expression she was an expert in. Meredith satdown on the chair by the window and silently prayed for wisdom.Lord, how do I reach this girl?
“Kat, I really like you. I think underneath your hard shell is a tenderhearted young woman. Something you don’t want anyone to see. To be honest, you remind me of myself when I was about your age.” Meredith paused long enough to spy Kat’s eyes flicker with interest. “I was kind of mad at the whole world for a while. It didn’t seem fair that my mom had died or that I was just a kid taking care of all the housework and cooking for my dad.”
Kat sat up. “You did all that?”
“Yep. We weren’t well off like your family. My dad worked hard as a high school teacher, and he coached sports in his spare time to help make ends meet, so I was expected to keep the home fires burning, so to speak.” She smiled.
Kat frowned. “What does that mean? Fires?”
