“All of thirteen. I am two and twenty, Nanny.”
“Goodness! Two and twenty! Who’d have thought?”
Felicity found Cissy was holding a straight chair and rose from her knees. “Thank you so much, Cissy. How pretty you are!”
“Isn’t she, duck? So lucky I am to have my Cissy to look after me. Set the chair down, love, that’s it. Go and see if the coffee’s boiling on the stove, there’s a love. You’ll take a cup, I’m sure, duck.”
Cissy hesitated as Felicity sat down. “What about the gentleman, Gran?”
Mrs Kimble’s bespectacled eyes popped. “Gentleman, Cissy?”
“Waitin’ in the hall.”
Felicity hastened to explain. “He brought me, Nanny.”
A look of foreboding entered Mrs Kimble’s face and she lowered her voice, grabbing at Felicity’s arm. “It’s not that horrid creature who did for your pa, duck? I should never have let him take you!”
“Lord Maskery? Heavens, no. Though it’s about him I’ve come, Nanny. The gentleman with me is the Marquis of Lynchmere.”
“Marquis!” The word was fairly shrieked and Mrs Kimble clapped a hand to her mouth. “Beg his pardon, but what are you doing with a marquis, duck?”
Felicity sighed out a breath. “It’s a long story. He’s helping me. I’d best introduce you.”
Mrs Kimble started up. “Bring him in here? That you won’t! And me in my old bombazine!”
Already on her feet, Felicity leaned down to press the old lady back against the end of the day-bed. “Don’t fret, Nanny. He’s not at all high in the instep.”
She crossed to the door, through which Cissy had already disappeared, and found Raoul right outside. He grinned.
“Any height in my instep has been thoroughly dashed by you, Miss Schoolmistress.”
“You heard that?”
“I could hardly fail to. Lead on.”
She went back into the room and he followed, his tall person at once dwarfing the place. “This is Lord Lynchmere, Nanny. Mrs Kimble, that is.”
He moved to the day-bed, his charm at the full, Felicity noticed. “How do you do, Mrs Kimble?”
Clearly flustered, the old dame took his hand. “You’ll forgive my not rising, my lord, I hope. I’ve a horrid complaint as won’t let me.”
“So I understand. Pray don’t concern yourself.” He waved Felicity back to her chair. “I am persuaded I ought to leave you to converse with Miss Temple alone, ma’am.”
“But you’ll take a cup of coffee, my lord? Cissy is just seeing to it. She keeps the pot boiling for me, the love.”
Raoul replied suitably, but insisted on taking a chair on the other side of the room. “You have not told her why you’ve come, Miss Temple.”
She noted the formality and instinctively followed suit. “I’ve not yet had a chance to do so, my lord.”
Mrs Kimble reached for her hand, clutching it tight. “You’ve come to see me and that’s a miracle in itself, my little Flissie.” She shook her head. “I can’t get over you being quite a young woman. Your pa would’ve been so proud.”
Her fingers tightening on those of the elderly dame, Felicity was hard put to it not to burst into tears all over again. Raoul’s voice relieved her.
“She has only just discovered that it was Lord Maskery who ran her father over, Mrs Kimble. Until last night she thought of him only as her guardian.”
Nanny bridled. “Guardian! I’d give him guardian if I was to see him now!”
“But he was my guardian, Nanny, or so I understood. Not that he did more for me than put me to school.”
