Eleanor swallowed.
“You see?” Charlotte said softly. “She means well, Papa. She simply does not think.”
Lord St. George turned fully toward Eleanor now. “You have always lacked attention to detail.”
Eleanor’s hands curled into her skirts.
“Arabella is no better,” he continued. “Always underfoot. Always needing something. Always with the questions. One would think I had raised nothing but inconveniences.”
Charlotte’s lips curved, almost imperceptibly.
Eleanor felt the heat rise in her chest, sharp and sudden. “Arabella has done nothing this morning.”
“That is hardly an argument in her favor,” he replied. “If she is not causing trouble, she is preparing for it.”
Eleanor stepped forward before she could stop herself. “She never is.”
Lord St. George’s brows drew together. “Do not correct me.”
The room seemed to contract, the air thickening.
“I have allowedbothof you to remain here out of charity,” he said coldly. “You would do well to remember that.”
Charity. The word scraped raw.
Charlotte shifted again, coughing delicately. “Papa, my head aches terribly.”
Lord St. George’s attention snapped back to her at once. “Of course it does. You should not be exerting yourself.”
He turned sharply. “Eleanor, fetch fresh water. And bring her a shawl or something for her chill.”
Eleanor moved at once.
She returned with the water, folded the shawl exactly as Charlotte preferred, and placed both within reach.
Charlotte frowned. “You spilled!”
Eleanor wiped the table.
“There is still some just there,” Charlotte whined and pointed.
Eleanor wiped again.
Lord St. George watched, arms crossed, as though observing a lesson. “You are always finding shortcuts,” he said at last. “Always rushing to finish half the work.”
“I am trying to be efficient,” Eleanor said before she could stop herself.
His eyes hardened. “Efficiency is no excuse for sloppiness.”
Her pulse thudded in her ears.
“You have always had a terrible work ethic,” he continued. “No pride in the quality of what you do.”
Charlotte’s gaze flicked to Eleanor, gleaming.
Eleanor’s breath came shallow. “I do everything I am asked.”
“And yet it is never enough,” Lord St. George said. “Perhaps because you are always looking for ways to avoid doing it properly. For everyonething you do, you create at leastthree.Do you not see, girl?”
