Her cold, flat tone told him she was lying. Again, he wondered what her story was.
“Is your mother’s name Ruby like yours?”
“No, I am named after my grandmother.”
“What is your father’s name?”
His daughter could be an asset to the government using her interrogation techniques. She’d have people talking in minutes.
“Ezekiel, as is my eldest brother.”
“I think it is sad you do not live with your family, Ruby, but you have Adam, so you don’t get lonely.”
“I do. He would like you, Ella. He loves stories and learning, just like you. Now, which story do you want me to read today?”
“How many of the five that you don’t see are brothers, and how many are sisters?” his daughter said with her usual dedication to task. “I want a brother and a sister.”
Which was not likely to happen, as he had no plans to marry again… ever. But she would have his cousins’ children, so he comforted himself with that. They would always live close to them now.
“I have six brothers.”
Odder and odder, Forrest thought. He knew what the Deville brothers were like with Abby, their sister. They spoiled and protected her to the point where she wanted to bang their heads together. Why, if Ruby had six brothers, did they leave her to live alone in London, and work, with their youngest sibling? It all seemed a bit smokey to him.
“I want to meet him,” Ella said.
“Who?”
“Adam.”
“I’m not sure that will be possible, Ella. Now, pick a story and we will begin.”
The words weren’t stern, but it was clear Miss Knight wanted the conversation about her family over with.
In the three weeks Ruby Knight had been in the house, she had kept to the nursery unless she was downstairs taking tea with the staff. She was polite to him and the other members of his family who visited the nursery, but no more than that.
Forrest engaged her in conversation when she came to see him each Monday to show him the lessons she had planned for the week. She would hand them to him, he’d place them on the desk, and then find a reason for her to come round and explain something to him. She had a special scent about her. Subtle and soft, yet it wrapped around his senses.
He really needed to stop this growing fascination he had for his daughter’s tutor.
Ella absolutely loved her. Yesterday he’d looked out the window and found his daughter, Miss Knight, and Walter crouched inspecting something. He’d asked Ella what later. She’d told him it was a snail, and did he know that snails had been among us forever?
He was sure that was an exaggeration, but until he did some research, he would certainly be more respectful of the revolting little invertebrates.
“You are extremely untrusting to be standing here eavesdropping, Forrest,” Zach whispered, arriving.
“Go away, Zach.”
His cousin pressed his back to the wall beside him. He was a variation of his three older brothers, but there the similarities stopped. Zach was loud, gregarious, and women flocked to his coattails. He was confident and knew his place in the world, something Forrest had never really known. He could get into a great deal of trouble with the wrong group of people. He also said exactly what thought entered his head, a trait that often, in equal parts, annoyed and made his family laugh.
“She is my child; I am just checking all is going well.”
“Which I understand, as I have known Ella less than you and yet feel very protective.”
Protective was a tame word for how he felt about his child. He would give his life for her if he had to, without hesitation.
“But, Miss Knight, Ruby,” Zach said, “is a wonderful teacher. She reads a ripping story and lets me sit in for them when I am home. Her voices are enchanting, and surely after three weeks you can relax.”
“You’re an adult.” The fact that Zach was sitting in on story time annoyed him excessively, because he wanted to and yet didn’t. That was another thing about his cousin. He got away with things others couldn’t.
