“God’s truth, purchasing my own house was one of the best days of my life,” Cambridge said. He held awedge of treacle cake in each hand now. “And I love my family.”
“You’re all on the same street,” Charles mocked him. “And your brother-in-law purchased it.”
“My point is, independence is a wonderful thing,” Cam added.
Mungo turned to look at the Douglas house. Not huge, but two stories, and comfortable. This he knew, as he’d entered it many times. He’d never thought to have his own home, but here, in Crabbett Close? He had to admit the idea was tempting.
“Give it some thought,” Mr. Douglas said. “There is no hurry.”
“Winner is Mavis and her team!” Mr. Greedy declared.
Miss Downing burped again. “Oh dear, excuse me.”
“Quite all right,” Cam said, doing the same.
The games slowly wound down, though the noise hardly did. Mungo moved away from the governess, as he was far too aware of her. The tables were being cleared, but no one was quite ready to return indoors. Children raced about, full of sugar.
Ram declared that his wife had cheated. Flora, equally loudly, pretended innocence. Cambridge sampled leftovers with the dedication of a man fulfilling a sacred duty. Ivy and Bram tried—and failed—to herd the younger ones toward the house.
Mungo stood slightly apart, arms crossed, watching the chaos as he contemplated the thought of purchasing the Douglas house. His eyes, however, kept drifting to Miss Downing.
She stood with Tabitha and Mrs. Greedy, slightly away from any Nightingales, as if she knew it wasn’t her place to be any closer to those who employed her. Her bonnet wasaskew, her cheeks were a pleasant rosy hue… and she was swaying.
Mungo frowned.
She caught his eye over the heads of the children and offered a polite, ladylike smile that tried very hard to hide the fact that she had consumed several questionable drinks and was feeling the effects. She was also shivering.
He stalked toward her, unwinding his scarf.
Miss Downing froze. “What are you doing? Oh—I couldn’t possibly?—”
“Go back to the house,” he said after he’d wound the long length of gray wool around her neck. The words came out gruff. “This is no?—”
“Place for a governess. Of course, excuse me.”
She’d gone before he could stop her, misunderstanding what he’d been about to say.
“I like her,” Bram said, coming to where Mungo stood watching Miss Downing flee.
“But is she good at her job? That question is all that matters.”
“Fred, Matilda, and Anna like her, so perhaps you could be nicer.”
“I could, but it’s unlikely,” Mungo said. “About the Douglas house, Bram.”
His friend just smiled and said, “It is not my decision to make, my friend.” He then walked away to where his family all stood, now wrapped in blankets.
They were Mungo’s family too.
His eyes went back to the Douglas house. Could he purchase it? Live in it? He’d never wanted to own a property, and that was likely because in a small corner of his mind he’d thought he’d return to Scotland.
He thought about Fenella then. She was his kin, and hewould miss her, while knowing also that his family were exactly where he’d left them and that he was not strong enough to take the first step toward fixing what had been broken between them all those years ago.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“No, Fred, you do not cuss loudly. A lady is expected to remain calm at all times and speak only in polite terms at a society function. I’ll add to that, you really shouldn’t speak like that at any time.”
Frederica made a face that expressed her displeasure at Eliza’s words.
