Ada stopped walking and turned to her. “Don’t say you don’t want one now. Was that not why you were so upset yesterday?”
In reply, all she got was another lift of the shoulders.
“Miss Jenkins—”
Finally, that innocent face looked up at her. “You can call me Arabella. It’s all right.”
This was where Ada had to tread carefully. “I don’t think it would be proper, because I don’t know how long we will be spending time together. Mr. Clarke wishes to curb some of your outbursts, but once you are behaving better, you won’t need my help any longer. You will be a big girl.”
That lower lip stuck out. “What if I don’t want you to go?”
Ada patted her hand. “Why don’t we not think of that now? There will be time to discuss that later.”
That seemed to placate her for the time being, but with the shrewd expression in her gaze, Ada realized that Arabella was more mature than Mr. Clarke or his mother might have imagined. She just had a special way of gaining attention. Perhaps having these crying bouts was how she had garnered her mother’s notice. Unfortunately, since the woman was gone, there was no way to know for sure.
As they all piled into the carriage, Ada made sure to sit on the other side of Arabella, so that the child was between her and her father. She needed the space to ensure that she kept a clear head. When they were sitting together on the bench in the gardens watching Arabella, she could feel his warmth radiating from his body, and it had been rather discomfiting.
As they passed a popular toy shop on High Holborn, Arabella began to point excitedly. “Dolly!” she squealed.
“Arabella, dear, you need to keep your voice down,” Ada chided gently, but the child wouldn’t be abated.
“Dolly!”
“Stop the carriage,” she ordered Mr. Clarke, and to her surprise he didn’t hesitate. Once he had set the brake, she turned to Arabella. “Today we are getting a sweet ice, and if you are a good girl who minds her manners, then I will take you to Noah’s Ark to look at dolls later this week. Do we have a deal?”
Arabella scrunched up her face and folded her arms in obvious irritation. “I want a dolly now.”
Although she was still cross, Ada noted that she had lowered her tone. “If you continue in this manner, not only will you not get a dolly later, but I will instruct Mr. Clarke to take you back home and you won’t get a sweet ice either.”
The crestfallen look she wore was almost too much for Ada to bear, but she remained steadfast, and eventually the little girl mumbled, “Sweet ice.”
So they set off once more.
Chapter 8
Two months passed in a similar fashion. Mr. Clarke would arrive at her house with Arabella in tow and they would embark on some sort of outing. Most days were pleasant, but other days were a bit more trying. The hardest were the days it rained and they were forced to occupy themselves in the parlor. Keeping a four-year-old busy was certainly a challenge, but it had given Ada something to look forward to each morning when she awoke. She was quickly finding her heart was becoming more and more engaged with her new charge, but it was more than that.
The times Arabella was content and playing by herself, Ada and Mr. Clarke would talk. Sometimes it wasn’t anything more involved than the weather or the latest political news, but she had discovered that being with him was rather… nice. For the first time since Archie’s untimely passing, she was content. It would be so easy to allow herself to accept his proposal and live together in perfect harmony.
Unfortunately, as she was starting to learn, all good things had to come to an end at some point.
Thankfully, it was one afternoon they had remained inside, because although it wasn’t raining, it appeared as though there was a storm brewing on the horizon.
Since they were at Ada’s residence most of the time because she couldn’t travel as freely, some of Arabella’s toys had been relocated there. She was playing with a hoop, holding her rag doll in her arm, and running about the parlor when a tingling sensation began in Ada’s arm that slowly crept its way across her shoulders.
She must have uttered some sort of noise, although she didn’t recall doing anything as her body began to turn on itself. An intense wave of fear clutched her as she stared off into space. She couldn’t even close her eyes as the room began to close in around her.
It had been weeks since she’d suffered one of her episodes, and she had thought maybe they would no longer be a burden. She should have known she wouldn’t be so lucky, that the doctors hadn’t been right about her condition, that it was lifelong—and permanent.
Her body began those terrible spasms and she would have fallen from the chair onto the floor if Brandt hadn’t been there to catch her. She stared helplessly at him as his expression grew worried. She could see him mouth something to her, but her brain wouldn’t comprehend what he was saying. All she could do was pray that the episode passed quickly, because she didn’t want to scare Arabella.
But she needn’t have worried, because the child came over and gently stroked her hair. Both of them comforted her as the worst of it faded and slowly, reality began to make its way back to her. She blinked and felt her entire body relax as the stiffness left her body as relief took over.
“Mrs. Givens? Are you going to be all right?”
Ada’s strength had depleted greatly, but she was able to reach up a hand and touch the side of Arabella’s soft face. “Yes, sweeting. All is well. Go back and play.”
She nodded obediently and left her line of vision. Brandt, however, was still looking down at her in concern. “Should I fetch a physician?” he asked woodenly.
