She stirred while he rested her on the bed. “Papa?”
“Yes, pumpkin,” he said, while smoothing her hair from her face. “You’ve been truant, Emily. Skipping school to go play with a kitten is a no-no.”
Her little face fell. “I’m sorry, Papa. I saw his feet, and I just wanted to see if he would like me.”
Ariadne’s brows lifted.That’s more than I know.
“Are you going to take him away from me?” she asked sadly.
“Well, sweetheart, I’m not the one who had the kitten, so I cannot take it away from you,” he said, looking over to Ariadne.
Coming closer, Ariadne rested a hand on Cedric’s shoulder. “Emily, you cannot avoid your schooling to play with the kitten, so let me make you a trade. If you keep up with your schooling and get very good marks, you’ll have an hour with the kitten every evening and on the weekend.”
“Truly?” Emily’s whole face went light.
“Yes,” Ariadne replied. “But not yet. After two weeks and reports from Mrs. Grimes, then we’ll start.”
Sitting up, Emily scuffled from the bed to hug Ariadne around her middle. “Thank you.”
Heart awash with happiness, Ariadne embraced the girl as well, couched and smiled, “Do you have a name for the kitten already?”
“I have,” Emily pronounced happily. “Whiskers.”
Cedric’s face showed his exasperation at what she imagined was him thinking how unoriginal such a name was. She, however, smiled widely, “I think that is a lovely name, Emily. He does have some long whiskers, doesn’t he?”
Nodding excitedly, Emily turned to her father, “Do I have to go back to school now?”
Cedric plucked out his timepiece from his waistcoat pocket and checked, “Its nine in the morning now. I will allow you to staywith the kitten for the morning, but by noon, you will have your nuncheon and go back to your lessons. Am I understood, Emily?”
“Yes, Papa,” she replied happily while scurrying back to her bed and scratching the kitten’s ears.
With a nod, Cedric ushered Ariadne out of the room, and they headed back to his study. She had to refresh her plate and tea while Cedric requested a platter of cold meats and oat cakes for his breakfast.
“How is this search for Leander going?” she asked.
“So far, I know where he is.” He replied. “I suspect he is going to run off to another country with that mistress of his, and I will not stop him, but before he goes, he will need to fully abdicate his position and answer to me.”
“And now, I added more on your plate,” she said sadly. “With my uncle and your steward.”
He reached over the desk and rested a hand on hers, “No, you did exactly what you should have done, and that is to help me properly govern the people who trust me to do so.”
The tightness in her shoulder lessened. “Oh, good. I hope this is all an oversight, though.”
“Honestly, I hope so too, but realistically, I do not think it is,” Cedric said.
It had been four days since Ariadne had alerted him to the fraud in his books, and while he had sent a summons to Draven to meet, the man had not shown up.
To him, that was infallible proof enough of guilt.
“Holloway?” Silas asked as he walked into the room, waving a card Cedric had sent him that morning. “What is this about?”
Sitting back in his chair, Cedric replied. “I need to have a deep look in Draven’s affairs. My wife went over the records and found that he was skimming funds from the orphanage. Is the man in debt, is he a drunkard, does he have some child to mind or a mistress to support?”
Silas looked exasperated. “You do know that any private investigator in London would trip over his boots to find these things for you.”
“I do.”
“Then why didn’t you call them?” Silas asked plainly.
