Walter refused to budge. “I’m not done. Contrary to what you just stated, we still have much to discuss. I know you adore my children. Besides that, until last night, I was getting the impression you were becoming somewhat fond of me. That makes it difficult to understand why you won’t at least consider forming an alliance with me.”
It was rather concerning when Gwendolyn seemed to swell on the spot right as Adelaide and Phyllis made a mad rush for the door, saying this was obviously a conversation they shouldn’t be privy to before their heels could be heard clattering down the hallway and out of the house.
“You are the last man on the face of this planet I would form an alliance with” were the first words out of Gwendolyn’s mouth after Phyllis and Adelaide made their abrupt departure.
Walter ran a hand over his face because, clearly, the conversation was going downhill at an incredibly rapid rate. “But I thought you were beginning to enjoy the time you spent with me.”
“I was,” Gwendolyn snapped. “However, even though you seem perfectly willing to form analliancewith me—which, well, be still my fluttering heart—that isn’t something that interests me. I’m certainly not going to entertain the thought of marriage to you knowing that I’m the best solution you’ve managed to find to provide your children with a mother. Yes, I adore your children, but here’s something you should know. Your children—while having a mother would be highly beneficial to their lives—don’t actually need a mother brought in. What they need, and have needed for years, Walter, is you—their father.”
She began pacing around the room, her color high, stopping in her tracks before she leveled a furious look on him. “Your children are remarkable. The twins are precocious and precious, and all they long for in this moment of their little lives is attention and genuine affection. They don’t need more toys or sweets. What they need is love.
“The lack of that from you, difficult as I’m certain this is to hear, is the root cause for their past misbehavior. Oscar realizes that, and he, at only nine years old, has taken it upon himself to ascertain his siblings get the affection they crave. Why else do you think he deliberately failed all his classes and delved into mischief at his school that was certain to get him tossed out, and right before the term ended?”
“He told you that?”
“Priscilla was the one to spill the beans, but apparently Oscar was worried the twins were lonely and no one was reading them stories at night or properly tucking them into bed. He decided to take matters into his unusually capable nine-year-old hands, failed his classes, got expelled from school, and then went about seeing after your children—something that should never be his responsibility, since it’s meant to be yours.”
A crushing weight settled over Walter.
He’d had no idea what was behind Oscar’s failure at school,but he should have realized something was dreadfully amiss and should have pressed his son to disclose what that something was.
It was little wonder Oscar looked at him with disdain.
Walter opened his mouth, struggled for a response, then realized he had nothing of worth to say because ... she was right.
He’d been neglectful of his children, burying himself in work after Vivian died. He’d chosen to leave the responsibility of raising his children to the grandmothers, which hadn’t been fair to them, as well as to a parade of governesses who didn’t always seem to have his children’s best interests at heart, but he hadn’t even bothered to ask the children their thoughts about any of their many governesses.
“Begging your pardon, Miss Brinley,” the butler suddenly said, sticking his head into the room. “Two women have just arrived, saying something about needing to fetch some children.”
Before Gwendolyn could do more than frown, Miss Putman and Miss Wendell, Walter’s governesses, dashed into the room, looking harried. They skidded to a stop when they spotted him, Miss Putman dashing a hand over a perspiring forehead before her gaze darted around the room.
“They’re not here?” she asked as Miss Wendell advanced into the room, looking behind a chaise before she shook her head.
“They don’t appear to be.”
A sense of unease swept through Walter. “Are you looking for the children?”
“Indeed,” Miss Wendell said. “And while this does not speak well of my or Miss Putman’s abilities as governesses, your children locked us in a closet, using a missing doll as an excuse to get us in there. We only just managed to escape after the upstairs maid heard us hollering.”
“Why would you think the children were here?” Gwendolyn asked, stepping forward.
“Oscar told a groom we’d given them permission to taketheir pony cart out to come and have a word with you, Miss Brinley,” Miss Putman said, her gaze still darting about the room. “Everyone on staff knows how upset the children are about what happened last night, so the groom didn’t question Oscar, merely harnessed Bert to the cart and watched the children trundle up the drive.”
Miss Wendell began wringing her hands. “From what we’ve pieced together, they locked us in mere minutes after Mr. Townsend and his mother rode off the estate, which was some time ago now. But ... if they’re not here, where are they?”
Thirty-Seven
While there had been numerous times when her siblings had gone missing, Gwendolyn was convinced Walter’s children hadn’t merely gotten distracted by chasing butterflies or wading in a stream they couldn’t pass by.
Oscar had made a point of telling the groom where they were heading, and if Gwendolyn knew anything about Oscar, it was that he was the most responsible nine-year-old she’d ever met and would never willingly put his siblings in harm’s way.
Given that the children had been gone for a few hours, there was nothing left to conclude except that they’d run into trouble. What type of trouble remained to be seen, but there was a sense of urgency to the situation, which was why she and Walter were now on horseback, traveling down Bellevue Avenue, where society was already assembled.
It didn’t take long to get the word out that the children were missing. Carriages filled with the society set soon took off in different directions to join the search, an agreement made that everyone would convene at Sea Haven in two hours to give reports or get additional direction if the children still hadn’t been found.
“Where do you suggest we go next?” Gwendolyn asked, turning to Walter after Russell Damrosch and Tillie Wickham told them they’d head off to look at Easton Beach.
Walter rubbed a hand over his face. “They might have thought, like me, you were staying at Mrs. Parker’s, not at Catriona’s cottage.”
