Mia stood at the window, smiling in greeting, with roses in her cheeks that hadn’t been there in the morning. He hoped they hadn’t been artificially assisted, but he was grateful for whatever effort they’d taken.
“Is this the dining room?” Daniel asked, drawing laughs.
“This is the suite I share with Mia. This is our sitting room,” Gideon said.
He introduced the children to his wife, proud of the girls’ curtsies and even Daniel’s bow.
“I’m so pleased to meet you all. I’ve been waiting and waiting for you,” Mia said. “Come sit at the table.”
Helen glared skeptically at Mia’s words but sat nonetheless.
“Lemon cakes!” Daniel exclaimed, reaching for one.
“Sandwiches first!” Gideon told him.
Jessica stared at Mia. “What are we to call you? Helen says we mustn’t call you ‘Mother’ because we already had a mother even though Daniel and I don’t remember and she does.”
“My name is Euphemia Forbearance Kendrick. Your father calls me Mia. You can call me any of those or—” Mia leaned forward with a mischievous wink. “—make up one of your own.”
That satisfied Jessica, who sat back considering the possibilities.
“Forbearance?” Helen wrinkled her nose.
“Euphie,” Daniel said. “That’s a funny name.”
“If we call you Euphie and Papa calls you Mia, it is Euphemia all together,” Jessica pointed out.
“Why don’t you wait and see what you think when you know me better?” Mia said, passing a platter of sandwiches. She poured nursery tea—primarily milk with a splash of tea.
“Daniel, would you like a tour of Woodglen?” Mia asked.
“Yes! This is Uncle Phillip’s grand house. I want to see it all.”
“He might like the stables best,” Gideon said. “So would Jessica.”
“Hector would love to meet them!”
Is Hector your son?” Daniel asked.
Mia laughed, and Jessica said, “Or your horse?”
“He’s almost as big as a horse, but Hector is my dog.”
Soon Mia and his younger children were in an animated conversation about the relative merits of horses, dogs, bunnies, foxes, hedgehogs, and other wildlife. When Jessica brought up zebras, Mia treated the idea with perfect seriousness. He breathed a sigh of relief. She had charmed the two of them.
Helen, however, sat in stony silence, systematically demolishing her sandwich.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jessica pronounced theballroom larger than their entire house in Wales. Helen deemed that an exaggeration. Mia wondered. Daniel gaped in awe before discovering he could slide on the highly polished floor. Mia was relieved when Gideon grabbed the boy by the shoulder.
“You’ll give Fillmore heart palpitations,” Gideon said.
“Who is Fillmore?” the boy asked.
“He’s the butler. He’s a sort of general of the army it takes to keep this place all shiny, including that floor,” Mia explained.
“Why does it need to be so shiny if no one is in here?” Helen asked.
