They were nearing Artus at this point and Maitland came to a halt, turning to speak to Thomas so Artus wouldn’t hear her.
“He told me that he took them down by the river,” she said softly. “He took them out of Edenside completely and it was Queenie, who was the cook, who smuggled them food and blankets. The old girl may have stolen food out of their mouths, but it sounds as if she helped them through the crisis, at least a little. Some of the coinage you gave me went to Queenie when I sent her away to reward her for helping the children. I do not want her at Edenside, but I am appreciative of what she did for them. I cannot even imagine the horrors these children have endured, Thomas. That is why it makes me so happy to see them laughing and eating and making cheese to sell. They needsomeone they can trust, and they need a sense of normalcy, a sense of security.”
Thomas was nodding as she spoke. “And you have given that to them,” he said, glancing over at Artus, who was asking the smithy a question. “And that lad is a hero, whether or not he knows it. He seems smart and resourceful.”
“He is,” Maitland said, looking over at the boy. “He is very bright.”
“But he does not know who his family is?”
“Not at all. He has been at the foundling home since he can remember.”
Thomas cocked his head thoughtfully. “How old would you say he is?”
Maitland shrugged. “Ten years of age,” she said. “At least, that is what I told him. He does not really know.”
“He is old enough to foster at Wark,” Thomas said. “The lad can become a page and mayhap even a soldier someday. It would be good training for him beyond making cheese. It would give him a profession.”
Maitland looked at him in surprise. “You would take a child with no family and no background to foster?” she said. “That is astonishing, Thomas. What would your family say? A position in a de Wolfe household is a coveted thing.”
It was his turn to shrug. “I can do as I wish,” he said. “Smart lads are always welcome. Believe me, I have seen lads from the finest families who are as stupid as a fence post. An intelligent boy is a valuable commodity.”
Maitland thought that was a rather magnanimous view. “I do not know many men that would say that,” she said. “In fact, I do not know any, except mayhap Lord de Vesci. He was a generous man, too, much as you are. But what will your wife…”
She suddenly came to a halt, realizing she had brought up the one subject they’d been dancing around since heappeared yesterday. She hadn’t meant to bring it up; it simply came out. When she glanced at him, embarrassed and smiling apologetically, Thomas took a step towards her and lowered his voice.
“Finish what you were going to say.”
She shook her head. “I should not have said it,” she muttered. “It just slipped out. Forgive me.”
He sighed in understanding. “There is nothing to forgive,” he said. “You want to know about Adelaide.”
She wouldn’t look at him, lifting her shoulders weakly. He continued.
“I am glad you brought her up,” he said. “We’ve not spoken about anything that we should have, so let us get it all out in the open. First, let us speak on what happened yesterday. I will be honest when I tell you that it was, mayhap, one of the most important experiences of my life and I want you to know that come what may, I shall always belong to you. I told you that Adelaide may have my name, but you will always have my heart, Mae. I know that it is not proper, but I cannot help what I feel. You know the situation with Adelaide… it is only an arrangement, and an unhappy one at that. I wish things were different. I wish that with all my heart.”
Maitland was looking at him now, her expression somewhat guarded. “I do not know what came over me yesterday,” she said. “One moment I was looking at you and in the next…”
“Are you ashamed?”
“Of my behavior? Aye. But not of what I feel for you.”
He smiled faintly. “Tell me what you feel for me, Mae. Please.”
She grimaced and averted her gaze. “I have tried not to feel anything, but I cannot help it. There is nothing about you that I do not adore.”
“Nor I about you.”
She looked at him, then. “You asked me once if you were to go through the rest of your life wondering what could have been between us,” she said. “I have held you off and told you it was not fair to me to press your affections, but the truth is that I have affection of my own towards you. Mayhap when the affection is as strong as it is between two people, that affection will find a way.”
“And that is the case with us?”
“I believe it is.”
He stared at her a moment, a glimmer in his eyes that wavered between delight and sorrow, before suddenly reaching out to grasp her hand.
“Come with me,” he said.
After telling Artus to remain at the smithy stall, Thomas hauled Maitland down the avenue, pulling her through groups of people, clearly in search of something. Maitland went along with him, knowing she couldn’t very well pull away, but also quite curious as to what he was searching for. He was a man on a mission, towing her through the crowd under the midday sun until he found what he was looking for.
