Page 38 of The Wedding-Crashing Duchess

“Again?”

Sarah’s expression became guarded. “I like it.”

“I did not mean that you should not,” Augusta said gently. “I only wondered whether you chose it again on my account, since I made several errors yesterday and you may have decided that I require another attempt.”

“You missed two words,” Sarah replied, and a faint note of certainty entered her voice. “Then you made the old woman sound sad when Miss Morton makes her sound angry.”

“I remember,” Augusta said. “I still think she may have been both, although I am willing to accept that Miss Morton and I understand her differently.”

Sarah lowered her eyes to the illustration.

“People cannot be angry and sad at the same time,” she said.

“I think they can,” Augusta replied. “Sometimes sadness sits quietly while anger does all the speaking, and sometimes a person sounds cross when what they truly want is for someone to notice that they are unhappy.”

Sarah remained silent for a moment, and then she moved one finger along the edge of the page.

“Father sounds cross often,” she said.

Augusta watched her carefully, although she kept her voice light.

“Does he?” Augusta asked.

“He does not shout,” Sarah replied, and she looked towards the door before continuing. “He never shouts at me, although he speaks in a way that makes everyone become quiet, and then they leave very quickly.”

“Your father has a rather commanding voice,” Augusta said. “I noticed that soon after meeting him, although I also noticed that he does not always understand how he sounds to other people.”

Sarah considered this, and then she shifted slightly on the settee.

“Miss Morton says I must not disturb him when he is working,” Sarah said. “She says he has important matters to think about, and dukes have more duties than other fathers, so I should wait until he sends for me.”

Augusta’s eyes moved briefly towards the closed door.

“Does he send for you often?” she asked.

Sarah’s fingers tightened around the book.

“Sometimes,” Sarah replied. “He asks about my lessons, and once he asked whether my new governess was kind, although Miss Morton was standing there, so I said yes.”

“Was she kind?”

Sarah looked uncertain.

“She is not unkind,” she said.

“That is not quite the same thing,” Augusta replied, and then she leaned back slightly so the child would not feel pressed. “You do not have to say anything you do not wish to say, although I hope you know that you may answer honestly when I ask you a question.”

Sarah looked down again.

“Miss Morton says honesty can be rude when children use it without care,” she said.

“Miss Morton is not entirely wrong,” Augusta replied. “Honesty can be used cruelly, and sometimes people claim they are merely telling the truth when they intend to wound someone, although that does not mean every honest answer is rude. It only means we should try to speak with kindness.”

Sarah thought about that for several seconds.

“Father is honest,” she said. “He tells people things they do not like.”

“I have noticed that too,” Augusta replied, and a small smile touched her mouth. “Your father is very skilled at saying precisely what he means, although he is less skilled at deciding whether the listener is prepared to hear it.”