Page 48

“Good morning, sir.” His voice was so low Alexander had to strain to hear it.

“Good morning, my lord,” Miss Hadford corrected gently.

“Good morning, my lord,” Asher repeated, his childlike curiosity overcoming enough of his shyness to expose both of his dark eyes.

Alexander’s smile widened. “Tell me, Asher, what have you been doing out here in the orchard? It looks like a fine place to play.”

The child looked up at Miss Hadford, and she nodded encouragingly.

“Tell Lord Bloxley about the house you made,” she said. “I would hazard a guess that he may wish to see it.”

“You have built a house?” Alexander said.

Asher nodded. “For a ladybiwd.” He let go of Miss Hadford’s gown long enough to point to something at the base of the apple tree. “Over thewe.”

“I should very much like to see it,” Alexander said. “I have made houses for frogs and newts in my time but never a ladybird.”

Asher took a small step away from Miss Hadford. “I’ve never seen a newt.”

“Well then, you must come with me to my pond. I daresay we shall find one there, and perhaps, if Miss Hadford permits it, we could try catching some tadpoles. I used to be quite skilled at that when I was a boy.”

“Can we, Miss Hadford?” He looked up at the lady with longing.

“If Lord Bloxley is willing to show us where the newts and tadpoles are located, I think that would be a wonderful outing,” she said with a smile. “But today we shall focus on the ladybird.”

Asher nodded happily and then turned back to Alexander. “The ladybiwd likes her house so much she has not come out.”

“That is most impressive. Ladybirds can be quite flighty,” Alexander said.

“I will show you.” Finally breaking away from the safety of Miss Hadford’s gown, Asher hurried over to the tree and crouched down at its base. Alexander rose and followed him. Bending low, he admired the ingenuity of the twig-and-leaf roof and the evenly placed ring of rocks. Then Asher pointed to another patch of dirt in its excavating infancy.

“I’m making another house in case this ladybiwd has a fwiend who wants to live here too.”

“That is a very noble thing to do,” Alexander said.

Asher frowned. “But I’m not a noble.”

“Perhaps not, but that should not prevent you from behaving like one.”

Asher pondered that for a moment and then eyed him inquiringly. “Are you a noble?”

“I am.”

“But you said you’ve not built a house for a ladybiwd.”

Alexander conceded the point. “True. But I have had cottages built for people who live on my land. Do you think that might count?”

“Yes.” Asher nodded his head solemnly. “That counts because people need houses too.” He picked up his stick and started digging again. “I think I will be a noble like you.”

Alexander stared at him. No words would come. He had never had anyone aspire to be like him before. And here was a child who had been born as far removed from an earldom as he could possibly be, wishing to be a noble—not for riches or recognition but for the good he could do for others. He swallowed the unfamiliar lump in his throat and reached for a stick.

“We are well matched, then,” he said, starting to dig beside Asher. “Because I think I should like to become more like you.”

Jane sat on the bench, watching with bemusement as Lord Bloxley and Asher worked together to build a third ladybird house. With two of them digging together, the second one had taken no time at all. Lord Bloxley had suggested covering the twig roof with fallen apple blossoms, and Asher had been so taken with the effect that he had insisted that they make another just like it.

Sunlight filtered through the branches above them, and as the air warmed and the sounds of bees buzzing in the blossoms above them increased, Jane realized afternoon had come and that she should return Asher to the house for his midday meal. Feeding the child had become a priority ever since she’d seen his painfully thin torso after his first bath.

“I apologize for the interruption, gentlemen,” she said. It seemed that the earl had already passed whatever test he needed to pass to be an Asher confidant. The child had been talking almost nonstop since they had begun the third dig. At the sound of her voice, however, he stopped midsentence and looked at her in confusion.