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He noticed that she evaded his question about her mother. But he decided not to push. “Hm… No time to look up at the clouds?”

She laughed. “I had plenty of free time. The theater doesn’t run all the time. And when there was no production, I was allowed to do whatever I wanted, as long as I didn’t leave the premises of the theater and the gardens. I imagine I had more freedom than you did, my lord viscount.”

“I wouldn’t argue with that, Miss Claremont.” He smiled. “How old were you then?”

“Hmm…” Her pleasant humming reverberated through his soul. “I was about eleven when he took me in. But I don’t remember days when I wasn’t at the theater. It’s always been my passion. He died a few years later, but I was able to look out for myself and earn a living by then. I am very grateful for what he did for me. He had no obligations to me. And yet, he gave me everything I now own.”

Richard studied her troubled features. “He must have loved your mother very much.”

“He did.” She nodded.

“Do you resemble her?”

Jo looked at him queerly, then pulled on a beguiling smile. “What about your childhood?”

That’s a no, then. “Well, as you may have noticed, I am from a big family.”

“Truly?” She feigned shock.

He chuckled. “We had one more brother, Benedict. He died at war… or so the note said. We never saw the body. But I suppose many English families never said a proper goodbye to their sons, brothers… husbands.”

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

He shook his head. “But before that, we were one big and boisterous family. We still are, I suppose. But my parents passed from grief after the news of Ben came…” He cleared his throat. “Isabel was always the calm one, the rational one. Sam was a troublemaker. She always climbed trees and raced horses with Adam and Ben. Alan was more interested in his studies. He was always reading books, even on hunting trips.” He laughed and shook his head from the memories.

She eyed him curiously. “And you?”

He raised his brows. “And I was just there.”

Her face softened, and a small smile appeared on her lips. “Doing what?”

He cleared his throat and turned his eyes to the sky again. “Preparing to inherit the estates. Learning about my duties as a viscount.”

She frowned and inched closer to him. “You didn’t play with the others?”

He shrugged. “I was the oldest. Their activities didn’t interest me as much… Besides, I was already attending school when they reached the appropriate age for us to engage in the same activities. Ben was the closest to my age, but he was always running with the babes, looking out for the little ones.” He chuckled. “I went hunting with my father, fishing, spent mornings sorting through accounting ledgers, and learning about different farming techniques and technologies… I had a lot to do.”

“Hm…” She licked her lips, then looked at him slyly. “No time to look up at the clouds?”

He chuckled. “That I always found time to do. The roof used to be my favorite place growing up. Sure, sometimes I looked down at my playing siblings or the working servants, but most of the time I would lie just like this, looking up at the sky. The roof was the only place that allowed me to just be. I wasn’t required to do anything or think about anything.”

“You didn’t think about anything at all?” Mischief ignited in her eyes.

“Nothing at all.”

“How about the shapes in the clouds?”

He grimaced. “What shapes in the clouds?”

“Well, see?” She pointed her delicate finger at a puffy, white cloud. “That one looks like Button. Not the button on your coat, but Millie’s dog.”

Richard barked a laugh. “That cloud is far too small and graceful to resemble Button.”

She nudged him with her shoulder. “Button is graceful!”

“He has tackled Isabel at least three times since they met. A graceful dog would never do that to a refined young lady like Isabel!”

She chuckled. “I love how protective you are of your siblings.”