eccentric.
He reined in at the stables, going back over the questions he’d mentally rehearsed. They would help him concentrate on what was most important. Having left Samson with a groom, he returned to the entrance, where he was once again admitted by the grandfatherly-looking butler, Thurlow. The clock on the mantel showed he was a quarter of an hour early.
“Her ladyship is in the library, sir, doing her accounts,” said Thurlow, taking Jeremy’s overcoat and hat. “However, I am certain she would wish me to take you to her.”
Jeremy followed the man down the hallway and into a cozy, book-lined room carpeted in a practical drugget. The furniture was scrupulously polished and dusted, but like the carpet, showed small signs of wear. He wondered if the children played here sometimes. Twittering sounds emanated from one corner, where he saw several goldfinches housed in an enormous birdcage carved to resemble a Chinese pagoda. The French doors, matching the ones in the drawing room, were partially open, admitting spring-scented air into the room.
Lady Dearing sat at a desk leaning over an open ledger, a pair of spectacles sliding down her nose. As Jeremy entered, she looked up and pushed them back with a beautifully manicured hand. He wondered if she had donned the spectacles in order to look older. It was not working.
“What a pleasure to see you so early, Sir Jeremy,” she said, rising as the butler left them.
“My apologies. I rode out early to exercise my horse and was not certain of the time.”
He tried not to stare at her as he had yesterday. But she looked thoroughly fresh and appealing in a blue-striped gown, lace high to her throat, her blue eyes glowing through the spectacles.
“Did you expect to find me with a lover, perhaps?” she asked, chin tilted slightly.
It was phrased as a joke, but he knew it was a challenge. He had offended her yesterday. Or she wished him to think so.
“Of course not. I must apologize again. I realize my manner may have been a bit abrupt yesterday, but I intended no offense. It is just that you are . . . younger than I expected.”
“I am two-and-thirty,” she replied crisply. “Many women have borne four children, or even more, by my age.”
He suppressed frustration. He’d offended her again, with a statement that would have pleased most women.
“I did not say you are too young to care for the children. I was trying to apologize for my rude manner.”
A flush stole over her cheeks. “Do not trouble yourself about it. I suppose it is natural for you to be suspicious.”
“I am here to learn the truth.”
“Very well then. There are a few things I should like to discuss before we go up to the schoolroom. Will you be seated, please?”
Though her words were decisive, there was something in her demeanor . . . a taut wariness. Did she have something to hide, or was it just the natural nervousness of anyone under inspection?
Regardless, a polite and friendly manner would help him to discover the truth.
He relaxed his expression and took a seat. “What is it you wish to tell me, then?”
She clasped her hands in her lap, as she had yesterday. They were beautiful hands, bare of rings, he noticed.
“First I must tell you that I have the deepest respect for the Governors of the Foundling Hospital,” she said. “I believe that the standard of education at the Hospital is undoubtedly well suited to the needs of the vast majority of the children.”
“There is no need for flattery. What is it you wish to tell me?”
“I was trying to make clear that I intend no criticism of the Hospital or the Governors, and explain that in the case of the foundlings here at Rosemead, I have found that somewhat . . . different . . . methods have proven efficacious.”
“Such as?”
“Their education here has been broader. I believe that allowing them to pursue individual interests has helped them improve in other things, especially in their
He reined in at the stables, going back over the questions he’d mentally rehearsed. They would help him concentrate on what was most important. Having left Samson with a groom, he returned to the entrance, where he was once again admitted by the grandfatherly-looking butler, Thurlow. The clock on the mantel showed he was a quarter of an hour early.
“Her ladyship is in the library, sir, doing her accounts,” said Thurlow, taking Jeremy’s overcoat and hat. “However, I am certain she would wish me to take you to her.”
Jeremy followed the man down the hallway and into a cozy, book-lined room carpeted in a practical drugget. The furniture was scrupulously polished and dusted, but like the carpet, showed small signs of wear. He wondered if the children played here sometimes. Twittering sounds emanated from one corner, where he saw several goldfinches housed in an enormous birdcage carved to resemble a Chinese pagoda. The French doors, matching the ones in the drawing room, were partially open, admitting spring-scented air into the room.
Lady Dearing sat at a desk leaning over an open ledger, a pair of spectacles sliding down her nose. As Jeremy entered, she looked up and pushed them back with a beautifully manicured hand. He wondered if she had donned the spectacles in order to look older. It was not working.
“What a pleasure to see you so early, Sir Jeremy,” she said, rising as the butler left them.
“My apologies. I rode out early to exercise my horse and was not certain of the time.”
He tried not to stare at her as he had yesterday. But she looked thoroughly fresh and appealing in a blue-striped gown, lace high to her throat, her blue eyes glowing through the spectacles.
“Did you expect to find me with a lover, perhaps?” she asked, chin tilted slightly.
It was phrased as a joke, but he knew it was a challenge. He had offended her yesterday. Or she wished him to think so.
“Of course not. I must apologize again. I realize my manner may have been a bit abrupt yesterday, but I intended no offense. It is just that you are . . . younger than I expected.”
“I am two-and-thirty,” she replied crisply. “Many women have borne four children, or even more, by my age.”
He suppressed frustration. He’d offended her again, with a statement that would have pleased most women.
“I did not say you are too young to care for the children. I was trying to apologize for my rude manner.”
A flush stole over her cheeks. “Do not trouble yourself about it. I suppose it is natural for you to be suspicious.”
“I am here to learn the truth.”
“Very well then. There are a few things I should like to discuss before we go up to the schoolroom. Will you be seated, please?”
Though her words were decisive, there was something in her demeanor . . . a taut wariness. Did she have something to hide, or was it just the natural nervousness of anyone under inspection?
Regardless, a polite and friendly manner would help him to discover the truth.
He relaxed his expression and took a seat. “What is it you wish to tell me, then?”
She clasped her hands in her lap, as she had yesterday. They were beautiful hands, bare of rings, he noticed.
“First I must tell you that I have the deepest respect for the Governors of the Foundling Hospital,” she said. “I believe that the standard of education at the Hospital is undoubtedly well suited to the needs of the vast majority of the children.”
“There is no need for flattery. What is it you wish to tell me?”
“I was trying to make clear that I intend no criticism of the Hospital or the Governors, and explain that in the case of the foundlings here at Rosemead, I have found that somewhat . . . different . . . methods have proven efficacious.”
“Such as?”
“Their education here has been broader. I believe that allowing them to pursue individual interests has helped them improve in other things, especially in their
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