Page 42 of Snowdrops and Winterberry
“That doesn’t address your situation though,” Howard said. “Even the kindest of governesses will not beyou. That will be difficult for you and your little duke.”
“I’ll be so far away from him.”
“Not if you accept Lord and Lady Jonquil’s offer to be a nursemaid for their coming arrival,” Howard said. “You’d be aday’s journey from Falstone Forest. You’d be here whenever he was permitted to visit. You’d still see him.”
She looked up into those beloved eyes, her heart breaking anew. “But I wouldn’t see you. You can’t stay here.”
He brushed his thumb over her cheek. “I do have to go where I find work. That requires me to travel.”
“I know.” She lowered her gaze, her heart too heavy for meeting his eyes any longer.
“How long do you suspect Adam will need you to be nearby while the ground beneath him solidifies?”
She hadn’t thought of it in quite that way. Over time, Adam would grow more independent. He would be used to living at Harrow and traveling back at term breaks. He would adjust to his new governess. While he would never stop mourning the death of his father, that loss would, with time, be less new and less fresh.
“I’m nae certain how long he’ll need,” she said. “He might prove more adaptable than he seems now. He might, on the other hand, need a year or two.”
Howard kissed her lightly on the lips. “I have told you before that I am patient. I’m in earnest, Robbie. If we need to wait two years while your precious Adam gains his footing and while your heart is reassured of his well-being, then I can wait. To be with you, I can wait as long as is required.”
She wrapped her arms around him. “I wish we didn’t have to.”
“So do I, Robbie. So do I.”
***
Adam stood in the doorway of his bedchamber, a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings twisting him about. He understood most of what Nurse Robbie and Mr. Simpkin were saying, but he couldn’t entirely make sense of it. He needed help sorting it all.
Careful to be very quiet, he slipped down the corridor in the opposite direction of Nurse Robbie and directly to Lady Jonquil’s bedchamber. He wasn’t certain she would be in there. Eight-year-old boys, after all, went to bed much earlier than grown-up ladies.
Relief wrapped around his heart when he saw her sitting on her bed and reading a book. He tiptoed closer, unsure how to begin. He knew she wouldn’t be upset to see him—she never was—but she might not approve of him eavesdropping on Nurse Robbie’s conversation.
“Lady Jonquil?” He didn’t like when the words he said came out small. He was already too little for everything he was supposed to do—be a duke, look after the castle, go to school—soundingtoo little only meant people would laugh at him more.
She looked over at him. Lady Jonquil always smiled when she saw him. He liked that. “Adam. I thought you would be in bed already.”
“I was,” he admitted. “But I heard something that confused me. And worried me. And I needed to... I wanted to ask you about it.”
She patted the bed beside her. “Climb up, sweeting, and tell me what you heard.”
He didn’t hesitate. His long nightshirt gave him a bit of trouble, but he managed to position himself right next to her.
Lady Jonquil set her book aside and turned so she was facing him. “What was it you heard?”
“Nurse Robbie said to Mr. Simpkin that she won’t be my nurse anymore.”
“With you not living at the castle all the time any longer and you being eight years old now, with no younger children there for her to look after, she would have nothing to do.”
He didn’t like that explanation. “She said my mother said I’m to have a governess.”
Lady Jonquil nodded. “That is usually what happens next.”
“Why could not Nurse Robbie be my governess? It is ridiculous that she shouldn’t be. One ought not do things that are ridiculous.”
“Nurse Robbie is a nursemaid. It is what she is trained to do. Being a governess is not the same.”
“She said you are going to ask my mother if you can select a governess for me.”
Lady Jonquil brushed one of his hairs away from his eye. “I want to make certain whoever is chosen is wonderful to you.”
