Page 64 of Deceiving an Earl
“We have lessons to learn,” he said.
Philip sat up. His hair stuck out at odd angles. There was a crease in his cheek from the pillow, and he smelled of alcohol.
“Lessons? But I’m not in school.” He rubbed his eyes.
“Get up and for God’s sake, you stink.”
“I went out last night with m’ mates.”
“Your mates, eh?”
“Yes.”
“Get out of bed, boy. You have things to learn, and I haven’t all day.”
“No one asked you to teach me anything.” His chin went up, and he so reminded Oliver of Ellen.
“Your mother and the headmaster asked me, so we’re stuck with each other.”
“Just tell her that you taught me some things and that will be it.”
Oliver stood in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips, looking at Ellen’s son and wondering when he’d become such a bastard.
“You want me to lie to your mother?”
Philip looked away.
“That’s what I thought. You have five minutes to get out of bed, get dressed, and cleaned up. If you’re not in that hall in five minutes I will come in and do it for you. And by God, you had better smell better, boy.”
Oliver marched out, leaving a stunned Philip to stare after him.
Ellen was in the hallway pacing a path in the carpet. She stopped when he came out. Oliver leaned against the opposite wall and crossed his arms.
“He’s getting dressed.”
“What did you say to him?”
“I said he had lessons to learn and I didn’t have all the time in the world, so he’d better move fast.”
“And he obeyed?”
“I didn’t give him a choice. I also told him I would dress him myself if I had to.”
“He’s a good lad, Oliver. He really is.”
“Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself.”
“He just…” Her hands fluttered in the air. “He lost his way when Arthur died.”
“Understandable.”
“I tried with him. I thought I could raise him on my own, but he got more and more wild and then he just stopped listening to me.” Tears pooled in her eyes, and Oliver’s heart went out to her. He didn’t know the pain a child could cause a parent, although his mother lamented about it often enough. But he could see it in Ellen’s eyes.
“He’s not a lost cause,” Oliver said.
She blinked the tears away and nodded. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”
“But he does need a firm hand. Some boys just do.”
