Page 3 of Married to the Icy Duke
Acting on instinct, she reached forward and swept him up, placing him on her lap. Part of her expected the child to scream and squirm, but he only sat perfectly still, staring up at her with curiosity. Charlotte withdrew a handkerchief and mopped his cheeks.
“There,” she said, venturing a smile. “Ialways feel better after a good cry, I must say, and I daresay you do, too.”
The boy gave the tiniest of smiles. It felt like success.
Smiling back at him, Charlotte smoothed back a tangle of dark curls from his forehead. “What is your name, little one?”
The boy said nothing and abruptly climbed off her knee. He clutched onto her hand, however, and after a moment, Charlotte realized that he was tugging her after him.
“You want to crawl back under the table? Does it feel safer there?”
The boy gave a small nod. It was hardly ladylike, but Charlotte followed him, crawling on her hands and knees under the table until the tablecloth flopped back into place behind her. It was as if they were in a quiet, secluded little room of their own. The boy sat cross-legged on the floor and beamed up at her.
Charlotte tried again.
“Come on, dear, you can tell me. Tell me your name, dearest, then we’ll find something fun to do while we wait for your parents to find you.”
The boy hesitated, just for an instant, then said a single word in a thin, tentative voice.
“Tommy.”
CHAPTER 2
Isaac stared down at the cringing nursemaid. The woman was already on the brink of tears.
“Explain to me again,” he said, his voice low and smooth, “how the child has escaped.”
He had forgotten the nursemaid’s name. Mary something or other, he believed. So far, she had been fairly efficient. The previous nursemaid had been caught sneaking nips of gin during the day. Isaac did not allow such weakness in anyone, not even himself, andcertainlynot in a person tasked with caring for Thomas.
“I turned my back for only a minute,” Mary hiccupped. “He was in bed, or so I thought …”
“I thought I made it clear that the child is of paramount importance to me,” Isaac responded, voice clipped. “I made it clear that I have had no compunctions in dismissing previousservants who havenotprioritized Thomas’ well-being. If you do not care for the boy …”
“I do care for him,” Mary interrupted, andthatwas a surprise. So far, the nursemaid had been a quiet, nervous sort of woman. He guessed that she was no older than thirty or so, with mousy hair and a timid demeanor. She had certainly never talked back to anyone.
She paled at her own daring, but ploughed on, clearly forcing herself to meet his eye.
“Thomas is the sweetest boy in the world,” Mary insisted. “But like every other child his age, he is also mischievous. He did not escape, he is … he ishiding.”
“Hiding?” Isaac responded with a short laugh. “From what?”
Mary did not immediately answer. “It’s not surprising, Your Grace,” she said at last, her voice low, “that he should run away now and then. You cannot expect him to stay in the nursery all day and all night.”
“I disagree. With a little discipline …”
“He’s barely three years old,” Mary interrupted, eyes blazing. It was the second time in as many minutes that she had interrupted him. She really must care for the child if she was willing to interrupt himtwicein one conversation. “He’s only a baby, Your Grace!”
“Now you are being silly,” Isaac snapped. “Nobody said anything about expecting Tommy to act like a grown-up.”
The nickname had slipped out without him realizing it. Isaac did not care for nicknames. Thomas was a decent name, and surely he was too young to remember being called anything else. Giving himself a little shake, Isaac fixed Mary with a suitably withering stare.
“We’ll discuss this later,” he said, his voice clipped. His composure was back, thank goodness. “For now, the boy must be found and returned to the nursery. I shall help you look. However, I don’t wish my guests to know that a small child is running loose through the party. I will search for him here in the ballroom and in the adjoining rooms. You will go back upstairs and see if he has returned to the nursery. Work downstairs from there. Be thorough. Search for him, but search quietly, do you hear?”
Mary nodded wordlessly. Isaac dismissed her with a brief gesture, and the woman went scurrying off into the crowd in the next room. There were countless alcoves branching off the main ballroom, and they had chosen one of these for their conversation.
Beyond the narrow doorway to the alcove, a sea of people stretched out from wall to wall. Devils were easy to spot, having chosen to wear blood-red ruby cravat pins. Since everyone else was dressed in a winter theme, they’d all chosen white, pale blue, or grey. The Orions, as far as he could tell, hadn’t decided on any overarching style of dress.
Stop it!He scolded himself furiously.Thomas is missing, and you’re thinking about the Orions? For shame.
