Page 26 of An Arranged Betrothal with an Icy Duke
“Oh, how wonderful to hear!” Miss Tidemore’s voice was suddenly filled with a great excitement and Henry looked at her in surprise. Seeing his look, she flushed but then smiled as he helped her up into the carriage. “I spent time in one of the orphanages back in London, one which is sponsored by my aunt and uncle.” Her voice grew softer still, her expression a little wistful. “I look forward to returning there so I might see Lilly again. I did tell her that I would return soon.”
“Lilly?”
Miss Tidemore’s eyes caught his, a flush in her cheeks as though she had only just realized how much she had expressed. “One of the children there. They are all precious, of course, and I was very glad to be able to be of aid to them in even a small way but Lilly was very special to me.” Her shoulders dropped just a little and she looked away as the Duchess was then handed up into the carriage, the conversation between Henry and herself coming to a very swift end.
“I think that was handled very poorly,” the Duchess stated, as she sat down. “I have already made my feelings on this very clear, have I not?”
Seeing the way that Miss Tidemore’s shoulders dropped all the more and recalling how she had hung her head when she had been berated by his mother only a few minutes prior, Henry’s anger began to bubble. This was not a situation that his mother needed to speak into and neither was it something she ought tocontinuespeaking about, given what he had already said and done.
“Mother, if you continue speaking about this, I shall have no other choice but to stop the carriage and remove you from it.”
The shock which leapt into his mother’s eyes was so great, Henry almost wanted to laugh.
“I asked you to leave the situation as it was, telling you that I had no great concerns over Miss Tidemore speaking as she was to that child but yet you insisted on stepping out of the carriage and forcingyourdemands upon her,” Henry continued, catching the way Miss Tidemore’s head lifted as he spoke. “I was then forced to speak to you in the midst of that group and now, you continue to insist thatyourview of things is the correct one and that not only Miss Tidemore but also me myself should be railed against for it! Now, I will state this one more time and have no further discussion on the matter: I am grateful to Miss Tidemore for reminding me of what it is to be generous and kind-hearted. That is something I have forgotten and, truth be told, something that I ought not to have let fade from myself. To show generosity to those less fortunate is a blessing and a generous, considerate heart is something I should certainly hope would be present in the lady I call Duchess. Therefore, Mother, I shall not hear another word against Miss Tidemore’s actions and nor shall I hear it against myself either.” So saying, he turned to Miss Tidemore and smiled, seeing how a red flush was beginning to spread out across her cheeks. “Miss Tidemore, if you should like, I would be glad to take you to the orphanage and introduce you to the vicar and his wife.” He heard a slight squeak of obvious protest from his mother but ignored it, looking to Miss Tidemore with a slight lift to his eyebrow.
“Now?” she asked, as he nodded.
“Yes, it is on the way home and the carriage can continue to the estate to take my mother there before it returns for us. That should give us ample opportunity to see the orphanage.”
A tiny smile lifted the edges of her lips, her eyes sparkling with an obvious delight. It made Henry’s heart lurch, her beauty becoming all the more evident to him. “I should like that very much.”
“Good.” A little disconcerted by what he felt, Henry moved to speak to the driver before settling back into his seat again. Rapping on the roof, he waited for the carriage to begin its journey towards the orphanage before daring a glance at his mother.
The Duchess was not looking at him. Rather, she was looking steadfastly out of the window opposite, her hands clasped tightly in her lap – so tightly, in fact, they had gone white. The icy anger which came from her was almost palpable though, when Henry’s eyes went to Miss Tidemore, he felt that feeling fade. She was clearly delighted at where they were going, her eyes still filled with joy and her lips still curved into a smile. As Henry watched her, he felt something shift within him, something coming to life again which had laid long dead for a very long time indeed.
What it was, Henry could not quite say but it was as though a fresh heat had begun to fire through him, seeking to burn up his anger, his distrust and his fears.
The only question was whether he would let it.
Chapter Fifteen
“I am delighted to meet you.” Edith smiled warmly at the lady before her, and then to her husband. “The Duke told me that you run an orphanage here?”
“Yes, that’s right.” The vicar’s wife was a warm, comely lady who was continually looking to her husband as though she needed him to confirm all that she was saying. “We have our own three children but the need for the children here in this area was great and so, with the Duke’s generosity, we have been able to start a small orphanage.” A slight frown appeared. “Some years ago, a dreadful fever ran through the village and many children were left without parents. To be able to give them a home, an education and to love them as best we can is a great blessing.”
“That is wonderful.” Edith shared a look with the Duke, though his expression had once more returned to the seriousness she knew so well. “I would be delighted to meet the children and see the orphanage whenever you have opportunity.”
The lady glanced to her husband who then smiled with the very same warmth that his wife exuded. “We could show you at this very moment, if you like? The children are at their lessons so it would be a good time to do so.”
“Of course.” The Duke put one hand to Edith’s shoulder and pressed it gently, encouraging her. “If you should like to go with Mrs. Wilkins, I shall stay and speak with the vicar about some business matters.” He looked to the vicar. “If that would suit you, of course.”
The vicar nodded and soon, Edith found herself following after the vicar’s wife, stepping out from their house and walkinga short distance down a pebbled path to where another, larger house sat.
“This was once the vicarage,” the lady explained as Edith nodded. “It was much too large for our family, however, and so, when we suggested to the Duke that a smaller home be built and we could then turn the vicarage into an orphanage, he was very contented with the idea. The land and the vicarage are owned by him, you see.”
“I understand.” Edith found her heart squeezing tight with a sudden, fresh astonishment over all that the Duke had given to this family and to the village as a whole. She would never have guessed that such a callous, cold-hearted gentleman would have ever done such a thing.
“The Duke of Fairglen is such an excellent gentleman,” the lady continued, as they came to the orphanage. “He has all of the tenants’ homes improved every year. Even if there are no repairs to be done on a home, he will have things improved so that the house is warmer for the coming winter. I know that he is generous with his funds and that the villagers know they can approach him, should there be any need for help. He is a very good man, I must say. God will bless him, I pray, as he has blessed others.”
Edith could not quite take in what was being said about the Duke, finding herself overwhelmed with astonishment at the vicar’s wife. Was this really who the Duke of Fairglen was? This was not the gentleman thatsheknew. Rather, that was a gentleman who was a stranger to her.
Unless this was who he was before the incident with his previously betrothed.
“Now, here we are at the nursery. This is for the very youngest children, though we only have two at the moment.” Mrs. Wilkins opened the door and smiled warmly at the two little children playing with their nurse. “This is Caleb andSusanna. Susanna is soon to leave us, for her uncle and aunt are coming from Scotland to collect her, which is a wonderful thing. They have no children of their own and are eager to take their niece home with them.” Mrs. Wilkins clasped her hands to her heart. “And they are also going to take Matthew and Frederick, two of the older boys here in the orphanage, as well as Elizabeth who is a little older than Susanna.”
“They are taking all four?” Edith smiled and then bent down as Caleb came towards her, holding out a wooden block he had been playing with. “That is wonderful. They are good people?”
Mrs. Wilkins nodded. “Very good people. We are careful to make certain that any children who are taken in go to families who will care for them very well indeed. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have not been able to have children and they expressed a deep longing to have a home filled with children. I think it will be wonderful for them all!”
