Page 29 of An Arranged Betrothal with an Icy Duke
“Please, do not let me stop you. I only wanted to thank you for what you did in playing for the audience – and for trusting me to accompany you!”
Edith closed the violin case and then turned around to face him, smiling gently. “Your Grace, I should be the one thanking you for what you did in stepping in to play. Your mother may not have understood, but that piece requires a pianist.”
“No, I do not think she did,” Henry assured her, putting one hand out to her, and then bowing over it. “You did magnificently and it was an honour to be able to accompany you.” Before he could stop himself, Henry brushed a kiss to the back of her hand and then lifted his head, a little shocked by his own response to her. He saw the same surprise flare Miss Tidemore’s eyes but, clearing his throat, he took her hand and then set it on his arm, not giving the moment an opportunity to become strained. “We should return to the drawing room.” Without another word, he led her back to the other guests and then showed her to a seat so she might listen to the musicians as they played. As he did so, however, Henry felt himself happy – and happiness was not something he had felt in a very long time indeed. What changes this Miss Tidemore was bringing to him! And how much more might she bring, if only he could bring himself to trust her!
Chapter Seventeen
“Thank you for letting me call.”
Miss Wilkins smiled. “My dear Miss Tidemore, I am the one who is grateful.”
“Edith, please.”
The vicar’s wife nodded. “You are very generous, Miss Tidemore – I mean, Edith. Thank you for coming to call. The children are so delighted in your company.”
Edith looked down at the many faces of the small children now all eagerly waiting for her to read the one final story she had promised them. Her thoughts went to Lily, the little girl she had left behind back at the orphanage in London. How much she missed being able to spend time with the little toddler who had caught her heart! For a moment, Edith wondered if there would be any possibility in having the little girl brought here, so that she might continue on in the care of the child, only for such a hope to sink low and shatter. The Duke had shown something of a softer side, yes, but that did not mean she had any confidence in approaching him with this. And certainly the Duchess would not be open to such a suggestion! She already thought Edith much too soft-hearted.
“They are eager and waiting for you, Edith,” Miss Wilkins said, smiling. “You have already made a great impression on them, I think!”
Edith laughed, pushing all discouraging thoughts away and instead, going to sit down as the group of children followed her.
“Only one more story, and then it will be time for us to eat,” Mrs. Wilkins reminded them all, though she too sat down on a chair, ready to listen to Edith. Edith opened the book and began to read, casting a spell over all of the children as theylistened. How much she adored this! How much she delighted in spending time here, offering even the smallest moments of her time with these delightful children who had already lost so much.
When the story was finished, Edith smiled and bid good afternoon to the children, her expression softening as Caleb, one finger in his mouth, came towards her. When he put his arms out, she could not help but embrace him, pulling him up close to her and hugging him tightly.
“Did you enjoy the story?”
He nodded yes, his eyes looking up at her.
“Do you want to go and have something to eat? I can come with you, if you like?”
The child smiled big and bright and Edith looked up as the door opened, utterly astonished to see none other than the Duke himself walk into the room. His eyes caught hers, taking in the scene before him, seeing the child on her lap and the way he was cradled in her arms and, as she watched, the Duke’s expression softened and he smiled.
“I see that the orphanage has taken to you in the same way as you have taken to the orphanage, Edith,” he said, as Miss Wilkins rose to her feet to usher the last few children out of the room. “I had come to talk to the vicar about some improvements and he told me that you had come by.”
“I am sorry,” Edith responded, knowing that she had stepped away from the house guests and a little concerned now that he would think of her as neglecting her duties. “The other ladies were determined to take a walk through the gardens this morning while the gentlemen went out shooting again and since I have already taken many a walk through the gardens, I thought to come here instead.”
The Duke smiled. “I am not berating you,” he said, softly. “I think it a wonderful thing.” He came closer to her and, much toEdith’s astonishment, Caleb turned in her lap and then, after a moment of considering the Duke, reached his arms up towards him.
The Duke did not move. His expression appeared frozen, his eyes a little wide as he took in the child’s lifted hands.
“I think he wants you to pick him up, Your Grace,” Edith said gently, not certain if the reason for the Duke’s reluctance was because he simply could not understand what the child wanted, or because he was a little uncertain about how to go about it. “Here.” She rose and lifted Caleb in her arms, handing him to the Duke. The gentleman took him carefully, as though he might somehow shatter if he held him the wrong way but Edith set one hand to his arm in reassurance, smiling gently. Her heart was softening towards this gentleman more than she dared admit and as she took him in, seeing the gentleman and the child together, Edith’s heart soared.
“I think he must be drawn to you,” she said, as Caleb leaned his head down onto the Duke’s shoulder and stuck his finger back into his mouth. “You need not fear that you will drop him, Your Grace. You are holding him securely.”
The Duke harrumphed, clearly still feeling a little awkward, but all the same, Edith noticed the hint of a smile touching the edge of his lips.
“Your Grace, how kind you are to these children.” Mrs. Wilkins came back into the room and held out her hands to Caleb. “Come now, my dear, let me take you to the dining room. There is soup waiting for you, as well as bread and cheese.”
Caleb smiled and let Mrs. Wilkins take him, though he waved one hand towards the Duke and then to Edith. Edith let out a soft sigh, only to see the Duke gazing at her. A flush brushed across her cheeks but she smiled back at him regardless.
“I think he is a beautiful child,” she said quietly, as the Duke walked to the door, ready to take his leave. “I have already told you about Lilly, have I not?”
The Duke nodded. “You did, but I should like to hear more about her – and about the orphanage in London,” he said, as she smiled up at him. “Mayhap you would be contented to walk back to the manor house? We could talk as we went.”
Edith’s heart soared for the second time and when he offered her his arm, she took it without hesitation. “I should like that very much, Your Grace,” she said softly, before walking with him out of the orphanage.
***
