Page 83 of Fortune Favors the Viscount
“Brilliant,” she’d exclaimed, and even tried her hand at it.
Lucy’s father would have roared at them in fury—for the noise, for the laughter, for the joy. Emilia had despised him for a long time, but now she was beginning to feel a little sorry for him as well, as she watched his daughter clap her hands in glee and run to set the pins upright again. He had been a deeply miserable man. The mark on Lucy’s cheek, which Sydenham had cursed as a mark of the devil, was hardly visible when her cheeks were flushed with excitement.
This time they reached Farnham late in the evening. Lucy had fallen asleep in the carriage, slumped against Emilia’s shoulder, and Nick carried her into the inn and deposited her right onto a bed. “Is Charlotte allowed to stay up?” she protested as Emilia took off her shoes and unbuttoned her dress.
“Charlotte is nearly as tired as you,” answered Emilia, amused. The girl had been yawning behind her hand in the stable yard. “She’s washing up and will be in bed soon.”
“Good,” mumbled Lucy, putting on her nightdress. “It’s not fair if she gets to stay up.”
“We’re all tired,” said Emilia firmly. “Wash your face and clean your teeth. Everyone is going to bed.”
“Even y-y-you and Mr. Dashwood?” Lucy asked around a yawn, after cleaning her teeth. She swiped the damp cloth over her face and crawled into bed.
“Yes.” Emilia tucked her in and kissed her temple. “Good night, my dear.”
“G’ night.” Lucy yawned again, clutching Emilia’s hand for a moment. “Millie, I love you.”
Emilia’s heart melted. “I love you, too, Lucy,” she whispered.
Lucy gave a sleepy smile. “I was so afraid of going to Dorset, but it wasn’t terrible at all, was it?”
“No. You were very brave, and I’m so proud of you.”
The girl snuggled into her pillows. “Do you know what I did? I pretended inside my head that we were a family. Charlotte was my sister, and you were our mama and Mr. Dashwood was our papa, who would protect us from everything. And I liked it ever so much.”
Emilia sat stricken.
Lucy yawned widely. “Is it all right if I keep pretending that? In London, I mean. I won’t tell anyone. I don’t think Charlotte would mind if I called her my sister. She hasn’t got any sisters, either, or a mama.”
“The two of you would make wonderful sisters.” Emilia had to clear her throat to speak, and when it came, her voice was thin and unsteady.
Lucy nodded, her eyes closed now. “I wish you could really be my mama, Millie. You’re just the kind of mama we’d like, Charlotte and I...”
Emilia couldn’t move.I wish I could be,she thought as she watched Lucy sleep.
She hadn’t forgotten her vow to leave when they returned to London; she just hadn’t let herself think about it. She had talked with Nick about restoring Beaufort Hall, even though she wouldn’t be there to see it. She had directed the Stones, and spoken to the hopefuls from the village, even though she wouldn’t be the mistress. She had continued caring for Lucy and Charlotte, even though she couldn’t be their governess much longer. And she had gone into Nick’s arms every night, allowing herself to pretend their affair wasn’t a stolen season, but a real future.
Now the bitter moment was all too near, and she was even less ready for it.
Charlotte came in, damp from washing up. Emilia helped her get ready for bed, and then, to her astonishment, Charlotte hugged her. “Thank you, Miss Greene,” she whispered.
Emilia returned the embrace. “You’re welcome, but for what?”
Charlotte smiled shyly as she climbed into her bed. “For making this journey so pleasant. I’d never been to the country. It’s splendid, isn’t it? I hope Nick repairs the house and wants to visit it often. You’ll help him throw a ball, won’t you?”
She tried to smile, but her face felt heavy and stiff. “I’m glad you enjoyed the visit.”
“Oh yes,” said Charlotte, smiling in memory. “I’m ever so grateful you agreed to be my governess, Miss Greene. Promise you’ll never leave.”
Her hands trembled on the blankets she was smoothing flat. “Oh, you won’t want me forever...”
“Perhaps,” said Charlotte sleepily. “But Nick will. You’re so good for him, Miss Greene. I’ve never seen him happier than this week.”
Emilia’s face burned. Her heart was like lead. “Sleep well,” she murmured. But Charlotte, like Lucy, was already fast asleep.
She had to tell Nick tonight. He would need time to find a new governess; the girls would need time to adjust to it. She let herself out of the girls’ room, only to realize it was the same set of rooms they had had before. There was her same room, and across the corridor—
The room where Nick had made love to her.
