Page 65 of The Manor House Governess

“I’m not an idiot, you know. You both hate each other.”

Giovanni hesitated, reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “We do not hate each other, Ada.”

“Yes you do. You were all fighting last time. I saw you!”

“Don’t worry, little one. It’ll all be okay. Come here.” Ada allowed him to envelop her, buried her face in his shoulder. He rubbed her lightly on the back. “When you see him, can you please tell him I came by? It’s very urgent.” He pulled away and rose to his feet. Looking at both of them, he said, “I’m so sorry for your loss,” and nodded his head before turning back into the rain.

Ada slumped against the door behind him. “I wonder what he wants with Darcy.”

Bron had shared a similar thought and wondered what it would look like if he ran into the rain and asked Giovanni what he wanted with Darcy. Why he had come to him at this time. There was something Ada said that puzzled him further too. When had Ada seen them in an argument?

Bron’s phone buzzed in his hand. He read the notification bubble that came up on his screen.

Mrs. Flanders:

He looked at Ada again, at the way she carried her shoulders, how she dragged herself to the staircase’s bottommost step and sat there, waiting. But for what? Despite the open curtains, darkness still surrounded them. And the house, with all its things, felt empty, steeped in the deepest loss, holding them in its grip. He needed to be the adult here, look after his charge as best he could. That’s what he was here to do. That’s what Mr. Edwards would have wanted.

He sat on the step beside her and gently nudged her shoulders. “Hey, what do you think about getting out of here for a bit? Going somewhere nice?”

“No thanks.” She was twisting a thread on her dress, come loose.

“Are you sure? The fresh air will do you good.”

“I know what you’re trying to do.”

“You do? Go on, tell me.”

“You’re trying to get me out to take my mind off everything. Because you think that’ll help or something.”

“My God, you genius,” he said. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to do. What d’ya say? You, me, some fudge from one of those tourist shops in town … a little food. I have a friend who’s justdyingto meet you.”

He quickly shut his mouth, hearing the words he’d just spoken.Shit.Ada didn’t notice.

“Youhave a friend?”

“Don’t act so surprised. Of course I do.”

“Huh. I didn’t know that. Well, okay. But if I get bored or sad, I want to come home.”

“Deal.”

“And I want gelato, not fudge.”

“Double deal.”

“Alright.”

Mrs. Flanders spoiled them. Her small sitting-room coffee table was a labyrinth of trays filled with biscuits, bowls of crisps, and anything else she could find in her cupboards.

“How lovely to see you—how lovely!” she said, embracing them in a hug. “And you must be little Ada?” Mrs. Flanders immediately took to her, complimenting her pretty dress, her beautiful thick hair. Ada seemed elated by this and did a little curtsy at the door before accepting the lollipop and sherbet Mrs. Flanders offered her.

“This is your friend?” Ada whispered as they sat on the cracked leather sofa while Mrs. Flanders moved to the kitchen to bring through more tea. “Bron, I didn’t realize she’d beold. Like, older than Clarence old.”

“Be nice,” he whispered, poking her.

The snacks were quickly eaten, though Ada proclaimed they weren’t at all necessary, that they had only come into town for the sake of gelato. The conversation progressed from the inevitable talk of miserable weather to a short offering of condolences. Ada quickly bypassed the latter, chose instead to talk about all the things Bron had taught her, from the books to the math, to the fact that she could now draw.

“I’ve still got a lot of practicing to do, but I’m much better than I used to be, wouldn’t you say so?” She looked up to Bron, who nodded. “I’m so glad you taught me. You’re just my best friend in the whole world. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

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