A gentleman should always look at the lady he is wooing as if she were the most beautiful lady in the world.
A PROPER GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO WOOING THE PERFECT LADY
SIR VINCENT TYBALT VALENTINE
Dinner was a lavish affair.
There was no other way to describe it. The table had been covered in a gleaming white cloth. More sparkling silver and crystal than Loretta had ever seen on her uncle’s Christmastide dinner table had been placed in perfect order at each chair. The room glowed richly with candlelight and leaping flames from the roaring fireplace. The duke was seated at the head of the table with Loretta and then Paxton to his right and Lady Adele and Mrs. Philbert to his left. A dark red wine filled the crystal glasses, and small courses of soup, fish, fowl, potatoes, and meat had been consumed. Now a sweet confection of stewed apples and cinnamon folded into a delicate pastry bowl, and served on gold-etched plates, had been placed in front of everyone.
Loretta wore a pale-lavender gown with a sheer, cream-colored overskirt. It flowed with scalloped flounces that fluttered and swished like butterfly wings every time she took a step. Delicate beading trimmed the scooped neckline, the hem of her capped sleeves, and the high waist. The diamond-and-amethyst necklace she wore was fashioned in an elaborate starlike design. According to her uncle, it had been her mother’s favorite. Therefore, it was Loretta’s favorite, too, and it made her happy to have the opportunity to wear it again.
Just as the wineglasses were never empty, the conversation had never lagged. Paxton and Lady Adele had chatted like magpies enjoying an early summer morning while perched in their favorite tree. They exchanged stories about their childhood, books they had read, and their shared interest in all of nature’s beauty. They moved from one subject to the other with hardly a break to take a breath in between.
Hawk and Loretta had discussions, too, but theirs were softer, less hurried and excited. And they’d included Mrs. Philbert from time to time, who seemed to welcome the chance to speak. She was a good distraction so that Loretta wasn’t constantly looking at the duke as she wanted to do. Their talks weren’t as open and freely spoken as Paxton’s and Lady Adele’s. They all knew how to manipulate the dialogue along, and yet be wary, evasive, or persuasive with their words and expressions when they needed or wanted to be.
One bite of the scrumptious fruit was all Loretta could manage after feeling obligated to taste each of the five previous courses. Gingerly she laid her spoon aside and picked up her wine. She watched, amused and amazed, as Hawk finished off his dessert with vigor, as if he hadn’t eaten another mouthful all evening.
When he noticed she was watching him, he set his spoon on the empty plate and said, “I don’t believe you’ve told me what you thought of the book I gave you. A Proper Gentleman’s Guide to Wooing the Perfect Lady. Did you read it?”
It was more like she’d memorized it, but not wanting him to know how precious it was to her, she only answered, “I read it straightaway as I promised I would.”
“What did you think of the man’s ramblings? A bit high-handed, priggish, and rather an egotist, wasn’t he?”
“Egotist? In what way?” she asked.
“That he felt qualified to lecture other gentlemen on the proper rules of wooing a lady.”
Her lips twitched in a smile. “Well, he did do quite a good job of it.”
“You truly think so?” Hawk grunted ruefully, smiled, and then said, “It might be nice to know just how many successful courtships the man had in order to deem himself an expert in the art of wooing a lady.”
“Perhaps not any.”
His eyes concentrated on hers as if he were trying to figure out her meaning before he said, “Why do you say that?”
“He was so insightful, my first thought was that the author must have been a woman writing under a man’s name.”
Hawk laughed softly, huskily. “Your humor pleases me, Miss Quick. So does your imagination.”
She sipped her wine. “I wasn’t trying to amuse you,” she pointed out to him. “I was being honest. I thought: How does this man know so well what it is a lady appreciates, what she wants, how she desires to be treated, and what pleases her most?” She could tell by the look in his eyes and expression on his face that she had captivated him, and it thrilled her immensely. She smiled and added, “And then I said to myself, it must be because he is really a woman.”
His expression of awe settled into a look of disbelief as his eyes narrowed. “You really believe that?”
“I think it’s possible,” she said evasively. “Have you ever met the man?”
He shifted in his chair, shrugged, and finally said, “No, and I have never wanted to.”
Loretta really had no idea whether or not a woman wrote the book, but there was something infinitely delightful about dueling with the duke in a tit-for-tat way. She believed she could do it all night and not grow tired. “Do you know anyone who has ever met him?”
“I can’t say I do. I didn’t have a fondness for the man’s book so I didn’t go around asking about the fellow. Especially considering the uproar going on in Society at the time I was reading it. The person who actually wrote the book was of no importance.”
“I’m sure that was true.”
“To say the least. I had all but forgotten about the book until Miss Honora Truth’s Weekly Scandal Sheet brought it to everyone’s attention again last year, when the Duke of Griffin’s sisters made their debut. But you have given me cause for thought on this. I may have to ask about him when I return to London. You’ve now made me curious about Sir Vincent Tybalt Valentine and”—he paused—“other things.”
From the corner of her eye, Loretta saw that Mrs. Philbert had started listening to them again, so she wasn’t about to ask what other things he was talking about, but she would have if they’d been alone.
Instead, she abruptly changed the conversation. “Tell me, Your Grace, do you dine with such elegance every night?”
“Never when I dine alone in London, but always when we have guests at Hawksthorn.”
“But,” Mrs. Philbert added as she looked at the duke, “if you don’t mind me joining your conversation again, Your Grace?”
He acknowledged her question with a nod.
“I wanted to tell Miss Quick there are times when we are less formal here as well. When it’s just the three of us. We dress for dinner, of course, but the food is not as elaborately prepared with so many courses and the table not quite so majestic. When the duke is away, which is often”—she gave Hawk a passing glance—“Lady Adele will, on a rare occasion, say she doesn’t want to dress for dinner, and she has the freedom to have something delivered to her room for her.”
Hawk kept his attention on Loretta, but said, “Thank you for clarifying that for Miss Quick, Minerva. Now, if everyone is finished, I think it’s time for a brandy.”
He rose and stepped over to help Loretta with her chair while Paxton hurried to the other side of the table to help Lady Adele and Mrs. Philbert. Hawk deliberately let the backs of his fingers press against her shoulders as she stood. A delicious shiver of pleasure rippled through her at his brief touch. It intensified as he bent close to her ear and whispered, “I’ll see you in the drawing room later.”
“You won’t be too long, will you?” Lady Adele asked her brother.
“I promise we won’t be,” he said indulgently.
“See that you aren’t.” She gave him a smile and then a kiss on his cheek. “It always seems to take you longer to have a brandy than for ladies to have a cup of tea.”
“That is because you drink your tea fast because you don’t want it to get cold. We don’t have that problem with brandy.”
“Come along, Miss Quick,” Lady Adele said and marched from the room.
Loretta, Lady Adele, and Mrs. Philbert started making their way back to the drawing room. Lady Adele talked while Loretta once again looked at all the beautiful things she’d seen when she’d first entered earlier that evening. Life-sized portraits, mirrors, and paintings of flowers, horses, and dogs hung on the plaster-covered walls. Large urns had been placed in all the corners, and on both sides of the fireplace stood regal-looking suits of armor that included swords and pikes. Clocks, music boxes, and figurines of varying styles, sizes, and shapes had been arranged on handsome pieces of furniture.
The drawing room was extravagantly furnished with gilt-washed wood chairs and dark-wood settees upholstered in elegant-looking fabrics dyed in rich colors and soft hues. Some were floral, others striped, and two matching armchairs near a window were covered in a material that looked as if it could have been made from gold thread. Baroque-styled woodwork trimmed the ceilings and frames, and fancy-topped lamps burned brightly to show it all.
Loretta had always thought the Earl of Switchingham’s home was the most impressive manor house she’d ever seen. That was of course, before she’d walked into the Duke of Hawksthorn’s home. This was just the kind of house she’d imagined the duke growing up in. She could see a little boy running from room to room, darting around the side table and away from his tutor, laughing as he hid behind the heavy velvet draperies. And the duke’s children would grow up here one day, too, she thought with a sigh of longing.
“Would you mind playing something for us, Minerva?” Lady Adele asked. “I’d like to visit with Miss Quick.”
“Not at all,” Mrs. Philbert said, and headed for the pianoforte at the far end of the large room. “Did you have something special in mind that you wanted to hear tonight?”
“Thank you, Minerva, and no, you decide. Come sit by me on the settee, Miss Quick. Right here.” She patted the cushion. “I want you to tell me more about your brother.”
“All right,” Loretta said, making herself comfortable on the small sofa beside her hostess. She would have thought that by now Lady Adele had asked Paxton everything possible under the sun. Loretta couldn’t believe there was more she wanted to know about him.
“He never stops smiling,” Lady Adele said and then turned to her cousin. “Not that one, Minerva. It’s simply too slow and makes me feel sad. I’d rather you play a lively tune. Do you mind?” Mrs. Philbert immediately changed the tempo of the score without saying a word or even looking up from the pianoforte. “Thank you,” Lady Adele said to her cousin and turned back to Loretta again. “So I want to know, is happy his true disposition or is he putting on an act for me?”
“It’s not an act, I assure you. I’ve never known him to be given to bouts of melancholy, and it’s just not in his nature to be disagreeable. I think your brother will attest to that, as well.”
“Hawk did make mention of that. Mr. Quick is quite handsome, too. That’s something else our brothers have in common, don’t you think so?”
“Yes,” Loretta agreed. Hawk was most pleasing to look at.
“Does Mr. Quick ever get angry and raise his voice to you?”
“Certainly not,” Loretta said, appalled Lady Adele would ask such a question and as casually as if she were talking about the weather on a sunny day.
“You would tell me the truth about him, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, of course,” Loretta argued, not appreciating the way the conversation was going. If there was one person who didn’t need defending for any presumed wrongs, it was Paxton. “I would tell you or anyone for that matter the truth about anything asked. If Paxton has a fault, it’s that he finds it difficult to take his time and be serious-minded. Even when there is a concern of great importance that should be treated with critical attention, he sometimes handles the matter too carelessly.”
“Good,” she said, seeming satisfied with Loretta’s answer. “I don’t see that as a problem, Miss Quick. There is always someone around here who can handle a serious situation for us.”
“Then you are well cared for,” Loretta said, thinking she’d prefer to handle her own difficulties and settle them herself.
Wanting to change the subject, Loretta asked, “I’m wondering why you’re considering an arranged marriage and not attending the Season when it’s hardly more than a month away.”
“I’ve heard it can be quite alarming.”
“The Season?” Loretta frowned. “In what way?”
“Minerva says that all the young ladies are on constant display for all the gentlemen to look at and talk about, and if they so wish, they can dally with our tender affections at no cost to their reputations at all and possible dire consequences to our own.”
Loretta had never heard the Season described in such an unflattering light. “I would never want to contradict your cousin,” Loretta said, glancing over to the woman who sat straight and stiff on the pianoforte stool, and played with excellent skill. “But while some gentlemen might be so boorish and crass, not all are, I’m sure.”
“Too,” Lady Adele continued as if Loretta hadn’t spoken, “it’s the gentlemen who have to ask for our hands. All we have to do is look beautiful, flutter around like a butterfly, and wait for them to do it! And what if no gentleman does?” she asked, a horrified expression on her face. “Minerva said many young ladies who haven’t been asked to make a match by the end of their first Season are completely devastated and never get over the rejection. Why go through that if you have a brother such as mine who knows all the gentlemen so well and can pick the best one for me?”
Loretta wondered if Mrs. Philbert’s opinion had been formed from personal experience about how her own first Season had been, or if perhaps she’d had an arranged marriage, too, and was only spouting rumors she’d heard years ago concerning the famed marriage mart. In any case, as far as Loretta was concerned, Lady Adele’s cousin had a jaded view of the Season that needed a counter. Most young ladies she knew looked forward to it.
“But you are lovely, intelligent, and the daughter of a duke,” Loretta said, speaking softly, not wanting her words overheard by Lady Adele’s cousin. “There would be many fine and worthy gentlemen who would seek your hand. What Mrs. Philbert spoke of simply wouldn’t happen to you—unless you wanted it to. I’d venture to say that most young ladies wouldn’t be bothered at all to be left on the shelf a year or two if it meant the right match was made in the end.”
“Do you truly believe that?” she asked emphatically.
“I told you I would always tell you the truth. I believe the number of devastated ladies would be very few. I attended some of the Season before my—well, I talked with ladies who couldn’t wait for the parties and balls to begin so they could be courted by the handsome gentlemen. They were eager for each new Season to begin, because they enjoyed the company, the attention, the dancing, the rides in the park, and the tea and card parties in the afternoons.”
Lady Adele’s expression turned quizzical. “But you had an arranged marriage, did you not?”
“At my uncle’s wishes, yes. An engagement, though, I’m sure you’ve heard it didn’t end in a marriage.”
“Yes, of course.” She placed one hand over Loretta’s briefly as concern suddenly etched her face. “I hope it’s not too difficult for you to talk about?”
“Not at all. It’s well past, and I seldom think about it.”
Lady Adele turned toward her cousin. “Please change to a different melody now, Minerva, that one has become tiresome.” She waited until Mrs. Philbert changed to another score and said, “Yes, that’s a lovely one. I remember it well. And you play it so gracefully.”
Facing Loretta again, she continued, “But it is easier, an arranged marriage, isn’t it? To let someone you trust pick the best person for you? Then you don’t have to go through meeting all the gentlemen who want nothing more than to measure you against all the other young ladies. Is she prettier, is her dowry as plump, does she have all her teeth?”
Loretta and Lady Adele laughed at her last comment.
“It’s true, is it not?” Lady Adele asked when their laughter subsided. “They look us over as if we were an expensive race horse they wanted to purchase.”
Loretta blinked a couple of times over that statement. “That’s an interesting way of thinking about it, I guess. Keep in mind, if you attended the Season you would be looking them over, too, and making your own judgments about each one of the gentlemen. Some you will enjoy more than others. Some will make you laugh, some may bore you to tears. One or two may even make you angry. But then, there might be one who will make you breathless just to look at him. Make you feel as if a stallion is racing in your chest every time he looks at you. You’ll lie awake at night thinking about him, wondering when you will see him again, if you’ll see him again.”
Abruptly, Loretta stopped. She realized she was telling Lady Adele the way she felt about Hawk.
“Oh, my.” Lady Adele seemed to study on what Loretta said as she pulled at a ribbon on the neckline of her gown. “What a dreadful thing to happen. I mean, who would want to stay awake all night thinking about anything? Do you really think it’s possible for someone to make you feel that way?”
For some reason Lady Adele didn’t seem to comprehend what Loretta was trying to say about how a man could make a young lady feel. Loretta hadn’t understood, either, until she met the duke.
“I do,” she said and knew that if Lady Adele had to ask, it meant she hadn’t felt that way about Paxton, and Loretta didn’t know yet how Paxton felt about Lady Adele.
“I’ve had a little opportunity to be in the company of gentlemen,” Lady Adele commented. “We usually have a Christmas ball each year here at Hawksthorn, and I’ve been allowed to attend. Not for the entire evening, of course, just briefly, because I’ve not curtsied before the queen, but I will when we go to London next month. I’ve seen a few gentlemen whom I think would make fine husbands. Some handsome, some not, and some Hawk said absolutely not.” Lady Adele laughed again, clasped her hands under her chin thoughtfully, and said, “I think I would absolutely adore marrying the Duke of Rathburne, but Hawk won’t let me consider him. He’s such a rake. And of course Hawk would know all about them because he is a rake himself.”
“You know about your brother’s reputation as—”
“One of the Rakes of St. James?” Lady Adele finished for Loretta. “Everyone does. That’s one of the reasons I trust him to pick a husband for me. He knows all about men. The good ones and the bad ones. Speaking of gentlemen,” Lady Adele continued, “I wonder where Hawk and Mr. Quick are. They certainly are taking their time over their drinks and talks, aren’t they?”
Loretta stared at Lady Adele’s green eyes. It had not been more than five or six minutes since they left the gentlemen. So not long at all.
“It’s Hawk’s wish, as well as mine,” Lady Adele continued, “that I be happy in my marriage, and I trust him to pick the very best gentleman for me. And if that person turns out to be your brother, I will trust Hawk made the right choice.”
Loretta had thought her uncle would be the best person to pick a husband for her, too, until she attended the Season and realized there were gentlemen she enjoyed being with much more than Viscount Denningcourt. That had been a shocking realization for her and one of the reasons in the end that she didn’t marry the viscount.
“If you were to ask me, I would suggest you wait and meet all the gentlemen who attend the Season. To find the man who makes your heart beat faster and your breath grow short every time you look at him. And if Paxton doesn’t do that for you, keep looking. I do believe you will find one who does.”
“But what if I don’t? I am not foolish, Miss Quick. And I do like what I see in your brother. He suits me very well. Enough talk of gentlemen,” she said suddenly. “It’s making my head hurt and it’s really quite boring, is it not? To waste so much time talking about men. Would you like to see my dog’s new puppies?” Lady Adele asked, completely changing the subject. “Miss Wiggins had a litter. Mr. Quick saw them this afternoon while you took a walk with Hawk.”
It was difficult for Loretta to understand Lady Adele’s simple way of looking at life, but she must have been the same way when she was eighteen. She had allowed her uncle to choose a husband for her. She couldn’t fault Lady Adele, only try to help her. Maybe it was that now Loretta knew more about life, feelings, and men and she didn’t want to see either Lady Adele or her brother be unhappy with their decisions.
“Yes, I’d like that very much. I haven’t seen a puppy in years. What kind of dogs are they?”
Lady Adele rose from the settee. “Spaniels. A small breed and they are all so adorable, but of course I have a favorite already. Minerva, we’re going to see the puppies. Do you want to go with us?”
Minerva stopped playing and stood. “If you don’t mind, I’ll take this time to go upstairs for a few minutes. I’ll meet you back down here by the time the gentlemen come in.”
“Of course. I know you don’t really care to look at the puppies again.” Lady Adele looked at Loretta and smiled. “She must see them at least five or six times a day. I hate to stay away from them.”
“Have you ladies finished your tea?” Mrs. Philbert asked. “I can have the tray removed.”
“Yes,” Lady Adele said. “And take your time. We are quite able to care for ourselves for a few minutes.”
Loretta saw the untouched tray sitting on the table in front of them, and smiled as she rose from the settee. Lady Adele had been so busy talking, she’d never even thought to offer the tea.
The duke’s sister took Loretta to a small storage room at the back of the house. There were chairs, tables, sofas, and other pieces of furniture stacked in the room. Near a window, fenced in by wooden crates, she saw three little fur balls in the makeshift pen. One was trying to sleep and the other two kept running over him.
“Miss Wiggins isn’t here,” Lady Adele offered. “I guess she has been let outside for a few minutes, which means we have come at the right time. She’s a bit jealous and doesn’t like for me to hold them.”
They knelt and Lady Adele reached down, picked up one of the puppies, and held it up for Loretta to see. “This one is my favorite. See how she has no white patches on her anywhere. Her coat is so many shades of brown and tan that she reminds me of dried chocolate mixture before the milk is added to it. Isn’t she the most beautiful creature you have ever seen?”
Loretta smiled at the squirming puppy. One side of her face was blond, tan, and light golden-brown tufts of fur, and the other side was more chocolate and chestnut coloring. “She absolutely is.”
“Here, you hold her.”
Loretta looked at her white gloves and wished she didn’t have them on so she could feel the softness of the fur. Lady Adele hadn’t bothered removing her gloves, so Loretta took her lead and took the puppy in both her hands. She lifted it up to her face and smiled. The pup tried to bark but hadn’t yet found her voice and sounded more like a goose. She squirmed a little but didn’t fight to be put down.
“Oh, you must have just eaten!” Loretta laughed, as she smelled the distinct puppy breath. “Your stomach is so round and firm.”
She put the puppy’s head up to the bare skin of her neck and cuddled it. The fur was silky soft, and its body so warm. With her hind paws, she tried to climb up higher on Loretta, and she laughed when the puppy started to nibble on her chin with sharp teeth and licked her neck.
“I can’t decide what to name her,” Lady Adele said. “I was thinking maybe I’d call her Cocoa. Not only because of the beautiful coloring, but she reminds me of a delicious dessert that we sometimes have that’s creamy chocolate and divinely sweet. What would you name her if she were yours, Miss Quick?”
“Cocoa is a very clever name and certainly seems to fit.”
Loretta continued to rub silky fur against her bare skin and delight in the warm, squirming body next to her. “She’s so lovable. I wish I could take her home with me.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Quick, I would give you one of the other two, but they’re already promised out to others.”
“Oh, of course. I only meant how loving she is,” Loretta said, looking at Lady Adele and shaking her head to dismiss the idea. “I wasn’t asking for one of these. No. I only meant that it would be wonderful to have a dog. Someday.”
“I can save you one from Miss Wiggins’s next litter.”
“In that case, that would be lovely if it works out that you can. Thank you for offering.”
Loretta realized the puppy was chewing on the trim at the neckline of her dress and said, “No, no, little one. We can’t have you swallowing a bead and getting choked.” She pulled the puppy away from her chest. One of Cocoa’s front paws hung in the trim and the other grabbed for Loretta’s neck and a nail scratched her. “Ouch,” she said, feeling the sting as it slashed into her tender flesh.
“Cocoa, what a bad puppy you are,” Lady Adele said. “Are you hurt, Miss Quick?”
“No, I’m fine.” She couldn’t see the scratch, but she didn’t see any blood running down her skin so knew she was all right.
“What ye looking at?”
Startled, Loretta and Lady Adele turned. Farley stood in the doorway.
“Who are you?” Lady Adele asked.
“He’s Farley,” Loretta said softly. “He’s with my staff. Or he is supposed to be. What are you doing here?”
He coughed into his hand a couple of times, and shrugged before saying, “Looking around.”
Loretta handed the puppy back to Lady Adele. “That’s not allowed, Farley. It should have been made clear to you that you aren’t supposed to be in this part of the house. Where is Mrs. Huddleston?”
He shrugged again.
“Let him come see the puppies before he goes,” Lady Adele said. “I don’t mind.”
“No, really. That’s not necessary.”
“Nonsense,” Lady Adele said, brushing aside Loretta’s opinion. “All boys love puppies.”
Farley walked farther into the room and looked down at them. Loretta was surprised the expression on his face didn’t change. Who didn’t smile at the sight of a puppy?
“Aren’t they adorable?” Lady Adele asked him.
Farley didn’t bother to look at her, but without any passion in his voice, said, “They’re dogs. I see dogs in London all the time. ’E looks like the runt of the litter to me.”
Loretta was horrified that Farley had been so disrespectful to Lady Adele, but she hadn’t seemed the least offended by his comment.
“Well, it’s a she not a he and she’s not a runt. She just doesn’t eat as much as the other two. And I’m sure you haven’t ever seen any puppies as charming and playful as these in London or anywhere else you may have been,” Lady Adele said. She then looked up at Farley and with a pleasant tone said, “Would you like to hold her?”
At that, Farley’s eyes lit up like a candlewick that had caught fire. He glanced at Loretta. “Can I ’old ’er?”
At that moment Loretta knew she liked Lady Adele and wouldn’t mind at all if Paxton had fallen in love with her and wanted to marry her. Even after Farley had been rude to her and disparaged her favorite puppy, she brushed it off and was still kind to him.
“Yes, you may hold her.”
Lady Adele lifted Cocoa to him. “Don’t squeeze her too hard,” she prompted as she turned loose.
Loretta watched a look of awe spread over Farley’s face and light seemed to spread into his eyes. He gently cradled the squirming puppy to his chest as if she were a baby. He slowly swung his arms and with one hand stroked Cocoa’s head and back. The dog wiggled and tried again to bark while burying her head in the crook of Farley’s arm.
“Shh,” he whispered as if talking to a baby. “Shh. I won’t hurt you.”
Loretta’s heart melted. It was rewarding to see the softer side of Farley again. She knew she was making a difference in his life. His eyes were bright with wonder, and there was a small, beautiful smile on his face. Loretta decided she would get a dog from somewhere, if Farley stayed at Mammoth House.
“Have you ever held a puppy?” Lady Adele asked him.
Farley shook his head. “But she’s nice.”
Loretta let him rub the puppy a few more times and then said, “We must give him back now.”
She took the puppy and handed her back to Lady Adele. “Thank you for showing them to us. It was lovely to get to hold her.”
Farley looked up at her, and then over to Lady Adele, and said, “Thank ye for letting me ’old ’er.”
Lady Adele smiled, and Loretta was pleased that Farley had remembered to be kind without her urging him to do so. “Please excuse us, Lady Adele,” she said and rose. “I need to get him back to where he belongs.”
“Which way do we go?” she asked Farley when they stepped into the hallway.
“This way,” he said and took the lead. Hawksthorn was huge, and Loretta had already discovered it wasn’t easy finding her way around the monstrous house. She wondered if Farley could lead them back. If not, she hoped they could find a servant somewhere along the way to show them the right section of the house to go to.
After they were well away from the puppy room, Loretta said, “Thank you for being kind to Lady Adele and remembering your manners.” He kept walking down the corridor and didn’t respond to her. “I appreciate you handling yourself so well, but you are not to come to this section of the house again. Mrs. Huddleston should have made that clear to you.”
He stopped walking and looked up at her with big brown eyes. “Ye angry with me?”
She stopped, too. “No, it’s not anger as much as it’s that I’m upset. It’s one thing to do something wrong when you don’t know any better. But you know you were told to stay where you were and not be wandering around this house.”
“What am I to do in that room all the time?”
“Didn’t you bring the toys Mr. Huddleston brought you back from Grimsfield?”
“What do I want with soldiers and ’orses and a wooden dog? Don’t mean nothing to me. Toys are for little boys.”
Loretta asked, “How old are you, Farley?”
He shrugged again. “I don’t know.”
“Do you know how old you were when you lost your mother?”
He stared at her unblinking for several seconds before saying, “Eight.”
“And do you know how many years have passed since she’s been gone?”
He blinked slowly as his face remained expressionless. “Four winters,” he said, then stuffed his hands in the pockets of his trousers, turned, and started down the corridor again.
So Farley was twelve or possibly thirteen, but small for his age. Probably because he hadn’t had proper food or care. Loretta watched him. He had a shuffle to his feet and a swing to his slight shoulders. He was still young enough for her to help him grow into a fine young man. Already he was nicer than when he’d first come to Mammoth House. She took pleasure in that accomplishment. And there was so much more she could do for him if she was given the time.
The only thing she had to do was find a way to make Farley want to stay and make his home with her. Then she had to get her uncle to grant her wish. That might be the hardest thing to do.