“Of course we can,” Nathan answered, his tone solemn.
“Good,” Damien said with a terse nod. “Jasper is at the baker’s, buying your breakfast. He will need your help getting it all back here. There will be leftover money. Whatever he does not spend, I want two of you to go to the mill and purchase flour andoats once you have the baked goods brought to these kitchens. Another two shall go to the market to purchase eggs, milk, and meat. Can you handle such a responsibility?”
“Of course, we can,” Thomas answered solemnly, but his attention was on Miss Willa. “Should we go, Miss Willa?”
The matron, still trying to overcome her emotions, nodded as she blew her nose into her kerchief.
“Go, boys, and remember your mathematics. Just as Miss Mason taught you. Mind your manners, and stay with your partner,” she replied.
“Right then,” Damien grunted, rolling up the sleeves of his black shirt.
“Miss Willa and Caroline, go see to the other children. They are no doubt hungry and will want their breakfast.”
Although Caroline desperately wanted to tell him to go jump in a lake, she kept her lips sealed as she helped Miss Willa wash her face.
“And what will you do?” Caroline asked with a hint of bitterness.
Already, though, Damien was heading to the hutch filled with tin cups and plates.
“I am going to set the tables,” he said, saying it as if it were something obvious.
Just who is this man?
Caroline looked at him, convinced he was really mad. Then a burst of laughter came from upstairs, and she and Miss Willa hurried toward the stairs.
Chapter 6
“Why did you do that?” Caroline asked, looking up at Damien as they walked to Mrs. Parks’ shop.
By the time she and Miss Willa had the other twelve children up, dressed, and helped them make their small beds, Jasper and the boys had returned with most of the supplies. Damien was breaking bread into chunks and putting them on plates; Jasper was frying up several dozen eggs in a large pan and slabs of meat in another; Thomas was bringing in a bucket of water to boil for the oats. It was loud and chaotic as they all worked together to feed the children, but Caroline’s heart swelled when she saw how excited they all were to have such a big breakfast.
Damien turned to look at her now, his brow raised as if he believed the answer was pretty obvious.
“I told you I would provide you with whatever you wanted,” he replied, shrugging his massive shoulders. “You obviously care for that place; you wanted better for them. I provided better for them.”
Caroline studied his face with narrowed eyes, then shook her head.
“Another half-truth,” she retorted.
To her surprise, Damien’s lips twitched toward a smile as his amber eyes glittered with something like mischief.
“You caught me,” he admitted. “I will admit that I also did it because I wanted to show you how much more you could accomplish if you became my duchess. From such a station, it would beyouwho could help places such as that orphanage. You could do so much more for those in need.”
Damien stopped walking and caught her hand, urging her to stop and face him. Though she wanted to disobey and walk away just for the sake of proving he could not boss her around, Caroline decided that she wanted to hear what else he had to say.
“Everything you have done for that place since you left Mayfair, I have no doubt that it was greatly appreciated,” Damien affirmed. “However, that place needed more funding. Something that, as my wife, you would have an excess of. You could provide more than just your goodwill and kind spirit. You could make arealchange.”
Caroline hated how logical he was. Even more, she hated how correct he was. The children,allorphaned children, needed more than just kindness. They needed food, clothing, soap, and so much more. All things that required money. The amount of which her wages for the whole year would not cover.
“I see your point,” she begrudgingly agreed. “Marriage to you would definitely benefitsomeone, I suppose.”
A moment of silence passed between them as other townspeople made their way around them, heading to their work as they usually did. Caroline did not miss the strange glances that Damien drew, or the way some of them even paused in their walking to flick their curious gazes from him to her, as if wondering what such a man would want with her.
Of course, she supposed they had every right to wonder such a thing. Damien was not dressed in the most formal of ways as he would be in London, but his black shirt, trousers, and boots were all of obviously higher quality than anything that could be purchased in the town. Then, of course, there was his sheer size. A mountain of muscles that he somehow seemed to carry with pride and grace. Not at all like the other men in town.
“What is it?” Damien asked, his deep, rumbling voice breaking through the quiet morning.
She did not have to ask what he meant. She just had to be brave enough to speak her truth, just as she had been demanding from him since the night before. She drew in a deep breath, steadying her suddenly trembling nerves, and called on her courage in silence.
