“Here!” she responded, but he still could not see her until he ducked beneath the plume of smoke to discover her in the kitchen,attempting to beat out a fire on the floor before the hearth with a straw broom which was also on fire.
“Give it to me!” he ordered. She held it tightly, but he managed to jerk it from her grasp. “Stand back!” He caught what was left of the cloth rug and wrapped it about what was left of the broom and tossed both out the door to land against the small brick wall where a vegetable garden should have been planted. “Water!” he ordered. “Throw it on the hearth!”
She appeared bewildered, but she responded by pouring the contents of first one pitcher and then another onto the hearth and floor, while he caught a second rug to beat out the fire in front of the hearth before he did the same with what remained of the first rug in the yard.
After several hectic minutes, they both stood huffing and puffing and searching for the least spark to reignite. “Are you well?” he asked cautiously from the still open doorway. She looked up at him, her bottom lip trembling, but she did not burst into tears, as would have most women. “I did not know what to do. I kept thinking about Lord Amgen.”
So as not to frighten her, he stepped slowly in her direction, but, from his experience, she was too calm, which meant she was about to fall to pieces. “You recall who I am, do you not, Miss Moreau?”
She nodded her affirmation. “Lord Beaufort.”
“May I ask how this happened?” He continued to speak softly to her, waiting for her to break into tears.
“My uncle has forbidden me from leaving the house, and I possess no money nor do I know where to seek assistance. Cook is supposed to bring me meals,” she said without looking up at him.
Navan wondered why she had told him the truth. Though he already knew what she had shared, her honesty had shaken him to his core. Therefore, he said, “I realize you truly do not know me, but, if you will permit it, I would gladly offer my assistance.”
She looked up then. “I could not. My uncle would be livid if hediscovered your being here even for a few minutes. I have already displeased him of late.”
Navan made himself release his breath slowly. “Tell me what you did which started the fire,” he instructed rather than comment on her disclosure. “I cannot leave you alone until I am confident this does not happen again.”
Her eyes became watery again. “Cook left a chicken broth and a stew,” she said as she studied the soaked hearth. “I attempted to remove the greasy part forming on each, but it gagged me to touch it. I was simply being foolish.”
Navan could not hide the smile turning up the corners of his lips. “So, you thought to start a fire in the hearth?”
“I put in the paper rolls and used the candle to set them on fire while I sliced the bread,” she explained.
“Did you clean out the ashes from the previous fire and reset the kindling?” he asked without a reprimand in his tone.
She looked up at him quickly. “I did not know…”
“All is well,” he said. “If you will permit me, first, I will find us both something to eat, which is what I was considering when I spotted the smoke. Then I will teach you how to use the hearth properly.”
“I could not ask it of you, my lord,” she said, but Navan heard hints of hope in her voice.
“You did not ask,” he corrected. “My blessed father would be upset if he thought I simply walked away from someone in need.”
“Your father still lives?” she asked. “I can barely remember the look of mine. My mother passed away when I was five.”
“I lost my whole family when I was not yet nine,” he admitted. Navan did not like to speak of what occurred on that particular night.
“Oh, my lord,” she said in sympathy while reaching a hand to him, which he gladly accepted. “How terrible.” She spoke in such sincere tones, he could not help but to know a sense of companionship. “Have you told Caroline of your loss? I am confident my cousin would alsoknow sympathy. She lost her mother and brother when she was seven. Such is when my uncle came for me, so I might be a playmate and companion for Caroline.”
Navan held no sympathy for Lady Caroline, for she repaid the world by cheating others out of hard-earned money, but he said, “Then it is acceptable if I return in, say, twenty minutes or so? We will likely, quite literally, break bread together and sit and converse,” he suggested again.
“Are you assured, my lord?” she asked once more. “I would not wish to inconvenience you.”
“I live nearby so it is no inconvenience at all, but, at this time of night, I cannot guarantee what is available.” Navan knew what was in the larder at the watch house, and he would gladly share what was there with her.
“What should I do in your absence?”
He was happy she had agreed with him. “A plate or two and cups, but do not start on the hearth until tomorrow. It is a filthy job and better done on a full stomach and the light of day.” Navan left her then and returned to the watch house where he packed up a basket with hard cheese and bread and boiled eggs and a bottle of wine, as well as a few lemon cakes. Foolishly, he checked his appearance in a long mirror and waited what he thought was an appropriate amount of time for someone who lived nearby. Finally, he returned to Amgen House, circling it from the opposite side, so no one would notice his actions.
Thankfully, in his absence, she had closed and locked the back door, but she quickly responded to his knock. He glanced at the table. She had added a small cloth to the crude cut wooden table and placed a fresh candle in the center. Moreover, she had washed away the smudges of soot from her cheeks and had braided her long hair.
“Welcome, my lord,” she said with a smile, as she gestured to the table.
“You have been busy, Miss Moreau. I approve,” he said.
