“What is all gone?” Emily asked, with a grin, her hands on her hips.
“Another bottle’s gone, I say! Damn all the Duke’s rules to hell! I am not afraid to meet the devil himself!”
Oh, dear heavens.
Alexander collapsed onto the floor with an alarmingly loud thud for such a young boy. He sprawled on it, copying his father’s usual stance on the sofa. Then, he let out a loud snore with his mouth gaping open. His tongue lolled on one side for extra effect. His snores filled the room as Madeline and Emily watched him.
“I believe that is quite enough, Alexander,” Madeline declared.
She knew it was the young boy’s plea for help, but she also could not allow him to continue acting and speaking in such a manner.
“Is he not doing it accurately, though, Aunt Maddy?” Emily asked, wide-eyed.
Madeline looked at Alexander, who had now added a dramatic stumble into the wall for extra effect. She could not, in all honesty, deny it.
“Alarmingly so,” she admitted. “However, it is unbecoming. Alexander.” She waited until the boy paused his performance to look at her. “You are a Spruce and the nephew of a duke. You are also eight years old, which means you are quite old enough to know that behaving like a character from a tavern ballad is not acceptable. And you are certainly too old to be throwing yourselfon the floor like that.”
“Uncle Kenneth told Papa that I am quite spirited,” Alexander said, jutting his lower lip forward. “He said I should be taught to sit still and hold my tongue, or else I will grow up to be someone who cannot be trusted to manage the estate.”
“Your uncle is right,” Madeline confirmed. “It is not right for you to be mimicking your father. It is not proper to set out to break all the rules. You can still be yourself while being well-behaved.”
“Why not?” Emily asked.
Madeline turned to the girl, desperate to get at least her to listen.
“Emily,” Madeline said, turning to the girl. “You are the older of the two. I would have thought you might try to stop your brother rather than watch him perform.” She paused, then added more gently, “If you will not help me with him, then at least fetch your French books. I believe Mademoiselle Tissot expects you to conjugate several verbs today.”
Emily looked back at her. Her icy blue eyes reminded Madeline of her uncle. They were not the bright, joyful eyes of a carefree child. No, they were hard, flinty, and defiant. She might not have her brother’s chaos, but she had something deadlier. She watched with silent judgment and was harder to sway.
“You cannot tell us what to do,” Emily spat, even though she had not raised her voice. She sounded more like her uncle, then. She spoke with a deadly calm that belied an anger simmering within her. “You are not our mother.”
The words made Madeline physically stagger back. She could feel their impact like a tremor in her chest. Her breathing became laborious as she reminded herself that it was the paintalking and not Emily. The girl did not intend to hurt her with her words. She took a long, deep breath before replying to Emily.
“I never claimed to be your mother, Emily. I have just arrived at your home, and it still does not feel like it is mine. My dear girl, nobody would be able to take the place of your mother in there,” Madeline reassured Emily, pointing at the little girl’s heart. “However, I am also trying to fulfill the role I had been brought here for. Your uncle has entrusted me with your care. It means that I am responsible for preparing you for the real world. Some days, we are expected to be part of society. Therefore, we need to know how to navigate beyond the shadows of Huntington House. When you are older, you will realize the importance of knowledge.”
“Our uncle bought you,” Emily hissed, her lips curling into a sneer. This time, she displayed cruelty that was even beyond that of the Duke’s. She straightened herself, a heavy book falling from her clutches and onto the floor. “He certainly did not marry you for love, or we would have met you earlier. We would have seen your courtship. I do not even see you spending time together. Therefore, he did not marry you for companionship, either.”
The girl was certainly determined to make Madeline feel terrible. She had to keep reminding herself that she was conversing with a young girl, one who was hurting and unheard.
“Emily, that is a truly unkind thing to say,” Madeline whispered, even though she knew the truth in those words. She was most certainly almost bought. Her grandmother had placed her in a marriage that might be financially advantageous for the family, and socially promising for Portia and Selina.
“Is it?” Emily asked, her small voice trembling. “Please do not waste your breath on us. On finding out what we like to eat ordo. You will be leaving us in a month, anyway. Perhaps in two months!”
“Emily! What are you saying? Why would I leave?”
“All our governesses left us. As soon as they realized what we were like, they fled so quickly without turning back. Even being paid to do their job did not work well for all of us. Nobody wants us. Even our own mother left us. Why should you be any different?”
“I am not leaving you,” Madeline promised, even though a little bit of anxiety spread through her chest. What if she were to fail the children? She reached out for Emily’s shoulder, but the girl flinched and moved away before she could touch her.
“Emily, please, listen to me. I promised your uncle that I would be performing my duties. I am now promising you, too, but not merely out of duty. I want to see more of you and Alexander. I want to get to know you. This is my home now, just as much as it is yours. We need to make life here happier. More cheerful.”
Emily looked at Madeline from head to toe, as if trying to memorize every detail of her cheerful dress. The lace, satin, and flowers. The orange with hints of yellow. The little girl narrowed her eyes at it all. Then, she turned around, her small arms folded across her chest. She seemed to be watching the gray sky through the tall windows.
“But that is what they all say, too, before they leave. Alexander and I are merely trying to rid Huntington of its silence.”
And there was certainly silence in the house. As soon as both of them quieted down, and Alexander looked like he had fallen asleep on the floor, Madeline could hear the wind howling.
“I will do my best to help you and Alexander, Emily,” she said softly. “Remember the first time you met me? I did not know you then, but I tried to help you even though I needed help myself.”
