Page 38 of A Mother for the Blind Duke’s Orphans

Aurora’s arms wrapped and tightened around her waist again.

In three months, they had never gone so long without seeing one another. Poppy had not realized how much she depended on the daily visits until Aurora and Princess had been taken from her.

After a while, Poppy shifted carefully so she could look at Aurora, though in the closet’s dimness she was more outline than detail.

“Why are you hiding in here?”

Aurora drew back just enough to sit against the opposite end of the closet. “I am not hiding. I am being a secret.”

“Ah. That is a very important thing to be.”

“Yes.” She nodded her small head.

Poppy sighed, thought for a second, then asked, “Is your uncle the reason you are being a secret?” Aurora said nothing, and Poppy’s stomach tightened. “Has he been unkind to you, Aurora?”

“Yes,” Aurora said at once.

The answer was so swift that Poppy’s temper stirred before judgment could restrain it. “What did he do?”

Aurora’s indignation gathered itself. “He frowns all the time!”

Poppy silently agreed to that and waited for more.

“And he makes me eat vegetables.” Aurora stuck her tongue out in disgust as if remembering the taste of the vegetables.

“Hmm, that is a grave offense.” Poppy tutted.

“And he never smiles.”

Poppy leaned her head back and let out the quietest breath as she tried not to laugh. His Grace’s severity was still real, and a child’s fear of it could not be dismissed just because the evidence sounded harmless. But what Aurora described was not cruelty. It was solemnity pressed too hard upon a household that needed gentleness.

He cares about her.

“Aurora, did he shout at you?” Poppy asked gently.

She tapped her chin as if she were deep in thought. “N… No.”

“All right, and did he ever frighten you on purpose?”

Aurora picked at the edge of her sleeve. “N…no. H…H…He looks frightening.”

“That is not a nice thing to say about someone, Aurora.” She lightly scolded her.

“I am sorry.” Aurora looked down, ashamed of her behavior.

“Now, did he ever punish you?” she continued.

“He said good young ladies do not leave carrots under napkins,” Aurora mumbled.

“And did you do that?”

Aurora’s gaze became deeply interested in her sleeve.

Poppy bit the inside of her cheek. “I see.” She reached out and smoothed a hand over the child’s hair. “Aurora, listen to me. I know your uncle seems stern.”

“He does not like when I talk.” Aurora crossed her arms angrily and pouted.

Poppy chuckled softly. “I think he may not know what to do when you talk.”