Page 25 of Maid for the Duke

‘They are lovely children; you should be proud.’

‘I cannot claim the praise. I was not the one to raise them.’

He raised an eyebrow.

‘At least, not Marie and Harriet. Our mother was alive until Marie was five and Harriet four.’

‘And since then it has been you providing all the love and care and attention they need.’

‘I suppose. I always feel I should be doing better by them.’

‘You should not punish yourself. It is a terrible situation, one not of your own making. There are some that would have looked to their own future and sent their kin to an orphanage. Not many people would sacrifice as you do to give them a chance of staying together as a family.’

‘I could not bear the thought of them being separated.’ Amelie felt the familiar heaviness in her chest at the thought. When it had become clear they would lose the house, she had sat down and tried to come up with a number of solutions. One of the families in the village had offered to take in Marie, to finish her schooling and then train her as a maid, but Amelie had refused, not wanting her sisters to be separated. Sometimes she wondered if she had done the right thing.

‘Come, do not think of the hard times this morning. They are happy to have you back with them and you deserve to revel in that happiness.’ He reached out instinctively for her hand, stopping only as their fingertips brushed together. It might be quiet here in the park, but it would still be foolish to do anything that might be seen as intimate.

‘You are right, of course. Today I should just enjoy their company.’

They were silent for a while, watching the children play happily. It was a contented silence and Amelie had to acknowledge how at ease she felt in Will’s company.

‘There is quite a gap between you,’ he said, not pushing for information, but she could see the curiosity in his eyes.

‘There is,’ Amelie said with a sad smile. ‘For many years I did not think I would be blessed with brothers or sisters.’ She fell silent, wondering how best to explain things delicately. ‘After my mother gave birth to me, she lost three more children in very quick succession—all born dead without any reason. Her pregnancies had been healthy, normal, but none of the babies ever took a breath.’

‘How awful.’

‘It was; although I was too young to remember, I could see the sadness in my parents whenever they talked about it. My mother in particular was horribly affected by it and became quite melancholy. For all his faults, my father loved my mother dearly, and he saw she could not withstand another loss. I do not wish to know what precautions they took, but he ensured there were no more pregnancies.’

‘Then one slipped through?’

‘Yes. Beautiful Marie. She was born healthy and screaming, despite my parents’ fears. After that, there was no stopping them. I think they would have carried on having children until it became impossible if my mother had not fallen ill.’ Amelie gave a sad smile. ‘Sometimes I envy my brother and sisters’ closeness and companionship, but mostly I am just grateful they are here. I love them as if they are my own.’

‘And it is clear they love you dearly too.’

There were tears in Amelie’s eyes as she nodded. ‘I just wish…’ she said, trailing off before staring off into the distance. She wanted to give them a better life, a more stable life.

Will must have seen she needed a distraction, something to stop her from dwelling on the awful conditions back at Mrs Creedy’s house, so he motioned for the children to come over.

‘Marie, Harriet, Charles,’ he called out, waiting for the three children to run back to him, chests heaving with the exertion and cheeks pink. ‘I think I promised you an ice each. Shall we go and choose flavours?’

Their eyes widened at the idea of such a treat and Amelie felt her heart swell once again. The parlour on the edge of the park was busy, but Will found them seats tucked away from prying eyes somewhere near the back. Patiently he went through all the possible flavours with each child in turn until they had made their selection, and then placed an order with one of the young women serving.

Harriet kept looking over her shoulder, impatient for their ices to arrive, and Charles was bobbing up and down on his seat. For a moment Amelie allowed herself to imagine this was her life. It was a dangerous path to go down, and could only make her crave what she could not have more than she already did. Yet once it would not have been completely out of the question. If she had married a country gentleman as had been the plan, she would have had a comfortable life, even if it might have been a little dull. What was more, her brother and sisters would have been safe, well looked after and perhaps even treated to something like an ice every once in a while.

She dug her fingernails into her hand to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. Their life was so different from what it could have been. Yet she found she could not yearn for marriage to Mr Michael Milliner—the man she had been engaged to before he had disappeared at the first hint of their troubles.

She glanced up at Will, amazed at how he had so quickly worked out exactly how to talk to each of her kin. He was polite and formal with Marie, not pressing her to be more familiar than she was comfortable with. He recognised her need to be treated as an equal and spoke to her softly, but with the same words he would use with an adult.

With Harriet, he was more relaxed, making the little girl laugh at his jokes. Harriet, always trusting and eager to be liked, was half in love with the Duke already. With Charles, he took his time, not rushing the little five-year-old when he spoke, listening carefully. Too often Charles was pushed into the background by his sisters, who were older and more eloquent, and he was relishing the attention.

As the ices were brought out in their delicate glass bowls, everyone around the table fell silent. He had ordered one for her too, a delicious looking pale-yellow scoop that had a sharp, biting flavour.

‘Lemon,’ she said, closing her eyes to savour it. ‘I think this is the most delicious thing I have ever tasted.’ She took tiny spoonfuls of the delicacy, wishing she could make this moment last for ever. From the despair she had felt last night after finding her sisters and Charles in such a state, she felt such contentment now, even if it would only be short-lived.

Amelie regarded the man who had salvaged their morning. Will was sitting eating his own ice, debating with her little family which was the very best flavour. She felt her heart swell with such a strong affection, it made her pause. He had displayed his kindness before in many little ways, but today showed her how truly good a man he was. It would have been easier for him to keep his distance, to allow her to deal with her heartbreak at seeing her family living in such poor conditions on her own, but he hadn’t. Instead, he’d stepped up and tried to make things better for them.

Amelie felt a warmth suffuse her and with a jolt of panic she recognised what it was. For a while, she had felt a burgeoning desire for this man who’d kissed her as if she was the only woman on earth, but this was something more. Carefully Amelie examined the feeling from every angle, but she could not deny what she felt—she was falling for him. This was not pure physical attraction. That was there too, crying out every time he accidentally touched her or looked in her direction for her to kiss him, but this was deeper.