Page 47 of The Duke’s Matchmaker

Dorothy smiled at Colin, catching him in her arms and embracing him. “We’re having a picnic?”

“Yes! Father is speaking to the kitchen right now about it.” He blushed. “I mean, Nathaniel is.”

Nathaniel was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, the door slightly cracked, observing the greeting, and overheard what Colin had said. His gut twisted. He didn’t mind at all when the boy called him Father. In fact, he rather liked it. It wasn’t as though their bond as brothers was being diminished—they really didn’t have any fraternal bond, since they had never known one another before Colin had come to live here. And with the difference in their ages and the fact that Nathaniel was the boy’s guardian, he was happy to adopt the role of father.

But Colin always corrected himself when he said it. Nathaniel hadn’t pushed about it so far. He suspected it had to do with Colin yearning for his own father, who had never been a presence in his life as far as Nathaniel was aware. Perhaps someday he would feel at ease enough to accept Nathaniel as a father figure, but there was nothing wrong with taking their time about that…except that it made Nathaniel sad to see Colin struggle with it.

But Colin clearly wasn’t sad right now, so there was no point in melancholy. He emerged from the kitchen. “Colin,” he chided, “is that the way we greet a lady?” He faced Dorothy to model the correct technique. “Good day, Lady Dorothy.”

Colin perked up. “Good day, Lady Dorothy.”

“Good day to you.” She smiled and curtseyed, and Colin gave an exaggerated bow, folding in half at the waist and dropping his head almost to the floor before standing back up.

“Is a picnic all right with you?” Nathaniel asked Dorothy. “Since the physician said it would be good for Colin to spend more time outside, I thought this might be a good way to do that.”

“I think a picnic is a wonderful idea,” Dorothy told him. “I haven’t eaten lunch yet today.”

A maid emerged from the kitchen with a picnic basket in hand and gave it to Nathaniel. “Here you are, Your Grace. Sandwiches, as you requested.”

“That’s perfect, thank you,” Nathaniel said. He glanced at Colin. “You’d better put your coat on.”

Colin frowned. “I don’t need a coat.”

“You don’t want to risk getting cold,” Nathaniel warned.

“It’s quite warm outside,” Dorothy said. “We could bring the coat along just in case, but I don’t think Colin really needs to wear it.”

“See?” Colin asked, turning to Nathaniel.

“All right, well, get it anyway,” Nathaniel said. “We’ll bring it with us, like Lady Dorothy suggested.”

Colin went to the coat closet and found his coat. He ran back and held it up to Nathaniel, who accepted that he would be the one to carry the garment. He draped it over his arm. “Are we ready?”

“I am,” Dorothy said.

“Me too!” Colin chirped.

Nathaniel nodded. “Let’s be on our way, then.”

Dorothy had been right—the weather outside was lovely, the sky a clear blue and the air warm and fresh. They walked several yards across the lawn to a place where it was flat and even, and then Nathaniel set down his basket, pulled out the folded blanket that rested on top of it, and spread it over the grass.

Colin jumped onto the blanket at once and dropped to his knees. “I want a piece of pie!”

“We’re having sandwiches,” Nathaniel said. He began to unpack. “Oh, but there are cookies for dessert, see?”

Colin reached for them.

Nathaniel pulled them away. “Lunch first,” he said. “Then dessert.”

“I bet Lady Dorothy would let me have a cookie right now,” Colin said, frowning.

Dorothy laughed. “Oh, no, I wouldn’t, young man,” she said. “For one thing, Nathaniel is in charge, and you must obey what he tells you. And for another thing, you’d spoil your appetite, and these sandwiches look wonderful.” She picked one up and handed it to him. “Roast beef. Go on. I’m sure you’re going to like it.”

Colin sighed. “I don’t like roast beef.”

“When was the last time you had it?” Nathaniel asked. He knew the answer, of course. They’d had roast beef for dinner just a few weeks ago. But he wasn’t sure Colin knew that.

“I’ve never had it before,” Colin said, confirming Nathaniel’s suspicions.