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But Mr. Darby was clearly not paying attention to her.

“Josie, please do not lean against my leg. I shall be extremely annoyed if your grimy condition transfers itself to my trousers.”

Unless Henrietta was mistaken, there was a devilishly mischievous look on Josie’s face. Sure enough, the little girl began deliberately rubbing her cheek against her father’s pale yellow pantaloons.

He reacted predictably, saying sharply, “Josephine Darby, stop that immediately!”

Henrietta inwardly shook her head. Mr. Batt recommended that children be treated with respect. Chiding them too harshly merely made them recalcitrant. Josie proved a perfect exemplar of Batt’s theory. Clearly she had been gruffly admonished in the past, and had begun acting like a shrew, albeit a small one, as a consequence. She backed up and put her hands on her hips, glaring like a general on parade. “You raised your voice!”

“I shall do so again if you are badly behaved.”

“You mustn’t shout at me. I’m a little motherless girl!”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, don’t start that tripe again,” he said heartlessly. “I already know about your motherless state. If you don’t pipe down, I’ll give you to the barmaid.”

Heartless! He was absolutely heartless, to Henrietta’s mind. Josie must have agreed with her, because she dropped to the floor and began kicking energetically and screaming louder and louder.

Mr. Darby looked pained but not surprised. And he showed no inclination to address the situation.

“Do something!” Henrietta hissed.

He raised an eyebrow. “Did you have a particular action in mind?” He said it rather loudly in an effort to be heard over Josie’s screams.

22 Eloisa

James

“Pick her up!”

“What good would that do? She’s having hysterics. Didn’t you wonder why her nurse left? This is probably the fourteeth such episode since we left London three days ago.”

Henrietta felt a stab of pain in her right leg. Anabel’s weight was making her sway from side to side. Her hip simply couldn’t take the physical exertion. “Here!” She plumped the baby into her father’s arms.

An almost comical look of surprise crossed his face. For a second she wondered whether it was the first time he’d held his own child.

“Now,” Henrietta said. Josie’s piercing screams were causing her to feel an unwarranted level of irritation. “What do you usually do in this situation?”

“Wait for her to finish,” Darby said obligingly. “Since this is my first— and last—trip with the children, my experience is limited to the last three days.”

Henrietta raised her voice. “Are you saying that Josie only began this behavior during the trip from London?”

“In fact, I gathered from her nurse that this is a regular occurrence. Combined with Anabel’s weak stomach, the nurse felt unable to continue in her employment, and I can’t say I blame her.”

“The child appears to be in the throes of grief,” Henrietta said, watching Josie thrash about the floor. She felt a wave of sympathy, mitigated by fraying temper. Something about Josie’s shrieks was particularly unnerving. Obviously the behavior stemmed directly from her father’s neglect. “Perhaps you should value your clothing less and your daughter more,” she said, slanting a look at Darby’s velvet lapels.

He narrowed his eyes. “If I bought my clothes in Limpley Stoke, I would likely feel as you do.”

“Anabel is chewing on your neck cloth,” Henrietta pointed out, with some pleasure.

Fool for Love

23

A look of deep horror crossed on his face. Apparently he had no idea that the baby had woken up and was luxuriously rubbing his starched neck cloth against her face. He wrenched it out of her hands, but the cloth had lost all starch and hung limply at his neck, marked with a few streaks of dirt.

“What a shame,” Henrietta said sweetly.

“I’ve already consigned this particular costume to the devil,” he said, eyeing her up and down. “I can only suggest that you do the same with your own gown.”