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mple he’d noticed the previous night appeared for the first time that day. Aha! he thought with a definite sense of triumph, there she was. There was the woman he’d met during the night, the one he’d wanted to walk with that morning. She was back and she couldn’t have looked any less like a fortune-hunting ice queen. And maybe, just maybe, Miss MacQueen was right.
* * *
Mr Fortini, Henrietta decided, was going to make an excellent father some day. His light-hearted, easy-going manner seemed infectious, so much so that her nephews took to him instantly. During bathtime, an event that had soaked a considerably greater area of the kitchen floor than she would have liked, he’d regaled them all with stories about fantastical sea monsters, each one of which he claimed to have confronted, outwitted and finally defeated in hand-to-fin or hand-to-tentacle combat. After that, he’d bundled them into clean sheets and then sat them down at the kitchen table for steaming hot platefuls of pie and gravy while she’d washed their clothes in the remaining bathwater. Despite her concern for David, it had proved a strangely enjoyable and entertaining hour’s work. Even Nancy had laughed on more than one occasion.
All in all, she had to admit that it was possible she’d misjudged Mr Fortini’s character. He seemed to genuinely want to help—surely a man who was only interested in flirtation wouldn’t inconvenience himself to such an extent? It was hard to imagine either Mr Willerby or Mr Hoxley going to so much trouble. Maybe he was a man who could be trusted, after all...
‘There we go,’ she announced finally, pegging the last pair of trousers up on a rack above the hearth. The boys’ stockings, she noticed, were almost threadbare in places, though she’d only darned them again a couple of weeks ago.
‘Anyone for a glass of milk before bed?’ Nancy stuck her head out of the pantry.
‘Yes, please!’
‘That doesn’t mean you have to wolf down the rest of your pies,’ Henrietta admonished them quickly. ‘The milk isn’t going anywhere, we promise.’
‘Is there anything else I can do to help?’ Mr Fortini stole a chunk of pie crust from Peter’s plate and popped it into his mouth with a wink.
‘You’ve already done more than enough.’ Henrietta shook her head, feeling self-conscious again as he got up and came to stand before her. ‘I’m very grateful. We all are.’
‘It’s been my honour to serve.’ He reached for his jacket and drew it over his shoulders. ‘Now, if you need me, I’ll be staying at Redbourne’s store tonight.’
‘Redbourne’s?’ Nancy’s head poked out of the pantry again.
‘Yes. James Redbourne and I were best friends growing up. He’s given me a bed for the night.’ One of his eyebrows quirked upwards. ‘I believe the two of you are also acquainted?’
‘We’ve met.’
‘Well...’ He shrugged when no more comment appeared to be forthcoming. ‘That’s where I’ll be.’
‘Just for tonight?’ Henrietta was dismayed by how awkwardly high-pitched her voice sounded.
‘Yes. I’ll be taking the stagecoach north tomorrow.’
‘Oh.’ Somehow the words made her feel deflated inside, as if she’d just lost something important. If she could have gone back to that morning, then she had a feeling she would have behaved very differently, but it was too late now. The opportunity was gone and the realisation felt like a cold lump in her stomach. ‘Then I suppose this is goodbye.’
‘I suppose it is.’ He inclined his head though his eyes never left hers. ‘It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gardiner.’
‘You, too, Mr Fortini.’ She was horribly aware of colour rising up her throat and over her cheeks. Even with Nancy and the boys in the kitchen, the situation felt too intimate, as if some unspoken communication were passing between them. Only she wasn’t sure what exactly they were trying to say either. It was less of a conversation and more of an awareness...one that was raising goose pimples on her skin and causing more fluttering than ever. ‘Sorry again about your nose.’
‘What happened to his nose?’ Michael chirruped from the table.
‘I hit it with a door.’
‘For perfectly good reasons.’ Sebastian averted his gaze finally. ‘Your aunt thought I’d broken into the shop to steal all the biscuits.’
‘Like a pirate?’
‘Exactly like a pirate. But now I can leave safe in the knowledge that she has three young men to protect her.’ He lowered his voice confidentially. ‘Can I trust you all to act as my marines?’
‘Yes, sir!’ Peter and Michael both sat up straighter at once.
‘Very good. Carry on then, men.’ He raised a hand in a salute before bowing to Henrietta and Nancy. ‘Miss Gardiner, Miss MacQueen. I’ll leave through the shop if you don’t mind?’
‘Of course not.’ Henrietta smiled, though for some reason she felt more like crying. ‘Goodbye, Mr Fortini.’
‘Goodbye,’ Nancy added, waiting until he was out in the hallway before giving her a sharp nudge in the ribs. ‘Well?’
‘Well what?’ Henrietta lifted her chin.
