AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘The questions will keep coming until you reach a point where the programme thinks it has fully assessed your levels, and then it will tell you you’re done. And when it’s finished we’re done for the day, too. I figured we could play a game afterwards, or go for an early-evening walk before dinner. Just not by the river,’ she added, and Ryan flashed her a grin.
She was definitely making progress with Ryan.
‘So, basically, this is your way of teaching us without you having to do any work,’ Daisy said. ‘What are you going to be doing while we sit here doing tests?’
Daisy not so much.
‘I am going to go and have a conversation with your uncle about your programme of study.’ Which sounded a lot better than I’m going to yell at Cal until he at least tries to connect with you both, so you don’t have to go visiting your dead parents for love and affection.
‘So you won’t even be in the room while we’re doing this!’
Daisy sounded incredulous at the unfairness of life. Heather would have thought she’d have been used to it by now.
‘Aren’t you afraid we’re going to cheat?’ Ryan asked curiously.
Heather got the impression that trust hadn’t been a big factor in their education before now.
‘I trust you both to take this seriously,’ she said, and watched as Ryan’s shoulders straightened with pride. Daisy, however, had a scheming gleam in her eye.
‘Besides,’ Heather went on with a shrug, ‘these tests are to judge the level of work I’m going to set you from here on. If you cheat to do better then you’ll get work that’s too hard. If you pretend you’re stupid to get easier work I guarantee you’ll be bored stiff by the end of the week. So really it’s up to you.’
Daisy’s gleam faded.
‘I’ll wait until I’m certain you’re both happy with the software. So, if you’re both ready?’ Heather asked. ‘You can begin.’
And she could get to work on her real challenge—Cal Bryce.
CHAPTER SEVEN
CAL DIDN’T REALISE he’d been waiting for the knock on his study door until he heard it. His shoulders tensed as he called, ‘Come in.’
Heather’s copper curls appeared around the door first, followed by the rest of her.
‘Miss Reid,’ he said, and she scowled. ‘Sorry—Heather.’
‘I need to talk to you about the children.’
‘I need to talk to you about them, too,’ he countered, motioning to the seat on the other side of his desk.
There was no rubber duck on the desk between them this time. Cal had a strange feeling that it might have made things easier if there was.
‘Where are they, for a start?’ he asked as she sat.
‘Taking some online quizzes to help me assess their level of learning,’ Heather replied. ‘And, no, that isn’t just so I don’t have to teach them anything this afternoon.’
That sounded like a Daisy accusation if ever he’d heard one. ‘Aren’t you afraid that they’ll cheat with you out of the room?’
Heather gave him a curious look—one that didn’t quite make sense in the context of his question. A look that made Cal feel decidedly uncomfortable.
‘No, I’m not afraid they’ll cheat,’ she said.
Cal tore his gaze away from her inquisitive one and shuffled the papers in front of him back into their folder. He didn’t want Heather to see the annotated copy of Ross’s contract with the magazine his lawyer, Graham, had sent over. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to see it. Graham hadn’t sounded particularly happy about it when he’d called.
‘So, what do you want to talk about?’ he asked, pushing the whole magazine thing to the back of his mind. He had more important things to worry about right now, anyway. Like Heather and the children.
He frowned suddenly. When had they become more important than the business of Lengroth Castle? Because that definitely wasn’t the natural order of things in the Bryce family.
The words burst out from Heather in a tirade, and he realised quickly how much she’d been holding back all morning.
‘Here’s the thing. I know you think you’re looking after Ross’s children by taking care of their financial futures and stability, and by making sure they get a good education. But that’s not enough. And it’s not what they need right now. They’re grieving, they’re struggling, and they need a hell of a lot more from you than a good investment portfolio.’
