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As Madalene approached Lord Hawthorne, he offered his arm and she accepted it. She led them towards the rear of the townhouse, and a footman opened the door for them, then discreetly followed them outside and stood guard at the door.
Once they were walking on the gravel footpath, Madalene dropped her arm from his. “Thank you for coming today.”
“I told you that I would.”
“You did, but I imagine that you are a very busy man.”
Lord Hawthorne nodded, keeping his gaze straight ahead. “I just spent the morning at the House of Lords, and we adjourned for a few hours.”
“Was anything interesting discussed?”
“Nothing that would interest you,” he remarked dismissively.
Stopping, Madalene turned to face him. “Why would you say that, my lord?”
“We discussed politics and whatnot.”
“And women can’t be interested in politics?”
Lord Hawthorne’s expression was unreadable as he stopped and turned to her. “A respectable lady wouldn’t be interested in discussing politics with a man,” he replied.
“I see,” she muttered. “Am I to assume that you don’t find me respectable?”
“I never said that,” he answered, shaking his head.
“But you implied it.”
“I’m afraid you misconstrued my words, Miss Dowding.” Lord Hawthorne turned and resumed walking down the footpath.
Madalene shook her own head before she went to catch up with him.
With a side glance at her, Lord Hawthorne said, “You mentioned that Miss Hardy worked at your orphanage.”
“That’s right,” Madalene replied. “It is known as the Elizabeth Dowding School for Orphan Girls. I named it after my mother, in honor of her legacy.”
“That is most charitable of you.”
Glancing over at him, Madalene said, “My mother doted on me something fierce, but I knew she was saddened that she wasn’t able to have any more children.”
“That is most unfortunate.”
“My mother spent most of her time acting as a patron for various organizations that focused on nurturing children,” Madalene shared.
“Your mother sounds like an impressive woman.”
A sad smile came to her face. “She was,” Madalene replied. “She was the best of women, and I was fortunate enough to be able to call her Mother.”
“How long ago did she pass away?”
“Six months ago.”
“And when did you open the orphanage?”
“Four months ago.”
“That is quite the undertaking,” Lord Hawthorne said.
Madalene nodded. “It was, but I started working on opening the orphanage before my mother passed away,” she shared. “She even helped with some of the planning.”
