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“You’re frightening Trix.” Adele’s brow furrowed ominously, reminding Mari of the duke.
Mrs. Brill captured Adele by the elbow. “It’s time for your bath. I hear you’ve been splashing about in the Serpentine. Heaven knows what lives in that water besides snakes.”
Adele stuck out her lower lip. “Trix needs a home.”
“We won’t have our baths until he has a home,” said Michel.
Battle lines already.
She must win this one for the twins. “He’s quite harmless, Mrs. Fairfield. He’s not the biting kind of snake. And if he did manage to get free he would simply slither away. He’s far more scared of you than you are of him.”
“I suppose you may keep him,” Mrs. Fairfield said doubtfully. “But only one day, mind you. Wait here and I’ll find something to house the reptile.”
“His name is Trix,” said Adele.
“Naming snakes...” Mrs. Fairfield shook her head. “Whatever will you think of next?”
Mari waited until the housekeeper left the nursery before smiling at the twins. “There, you see? Trix shall have his home. And you shall have your baths. Now off you go with Mrs. Brill. No dawdling.”
They dragged their feet, but they obeyed.
She must discover the reason they ran away so often. They must be grieving if their mother died so recently and they’d been uprooted from their life in France.
Children felt things so very keenly.
Often they needed someone only to listen to them. When they felt their grievances were heard, when they unburdened their troubled souls, it was sometimes enough to restore their spirits.
In the time she had with these children, whether it was weeks or years, she would show them what it was like to have a stable, patient caregiver, one who respected them and never talked down to them.
“I’m to give you this, miss.” A strapping golden-haired footman in smart black-and-gold livery entered the room and handed her a large water jug, a scrap of butter muslin, and some twine.
Mari smiled at him, but he seemed singularly undistracted. Perhaps she was only distracting to dukes? How odd.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Carl, miss.”
“Carl, you aren’t frightened of snakes, are you?”
“’Course not,” the footman scoffed.
“Hold the jug tilted, just so.” She unclasped her reticule, reached inside, and transferred the snake to his temporary home. Clapping the porous muslin over the lid, she directed Carl to hold the fabric while she secured the twine with double knots.
“Farewell for now, Trix,” she whispered. “You were a great help today.” She set the jug on a low table near the blackboard.
Mrs. Fairfield returned to the nursery. “The children allowed Mrs. Brill to wash them?” she asked with an amiable smile.
“The children are in the bath and the snake is in the jug.” Mari tapped the side of Trix’s temporary home. “Thank you for allowing them to keep him.”
“We must choose our battles, must we not?”
“Indeed.” Mari had only known Mrs. Fairfield a few hours but she was fast coming to the conclusion that the older woman was wise, kind, and a potential ally.
“Now how about that hot cup of tea?” the housekeeper asked.
At the mention of sustenance, Mari’s stomach rumbled. “That would be lovely,” she said gratefully. “I haven’t eaten yet today.”
“Oh you poor thing. Come with me immediately. I’ll show you to your chamber. I’m sure you’re tired after your journey and you’ll want to refresh your toilet.”
