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“It is quite chilly, my lord. We must leave immediately and return Michael to your home before he develops an ague.” Addie hurried alongside the man as he huddled a wailing Michael to his chest. Seeing them coming, the driver had the carriage door opened before they even reached the vehicle.
Addie climbed in first and took Michael from Berkshire’s arms. Mrs. Banfield had a heck of a time catching up to them and arrived at the carriage out of breath. Once she was in, with Berkshire behind her, his lordship slammed the carriage door and the driver took off.
Addie clasped Michael to her chest as Berkshire fumbled out of his wool coat and handed it to Addie who wrapped it snugly around Michael. The little boy’s body was cold and saturated. She rubbed her hand over his arms and legs trying to warm him up.
He had stopped crying and lay in her arms, sniffling and shivering. Addie looked over at Lord Berkshire who was still and pale as snow. Mrs. Banfield shook her head as she regarded the boy. “We should not have gone to the park. ‘Tis best if we keep him safe at home.”
“No!” Lord Berkshire’s outburst had both Addie and Mrs. Banfield staring at him. “I do not want to continue to treat my son like a freak. Aside from his lack of hearing, he is a normal little boy with all the eagerness and curiosity of any child. I won’t deny him a childhood because he might hurt himself. Even with a perfect sense of hearing, any child could have fallen into the water.”
Mrs. Banfield sniffed her disapproval, but Addie applauded his decision. It proved again to her that Berkshire was a loving man who genuinely cared for his son.
That led her to wonder about the previous Lady Berkshire. Addie knew very little about her, except that Berkshire did not like to talk about her.
Although the trip to Berkshire townhouse was not more than a few miles, it seemed to take forever with Michael shivering in her arms. The cold water from his clothes seeped into her clothing, bringing on her own shivers. The two of them together were practically rocking the coach.
Once the carriage arrived, Berkshire didn’t wait for the driver to open the door, but jumped out and took Michael from Addie. The two women followed him up the stairs and into the house. An older and quite staid appearing butler opened the door.
“Brooks, have a hot bath drawn as quickly as possible.” Berkshire took the steps two at a time with Addie and Mrs. Banfield right behind him. As focused as she was on Michael, Addie did take time to notice the somewhat garish decor of the entrance hall and the stairway. The deep red flower-striped wallpaper almost gave her a headache. Gold colored carpet led them to a bathing room at the end of a corridor.
“Mrs. Banfield, can you please ask one of the maids to find something for Miss Mallory to wear?” Berkshire set Michael on his feet and began to rip the boy’s wet clothing off. “She will need to change into dry clothing.”
“That is not necessary, my lord. I can have the driver see me home.” Addie barely got the words past her chattering teeth. Her chin was numb with cold and her hands were freezing.
Berkshire shook his head and lifted Michael into the partially filled tub. “No. That will not do at all. By the time you made it home, you would be completely chilled.”
“My lord, there are still a few of Lady Berkshire’s gowns here. I imagine one of them will fit Miss Mallory.” A young maid entered the bathing room.
“Miss Mallory, go along with Sybil, she will find something for you to wear.”
Before Addie had a chance to thank him and insist upon being
on her way, the young, but quite strong, maid took her by the arm and led her away. Mrs. Banfield left, presumably to return to her room and Berkshire was busy sloshing warm water over his son.
Addie was not generally the superstitious type, but wearing a dead woman’s clothing did make her a tad uncomfortable. She was pleasantly surprised when the dress the maid gave her fit. Until Sybil mentioned the gown was one her ladyship wore during her confinement. Thankfully, it was quite loose around Addie’s waist, but fit her perfectly around the bust.
It was a lovely gown, more tasteful than the house’s decor. The deep blue silk flattered her complexion. Beautiful black embroidery had been stitched along the bodice, sleeves, and hem. As she dried herself with the towel that had been warmed by the fire, and dressed in Lady Berkshire’s gown, Addie thought about Michael’s mother.
She knew from ton gossip that some sort of scandal surrounded her death, but nothing more than that. Addie wasn’t even sure if she had ever met his lordship’s late wife. Was she beautiful? Did she possess all the grace and charm that Addie did not, which allowed her to marry an earl?
Sybil returned to the bedchamber that Addie had used to dress and led her to the drawing room with instructions from Berkshire. Sybil explained that she should take tea and he would join her as soon as Master Michael was settled in a nightshirt with a glass of warm milk and biscuits.
Tea arrived only a few minutes before Berkshire. “How is Michael?”
Berkshire took the seat across from her, with a tea tray filled with small cucumber, watercress, and smoked salmon sandwiches, and an array of biscuits and tarts between them.
Berkshire accepted the cup of tea Addie handed him. “Michael is in much better shape than I am.” He shook his head and popped a small sandwich into his mouth.
“These things are generally more difficult for the parent than the child. I’m glad he is better, though. I would not want something like that to put him off other adventures.”
“That will not happen. I’ve allowed Mrs. Banfield to make a great deal of the decisions with regard to Michael since I was at a loss as to what to do for the lad.” He shook his head. “I will no longer permit that. I am the boy’s father and I say he needs to be exposed to more of the world.”
“If you are able to secure the services of a tutor for him, he will be presented with a whole new way of looking at his world.” Addie took the final sip of her tea.
Grayson studied Miss Mallory as she wiped her mouth with a napkin and placed it alongside her plate.
“Is that one of my late wife’s gowns?” Margaret had never looked so good in that frock, although, if he remembered correctly, she wore that during her confinement.
“Yes,” Miss Mallory said. “I was surprised it fit me, but then Sybil informed me that the deceased Lady Berkshire made use of this particular gown before she gave birth.”
