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“Why don’t you sit on the settee and Lord St. John can sit next to you,” Natalie said. It appeared the mother was as anxious as the little girl. Annalise took the seat her mother had suggested, and Natalie sat across from them, the pride and love in her expression obvious.
He decided on an easy question to try to ease some of the tension in the room. “What are you studying in school now?”
Annalise looked directly at him—not at her shoes or the floor—which was what he’d not expected from a six-year-old child. “We are studying maths, reading, and penmanship.”
“And what is your favorite subject?
The little girl thought for a minute. “Maths. I think it is fun when everything works out at the end.”
Alex looked up at Natalie, who smiled warmly at her daughter’s answer.
“You are a very intelligent girl.”
She thought for a moment, then said, “Yes, my lord. I believe so. You see, my aunt is a doctor which takes a great deal of intelligence.” She glanced at Natalie. “And my mama is quite smart, too.”
It took all his control to not laugh at the seriousness of the girl. She showed quite a bit of maturity for her age which made him wonder if the nastiness of her father had worked to make the child grow up quicker. He remembered either Sterling or Natalie telling him that she and her daughter had lived with Sterling and his wife for two years, which meant Miss Annalise was four when she was released from the misery her father had caused.
They chatted for a few more minutes, strengthening his opinion of the girl. If things worked out between him and Natalie, he would be honored to call Annalise his stepdaughter.
They spent the next half hour conversing about all the things Annalise liked to do and him promising her the three of them would take a trip to the museum the following Saturday. When it became time to leave for the theater he was totally charmed.
The nanny came to fetch the girl, reminding them all it was far past Annalise’s bedtime. With a hug from her mother, the child stepped up to him and curtsied again. “It was a pleasure meeting you, my lord.”
He went down on one knee in front of her and took her little hand in his. “It was a great pleasure to meet you, as well. I look forward to our trip to the museum on Saturday.”
Natalie gave one last kiss and hug to her daughter, and she and Alex were off to the theater.
Alex helped Natalie into the carriage, then climbed in and sat across from her. “Natalie, your daughter is adorable. She certainly knows how to conduct herself, and she is a perfect example of a mother’s caring and love.”
Natalie beamed. “Thank you, Alex. I am very proud of her, considering what she had to overcome the first four years of her life.”
He waited for her to continue, and—when she didn’t—he said, “Would you care to tell me about it?”
Natalie sighed. “Milton was a very unhappy man. Unfortunately for Annalise and me he took his unhappiness out on us. He was never pleased with anything I did or said. Annalise survived by staying out of his way.” She looked down at her gloved hands. “I am embarrassed to say I felt nothing but relief when he died.”
“You have no reason to feel embarrassed, Natalie. He sounds like a horrible person, and you obviously surmised correctly that he was an unhappy man. It is always unfortunate when such an individual only feels better when he makes everyone around him unhappy.”
After a few moments of silence, thinking a change of subject was necessary, he said, “Have you attended the theater much?”
“No, never actually. Papa was not keen on such things; he found them ‘frivolous’, he said. And once I married, well, Milton was even more adamant about such things than Papa was.”
He realized this woman had been passed from a neglectful father to a vile husband. “I am sorry to hear that, but now I have the privilege of introducing you to one of my favorite pastimes.”
“You attend often?” She asked, smiling brightly.
“Not as much as I would like. A lot of my evenings are taken up with the usualtonevents. Musicals, balls, routs.”
“Do you ever travel to London for theirtonevents? I hear they can be quite—shall we say, challenging?”
He loved the slight smile on her face as they moved from the shadows when the carriage passed under a streetlight. He also saw a great deal of Annalise in Natalie. Hopefully, with her father gone, she would grow into a woman as wonderful as her mother.
“Yes, I do on occasion attend some of the London events. Once I moved from London to Bath, I found I enjoyed Bath’s affairs more.” He grinned. “That is if one can enjoy an evening of young, giddy girls being dragged in front of you. I have found the balls and such I’ve attended here in Bath are not as crushed and the debutantes not as desperate appearing.”
She smiled, and immediately all the air seemed sucked out of the carriage. Her smile turned a pretty woman into a beautiful one.
“Ah, then you are quite a social gentleman.”
“Yes and no. I do go to a lot of affairs to keep my mother from accusing me of neglecting my duty and responsibility to my title by not marrying and producing at least an heir and a spare.”
