She huffed and sank lower into her seat, head tipped back to stare at the ceiling. She had her back to Edwin now, pointedly ignoring him.
Well, this was awkward. Alicia looked from Jenny to Samuel before letting her gaze land hesitantly on Edwin himself. He was tall and broad, much like James; but he had a more youthful, almost childish sort of face that was somewhat at odds with how he held himself. He was too young to be so overconfident, Alicia thought.
"And how are you settling in, Miss Sempill?" he asked after a moment, his smile wide and friendly.Toofriendly. "I must say I'm surprised that my brother hired a governess; he was always so adamant that he could do everything himself."
There was no good way to answer that, and Alicia fumbled over her words as she tried to reply. "I have settled in fine. Thank you, my lord." She tried to smile, but it fell flat on her face.
Across from her at his own desk, Samuel muffled a laugh behind his sleeve. Of everyone, he seemed to be the only one here truly comfortable.
"James is treating you well, I hope?" Edwin raised his brow, questioning.
Was hetryingto get a rise out of her, or was it an all-natural charm? Without even meaning to, Alicia found herself frowning. "He's a very generous employer and has given me everything I need to adequately take care of the children." Still seated behind her desk, Alicia reached for a pen and began twirling it anxiously between her fingers. A droplet of ink splashed onto her knuckle, but she ignored it.
Edwin's smile seemed to falter. Was it because she didn't give him what he wanted, or had he simply grown bored? It felt rude to be judging him like this, not just because she didn't know him but because he was alord,for goodness sake. Yet his sly little smile made her skin crawl, and she hoped he would leave soon.
It seemed that her wish was granted because he brushed black hair from his eyes and announced, "I should leave you three to it. Good luck, Miss Sempill, my siblings can be quite a handful."
"I'm sure I'll manage, my lord."
With that, he vanished off down the hall without another word, humming as he went.
Taking a moment to collect herself, Alicia took a breath and forced herself to set the pen down. "All right children," she announced, "back to work, please. Jenny, you were going to read first today. Why don't you start at the top of the page, please?"
The morning carried on without incident, after that. They read for half an hour before moving on to writing, which both Samuel and Jenny struggled with. It wasn't that theycouldn'twrite; quite the opposite because their comprehension was excellent, and they took to it like ducks to water. The problem was howterribletheir handwriting was. It seemed that when their brothers taught them, the focus had been on the words and phrases themselves without ensuring that their handwriting was up to scratch.
Alicia spent two hours with them, going over the basics of letter shapes and how to write in clear, form script. Cursive would have to come later.Muchlater.
Eventually, though, it was time for lunch, and the children raced downstairs to eat. Alicia trailed after them, stopping in the foyer to admire the beautiful garden through the window.
"Taking a break?" A familiar voice asked from behind; Alicia spun to see Lord Arvill standing by the bottom of the steps, the study door open behind him. "I hope the children have been behaving."
Alicia thought of poor Nora and the horrible rat prank that Samuel planned. She had promised not to breathe a word, though, and Alicia was always one to keep her promises. "They've been delightful," she answered simply, and it wasn't entirely a lie. For the most part, the childrenwerelovely. The prank didn't make them any less so because Alicia had the feeling it was mostly borne of a desire for attention.
James smiled, relief evident on his face. "Thank goodness. I worried for a while that they would be too much for you. Sometimes they're too much even for me."
Alicia felt a pang of sympathy for him; he had so much on his plate without having to think of two wayward children running about. Alicia wasn't sure how useful she really was here, but she hoped she at least made it easier for him to focus on other things. If that meant having to deal with their antics, then so be it.
James' gaze flickered outside, and he offered a smile. "Would you like to talk a walk? Only, I saw you looking out the window before."
"I wouldn't say no," she answered truthfully, "the classroom gets awfully stuffy, even with the windows open."
"I could always have you moved to a nicer room," James offered as he gestured for Alicia to go outside first. "There are plenty to choose from, and it wouldn't take too much effort to have the furniture switched."
She felt a burst of gratefulness towards him, a smile spreading across her features. "That would be lovely," she answered, "but I couldn't ask that of you."
Outside, the weather was pleasantly warm. The worst of the heat was mellowed out by fluffy white clouds that floated lazily overhead, allowing just the barest trickle of warm sunshine to filter down. The gardens were bathed in soft golden light. From the treetops in the distance to the flowerbeds outside - everything seemed to sparkle in the sun.
James fell into step beside her; his long legs easily keeping up with her much shorter stature. He smiled down at her, his blue eyes soft and kind; it made Alicia's heart flip, and it only got worse when he said, "I'm so glad you're here."
Her own lips parted in a smile, laughter bubbling up in her throat-
"The children really need the influence of someone who isn't family, and you're perfect for the job."
Oh. Alicia shouldn't have been disappointed, yet she still felt a dull stir in her chest. Of course, that was what he meant; she shouldn't have been so silly as to believe anything else. He was her employer and a marquess, and she was deluded if she thought they could ever be friends.
Or anything more, because that's what you want, isn't it?
"Is everything all right?" James' voice had her jolting back to reality, but his kind smile never slipped. "I'm sorry that I asked you to walk with me - feel free to go back inside if you prefer."
