Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“It will be best for everyone. I know you and your mother butt heads,” a small patronizing smile turned up his lips, “so you getting out of the house and having one of your own will be good. And you’ll get to live in Italy. I know how much you want to travel.”
Words pounded at her lips but she sealed her mouth tighter, not wanting to let anything out. She would not break.
He waited. More shifting on his chair, the squeak filling the room. “Do you have anything to say?”
A single shake of her head.
“That’s all then.”
Willing her strength to remain, Rosamunde pushed up from the chair and made her way to the door.
“Little Bit?”
Tears burned her eyes at his childhood nickname for her. Refusing to let them fall, she turned back to face her father.
“This is for the best, you’ll see.”
And no longer could she keep it inside.
“Best for everyone in this house other than me. Don’t try to sugarcoat this, Father. You’re selling me. Harmony and Henrietta are older, have had multiple Seasons, and yet they’re all right to have another, while after having one, I’m being sold. We know why, because you couldn’t keep your hands off the help and got a maid with child, which was me. This is your way of appeasing your infidelity to your wife, by getting me out of sight and mind.”
He frowned, and in the past she would have stopped, not wanting to anger him. Now she didn’t care.
“Don’t pretend it’s anything other than that. I heard you two arguing about it, I’m well aware how much of a disappointment I am.”
She walked out, ignoring his cry for her to return. Brushing through the gathered siblings who doubtless had heard her and come to investigate, she headed for the door, barely slowing to swing on her cloak.
* * * *
Within an hour, she climbed from the rented hack that had brought her back down by the docks. She didn’t know if Keely was at the children’s home today, but maybe she could help out at the home.
The weather remained as nasty as it had been the first time she’d met Bryn. A small smile teased her lips as she thought about that meeting. Not that long ago, and yet it felt like a lifetime ago.
Lifting her skirts, she made her way through the accumulated snow and slush. A few people worked with shovels, making paths for people to walk with greater ease. Luckily for her the walkway to her destination had a well-worn path through it and she only slipped three times.
She knocked on the door and looked around her as the wind picked up once more. The door opened and she found herself facing a woman she didn’t recognize.
“Yes, miss?”
“I was wondering if Miss St. Martin was here today?”
Her expression softened a tiny bit. “Not yet. Are you here to help her?”
“Yes. I apologize, I thought we were to be here at this time.”
The woman smiled. “Come on in, honey. We don’t want a little thing like you getting cold or freezing.”
Little thing? She swallowed her snort, not wanting to be disrespectful.
“Thank you.”
“Please forgive the coolness in this part. We want their rooms to be warm.”
“It’s fine.”
Unlike many of the orphanages she was aware of, this one wasn’t filthy. At least not that she could see. Not that she had seen a lot, but she did try to help where and when she could.
“As you may or may not know, we have the girls learning domestic duties and the boys are learning trades. Of course, Lady Heartstone feels that it’s important for the boys to learn to cook and sew as well as for the girls to learn some of the trades.”
“It’s true. Some of these boys may not marry and it’s always smart to be able to fix some food yourself and fix clothing.”
She shook her head. “You sound a lot like Lady Heartstone. No wonder you are friends with her.”
“She’s one of my best friends.”
“You brought those two boys by before, right? Jacob and Ralph.”
Rosamunde’s heart turned over at their mention. With a nod, she tugged on her cloak. “How are they settling in?”
“Not bad considering they keep expecting the worst.” She opened a door and they stepped into…organized chaos.
The room was spacious, given the bodies and the fires in hearths on either side of the space. The area had been sectioned off and children were working on things in each place. Adults, men and women, oversaw it all.
“Generally we have the boys in one room and the girls in another but with the cold, it’s better to do this and have the heat in one place.”
Skimming the room, she couldn’t stop the smile that she got from seeing the boys she’d brought here off in a smaller group.