Ruin Me Please (37 page)

“I agree.” 
Declan turned
at the approaching footsteps.

Poppy smiled proudly at Declan’s enthusiastic response, noting how with just one smile he won over at least one of the other patronesses.

“
Your G
race
,” Poppy nodded.  “May I i
ntroduce Lady Juliet Warren?”

Offering her right hand, Lady Warren curtsied.  “I am very ha
ppy you are here,
Your G
race
.”

“I’m delighted I could visit
, Lady Warren
.” 
He bowed. 
A genuinely hap
py smile spread across his face.
“I’m eager to meet the st
udents.”

“By all means
, follow me.” 
She gestured
toward the house
.

Stepping into the foyer, Declan got the impression of contained chaos
as soon as he passed through the door.
  He knew the children’s ages ranged from infants to the ol
d
est
girl
being sixteen. 
And f
rom
what Poppy mentioned, Charlotte, the oldest student,
was a practiced flirt and he should be on guard.

In the foyer, they
were greeted by two more women
.  “
Your G
race
,
” Lady
Warren i
n
quired.
“May I
present
the two other patronesses of the Ashford Lane School for Girls, Mrs. Clara D
o
novan and Lady Eugenia Bellamy.”

“
Your G
race
,
” They
chorused
, curtsying prettily
.

He bowed.
“Very
pleased to m
ake your acquaintance
,
ladies.”

“Let’s begin the tour
, shall we?”
Adele suggested.

Moving
quickly
, Lady Warren led them down the hall
stopping
from
one room to the next. 
They showed
him the dormitories, the dining hall
, and
finally
push
ing
open
a
door
to
one of the classrooms
.

Three little girls about five or six
scraped their chairs back and
stood at attention
when the door opened.
 
They proudly stood before their desks with slates and chalks on top. 
Happy smiles on their faces. 

“Good afternoon,” they chorused
in the high sweet tones of children
.

“Good afternoon
,
girls,”
Poppy chimed
in
,
“The girls are taught reading,
writing and basic arithmetic.”
 
Poppy t
urned at the sound of footsteps
waving the young teacher over.

“
Hawksley
,
m
ay I present
Miss Spenser
.
”

“
Your G
race
.”  M
iss Spenser curtsied
before she
nervously
rushed back to her clas
s
room.

“Hawksley, Miss
Penelope
Spenser
teaches
the younger
girls
.”

His green gaze fixed on
Poppy’s
face, impressed with the
bright colorful room
they
pr
o
vided for the younger girls.

Moving to the next room, Lady Warren issued a light t
ap on the door before opening.

“
Your Grace
,
may I
present
Miss Candice
Brenham
.  She
teaches the three oldest gi
rls.  She is
one of the
main
reasons we have been able to place our girls so well.”

“Miss Bre
n
ham.”  He
inclined his head
,
survey
ing
the blushing girls.

“Ladies
,
”
h
e
greeted
, smiling
his usual devilish
smile, which
caused the girls to sigh.

Poppy rolled her eyes humorously.

They eventually returned to the mai
n foye
r where with an inquisitive look
,
Poppy asked
, “Do you have any questions?”

His lips curved in a captivating smile.  “No.” 
He glanced
back down the hall.
“All the girls look happy and healthy.  This is nothing like
the homes that are in London.”

“
Thank you.”  She smiled. 
“
We do have our weekly meeting to att
end before we are able to leave.
”
S
he looked at him for a long moment unable to read anything in his expression.
“Can you occupy yourself
for an
hour?”

Stepping aside as little girls rushed down the front steps, Declan chuckled.  “I’m sure I can remain occupied
for that short amount of time.”
 
He gestured towards the running girls.
“Where are they headed?”

“It’s playtime
,
” Poppy responded.  “We give the younger girls and hour in the afternoon to just be little girls.”

“I think I’ll step outsid
e for some fresh air as well.”

She glanced back over her shoulder.
“I
’ll be back in about one hour.”

De
clan watched her go.  She
merged
with the
small group of
women
as they made their way d
own the hall into a back room.

Declan
wandered alone after that.  Making his way outside he
watched as
two
brightly clothed little girls ran wild across the lawn.  He hadn’t been around many chil
dren.  Most of his friends
remained unmarried.  He did have some cousins on his mother’s side but he hadn’t se
en them since Gabriel’s death.

Leaning against one of the nearby pillars, Declan
thrust
h
is hands in his pockets
,
casua
l
ly observ
ing
the girls playtime. 
The sounds of childhood brought to mind memories of when he was young
, r
unning footsteps, raucous voice
s yelling back and forth
and happy laughter
floa
t
ing on the wind
.

Glancing
around
, he spied
a
little girl sitting on a bench
,
her tiny legs dangling over the side. 
She looked to be about
five or
six. 
Her bright red hair glowed
brightly
in the sun. 
Her a
n
imated face held the biggest smile he had ever seen as she talked to the little
bundle
cradled in her arms.

The restlessness he felt permeated his soul.  Drawn by the blissful picture the little girl made, he pushed off the
pillar and walked towards her.
 
Declan approached the child and knelt down beside her.
“
Hello
,
”
h
e
said softly
.

She looked
up
st
artled, alarmed by his voice.  The bright smile that covered her
face
van
ishing quickly
. 
He
noticed how her
arms wrapped
more
securely
around the bundle
.

“My name is Hawk.  W
hat’
s your name?”

She glanced around
for a moment before she
replied
,
“Hawk is not a name.  That’s a bird that flies in the sky.”
  She lifted her arm, pointing a finger upward.

“That’s true,” he
said chucking
.  “My name is really big
though
,
s
o Hawk is
much
easier to say.”

With her head cocked in question
,
“What is your
big
name?”

“Declan Kieran Trenowyth, the Duke of
Hawksley.”  He bowed elegantly. 
“At your se
r
vice
,
milady.”

Giving a gap-toothed
smile,
she revealed
an opening where a tooth used to be
. 
“My name is Beatrice Anne Cob.” 
She opened
h
er arms to reveal her bundle.
“T
his is Daphne Cob.”

“
I’m honored to make
both of
your acquaintance
s
.
”

***

Pleased with the plans so far for the festival, Poppy proceeded to tidy up the paperwork on the table, pausing when she glanced
out the
window.  Studying
the scene below
,
a smile slowly spread across her face in surprise
.  
A churning of
compassion invaded her heart at the vision of
Declan s
itting
on a bench next to
redheaded
little
Beatrice
with her
ra
gdoll
held snugly
in the crook of his arm.

***

“Now
gi
rls, we have a special guest,
I expect you to be on your best behavior.”  A gen
u
ine smile crossed her features as she gazed at her students.  “We are honored to have the D
uke of Hawksley with us today.”

“
Is
the duke
going to
stay and watch us paint?” 
A simpering laugh escaped Charlotte’s lips as she batted her eyelashes flirtatiously at Declan where he
stood leaning against the wall. 
“I’m sure
he knows everything abou
t what is fashionable in art
, he is a duke
.”

All he did was walk in the door and
he already fascinated them
.  She couldn’t blame them
, of course.  Today he wore snug buckskins,
g
leaming Hessians
and a well-fitted coat of blue superfine
.

His eyes widened in fright. 
He shifted restlessly
before he glanced nervously in
Po
p
py
’s direction
.

S
he
raised her brows as if to say
see I told you so
.
 
S
mother
ing
a laugh at Declan’s bewi
l
dered e
x
pression.
 
“If
it would please him,
he can stay.” 
Poppy’s pretty blue eyes danced.

Oh, God.  He was in trouble; t
he sight of her
sent a shaft of need straight through him.
H
er dimple
peeked out as she smiled brightly at her st
u
dents.