“Do introduce me, Mrs. Neal,” he said, tugging on his sleeve cuffs casually.
“O-of course.” She stepped into the room with him. “Everybody, this is His Grace, the Duke of Fairmont. He is the new owner of Fielding House, so you must be good to him and treat him with your best manners, all right?”
There was a chorus of mumbles, incoherent, and Lucien merely looked over the sea of faces, finding himself regarded wearily in return. His focus returned to the lady, whose eyes had gone wide, her mouth parting.
Oh, yes, she definitely felt caught by a duke.
“And who might you be?” Lucien asked her directly. When she didn’t answer, he turned to Mrs. Neal. “The report left in the former duke’s will did not mention a tutor, or any sort of lessons going on here. I do not believe it is custom?”
He was curious about the whole set-up, like it was some secret, and he still was trying to place why the woman looked so well to-do if she was tutoring in a workhouse.
“Wait!” One of the children, a scarily thin boy with black curls flattened against his head, rushed over to him. “Your Grace, please do not be cross with Lady Elinor! We know this must be kept quiet, but please let her stay. Oh,please, let her stay! We are doing well with our lessons, and she is bringing Newton next time.”
Next time? Lucien thought.How frequent are these lessons, and who in the world is Newton?
But then he paused.
Lady Elinor.
His brows shot up as he flicked his gaze back to her. It rang a bell, but he couldn’t place where he had heard it, too lost in questions about what he had discovered here.
More children ran up to him, and soon he was surrounded by grubby hands that did not touch him, but he pitied their dirty faces and small frames.
“Yes, please do not send her away! She is so good to us,” another boy cried out.
“Move, Billy,” another child grumbled, shoving through. “Lady Elinor is very good, and she cares about us, more so than others have, and we can’t lose her.” That child’s voice was very firm, and she lifted her chin defiantly.
“Who are you?” Lucien asked, amused by her order.
“I am Angelica.”
Ah, he had heard that name from out in the hallway.
“Well, Angelica, thank you for your request.” He did not say anything further, for Lady Elinor rushed forward, placing a handon Billy’s and Angelica’s shoulders, quickly ushering them back to their places in the makeshift classroom.
When she turned back to him, her cheeks were pink, and she shoved a pair of spectacles up her nose, her face scrunching. “Your Grace, may we speak in private?”
He found himself smiling a little as he nodded. “Mrs. Neal, do show us to the main office.”
“It is all right,” Lady Elinor interrupted hastily. “I can show you to it. Mrs. Neal, instead, can you help the children get ready for bed? I cannot stay long enough to do that.”
“Of course, Elinor.”
At the sound of bed, most of the children sighed, and Lucien couldn’t tell if it was exasperation or relief. But they all gathered, glancing between Lady Elinor and him, seemingly nervous. He had a feeling they would not go to bed easily, not if they were so passionate about their tutor.
“All right,” he told Lady Elinor. “Lead the way.” He glanced back into the room, inclining his head. “Good night, children.”
A hesitant chorus ofgood nightscame in reply. Keys jingled as Mrs. Neal handed them to Lady Elinor. Once again, Lucien was surprised at the ease of a lady knowing her way around a workhouse, so familiar with the staff and children.
“This way.” Her voice was quiet and unsure, and she kept her head ducked as she led him further down the hallway to descend another staircase, this one slightly less secure.
Lucien frowned, shaking the railing.
Lady Elinor paused at the bottom of the staircase. “Is something the matter, Your Grace?”
“Yes,” he muttered. “This staircase is unsafe, as is the main one I came up before. Nobody maintains this place?”
“It has always been down to the owner to order repairs,” she said, swallowing hard. “Nobody was ever sent to even look at the cracked window in one of the children’s bedrooms. It gets terribly cold in there.”