Stop behaving like a child, Evander. Who cares that your friend and his wife have decided to join you? It is not a big deal… nor should you behave as if it is.
You should not care about anything at all. You should not even notice that they have interrupted your walk. You haven’t noticed!
Evander did his best to soften his expression… but not too much, because he did not want to appear as if he was having a good time. That was the problem with being so morose and constantly moody. On those rare occasions where one had a reason to smile, it caused alarm.
“Aaron! Henry! Slow down!” Miss Finch cried from ahead. “Don’t go near the water!”
Evander and Caspian walked separately from the rest of the group. Side-by-side, they strolled lazily along the stone pathway which wound throughout the small park.
Ahead of them walked Miss Finch and Thalia. From the moment this walk started, the two women had been engaged in excited chatter, their heads together, laughter erupting from them every few seconds as if they were the best of friends.
Ahead of them further, Aaron and Henry sprinted through the park, shouting and screaming as boys their age tended to do. The park was relatively empty, which gave the boys leave to behave like wild animals in their bid to see who could create the most chaos.
And just like wild animals, at the chance to do something completely unhinged, they did not balk.
There was a pond toward the opposite side of the park, and when Aaron spied it, he turned and sprinted in its direction. Naturally, Henry gave chase, and soon the two boys were racing to see who could get their first. And when they did…let us see how Miss Finch deals with this.
“Come back here!” Miss Finch took off after them. “I won’t say it again!” She hurried across the park, and the two boys acted as if they did not hear her.
“She is doing well with those two…” Thalia fell back so that she joined Evander and Caspian. She took her husband’s hand, he kissed the back of hers, and then his hand slipped around her waist so he could hold her close.
“Is she?” Evander watched Miss Finch chase the two boys. “I have seen sheep dogs able to control a herd better than she can those two boys.”
Thalia laughed. “They are rather rebellious, aren’t they. Aaron especially.” She sighed and shook her head. “But they are young, and this is how boys are supposed to act.”
“Agreed,” Caspian said.
Evander knew how well Miss Finch was doing with his son. Unlike the previous governesses whom he had hired, Miss Finchwas at least able to tolerate Aaron’s dastardly behavior. What was more, she understood it, and he had seen with his own eyes how she had used this understanding to manipulate the boy into doing what she wanted.
While he should have agreed with Thalia and Caspian’s assessment, Evander was careful to hold back his praise. He did not want to appear as if he favored the woman, or as if he had any thoughts on her at all, outside of her ability to educate his son. He needed to be cautious…
“Taming my son of his rebellious tendencies is exactly what I hired her to do,” he said. “Not encourage them.”
“Oh, she is hardly doing that,” Caspian snorted.
“She speaks as if she loves this job,” Thalia said. “She had nothing but good things to say about Aaron. Personally, I think you made the right decision in hiring her.”
Again, Evander could not help but agree, just as he could not bring himself to say as much.
“I have given her six months,” he said plainly. “I will make my decision on her capabilities then.”
Both Caspian and Thalia looked at one another in a way that couples so often did. A silent conversation had, one that only they understood. But those coy smiles they wore, the wayCaspian rolled his eyes, told Evander that his objections were not being believed. Not one little bit.
“Oh no!” Thalia gasped suddenly.
Evander followed her eyeline, and he immediately saw what caused her reaction.
Aaron and Henry were playing in the shallows of the pond, splashing water at one another. When Miss Finch came close, clearly ordering them to get out, Aaron turned on the governess and splashed her with a healthy dousing of water. It covered her from head to toe, drenching her fully so that she dripped with it.
Anger flared throughout Evander.
That is precisely the type of behavior that I have hired Miss Finch to curb. Which Aaron knows. Which he is purposefully disobeying.
Without thinking about how it might look, Evander strode ahead, his eyes locked onto his son, his mind already reaching into the future as he imagined the scathing words he would speak to his son so that he would know that such wanton acts of foolishness would not be tolerated.
However, before he came close enough to punish his son, he noticed something strange… something entirely unexpected.
Aaron stalked out of the pond, his head bowed, his shoulders slumped in a clear display of shame. He approached Miss Finch, and while Evander could not hear what was being said, he could guess well enough the tone. His son was apologizing…