Chapter Ten
The next day
Gabriel stood in his study, looking out the tall, mullioned windows at the garden his mother had lovingly cultivated in the yard outside.
When she was home, she took great care in tending her flowers.
Her red and white roses were in full bloom, and she always wanted them to be seen whenever the study drapes were open.
From his spot, the vibrant flowers made a stunning backdrop, making him think of a painting and filling him with a calming sense of peace, just as they often did.
He reflected upon the previous evening, acknowledging it had been calm. Grateful for a second night’s peaceful sleep without the intrusive nightmares, he wondered if he had reached a breakthrough in his grief—and wondered, as he had the day before, if Miss Vickers was the reason.
A moment later, Miss Vickers entered the garden, seeming to search for something.
He watched her check beneath the rosebushes and then hurry outside the iron gate to examine the boxwoods.
She appeared to speak to someone walking next to her, but the person was much shorter, and he couldn’t see who it was because of the profusion of roses and Miss Vickers, who were both in his eyeline.
And then she shifted, and he saw Caro pointing at something.
Fascinated, he watched. Just a day earlier, he couldn’t have imagined this scene.
His niece had always preferred solitude or the company of his mother or himself, but never desired her nanny’s presence beyond what was required.
Her communication since the accident had always been whimpering and pointing, as she was doing now.
Then he saw what they were searching for—a muddied dog that must have strayed into the garden, possibly lost in the storm.
Gabriel watched the small dog retreat beneath a boxwood before Miss Vickers got down on her knees and seemed to coax the pup out. Then she gently picked it up, making cooing sounds and smiling as she wrapped the pup in a blanket and cuddled it against her chest.
He struggled to understand how she and Caro even communicated.
Miss Vickers clearly captivated his niece, and the two seemed to understand each other easily.
Only those who had been around Caro her entire life were able to read the girl’s whimpers and facial expressions, and yet Miss Vickers seemed to have no problem. It was truly remarkable.
“Gabriel, there you are,” his mother said, entering the room. “Are they still out there?” She looked down at the garden.
“Yes. How did you know?” he asked.
“Forgive me if I sound rushed, but this is so exciting. When the rain stopped, I grabbed my pruners and the basket and ran outside, ready to prune some dead rose blossoms, and I heard a whimpering sound. At first, I thought it was Caro, until I realized it sounded different, more like a dog. I investigated when I heard Miss Vickers’s voice and a different sound.
This time it sounded like Caro’s soft whimper—you know, when something upsets her. ”
He nodded.
“They were looking for something. I went back inside and watched from the windows in the breakfast room, not wishing to disturb them. It was a puppy,” she said, sounding out of breath.
“I saw the same. Miss Vickers scooped it up from under a boxwood. Poor thing looks wretched! It appears to have become lost during the rainstorms,” he said.
“Did you witness her interaction with Caro?” the countess asked.
“Talking?”
“Pish! I mean communicating. She slapped her thigh, like so.” She showed him the movements Miss Vickers had made with her hands. She then mimicked rocking a baby.
“Perhaps that’s some sort of sign language for the deaf. I’ve heard of it. Do you think Miss Vickers has figured out a way to teach Caro to communicate?”
“Look for yourself!” his mother exclaimed.
They watched as Miss Vickers put her forefinger and middle finger together and wiggled them beneath her chin with the palm down. Caro pointed at the puppy and imitated her, then both laughed.
His mother faced him. “I wonder what that means,” she said.
“I think we can ask, because it sounds like they are on their way in through the kitchen. I hear giggles, and I hear a puppy barking, so it sounds like we’re going to be able to answer all our questions,” Gabriel said.
He would be glad of any kind of communication with his niece.
Since her parents’ deaths, she’d become withdrawn, and her only communication came via hugs, kisses, and soothing words from him, his mother, and the staff.
Her voice had seemed to perish with Olivia and Max.
They found them in the kitchen. Caro had the puppy, wrapped in a blanket, in her lap and was giving it kisses on its head.
“What do you have, Caro?” Gabriel asked when he and his mother walked in.
She turned around and started to slap her hip, as they had seen through the window, but she stopped and looked toward Miss Vickers with questioning eyes.
“Yes. You can show them. It’s all right, sweetling,” Miss Vickers said, holding her fist up and bobbing it up and down.
“Miss Vickers, what will she be showing us?” the countess asked.
“Caro came to my room this morning, as I was sipping my chocolate. And after a few tries to speak to her, I realized that while she may understand me, I was having difficulty understanding her. My cousin, Ashlyn, lives near a man who created a language for the deaf. I know Caro isn’t deaf, but she isn’t able to speak.
Her eyes tell me she is very intelligent, and I thought I’d try the sign language with her.
Ashlyn taught me several things—very rudimentary, but they seemed to work.
And I can see it gives Caro the ability to communicate her thoughts. ”
“I see,” the countess said, seeming in awe.
“Caro…?” Gabriel coaxed his niece.
The little girl pointed to the puppy she held in the blanket and, with her right hand, lightly slapped her hip through her dress.
“That means dog,” said Miss Vickers.
Then Caro made a rocking motion with her arms.
“The rocking motion means puppy when one adds it to the sign for dog,” Miss Vickers added.
“That’s amazing!” exclaimed the countess. “I’ve heard about sign language, but foolishly never looked into it, or thought about learning any. It’s a blessing you’re here, Miss Vickers. If you know this sign language and are teaching it to our Caro, we should learn. How well do you know it?”
“I picked up a little while spending time with my cousin in Connecticut, where her father is a physician. His friend visited one day and introduced us. We learned it as a secret way to communicate with each other—just being mischievous,” said Miss Vickers.
“Mostly rudimentary words, but I thought they’d help us communicate.
This means yes, and this means no.” She quickly showed the two words together.
“Can you teach Mother and me?” Gabriel asked.
“I’m happy to teach all I know. Everyone can learn together, if you’d like,” Miss Vickers suggested. She signed yes to Caro, who enthusiastically replied in kind.
“And who is this little rascal?” Gabriel asked, pointing to the soft brown puppy in his niece’s lap. “Do you wish to keep him?”
Caro clenched her fist and bounced it up and down.
“She’s saying yes!” the countess said.
“Well, in that case, we should check with the neighbors and tenant farmers and see if anyone recognizes this puppy. We shouldn’t deprive other children, don’t you think?” Gabriel asked his niece.
She put her thumb and first two fingers together to mimic a closed mouth.
“That means no, we shouldn’t deprive other children of their dog,” Miss Vickers explained, and Caro nodded. “She agrees with you.”
“Perhaps we can take the puppy outside to let it do its business before giving it a bath,” Gabriel suggested.
“Can we take it into the yard behind the kitchen—instead of having it use my rose garden?” asked the countess.
“It could offer excellent fertilizer, Mother,” Gabriel offered, grinning.
They all laughed.
“This sign language is an excellent idea,” Gabriel said, smiling down at his niece. “May I?” Not waiting for an answer, he reached down and picked up the puppy, turning it over. “Definitely a he, so you might think of little boy names, sweetling.”
Caro pointed to a stack of biscuits sitting on a serving plate on the stove.
“Would you like one, Caro?” Gabriel asked, lifting the platter down to her. The puppy lurched at the plate, clearly in agreement with the offer.
Caro pinched her fingers together. Then she slapped her hip and pointed first to the plate of biscuits and then to the puppy.
“Surely you don’t intend to give the dog all the biscuits,” Gabriel said, arching a brow.
“No. I don’t think that’s what Caro is telling us. I think she wishes to name the dog Biscuit,” said Miss Vickers. Caro smiled excitedly and fisted her hand, bobbing it.
“Oh! I like that name for the puppy,” the countess said, clasping her hands together.
“Excellent! If no one else claims they are missing this handsome pup, you can keep him and name him Biscuit,” Gabriel said.
Caro smiled and reached for Miss Vickers’s hand, who squeezed hers in return.
“I’ll ask a footman to check. If they don’t find an owner, you can keep it, my darling Caro,” the countess said. “Meanwhile, let’s take it outside and introduce it to the kitchen’s backyard.”