Chapter 15
“Lady Maria! I mean, my apologies, Your Grace,” Doctor Drayford called out to Maria from the door of his study.
Maria had arrived at the orphanage to collect Gilbert for his visit to Winterleigh.
She stopped in the corridor as the doctor hurried to her.
His normally morose face was illuminated from within, and he walked with a new energy.
He clutched a piece of paper; in fact, he was waving it with a somewhat uncomely amount of enthusiasm.
“I must thank you most sincerely and…well, there are no words. Simply no words!”
Maria did not think she had ever seen the man so animated.
She frowned, confused as to what she might have done to merit such gratitude.
Her own mood was ambivalent. Excitement at seeing Gilbert was tempered by Damien’s detonation into their conversation over dinner the previous evening.
Namely, that Gilbert would not be coming to live at Winterleigh.
We shall see about that. I will not simply lie down and allow my boy to be without a home or anywhere that is not by my side.
“You are a godsend, Your Grace!” Doctor Drayford continued, his words pulling Maria from her thoughts.
“Doctor Drayford, whatever do you mean? You look distinctly overjoyed about something, and I cannot imagine what I might have done to merit such praise.”
Then, she remembered the offer of funding he had received and which he had promised not to allow the board to accept until she had been given the chance to address them. Her heart sank, for she suddenly suspected that the physician’s enthusiasm might be for the worst possible reason.
Oh no! Don’t tell me they have gone ahead and accepted my father’s offer!
“The funding?” she asked, mouth suddenly dry.
“Yes!” Doctor Drayford enthused.
Maria felt her stomach clench. “You promised to give me an opportunity to speak to the board, Doctor Drayford. You gave me your word!”
“And I fully intended to keep that word, but the identity of the donor meant that I did not think it relevant. I do not know why you didn’t tell me yourself.”
Ice settled into Maria’s veins.
“But I did tell you what my father had planned! He certainly means nothing but ill will to this institution. He is spiteful and seeks to harm me through those I care about,” Maria said, “and by accepting his offer, you have given him the power to do just that!”
Drayford frowned. “Your father? What does he have to do with it?”
Maria stared at him. It took her an embarrassingly long time to realize the significance of what the man was saying. “The offer did not come from my father?”
“No, it came from your husband. And it was significantly higher than the previous offer. The board accepted it unanimously. The orphanage will not need to be concerned over budget ever again. Thank you and thank you to your husband!”
It took all the strength of Maria’s will not to let her jaw drop at the revelation.. Damien had saved the orphanage and secured its future.
Damien?
“I did not know,” Maria said truthfully, “but I will pass on your gratitude, rest assured.”
“Is that a knight?” Gilbert said excitedly as he scampered through the hall.
“It is a knight’s armor, yes,” Maria said, smiling at his boundless enthusiasm. “Probably belonging to one of the duke’s ancestors from many years ago.”
Gilbert’s eyes were wide with awe. “The duke is a knight?”
“No, he is not, but his great-great-grandfather might have been,” Maria said.
Mrs. Whitby was already smiling when she emerged into the hall from the servant’s door.
“The little tyke! Good morning there, young man. I’m Mrs. Whitby. And what is your name?”
Gilbert looked to Maria, remembering his lessons on etiquette and politeness. He gave a formal bow, and Maria’s face warmed with pride.
“My name is Gilbert. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Whitby,” he said.
Mrs. Whitby ruffled his hair fondly.
“And it is nice to meet you, too, Gilbert. Nice to have a child in the house again.”
She leaned closer and whispered in a faux-conspiratorial tone. “Just you make sure you don’t listen when anyone tells you that children should be seen but not heard.”
Maria laughed, but it faded as she heard the heavy footsteps approaching from above.
She swallowed. Damien could not possibly object to Gilbert being here, as he had agreed to the visit.
But Maria remembered his coolness when she brought the subject up.
Gilbert picked up on her tension, running to her as the footsteps reached the bend in the stairs.
But then—this man was the same one who had saved the orphanage for her. How could she make sense of a man who seemed as though he could not decide whether to be kind or cruel?
He hid behind her skirts when Damien appeared. Mrs. Whitby made her excuses and left. Damien descended the stairs.
“Your Grace, I would like to introduce you to Gilbert. Gilbert, come out and greet His Grace, the Duke of Winterleigh,” Maria said.
Damien approached, and Gilbert cowered, seemingly hesitant to emerge from behind Maria’s skirts. Then, Damien put out his hand.
“It is customary for two knights, when meeting, to show each other an empty right hand. To show that they do not hold a weapon,” Damien said.
Gilbert peeked out at the mention of knights. Maria wondered if Damien had been standing on the staircase listening as they had come into the house.
“But, Maria said that you’re not a knight.”
Damien nodded, and his stern expression seemed to soften just the smallest amount. “I do not hold the title of knight, but that does not mean that I do not hold the knightly virtues in my heart. As all men should.”
Gilbert peeked out a little more. “What’s a virtue?” he stumbled over the unfamiliar word.
“A virtue is a good and noble quality. Like being kind,” Maria said.
“A knight must have honor, be willing to defend the defenseless and, above all, have courage,” Damien said, still offering his hand.
Gilbert emerged all the way and put out his own hand. Damien inspected it as though checking there was no sword there, then he clasped Gilbert’s hand in his own.
“Well met, good knight,” Damien said.
Gilbert shied away after Damien released his hand. His eyes were drawn to the mask, and he pointed with a finger that trembled.
“What’s that?” he asked of Maria.
“It is rude to point, Gilbert,” Maria said as she saw a closed-off, cold look on Damien’s face.
“Oh,” Gilbert said.
“Perhaps you could join Gilbert and me on a tour of your house?” Maria suggested with a smile.
“I think I have done quite enough,” Damien replied.
Maria wanted to sigh, feeling another failed attempt to break through his walls. But she steeled herself and tried to force away the tide of disappointment that rose inside her.
I must take my victories where I can find them. He came to see Gilbert and showed an interest in him. That is a victory.
She thought back to the flat refusal to allow Gilbert into the house when they had first negotiated the terms of their convenient marriage. In comparison, this was as night is today.
“Very well. Gilbert and I will look at the house ourselves. And then, I will entertain him in the gardens until it is time for him to go back to the orphanage,” Maria said. “Oh, and both Gilbert and I have something we wish to say to you.”
Damien looked from one to the other silently. Maria looked down at Gilbert and nodded. Gilbert took a deep breath, his eyes darting anxiously to Damien’s face.
“Thank you, Your Grace, for saving the orphanage. All the boys and girls…” he hesitated, trying to remember the lines he and Maria had practiced in the carriage.
“Will sleep soundly…” Maria gently prompted.
Gilbert nodded. “Will sleep soundly knowing that their home is safe.”
“And thank you from me,” Maria said, clasping her hands before her. “It is a matter that is closer to my heart than anything. I did not expect it.”
“You expected only cruelty?” His voice was flat, revealing nothing.
“I…” she trailed off, uncertain what to say. Something like indignation burned inside her.
Perhaps, she had not anticipated cruelty, not exactly, but certainly not kindness. Maria might have anticipated some tender feelings if her husband had been at least a little forthcoming.
“Not cruelty,” she said. “Just not that you would care as I do.”
“You judge me.”
“I try not to. You do not make it easy.”
“I suppose I do not. I will think on it… Farewell, good knight,” Damien said, addressing Gilbert and bowing.
Gilbert bowed in return, and Maria caught the twitch of Damien’s lips before he turned away.
Her spirits lifted a little, for the encounter seemed as though it had gone well.
That was more than she had dared hope for!
It seemed as if even the stern Damien could not resist the charms of a small child.
The rest of the day was bliss for Maria. She showed her wandering charge around the house, marveling at his awe at the smallest of details. Of course, he had no experience of a true home, much less one of such grandeur, only the austere conditions of the orphanage.
To have a bedroom to himself seemed to be a decadent luxury. To have a room of his very own left him dumbstruck for a moment, and Maria’s chest ached. Despite the encouraging encounter with Damien, her husband had not yet agreed to allow Gilbert to live with them.
Then Gilbert could not stop talking about all the things he would like to have in this room of his very own. Maria told herself that she would simply have to persuade Damien to agree. If he truly wished for her to believe that he was not cruel, he would.
They explored the gardens, avoiding the woods, which Maria convinced Gilbert was home to bears and wolves. They would need to address the lethal nature of the woods before Gilbert came to stay.