Chapter 2 #2
“Sadly, I am,” she said. “Oh, how I appreciate all you have offered, but to save this place…” She laughed weakly. “It might bankrupt you.”
Rhys very nearly said that such concerns did not matter. He very nearly announced that he would do whatever it took! He very nearly made a decision that while sounding right to his ears, would have made no real difference… and he knew it.
For years now, Rhys had been investing in the orphanage. Many thought him mad to waste such money, but they did not know the reason. Tragedy was what had brought Rhys here, paired with a search that he knew to be folly, but that he would never abandon for as long as he lived.
And while he had started such philanthropy out of guilt and desperation, he had not counted on how much he would come to love it. He had found joy in something so simple… a purpose discovered that he had not known he needed until he found it.
It does not make as big of a difference as I might have liked, but at least it is something.
“What does that mean for the children?” Rhys turned and looked out the window, which had a view of the main floor of the orphanage. The children laughed and played, living in perfect ignorance of what was to come.
“They will have to find new homes,” she said. “Other orphanages, mostly. It will be so hard for them. All this moving around. It is so much for such innocent souls to bear.”
“I will help where I can,” he said, still watching the children.
“And I appreciate it,” she sighed. “This will break Violet… not to mention Lucy. That poor dear; she clings to Violet as if she is her mother, and I do not relish seeing them separated. Oh, it breaks my heart.”
When Rhys heard Lucy’s name, his gaze immediately found her.
She was with Miss Beaumont, sitting on her lap as the cantankerous carer read a book to her. But Lucy did not seem to be paying the book any attention. Rather, she gazed up at Miss Beaumont as if she was the center of the world. Love rarely seen, and experienced even less.
Rhys felt a pang in his chest as he watched them. It was a similar feeling to that which first took him when he had seen Lucy yesterday. Indeed, he had not believed his eyes when he saw her, certain that he was imagining things.
Of course, he had been, because Lucy was not who he had thought. That was impossible…
Still, the young girl reminded him of her, and while Rhys did not know Lucy at all, he felt an instinctive need to protect her. If he could do that, maybe it would make all those wasted years… that argument which still haunted him… all worth it. Maybe it could save his soul.
“I will take Lucy,” he said before he could stop to think.
“What?” Miss Wilks blurted.
He turned around. “Lucy. I will take her. One so young should not be carted around like livestock. She needs a home, security and safety. I can offer her that.”
Miss Wilks looked dumbfounded. “Your Grace, that is… that is very generous.”
“It is the right thing to do.”
For a moment, he feared that Miss Wilks was going to press him on the reason. His offer was not just random, but unheard of! He was a duke. She was a street urchin, an orphan girl, and such things simply weren’t done.
And if she did press… Rhys would have to lie. To speak the truth would only bring pain, and such a tale as that was one he did his best to forget. Certainly, it was not one he wished to relive.
“I do not know if it will be that simple,” Miss Wilks said. “You have met the girl, so you saw how fearful she is. I could force her, of course, but would you want that? To terrorize the poor thing?”
“It is better than the alternative.”
She clicked her tongue. “I also wonder if Violet might wish to adopt her…” She bit into her lip. “They are close, and while I know that Violet struggles, she is the exact type to do so. I would not wish to tear them apart.”
“Violet…” Again, he turned, that time finding Miss Beaumont.
It was strange to think that Rhys had hardly paid her notice the first time they’d met—his attention was saved for Lucy.
Strange, because Miss Beaumont was such a force that she was impossible to miss.
Chestnut hair, large, blue eyes that were expressive and showed her thoughts long before she spoke them.
And while she was not a classic beauty, her features were soft and elegant—the type that would fit right in at many a ball that Rhys had attended.
But it was her personality that he found most curious.
Fierce and protective. Determined and stubborn.
She did not like Rhys, and she was not afraid to say it.
And while that ought to have annoyed him, he rather admired it.
That she would speak up to him because she thought she was protecting those she cared for…
She is brave, far more than I have ever been.
“What is her story?” he asked.
“Oh.” Miss Wilks considered. “It is typical, I suppose. She is of the gentry, but her father left her and her younger sister in squalor. She works hard to keep things afloat, and she never speaks of her struggles…” She laughed. “She is not the type.”
Rhys considered Miss Beaumont further. The children needed security and protection, but she needed it too. What was more, she would do anything for them, even if it meant abandoning her own chance at an easy life.
She would do anything for Lucy…
It was then that an idea came to mind. A crazy one! One that had no basis in reality and would likely have Miss Wilks falling from her chair. And that was not to mention how Miss Beaumont would react. But while Rhys knew it was absurd, he found himself watching Lucy again…
Slowly, the idea started to take shape.