Chapter 6 #2
Hand in hand, the two watched the departure through the window, waving goodbye until the surrey was out of sight. He could tell Ivy wasn’t as composed inside as she appeared, making him feel an unexpected sense of responsibility toward her.
Just for a few seconds, Ivy’s shoulders drooped before she straightened, as if pulling strength from her center, and turned with a forced smile.
“Well,” she said in a tone of false brightness, glancing from Jewel to him.
“What shall we do now?” She looked over at Brave, curled up in a patch of sunlight from a side window. “Play with your cat?”
Torin braced himself for his daughter’s tears.
A sunny-natured child, Jewel didn’t cry often.
But the changes in the last months had upset her equilibrium.
Now she’d learned that when her friends drove away, they might not return for days or weeks.
Every goodbye hurt her. The certainty she’d known all her life about her uncles’ presence had vanished.
And there’s nothing I can do to lessen the pain of parting.
He’d learned to give hugs and wipe tears and then turn Jewel’s attention to something else.
She’d obediently go along with his attempts to cheer her up.
But she’d still talk about her friends being gone and ask when they’d come back.
Questions he couldn’t answer. All he could do was reassure her they’d return for a visit.
This time, though, she surprised him. When Jewel turned away from the window, she seemed her regular self. The child moved toward the cat, trying to tiptoe and almost overbalancing several times. She crouched down to carefully pet the creature’s head.
Now for the other one. He cleared his throat. “Would you like some time alone? To unpack? It will be dark soon. Not really a good time for lessons.”
Ivy tilted her head, as if thinking. “I have an idea. Let me get something out of my trunk, and I’ll meet you two in the parlor.” She whirled and walked away.
Torin stared after her, mesmerized by how gracefully she moved. Then he shook his head and made himself look away. “Let’s go to the parlor,” he told Jewel. “You can bring Brave.”
When in the parlor, they usually sat together on the sofa. Jewel liked to take a seat on her own without his help before cuddling up next to him. He never minded that the way she managed wasn’t at all ladylike and hoped the governess wouldn’t reprimand her.
Jewel stopped in front of the sofa.
Apparently his daughter realized she couldn’t climb up with Brave in her arms. He could have lifted her up, cat and all. But, instead, he went around the room and lit the lamps against the descending night, sending the faint hint of kerosene into the air, and watched to see what she would do.
Jewel solved the problem by placing Brave at one end of the sofa and seating herself between Torin’s usual place and the cat.
“Just wait,” he told her. “Let’s see if Brave will come over to you.”
Sure enough, the cat watched Jewel, seeming to assess whether she’d move again, and then went to climb on her lap.
Carefully, so as not to startle Brave, Torin settled into his spot.
Ivy entered, carrying a small harp.
“Now that’s unexpected!” At the thought of music, his anticipation arose. “The ones I’ve seen are about four times bigger.”
“It’s a Celtic lap harp.” Ivy took a seat in the wing chair catty-corner to them, placing the harp upright on her lap.
“It only has fifteen strings, so the sound isn’t as rich as a bigger one, and I’ve had to adapt a lot of pieces.
” She smiled ruefully. “Or rather, my teacher had to, and I learned them from her. I haven’t played much in the last few months, so I’ll probably be fumble fingered. ”
“We won’t be a critical audience,” he promised.
Ivy took a few breaths, obviously readying herself for a performance. Then she set her fingers on the strings and started playing “Greensleeves.” For a few stanzas, she concentrated on her fingering. But, apparently gaining confidence, she looked up, seeming to assess her listeners.
The piece was a favorite of his—one not heard for so long—and performed quite competently. Although tempted to lean back, close his eyes, and absorb the music, Torin was more curious about his daughter’s reaction. They sang sometimes—hymns and folk songs. But the harp was a new experience.
Jewel watched Ivy, enraptured, wide-eyed, her mouth gaping slightly and her tongue protruding a bit.
Torin couldn’t take his eyes off his daughter, enjoying her pleasure.
Like the harp, his heartstrings thrummed.
Then a dark thought intruded. This is what Mary Beth is missing.
She’ll never have the pleasure of receiving that look from her daughter.
He pushed the memory of his former wife out of his head.
Why had she popped into his mind so frequently lately?
Usually, he’d go months without thinking of her.
Dr. Angus’s fault with his talk of Jewel growing into a woman.
Ivy finally lifted her hands, shaking them as if they ached.
Ruefully, she glanced at the pads of her fingers.
“My calluses have softened from lack of regular practice.” She placed her hands back on the strings and started playing “Danny Boy.” From there, she went to “Scarborough Fair” and then to “Down in the Valley.”
Brave jumped down and sauntered from the room.
Engrossed in watching Ivy, Jewel didn’t notice. But she sleepily leaned her head against Torin’s shoulder.
“One last song,” Ivy said softly. “That’s all my hands can handle. But this is a good one to finish out the night.” She took an audible breath and began the hymn, “Abide With Me.”
As the music drew to an end, Jewel yawned.
“‘Fast falls the evening tide,’” he quoted. “It’s bedtime for you.”
“Not tired.”
With a raise of his eyebrows, Torin sent Ivy an exasperated look.
Chuckling, Ivy set down her harp, stood and held out a hand toward the girl. “Why don’t you show me your room?”
Jewel eagerly grabbed Ivy’s hand, towed her down the hall, and into the last doorway on the left. Torin silently followed them.
The bedroom was twice the size of the one he’d given Ivy and perfect for a little girl, or at least he’d tried to make it so. She too had a spindle bed, with a red quilt over a goosedown comforter. The cat was curled smack in the middle.
“Bave on my bed!” Jewel pointed, her arm jiggling in excitement.
“She is!” Ivy mimicked Jewel’s tone. “Do you want to sleep with her?”
“Yes.”
“Careful, then. Don’t startle her. Why don’t you sit on the bed, and I’ll take off your boots.”
A proprietary feeling sent Torin forward. “I’ll do that.” He indicated a chest of drawers next to a wardrobe. “You’ll find a flannel nightshift in the second drawer. Take one from the top. Constance and Elsie made those for her. The tube-like ones on the bottom were sewn by me.”
Ivy glanced up at him, a curious expression on her face.
“Until those two ladies came into our lives, I made all Jewel’s clothes. And since I didn’t know how to sew, you could imagine how ill-fitting they were.” He gave her a sheepish look.
She let out a giggle. “How lovely.”
“Far from lovely,” he said wryly, watching Jewel pet the cat.
“With just the three of us men, it didn’t matter.
Probably should tear them up for rags.” He went down on one knee by the bed.
Taking a buttonhook from the top of the nightstand, he started undoing Jewel’s boots, while trying to watch his new governess from the corner of his eye.
Ivy lifted a sturdy flannel nightgown with a ruffled hem from the top of two folded stacks. The scent of roses wafted up, and she parted the two piles and picked up one of Delia’s sachets, holding it to her nose for a sniff before returning it.
He helped Jewel out of the rest of her clothes and dropped the nightgown over her head, saying “Where is Jewel?”
With a belly laugh, her head popped through. “Her-ah,” she squealed.
“There you are.” He gave her a hug and a smacking kiss on the cheek and scooted her under the covers.
With an offended look and flick of her tail, Brave rose and stalked away to the end of the bed. But when Jewel was tucked in, the cat returned to plop down at her side.
Torin smiled at the two of them providing comfort to each other. I guess the cat belongs to Jewel now. He glanced at Ivy. Does she mind Jewel appropriating her cat? But the fond smile on her face reassured him.
Ivy has only been here a few hours, and she’s already brought changes. With some apprehension, he wondered what more would come.