Chapter 24
“It’s a picnic, Lady Dorothy!” Colin enthused as he ran up to Dorothy in the entryway of the house.
Dorothy smiled at Colin, catching him in her arms and embracing him. “We’re having a picnic?”
“Yes! Father is speaking to the kitchen right now about it.” He blushed. “I mean, Nathaniel is.”
Nathaniel was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, the door slightly cracked, observing the greeting, and overheard what Colin had said.
His gut twisted. He didn’t mind at all when the boy called him Father.
In fact, he rather liked it. It wasn’t as though their bond as brothers was being diminished—they really didn’t have any fraternal bond, since they had never known one another before Colin had come to live here.
And with the difference in their ages and the fact that Nathaniel was the boy’s guardian, he was happy to adopt the role of father.
But Colin always corrected himself when he said it.
Nathaniel hadn’t pushed about it so far.
He suspected it had to do with Colin yearning for his own father, who had never been a presence in his life as far as Nathaniel was aware.
Perhaps someday he would feel at ease enough to accept Nathaniel as a father figure, but there was nothing wrong with taking their time about that…
except that it made Nathaniel sad to see Colin struggle with it.
But Colin clearly wasn’t sad right now, so there was no point in melancholy. He emerged from the kitchen. “Colin,” he chided, “is that the way we greet a lady?” He faced Dorothy to model the correct technique. “Good day, Lady Dorothy.”
Colin perked up. “Good day, Lady Dorothy.”
“Good day to you.” She smiled and curtseyed, and Colin gave an exaggerated bow, folding in half at the waist and dropping his head almost to the floor before standing back up.
“Is a picnic all right with you?” Nathaniel asked Dorothy. “Since the physician said it would be good for Colin to spend more time outside, I thought this might be a good way to do that.”
“I think a picnic is a wonderful idea,” Dorothy told him. “I haven’t eaten lunch yet today.”
A maid emerged from the kitchen with a picnic basket in hand and gave it to Nathaniel. “Here you are, Your Grace. Sandwiches, as you requested.”
“That’s perfect, thank you,” Nathaniel said. He glanced at Colin. “You’d better put your coat on.”
Colin frowned. “I don’t need a coat.”
“You don’t want to risk getting cold,” Nathaniel warned.
“It’s quite warm outside,” Dorothy said. “We could bring the coat along just in case, but I don’t think Colin really needs to wear it.”
“See?” Colin asked, turning to Nathaniel.
“All right, well, get it anyway,” Nathaniel said. “We’ll bring it with us, like Lady Dorothy suggested.”
Colin went to the coat closet and found his coat. He ran back and held it up to Nathaniel, who accepted that he would be the one to carry the garment. He draped it over his arm. “Are we ready?”
“I am,” Dorothy said.
“Me too!” Colin chirped.
Nathaniel nodded. “Let’s be on our way, then.”
Dorothy had been right—the weather outside was lovely, the sky a clear blue and the air warm and fresh.
They walked several yards across the lawn to a place where it was flat and even, and then Nathaniel set down his basket, pulled out the folded blanket that rested on top of it, and spread it over the grass.
Colin jumped onto the blanket at once and dropped to his knees. “I want a piece of pie!”
“We’re having sandwiches,” Nathaniel said. He began to unpack. “Oh, but there are cookies for dessert, see?”
Colin reached for them.
Nathaniel pulled them away. “Lunch first,” he said. “Then dessert.”
“I bet Lady Dorothy would let me have a cookie right now,” Colin said, frowning.
Dorothy laughed. “Oh, no, I wouldn’t, young man,” she said.
“For one thing, Nathaniel is in charge, and you must obey what he tells you. And for another thing, you’d spoil your appetite, and these sandwiches look wonderful.
” She picked one up and handed it to him.
“Roast beef. Go on. I’m sure you’re going to like it. ”
Colin sighed. “I don’t like roast beef.”
“When was the last time you had it?” Nathaniel asked. He knew the answer, of course. They’d had roast beef for dinner just a few weeks ago. But he wasn’t sure Colin knew that.
“I’ve never had it before,” Colin said, confirming Nathaniel’s suspicions.
“Then how do you know you don’t like it?” Dorothy asked him.
“Because I only like bird meat. I like turkey and duck and pheasant. And I know that beef means cow.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You’re a very clever boy. I hadn’t realized.”
He beamed. “I know I am.”
“Will you try the roast beef just as a favor to me? I think you might find that you like it after all, Colin. It’s one of my favorites.”
He cocked his head. “It is?”
“Oh, yes, I’ve loved roast beef ever since I was a little girl. It’s a very special day for me when I get to eat some. I’d love to enjoy it with you, if you’re willing to give it a try.”
“Well…all right.” He took a bite of the sandwich, chewed pensively, and shrugged. “It isn’t so bad, I suppose,” he agreed. “I thought cow was going to taste different.”
“You like steak,” Nathaniel reminded him. “Steak is cow.”
“Oh!” Colin’s eyes widened. “It is?”
“It is,” Dorothy agreed.
“That’s strange. Beef and steak come from the same animal? But when we eat turkey, we just call it turkey. It’s always the same name.” He shrugged. “This is a bit senseless.”
Dorothy laughed. “You’re funny. I’m quite fond of you, Colin.”
“Does that mean you’re going to come to the house more often?” Colin asked her. “Because I’m fond of you too.”
“I’ve become a family friend, I think,” Dorothy said. “Which means…yes, I’m probably going to continue spending time here. Perhaps with additional friends in the future.”
“That’s wonderful,” Colin said. He finished his sandwich. “Can I go down to the river, Father?”
He didn’t correct himself this time, and Nathaniel felt a burst of warmth. “You may go and look at it,” he said. “But you mustn’t touch the water, all right? Because that’s dangerous. I don’t want you getting swept away.”
Colin nodded, jumping to his feet. “I won’t get swept away,” he promised. “I want to have a cookie. So, I’ll make sure I come back in just a few minutes.”
He turned and ran across the lawn to the river.
Nathaniel watched him go. “I guess if it keeps him out of the water, a cookie is as good a thing as any to be motivated by.”
“He’s a great deal of fun,” Dorothy said with a smile. “You’re so lucky to have him.”
“I know,” Nathaniel agreed. “This house has been so much brighter and livelier since he came into it. I’m very lucky that he’s a part of my life. But at the same time, I’m so often at a loss for what to do with him. I have no experience with children.”
“Nor do I,” Dorothy admitted. “I’ve never really been around them.
I’m the youngest in my family, and neither of my sisters have any children.
Now that my friends are starting to have children, it weighs on my mind a bit…
how will I be when it comes to spending time with them?
I don’t want them to see me as odd and unrelatable. ”
“I don’t think they will,” Nathaniel said.
“You’ve really hit it off with Colin, after all.
To tell you the truth, I’m surprised by how well you’re doing with him.
I knew he liked you, and that a bond of some sort had formed when you visited him during his illness.
But you seem to get along so naturally, even now. ”
“I’m not doing anything special,” Dorothy said, her cheeks turning that pink that he loved so much. “He’s a bright, engaging child. I enjoy spending time with him.”
“So, you meant what you said? You do plan on coming around to visit again?”
“I…think so,” she said. “If it’s all right with you, that is. I like spending time with him…and with you, for that matter. As long as it’s appropriate for me to do so.”
“There’s no reason it wouldn’t be,” he assured her. “We’re perfectly at liberty to forge a friendship. And right now, neither of us is involved with someone else, so there’s no reason to worry about how someone else would perceive our friendship.”
She nodded slowly. “Of course, soon enough you will be involved with someone, and then we will have to re-evaluate things,” she said. “But I suppose we can cross that bridge when we arrive at it. For now, there’s no problem with our spending time together.”
Nathaniel pulled out a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses, which he had found at the bottom of the picnic basket. “Would you like some?”
“Oh, that would be lovely.” She smiled. “I do enjoy a nice glass of chilled wine on a warm day.”
He opened the bottle, poured some out, and handed her a glass. “A toast, then?”
“What are we drinking to?”
“To friendship.” He held up his own glass.
She grinned and tapped her glass to his. “To friendship,” she agreed.
Could that really be what this is? Could I keep her as a friend?
He had never had a friend quite like Dorothy. Gabriel and Jonathan were wonderful, but there was something about her that the two of them didn’t offer. She thought so differently, and she made him think about things differently too.
He took a sip of his drink.
The two of them sat in easy silence, both watching Colin as he played. Nathaniel was grateful for the distraction, for the fact that Colin gave them something to focus on other than each other. It made it that much easier to sit here without talking.
But eventually, he had to break the silence. “Have you any thoughts about who I ought to pursue next?” he asked. “Now that things are good and done with Lady Isabelle, I mean?”
“I thought perhaps Lady Amanda,” Dorothy said.
“She’s the daughter of the Earl of Castell.
This is her first season, and she hasn’t been a popular choice among the gentlemen because she’s a bit of a wallflower like me.
But she’s pretty enough, and I’ve always known her to be very kind. I think she would make a good mother.”
Nathaniel turned the idea around in his head.
He was a little surprised that Dorothy had come up with another name so quickly.
But then, that was what he had asked her to do, so he couldn’t be too shocked by it.
It made sense. “Lady Amanda,” he repeated, committing the name to memory.
“You may need to point her out to me at the next ball we attend.”
“Of course I will.” She smiled at him, and the unpleasant surprise he’d felt at the readiness with which she had made her suggestion faded somewhat.
There were still a lot of things that had to be done before he would be in a position to marry anybody.
And perhaps things wouldn’t work out with this Lady Amanda—perhaps it would be the same as it was with Lady Isabelle.
That should have troubled him, but instead there was a strange relief in it.
After a while, Colin turned and ran back up toward them, waving a hand in the air. “Look what I found!” he called.
“He better not have pulled something out of the water,” Nathaniel murmured.
“Wait and see,” Dorothy counseled. “He might have found whatever it is on the bank.”
Sure enough, the rock Colin deposited on the ground in front of them was dry. It sparkled in the sunlight. “Isn’t it beautiful?” Colin enthused.
“It is,” Dorothy said, picking it up. “What a find!”
“It’s for you, Mother!”
Everyone froze. Dorothy glanced at Nathaniel, who had no idea what he was supposed to say.
Colin turned beet-red. “I mean, Lady Dorothy,” he mumbled.
“It’s all right,” Dorothy told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not your mother, Colin, but I would have been lucky to be. I’m sure she loved you a great deal.”
“It’s just that you look like her,” Colin explained, some of the heat fading from his face. “You look a lot like her. Same eyes.”
Dorothy frowned and looked at Nathaniel again. “I do?”
He was still frozen, still unsure of how to react. That wasn’t something that had ever occurred to him. Did she look like his mother?
He was going to have to think about it. It had just been so long since Nathaniel had seen his mother that he couldn’t be sure.
For a distraction from that awkward exchange, he unwrapped the cookies and handed them around, and everyone’s attention turned to how delicious they were. But Nathaniel couldn’t quite forget what he had heard.
Colin thought Dorothy looked like their mother. Enough that he’d slipped and called her Mother twice now.
Could he possibly be right about that?