Chapter 23
“No, you can't keep her.” A voice shattered the momentary silence.
Amelia sped toward the voice. As she entered the parlor, she didn’t expect to find what she saw before her. Five girls were scattered about the room and attempting to trap what looked to be an oversized rat that had been hit by lightning. One girl who looked to be maybe fifteen was holding an infant in her arms trying to keep away from the children. It seemed the tiny creature had been dipped in mud as the room was spattered all over, from the rug to the furniture. A little girl who looked to be no more than five ran to the frightened dog.
“I won’t give ‘er up. I won't,” the little girl shouted, attempting to protect the creature from the other girls that surrounded it like vultures.
Amelia scanned the mud-splattered room. One of the girls tried to snatch the dog from the little girl’s arms. When she succeeded, the little girl teared up and started to sob. “I found her. Give her back to me.”
Instantly, Amelia went to the older girl and looked at her with a smile. “It’s all right.” Amelia took the dog from her grip and walked over to the one crying. Wiping the tears off her cheek, Amelia said, “There is no need to cry, darling. I won’t let them take her away from you.”
"Do you promise?" She cuddled the puppy as if afraid to let it go.
"I promise." Amelia gave her a wide smile. "They will have to answer to me first."
The little girl smiled, but her lips quivered.
“What is wrong, darling?” Amelia asked, caressing her head.
“Where is Mummy? When is she coming back? I want to show her my new puppy.” The little girl looked at her, tears falling from her eyes. Amelia looked up at Blackthorn, and the look he gave her made her stomach drop. Her heart ached for the girl.
Amelia smiled at the little girl. “You stay here and take care of your new puppy. I will return shortly. I promise.” With that, she left the parlor and walked toward the back of the house as quickly as she could without running.
Hot tears burned her eyes. She didn’t know what had hit her. Once minute she had been consoling the girl and the next this utter sadness had come over her without warning. She could not stop it, not even if her life depended on it. This sadness felt like a massive wave that crashed into her, and she had no desire to hold it back.
She heard heavy footfalls behind her, but she didn’t look back.
“Amelia,” she heard, but she didn’t stop.
When Richard reached out for her, she said, “No.” Amelia signaled with her hand for him to stop where he was. “Please . . . I just . . . I just . . . need a moment.” She turned to look away, a lump of emotion ready to burst. Tears fell before she could stop them.
Blackthorn pulled her into his arms and held her and she melted in his embrace. She felt his hard chest somehow protecting her. She let the tears fall, soaking his coat. Her head rested gently on the column of his neck, which had a warm musky scent mixed with woody earth. Then, without thinking, she looked up at him. Before she knew what she was doing, her lips found his. The warmth of his now-familiar lips ignited desires in her again, but she willed herself to stop.
He wiped away the last remaining tears. “Are you all right?”
“I will be,” she said. “Whose children are they?”
“My brother knew their father. They were friends, but he died in the war, so my brother made sure each month they received provisions and some money to take care of the girls. I didn’t know about them until recently.”
“That was very brave and thoughtful of your brother,” she said. “But that doesn’t explain why they are here.”
“Their mother passed away today. They have nowhere else to go,” he said. “My mother is at Blackthorn Hall, so I couldn’t take them there, and my London house was not equipped for all these children.”
She smiled. “I see.” Richard truly had a good heart. Bloody hell, it was going to be hard to forget this man.
“I need a few days to arrange to have the girls' welfare in order.”
Amelia didn’t protest. It would be good to have some laughter in her life. In truth, while she may have benefited from her grandmother's generosity, she had more in common with these girls and knew firsthand what it felt like to be abandoned and hungry.
“Where will they go?” she asked.
“I am hoping there are families in the village that might consider taking the girls and the baby.”
“You intend to separate them?” The idea that these girls might have to grow up without each other, after losing their mother, hit her hard.
He sighed. "As much as I’d like the girls to remain together, it is likely they won’t. It’s a lot of mouths to feed for a single family."
He was right, of course. She looked in the direction of the girls’ muffled voices coming from the hallway. The thought of them separated for the rest of their lives gripped her with uneasiness. Guilt, regret, and anger burned in the pit of her stomach. She knew the feeling all too well, didn’t she? No doubt they would be forced to work menial labor, or worse, subjected to male brutality and forced to sell their bodies for food, uneducated with no prospects of a hopeful future. She could not in good conscience be a witness to it all. She could never forgive herself.
“I will take them.”
Richard’s brows rose in surprise, his mouth pulling into a thin line. “What?”
“They can stay with me.”
“You are serious.”
“Indeed.” She looked away for a moment. “There is enough room here and I will have the means to support these girls once I inherit.”
“I admire your courage, truly, but I think you should consider the ramifications of what you are taking on.”
Ramifications? She was very aware of what she was taking on. “I am grateful for your concern, really I am. But I have made my decision and nothing you say will deter me from doing what is right for these girls.” She turned to walk away, but he gripped her arm and pulled her to him. She turned to look at him. Those fascinating and most annoying eyes observed her.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked.
She looked at him thoughtfully. “If I don’t, who will? You?”
A look of concern and confusion splashed across his chiseled face. Of course he didn’t understand. How could he? It wasn’t his fault that he was born into privilege. His actions thus far had revealed him to be an honorable and charitable man, but a man nonetheless. He could never understand her plight, nor her desire to make her own choices and live by her own rules. Their eyes met again. Why the bloody hell was he looking at her as though she were a lost puppy?
“You cannot carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, no matter how much you want the best for these girls. Give me a few days to find a family who is willing to take them.”
She sighed. What were the chances that one family would take all of them? “Only if they can stay together.”
He sighed. “I will try.”
“They stay together,” she said again. “Or they will remain here with me.”
“I could forbid it.”
She watched him. He may be serious, but so was she. “You could,” she said. “But I don’t think you will, or you would never have brought them here.”
As soon as Mrs. Pots entered Sir Kendall’s study, he walked over to her and undid her hair. Watching it fall, he put the pin on his desk.
“What have you discovered?” he said. He wasn’t particularly fond of women his age, but this was a means to an end.
“She’s gone to Somersby Hall with that earl,” she said, sitting down opposite him at his desk. “Oh, I like that,” she said when he kissed her neck.
Kendall reached under her shirt and touched Mrs. Pots. She moaned the way she had when he touched her there before. The woman was under his spell, and he meant to use that to his advantage.
“Did you hear anything?”
“No,” she said. “But I can always write to her grandmother about her behavior.” She smiled at him. “In fact, the good news is, I already have.”
What good are you if you can’t give me information I can use? “Good girl,” he said as he slowly bent her over his desk, lifted her skirt, and lowered his breeches.