Page 30 of Charity

She had five whole mornings of complete bliss ahead of her. Agatha twirled about the entrance hall, determined to make the most of her temporary freedom.

She would spend all day with the orphans and there was nothing to stop her.

“Can you make my hair as pretty as yours?” Mabel asked as Agatha ran her brush over the girl’s gleaming locks. They were settled in the nursery, Agatha sitting on one of the lumpy beds while she twisted and tied Mabel’s hair into a neat braid.

She leaned close to the child and kissed her cheek. “I might. But I think your hair will be much lovelier. I quite admire your dark curls.”

Mabel clutched her hands together. “Really?”

Agatha turned the girl around and touched her nose. “Really.” She looked past Mabel to the last girl waiting. “Come along, Kitty. Your turn.”

Kitty had fine, straight hair, and Agatha twisted the pale strands into braids quite quickly. When the pair was done, she stood and held out both hands. The girls bounced on the spot and they slowly descended to the rear gardens. Agatha crinkled her nose. The grim yard was hardly a pretty space, but the children knew no better. It was good enough for their imaginations, and she wondered what fantasy place she would be transported to today. A pirate ship, or one of the King’s vessels. With the boys outnumbering the girls, their play tended to be much more rough-and-tumble than her own childhood had been.

“Avast. Who be comin’ alongside?” Simon demanded of the trio.

Kitty, the eldest, snapped to attention. “Miss Kitty to the quarterdeck, Captain.”

Mabel tugged her sleeve. “I wanted to be a fine lady today.”

Agatha crouched down. Poor girl. They hardly ever got to play at being ladies. “Perhaps you could be a seafaring lady, chasing down adventure on the high seas.”

Mabel cast her a puzzled frown, shrugged, then ran off to play with her brothers and sisters without a backward glance. Agatha turned to join the nurse, where she sat on a sunlit bench by the wall with the infant, Betty, playing at her feet. With a happy wail, little Betty crawled off her blanket, caught Agatha’s gown, and pulled on the material until Agatha relented and picked her up.

She hugged her close. “Oh, you are an angel, sweetheart.”

“More like a devil in disguise,” the nurse muttered. “Be careful. She’s biting something fierce today.”

Agatha peered at Betty’s wet mouth. “Thank you for the warning.”

The nurse stood. “It’s your fingers.”

She hastily pulled her fingers away from Betty’s eager mouth. “Naughty girl. I need those to play the pianoforte with.” She reached for Betty’s doll and turned the child so she could nibble while she watched her siblings play. “Do run along, Bates. I’ll mind the children for a while on my own.”

The nurse nodded. “Your ears.”

Once the nurse disappeared, the children mobbed her. They had all kinds of questions and indeed, Agatha’s ears did cause her some pain after twenty minutes of solid chatter.

Suddenly, Simon pulled at her sleeve. “Who’s that over there watching us?”

Agatha peered around the children and spotted a man’s hat at the garden’s boundary fence. “I don’t know. Kitty, will you play with Betty for me on her blanket?”

Kitty clapped her hands and Betty happily went to her. Simon’s hand crept into hers. “You should call one of the servants,” he whispered.

“Nonsense. It will surely amount to nothing.”

“Then I’m coming with you.” He squeezed her hand.

Agatha ruffled his hair. “If you must. I should enjoy your escort, young man.”

Arm in arm, they approached the stranger. When they were within a few yards of the rear gate, they stopped. Better to be cautious. She didn’t know what type of fellow would peer over a fence into a yard filled with children.

“Good afternoon, Miss Birkenstock.”

As she shaded her eyes to peer at the stranger, Simon’s grip tightened over Agatha’s hand. “Good afternoon. Can I help you?”

The gentleman removed his hat and Agatha relaxed. It was only Lord Prewitt, Oscar’s future brother-in-law. “Lord Prewitt.”

“Ah, good. You know me. Run along, boy, while I speak with this lovely lady.”