style="font-size:15px;"> He then sat back down. “I suppose my girls are ready for me to come up and hear their prayers.”
“They are. They were giggling with each other before I got out of the room.”
“I can’t tell you how that warms my heart. They’ve always gotten along well, but I haven’t heard many giggles lately—not until you came to us. I wanted to be sure and let you know how much I appreciate whatever it is you’ve done to bring that about.”
“Oh, I’m not sure I can take credit for that, Sir Tyler. I—”
The expression in Sir Tyler’s eyes when he shook his head and smiled at her had her heart skittering in her chest.
“Oh, I believe you can. At any rate, thank you.” He slipped his hand into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out an envelope. “This is your first week’s pay.”
“Oh, I wasn’t expecting to get paid so quickly. Thank you.” She took the envelope from him and their fingers brushed, making her catch her breath. She hoped he couldn’t tell how flustered she felt.
“You’re welcome.” He stood and so did she. “I suppose I’d best go listen to those prayers. They already pray for you, you know.”
“How sweet,” Georgia said as they walked out into the foyer. “I pray for them as well. I’ll see you all on Monday or at church on Sunday, I suppose.”
“You will. Have a good weekend, Miss Marshall.”
“You, too, Sir Tyler.”
He gave another smile and turned to the stairs while Mr. Tate showed her out.
“Good night, Miss Marshall,” the butler said.
“Good night, Mr. Tate.”
She heard the door shut behind her and hurried over to the steps of Heaton House. Happy as she was to have the weekend off, she felt a little guilty for leaving Sir Tyler and Mr. Tate.
Then she scolded herself. She wasn’t indispensable, after all! She heard the boarders in the parlor as soon as she opened the door and hurried inside to join them.
“Georgia! How nice it is to have you home for more than a few hours!” Julia exclaimed.
“Oh, it is!” Emily added.
“I’m glad to be here. I’ve missed evenings at Heaton House. What have you got planned for the weekend?”
“Your favorite meal, for one,” Mrs. Heaton said from behind her. “It’s good to know we have you for the whole weekend.”
“Mostly we’re going to enjoy spending time with you,” Julia said. “But remember, Matt and Millicent’s housewarming is next Saturday.”
“Oh! I’d forgotten about that. Are we going in together on a gift?”
“We were just talking about that. Mrs. Heaton suggested we get a brass bowl similar to what we got for the other couples. We can go down tomorrow morning and pick one out together, if you’d all like,” Julia said.
“Oh, I’d love to help.” And hopefully it would take her mind off of Sir Tyler and his daughters. The girls should be asleep by now, but what was he doing? She always wondered about that once she left. The first night, she’d stopped at the window of the upstairs hall that looked out on Mrs. Heaton’s garden. She’d seen a glow of lamplight on the courtyard next door and thought it must be coming from Sir Tyler’s study window.
And as she went up for the night with the others tonight, she was drawn to that window once more after the other girls went to their rooms. Sure enough, a splash of light shone on the yard. She hoped Sir Tyler was working, for the thought of him just sitting all by himself in his study late at night saddened her deeply.
Dear Lord, please help them to have a good weekend. I do feel so bad about leaving them. And yet the girls are asleep and Sir Tyler is doing whatever it is he does of an evening. I’m sure he has his own routine, and besides, it’s none of my business at all! I must stop thinking of him so much. Please help me to put him out of my mind and remember that my job is to see that his daughters are well taken care of in my charge. And that is all. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.
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