“It’s nothing. Really. And you didn’t ruin a thing.”
“By the way, I meant to tell you, you look very nice this evening.”
“You mean compared to earlier?” An amused smirk curled her lips.
“Oh. I see how that sounded. My apologies. I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant you look very nice.” She did, too. Dressed in a striking white dress that showed off her trim figure, and with her shining hair hanging freely down her back, she looked stunning. Even her hands looked nice. Her long graceful fingers weren’t red like they had been earlier.
“I had it first, Siah!”
Harrison’s attention darted toward his boys.
“No. I did!” Josiah yanked it from his brother’s hands.
“Boys. That’s enough.” He stood and headed toward them, but he was too late.
Josiah snatched the toy in question, raised it and whacked Graham, hitting him squarely in the head. The wail that ensued could surely be heard in Boston.
Harrison picked up his screeching son and held him close, patting his back and speaking soothing words to him.
Abby was at his side in an instant, worry etched on her face. She dropped to her knees and started talking to Josiah. Harrison couldn’t hear what she was saying because Graham’s cries still filled his ears.
Minutes passed before Graham’s tears finally let up. Harrison leaned him back to check the top of his head. A small amount of blood streamed through his hair. “Abby, do you have a washcloth I can use?” Oh, how he hated having to ask, hated having to bother her with this. She was going to think he was far more trouble than he was worth.
She stood, holding a tear-soaked Josiah in her arms. “I sure do. I’ll be right back. If it’s okay with your father, would you like to go with me, Josiah?”
He wiped his eyes and slowly nodded, then looked over at Harrison. Remorse and trepidation filled his son’s eyes. “You may go with her. But before you do, you need to say you’re sorry to your brother. It is never okay to hit someone else. Do you understand that?”
Josiah nodded. “Saw-ree, Gam.”
Graham wouldn’t look at him. Instead, he buried his face into Harrison’s collar.
“Graham, what do you say to your brother?” Harrison asked.
The boy did nothing.
“No. Come on. It’s time to make up. Give your brother a hug.” He put him on the floor.
Abby lowered Josiah, as well.
Graham shook his head.
“Very well, then, Graham. You will not be allowed to play with Miss Abby’s toys any longer.”
Graham turned wide eyes up at him, then rushed to his brother and hugged him long and hard. Pretty soon they were giggling. His sons sat down on the floor again next to the toys.
“That didn’t take long.” He turned to Abby, who was smiling up at him.
“You sure handled that nicely.”
Her words made him feel proud. His biggest fear was failing as a father. “Thank you.”
They smiled at each other.
“I’ll run and get that washcloth now.”
“Thank you.”
Harrison watched his sons as Abby exited. He sighed. Great first impression they were making.
Abby entered the room a few minutes later holding a bowl and a clean cloth. While Harrison and Abby cleaned his small wound, Graham squirmed and fretted, acting as though they were torturing him or something. When it was all over, he settled back onto the floor and started playing as if nothing had happened.
“Mademoiselle, dinner is ready.”
The woman standing only a few yards from him was tall with chestnut-blond hair and grayish-green eyes, who spoke with a French accent very much like Colette had earlier.
“Harrison, this is Zoé, Colette’s sister. Oh. I forgot to introduce you to Colette earlier. I was, um, a bit disheveled.” Abby’s soothing laughter reminded him of the musical sound of a sparrow songbird back home in Boston. “Anyway, Zoé, this is Mr. Harrison Kingsley.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, sir.” She curtsied.
“Nice to meet you, too,” he said. Even though he wasn’t used to people in his society introducing him to their help, he liked it. He liked the informality a lot. Back home it sure wouldn’t be acceptable. But, then again, he wasn’t back home. He was here. A quick glance at Abby, and he was glad he was, too.
“Shall we head into the dining room?” Abby asked.
His heart plummeted to his perfectly shined shoes. Abby had no idea what she was getting herself into when she’d invited his boys to dinner. He should have warned her before accepting her generous offer.
Abby’s arm rested on top of Harrison’s. “It’ll be okay. I have several nephews and nieces. I know how they can be.”
Harrison let out a long breath of relief. It was nice not having to worry about someone wanting to whisk his rambunctious sons off to another room. Or even worse, a boardinghouse, like Prudence had wanted to send them to once they were married. Over his dead body would he have ever allowed her or anyone else to send his boys away.
Good thing this whole arrangement with Abby was strictly business because with her kind heart and gentle way with his boys, he could easily fall for her. And he was never going to let that happen again. He’d been duped once before by a pretty face and a sweet disposition toward his children. Prudence had always acted like she loved children. Loved his sons. Even though he hadn’t loved Prudence, something she was very much aware of, it was because of her love for his sons that he had asked her to marry him. He hoped love would eventually follow. However, he soon discovered that her fondness toward them had been nothing but a ruse to marry a man who could keep her in the style she was accustomed to.
He’d never forget the day when Prudence had roughly handled his boys and said intolerable and cruel things to them. Of course, she didn’t know Harrison had been nearby. Thankfully, he had been. He had immediately put an end to her abuse as well as their relationship, and sent her away for good that very day.
Thus, Harrison needed to remind himself often that Abby was a business partner and nothing else. One look at her smiling blue eyes and sweet face, though, and he knew keeping it strictly business was going to be a challenge.
* * *
The early morning sunrise peeked through the curtain in Abby’s sparsely furnished bedroom. Snuggled under the red-and-white quilt Mother had sent along with her, Abby rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
Her thoughts drifted to the calamitous dinner from the night before.
Poor Harrison had been so mortified.
Not
