“Hello, again. What’re you reading?” I asked.
“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” Josephine said. “For the second time.”
I let out an exaggerated sigh. “I love that book. I’ve read it at least a dozen times. How lucky you are to have a copy of your very own.”
Josephine smiled shyly, then glanced up at her father. “Papa knows the publisher.”
I was too shocked to think of a response and simply nodded dumbly.
Lord Barnes continued. “This is Theo and Flynn. They just turned nine last month.” He put a hand on each of their heads. “This is Flynn on the left.”
Flynn had the scar. He was the wild one of the two, probably always getting into scrapes. Whereas the other seemed cautious and scholarly. Flynn looked me directly in the eyes and spoke in the high-pitched voice of a young boy. “How do you do, Miss Cooper?” His mouth twitched as if he were trying not to smile.
I smiled at him, and I was rewarded with a grin that rivaled the brightest spring morning. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“This is Theo,” Lord Barnes said. “Say hello to Miss Cooper, son.”
Theo stared at the floor rather than me and mumbled a version of his brother’s greeting. Or at least I thought so. I wasn’t able to decipher exactly.
Lord Barnes moved to stand behind the second-to-youngest. “This is Cymbeline. You have to watch out for her. She’s almost always looking for mischief, and her tongue has a mind of its own.”
“I’m sorry you’re not a princess.” A clumsy curtsy in mimic of her sister caused Cymbeline’s dark curls to bounce. “But you’re pretty so I don’t mind as much as I normally would.”
“Is it true you’re always looking for mischief?” I asked.
Cymbeline bit her lip and looked downward before returning my gaze. “I’m spirited.” She drew the word out as if she’d overheard an adult say it and wasn’t exactly sure what it meant. I suspected she’d heard it from her father, perhaps in defense of her to the grumpy nanny.
“More like sassy,” Josephine said.
Cymbeline shot her sister a dark look before returning her gaze to me.
“And finally, Fiona,” Lord Barnes said.
Fiona’s curtsy more closely resembled a bow. “I don’t get to go to school.”
“Not yet, but soon enough,” I said.
“I’m a sweetheart,” Fiona said. “Everyone loves me the best.”
I bit the inside of my lip to keep from laughing.
“Fiona, hush now,” Nanny said. “Boasting is not acceptable.”
“Papa says I am.” Fiona crossed her arms and stuck out her bottom lip.
“I do, yes.” Lord Barnes scooped Fiona into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “But you must obey Nanny and remember to be humble.”
“How?” Fiona asked.
“This child,” Nanny Foster muttered.
Fiona’s eyes flashed with temper before she buried her face in Lord Barnes’s shoulder.
“And this is the woman who takes care of these mischief-makers. Nanny Foster,” Lord Barnes said. “Like you, she’s from back east.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said.
“Likewise, Miss Cooper,” Nanny said. “Good luck surviving the winter.”