Julia turned round to see a small bundle hurrying down a flight of wooden stairs.
“Lucy,” Julia said with a smile, watching as the girl nearly got into difficulty, falling against the banister. “Oh! Do be careful.” Julia ran forward and collected the toddler off the stairs, lifting her high into the air before resting her on a hip. “Now, what would Miss Macron say if you had a tumble and fell down those stairs? You must take care of yourself.”
“Look!” Lucy declared excitedly and thrust something forward in her hand. “Picture.” Julia smiled as she looked down at the scrap piece of paper, on which something had been drawn.
“Beautiful! Well… what is it?” Julia said nervously. Lucy was still so young that pictures certainly did not yet resemble what they were supposed to be.
“Cannot you tell?” the Duke asked and stepped to their side. Julia froze. For a minute, she had forgotten he was there. She was too caught up in the excitement of seeing Lucy again. “I think it is a lion.” He pretended to roar, prompting Lucy to giggle and hide in Julia’s shoulder. “No? Not a lion? How about… a cat?”
“No.” Lucy’s tone was buoyant and happy as she peered up from Julia’s shoulder once again, with her dark black hair falling back from her face.
“Hmm, I see… I’ll have to think harder.” The Duke put upon a thoughtful face and tapped his chin, staring down at the paper. “A mouse?”
“No!”
“Not a mouse? But all mice have antlers, do they not?” His jest made Julia smile louder. “Or perhaps I am wrong?”
“They’re not antlers. They’re ears!” Lucy laughed heartily again.
“Of course, they are.” The Duke tapped his own skull, as if he was devoid of thought.
Julia continued to watch, open-mouthed.Thiswas not something she had expected. The Duke was a changed man before her eyes. Never had she thought a rake would be so good with children.
“Give me a hint,” the Duke pleaded.
“Erm,” Lucy paused, then barked.
“A dog?” the Duke and Julia said together, then looked down at the paper again.
“Is it?” Julia murmured in surprise.
“We are blind, love,” the Duke said, taking the paper from her. “Of course, this is a dog’s long snout, isn’t it?” He pointed at something that looked suspiciously like a horn to Julia. “Do you have any more, Lucy?”
“Yes?” She nodded eagerly. “Would you like to see?”
“If you will show me.”
Julia put Lucy down on her feet, who promptly reached up to take the Duke’s hand, then drew him away toward the nearest door, tottering.
“This way.” She pulled him along. When she wavered on her feet, the Duke held her up, allowing her to get her footing once again.
Julia followed the two of them, so agog that her jaw felt sore. When the stepped into the nearest room, she found Lucy was not the only child who had been drawing that morning. The room was full of fifteen children, all with their heads bent. Some even had paints, though they seemed to get the paint more on each other than on the paper.
As Lucy hurried off to fetch her drawings, the Duke stopped at Julia’s side, his eyes wide on the room.
“Julia,” he whispered to her. She flinched when she noticed he had dropped her title.
“Yes?”
“This place… it is so rough around the edges. Look at the cornices, look at that table.” He pointed to where some of the children sat. “It is being held up by a rock under the leg!”
“Orphanages do not get much funding, Your Grace,” she said softly, fearful of the children overhearing her. He seemed to swallow uncomfortably and looked back to her.
“They are in need of funding?”
“They are in need of a patron,” Julia said rather sadly. “I wished to do it, but…” She faltered and looked down, fidgeting with her hands.
“I see.” His somber tone urged her to look up once again. “Your father controls the money in your house, does he not?”