On the sunny balcony, a woman half-reclined on a loveseat, slender but not frail looking. She rose gracefully as Naisha got closer.
“So pleased to meet you, Madame Dubois,” she said in flawless French. She held out her hand.
Instead, the older woman pulled her close and pressed a kiss on each cheek. “Naisha, my dear. It’s so lovely to meet you. Willa has talked of nothing but you. Call me Madeline, please. And have a seat!”
Naisha was both surprised and grateful for the warmth of her welcome. She felt much of her anxiety slipping away.
At Madeline’s signal, Yvette disappeared, but returned almost immediately with a tray holding a painted china teapot and two cups, along with a tray of palmiers. “Do you like tea, my dear?”
“Love it,” Naisha said, gratefully accepting a cup.
Madeline giggled. “I know we should be having breakfast—a proper breakfast—but I can’t resist palmiers. If I could, I’d have them for lunch, too!” Then she leaned forward slightly. “I’m supposed to cut back on the sweet stuff, so you won’t tell Liam or Alex, will you?”
“Absolutely not, Madame—I mean, Madeline.”
They sipped their tea and enjoyed the view from the balcony. Spring flowers were pulling their heads up out of the fresh green grass, and already the garden was filling up with birds returning from places like northern Africa and southern Spain, where they had gone for the winter.
Madeline surprised her by informing her that in the period right after Sofia left, and after her death, she had handled Willa’s tutoring. “I taught the classics at the local secondary school before I married my husband,” she revealed. “Then my husband—God rest his soul—thought it would be unseemly for me to have a job and possibly take away an opportunity for a woman who may need the job and money more than I did. I gave up my job, and instead spent my time working with charities, especially those benefiting women and children.”
She sounded so regretful that Naisha found herself becoming irritated. She understood the husband’s perspective but couldn’t he have found another way for his wife to do what she loved instead of what was expected of her!
Madeline went on, primly nibbling on a palmier. “Liam and I have been searching for the best tutor for our girl. One who isn’t a thief or wants to use this job opportunity as a chance to sleep with any of Willa’s parents. It’s what eventually destroyed the marriage between Sofia and my son, you know.”
If Naisha hadn’t been so well raised, she would have spat out a bite of her biscuit. Did William sleep with a former governess? She hoped the woman wasn’t implying that she wanted to sleep with William. “Sorry?”
Madeline made a face. “Oh,pardon.I assumed you heard the gossip.”
Heard that William had an affair with a former governess?Uh, no.
Then, Madeline’s face took on a more serious expression, a commanding look that reminded Naisha that this woman was, indeed, a noble who was used to having her way. “I know that you and my son had a history, my dear, but that was when you were both young and unrestricted by certain norms and expectations. I want to remind you that you are now here as his employee, and it is my expectation that the two of you will remember this, and not behave in a manner that is unseemly. Especially considering what Willa has gone through because of her mother’s actions.”
Naisha felt like she wanted to sink into the heavily upholstered seat, completely disappear from view. She’d assumed that William had cheated. She’d assumed he was the cheat because he was the male and he had hurt her long ago.
This high-bred, aristocratic woman was informing her, in no uncertain terms, that she was not good enough for her royal son, and to back the hell off.Should she respond,she wondered. Should she let the dowager know that the very last thing she wanted was to have anything to do with Liam ever again?
She was spared the need to respond by a high-pitched squeal and a blur of color as Willa rushed in and threw herself at her grandmother, making Naisha actually worry about her.
The two hugged each other and immediately began gabbing, catching up on her grandmother’s trip and what she was doing in school, so all Naisha had to do was to sit back and enjoy the scene. But in her head, the bombshell Madeline had dropped was resonating.
Madeline looked at a fine gold watch around her slender wrist. “Shouldn’t you be starting classes right now?”
Oh my goodness,Naisha thought, leaping to her feet. Time had passed so fast that she hadn’t noticed that she and Willa should have begun their day.
“It’s fine,” Madeline said with a dismissive wave. “Willa can play a little hooky for an hour or two. She’s smart, she will catch up.” She addressed her next question to Willa. “What do you have planned today,petite?”
“Integrated science this morning. We’re going to look at a drop of drain water under a microscope. I hope we see stuff that’s super gross.”
Her grandmother smiled. “And after?”
“After, we have gym. I decided that this term, I would like to do swimming. So Naisha and I are going down to the pool.”
Madeline clapped her hands together in delight. “Splendid.Alors, allez-y.Have a good time!”
Naisha took her leave, bidding the dowager a good day, but her mind was on the gym session later. She wasn’t dreading it, but she wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, either. Because on the Dubois estate, the pool was at the farthest end of the garden, under the shadow of the little summer cottage that served as a pool house.
That pool house had been standing since the time she’d last been here. That pool house held memories.
William walked down to the end of the garden, thinking of what a long time it had been since he’d gone down there. The pool was generally locked down for the winter. And before that, he’d been so busy getting his and Willa’s life together after the loss of Sofia that it was the last thing on his mind.