***
Bronwyn had not thought, in a million years, that two girls could have quite so much energy and enthusiasm.
Looking out over the destruction of the library, she blew out an exhausted breath. Though Bronwyn had managed to get through a good number of the chests, filling the empty shelves with books and equipment, even hanging some of the framed specimens and illustrations upon the walls, the majority of her things were still packed away, awaiting their turn.
Well, she reflected wryly, theyhadbeen packed away. The moment Eliza and Nelly had descended upon the library—Regina could not be coerced into leaving her room—they had dived into the chests, removing items and piling them up in chaotic mounds. It was all Bronwyn could do to keep up with them and prevent anything from being damaged. All the while they talked faster than she could comprehend, about Mouse and Seacliff and Lady Tesh until Bronwyn’s head was spinning.
“And did you know Mouse is in love with Lady Tesh’s dog, Freya?” Nelly asked, giving Bronwyn a dreamy sigh. “It’s so romantic.”
“There’s nothing romantic about it,” Eliza snapped. “Firstly, they are dogs. Secondly, how would they be able to have puppies? Freya is much too small. She would explode.” She grabbed at a wooden case with a glass front containing a pinned butterfly before tossing it aside as if it were nothing of import. Bronwyn grabbed for it but she was a second too late; she winced as it clattered along the ground, the delicate creature within jarred by the impact. Upon closer inspection, however, she saw the Rhopalocera was intact. She gave a small sigh of relief.
But this was getting out of hand. Rather, she thought with a wry twist of her lips, it had gotten out of hand the moment the girls had arrived in the library toassisther. It had been one thing to be with them outdoors, as she had on every other occasion she’d spent with them. There they had been able to expend their energy in the fresh air and sunshine. This, however, was another situation entirely. And made her understand much better why they had run off so many governesses and nurses—and why Ash had been so very desperate to find someone to care for them that he would marry a stranger to see it done.
Not that he felt like a stranger now.
Her face burned as she focused back on the girls. She would not think ofthatnow. She had to gain control of this situation. “Eliza, such talk is improper,” she said as she wrestled a freestanding brass magnifying glass from Nelly’s sticky fingers—what sweet had the girl managed to pilfer that she had sticky fingers? If she did not remove the girls from her research equipment immediately, she would lose everything she had worked so hard for. Again.
“Now,” she continued firmly, “why don’t we put these chests aside and take a walk?”
Their reaction was swift. “Oh yes, let’s,” Nelly exclaimed, tossing the notebook she’d been flipping through on the pile beside her and jumping to her feet. “Lady Tesh was ever so strict about where we could go when we were at Seacliff. Apparently she feared we would get too close to the edge of the cliff and tumble right over.”
“That is because you nearly did, you ninny,” her sister said. “You should have seen it, Bronwyn. Miss Denby barely had time to grasp Nelly’s hand. A second later and she would have fallen right into the sea.”
Bronwyn felt faintly ill at the image that particular description painted but managed to hold on to her composure. Good God, what had she gotten herself into? The two occasions she had spent with the girls before Ash’s arrival and proposal had done nothing to prepare her for the reality of what life would be like with them. As the girls sprinted out of the room and toward the entrance hall, she realized that she knew nothing at all about children. Granted, Eliza and Nelly were not toddlers; she had been informed they were twelve and ten, respectively, and so there was no changing nappies or spoon-feeding them. If duchesses even changed nappies. Which she doubted very much they did.
Yet they seemed to require much more minding than she had ever imagined they would. She thought of her own childhood, of the endless lessons and expectations and need for escape. Was that what these girls needed, to be reined in and molded like her mother had tried to mold her, turning her into something she wasn’t?
She frowned as she followed Eliza and Nelly. A lot of good that had done. Such a life had only made Bronwyn miserable, and had taught her nothing so much as the fact that she could not be loved for who she was, but rather for who she should be.
Yet it was all too obvious these girls needed guidance and boundaries. Ash had told her that none of them had been able to experience a childhood. He truly cared for them, no matter how he might deny it, and had no doubt indulged them, giving them much more freedom than they should have had.
And now it was up to her to set things right. Despite the fact that she had no idea what she was doing. But when had she ever backed down from a challenge?
***
Some challenges, Bronwyn realized dejectedly several hours later, were much harder than others. In fact, attempting to build up the nerve to send her paper to the Royal Society seemed like it was a walk in the park compared to dealing with three headstrong girls.
“Regina,” she called once more, knocking on the girl’s door, “we are about to eat luncheon; won’t you join us?”
“Is that an order, Your Grace?” the girl said. Though the words were muffled by the thick wood panel, there was no ignoring the sarcasm and disdain that dripped from them.
“No, Regina,” Bronwyn replied. “It is not an order. But I would like you to join us. We have not had a chance to get to know one another, after all.” Not that she was particularly talented in doing something of that nature, especially if the other person was highly reluctant. But she would do her damnedest.
“That won’t be necessary,” the girl said. “I am not expecting you to stick around long enough for that to matter.”
Bronwyn pulled back, stunned by the venom in the girl’s voice. Frowning, she tried again. “I assure you, I am not going anywhere. We shall be living together for some time. Won’t you join us?”
But there was no answer except for the slamming of the girl’s washroom door, a clear indication she was done with the conversation, such as it was. Heaving a sigh, Bronwyn turned about and made her way to the drawing room.
The day had not gone as she’d hoped. While there had been much less for the two younger girls to damage in the great outdoors, that did not mean they had kept completely out of mischief. From their near constant bickering, to the deep apologies Bronwyn had been forced to give to an elderly farmer when the girls had spooked his horse, to the game of hide-and-seek in which Bronwyn had thought for nearly an hour she had lost Nelly, she had been hard-pressed to keep her composure.
Now they were back at Caulnedy—the girls had been quite vocal over the past hour about the fact that they were “starving” and needed to eat—and Bronwyn was exhausted. How could she possibly set the boundaries they needed to prepare for their futures, especially as one of the girls seemed bound and determined to pretend Bronwyn did not exist?
“You must see the scrumptious fare we’ve been given,” Nelly exclaimed as Bronwyn entered the drawing room, bouncing in her seat and nearly knocking over the very tray of food she was in raptures over.
“Nelly,” Eliza said, plucking a bit of cheese off the tray and taking aim at her sister, “open your mouth. Let me see if you can catch it.”
Immediate visions of that bit of cheese lodging in Nelly’s throat flashed through Bronwyn’s head. She hurried to them, gently lowering Eliza’s hand, even as Nelly opened her mouth like a bird. “Perhaps that is not a good idea. I would not want to see your sister choke.”