Page 9 of Hunted By the Guardian
“That’s true,” Molly agreed. “And even if he does know, he has never shown any willingness to talk about it.”
“Perhaps the past is best left in the past, then,” Violet mused. “Perhaps the thing to do—at least for now—is to focus on the present. On what I can do for him in the here and now. What more can you tell me about him?”
“What would you like to know?”
“What is he like?” she asked. “What are his interests? If I’m going to make him feel safe and comfortable with me—if we are going to be friends—I’ll need to find a way to connect with him, and maybe you could help me find the best place to start.”
Molly nodded. “I can help you there,” she agreed. “He’s really a very fun-loving, cheerful child at the end of the day. He likes to spend time with me here in the kitchen. That’s something he’s taken to doing since Lady Westlake’s death. He says he knows that he and I are both in new positions, now that the household is changing, and that we ought to manage that by sticking together.”
“He really is a very clever boy,” Violet mused. “To notice such a thing…tell me, Molly, are you happy in the kitchen? I hate to think of anyone forced into a role they don’t enjoy because of the way this household is changing.”
“You don’t need to worry about that at all,” Molly assured her. “I’m more than happy to take on this role. When I was growing up, I was the cook in my family’s household. I was hired to be a lady’s maid, and I loved serving Lady Westlake, but now that things are changing, I’m excited about the opportunity it affords me and very happy to be in a new role.”
“All right.” Violet smiled.
“I must say, Noah is lucky to have you as a new guardian, though,” Molly said, returning her smile. “To know that you are so invested in what makes the people around you happy is a lovely thing.”
“It’s very important to me,” Violet said. “I want to have a positive impact on this household. I want people to be glad that I’ve come to live here.” She sipped her tea. “So Noah likes to spend time with you in the kitchen—what else? How can I best reach out to him?”
Molly laughed. “Well, he loves his pranks,” she said. “He’s so clever, as you mentioned, but he finds ways to use that to his advantage, to play jokes on people.”
“What kind of jokes?”
“Just a few weeks ago, for instance, he got in here while I wasn’t looking and hid all the slotted spoons,” she chuckled. “You should have seen my face when I tried to find one and discovered they were missing! He’s so mischievous.”
“That must have frustrated you.” Violet was unable to suppress a chuckle. “He does things like that often, then?”
“Quite often. It’s what he likes best. But he also loves animals, and to play outside and run around—he’s a very typical little boy in many ways. I think it’s wonderful to see how much joy he takes in little things, given how much struggle he has already faced in his short life. It’s a pleasure to see him play.”
“What does he do for play when he isn’t carrying out practical jokes?” That might be a bit of an unfortunate habit to encourage, she thought, even though it was good to know that he had something he liked to do.
“He’s curious about animals,” Molly mused. “I’ve seen him lying outside and watching them, waiting to see if one will come close enough to touch.”
“Perhaps a pet would be a good idea,” Violet suggested. “If it would make him happy to have an animal in his life, I would be willing to add a creature to the household.”
“Do you think the duke would be as obliging?” Molly wondered.
“It might not be up to him. I know he thinks this house is his just as much as it is mine, Molly, but I fully intend to correct that notion at the earliest possible opportunity. And maybe the best way to do that would be to introduce a new member to the household without asking his permission first, so he has the opportunity to experience firsthand the fact that no one cares for his opinion. Maybe it would even encourage him to leave if he saw that there was an animal here that he didn’t like.” She couldn’t help smiling at the thought. “It might be the easiest and most straightforward way to get rid of the man.”
Molly said nothing. Her attention became very focused on her bread dough.
“Have I said something wrong?” Violet asked.
“Nothing wrong, Lady Violet,” Molly assured her. “It’s just that…well, you must understand, we’re all—the staff, that is to say—we’re concerned about how things might turn out. We don’t know who will end up with the ownership of this place, and until that’s known, we’re all hesitant to…” She trailed off.
“You don’t want to take a side,” Violet realized.
Molly blushed. “Please understand, Lady Violet, it isn’t for any lack of fondness for you on anyone’s part.”
“No, say no more,” Violet assured her. “I do understand, Molly, and I don’t want to put any members of the household—of my household—in an uncomfortable position. You mustn’t feel obliged to say anything that you feel favors my claim over the duke’s. Those matters are for the two of us to resolve, and we will do so as quickly as possible. In the meantime, I know that you must serve both of us. I take no exception to it, as long as you don’t mind my speaking freely in front of you. I promise that I don’t expect a response.”
Molly’s expression cleared. “That’s quite all right, in that case,” she assured Violet. “This is your house, whoever else’s house it may or may not be—of course you should be free to say anything you’d like.”
Violet nodded her thanks, but deep down, she was perturbed. Molly’s position made perfect sense, and it didn’t bother her. Not really. But at the same time…how was she supposed to settle into this new home, this new life, when at every turn she was reminded of the presence of someone who was trying to take it all away from her?
CHAPTER 6
“For the life of me,” said Nathaniel Thorne, the Duke of Henshaw, “I will never understand how you came to be living outside of London, Jonathan. You are the Duke of Alderwick. You have an estate of your own, not to mention your London house. How could you possibly choose to leave those things behind and make your way out into the countryside to live among grass and wild animals? It’s not as though you need this house for anything.”
