Page 29 of A Problem Princess

“I see.” Cordelia brushed frizzy strands of hair away from the girl’s face. “What did Nurse Beecham do to upset you?”

Elizabeth’s lip quivered. “She…she took my bow!”

Cordelia looked down at the girl’s dress. The bow was missing. “Why did she do that?”

“She said I stole it.” The little girl’s voice fell to barely more than a trembling whisper, and shame darkened her face.

Cordelia’s heart broke, and it was all she could do to keep her voice from cracking as she said, “Well, she was just mistaken.” The nurse was a lot more than that, but Cordelia didn’t want to use that kind of language in front of a little girl. “I’ll go with you and explain that it was a gift. We’ll ask for the bow back, all right?”

“No!” Elizabeth’s eyes flared with…fear? “No!”

Clayton knelt beside her, placed his hand on the little girl’s back, and asked in a reassuring voice, “Why not, poppet?”

“’Cause she…she…” She cast an uneasy glance over her shoulder at Clayton, then put her mouth to Cordelia’s ear and whispered, “She slapped me.”

Cordelia’s blood instantly turned cold. A red streak she hadn’t noticed before marred Elizabeth’s cheek. Then the ice inside her sparked into furious fire.

Too angry to speak, she handed Elizabeth to Clayton. Then she rose to her feet and charged across the grounds toward the terrace, her fists clenched. Clayton hurried after her with Elizabeth in his arms, reaching her side just as she stopped in front of a group of hospital workers.

“Which one of you is Nurse Beecham?” Cordelia called out.

The woman turned at her name. When she saw Cordelia, her eyes grew wide, and she dropped into a low curtsy, followed by those around her. “Your Serene Highness, I’m honored—”

“Did you slap this child?”

The nurse’s face paled nearly to white against her gray worsted wool dress and white cap. She glanced at her colleagues for support, but none of them stepped forward to defend her. They all lowered their gazes to the ground or looked away. “Yes, ma’am, I did. She’d stolen a ribbon with jewels from one of the—”

“Like this one?” Cordelia stuck out her shoe from beneath her hem, revealing the matching bow. Whispers went up from the guests who were within earshot. “Igave that ribbon to her as a gift. Instead of believing her, you accused her of being a thief!”

“My apologies, Your Highness.” Beecham’s mouth flapped like a fish’s as she struggled to find the words to explain. “But—but what else was I to think? If one of the children had something like that in her hand, then obviously—”

“I don’t care what she had in her hand or how she got it.Nochild ever deserves to be slapped, especially one in your care.” So much anger boiled inside her that her chest constricted and made breathing difficult. “She should have your patience and kindness, not your abuse.”

“Children need a strong hand, Your Highness, if they are to grow into moral, productive members of our society,” Beecham explained as deferentially as possible, despite raising her chin.

“Children need to be loved and comforted.”

“We do love and comfort them, ma’am.” The nurse’s face blanked with a lack of understanding. “That’s why we scold them when necessary.”

Cordelia could barely believe what she was hearing.Scold?The woman had slapped a child!

“I did nothing illegal nor anything against the policies of the hospital, Your Highness,” Beecham defended herself. “Children need to be disciplined.”

“Of course, but discipline does not mean—”

“Your Highness,” Clayton said quietly and placed his hand briefly on her arm to capture her attention.

Cordelia’s gaze flew to him. His solemn expression took her breath away and jarred an acute awareness through her of where she was, what she had just done. In her anger, she’d made a scene, and everyone knew it, too. Including Clayton.

She was suddenly aware of the people around her, how they stared and whispered, and her face flushed with embarrassment. As the tension grew around her, heads began to turn across the lawn to see what was happening, which only led to more hushed voices and even more stares.

Cordelia wanted to scream with anger, but all she could do was bite her tongue and back down. She pulled in a long breath that did little to calm her and forced a smile for all who were watching.

“I apologize, Nurse Beecham, for any misunderstanding. I am certain you did what you thought best.” The words grated, but what else could she say? It wasn’t as if she could speak her true mind, even in defense of a child. “May I ask—where is the bow?”

Beecham reached into her pocket and presented it on her palm with a shallow curtsy. “Here, Your Highness. I planned on giving it to the butler when I left so it could be returned to its rightful owner.”

“How thoughtful of you,” Cordelia drawled.