Page 98 of A Virgin for the Duke of Ash

She reached for his hand and squeezed it. For the first time, he did not pull away from her touch.

“We both know that if ever there was a person made of sunshine and laughter, that is our dear Evie,” she said softly. “But, Daniel… the woman I saw today could not possibly be her.”

Daniel sucked in a deep breath and stood up. “I think I have had enough of this conversation,” he announced.

The older woman only looked up at him sadly and then hung her head. It seemed to take a great effort for her to rise from her seat.

“In that case, I shall make myself scarce,” she told him.

“There is no need for that,” he snapped, grabbing his coat from a nearby hanger. “Iwill leave.”

“Where are you going?”

Where none of you may harangue me about how badly I messed up.

“Out,” he said instead.

He did not care to elaborate as he strode past her, calling for Barnaby to ready his coach as he did so.

In times like these, there was only one place he could go to clear his head.

The handsome carriage that rolled up to the front door of St. Martha’s Orphanage never failed to attract whispers from its neighbors. While other carriages had been subjected tovandalism and maybe even robbery at times in the area, even the residents of one of the poorest areas in London knew that there were just some people they could not afford to offend, and the Duke of Ashton was one of them.

So, whenever his carriage showed up in their area, they stuck to their whispers and their curious gazes, but never made an attempt to harm the coach and the footmen who usually accompanied it.

Mrs. Thomas greeted Daniel at the front door with a kind smile on her face.

“Your Grace, we were not expecting you today,” she greeted him, wiping her hands on her apron.

Daniel nodded. “I hope that I am not disrupting any of your activities today, Mrs. Thomas.”

“Oh, no, no, no!” She laughed. “Your visits are always a delight to us. You have to forgive the ruckus, though. The children are just about done with their lessons, and you know how excited they can get outside of the classroom.”

Education was one other thing that Daniel prioritized at St. Martha’s Orphanage. If these children were ever to be given a brighter future beyond its walls, then a proper education would be most helpful, indeed.

He had hired tutors to teach the young ones to read and write, to do their arithmetic, as well as classes in basic etiquette and deportment.

“I hope that their teachers have not acted?—”

Mrs. Thomas shook her head. “They would not dare harm the children, Your Grace. I made sure of that.”

Daniel smiled tightly and nodded. Most teachers still regarded corporal punishment as a fine method of discipline, but he had never agreed with that. He knew a great many children who had been harmed simply because it was harder to learn under duress.

“I shall be in my usual spot,” he informed her.

Mrs. Thomas nodded. “Very well, Your Grace. I shall send someone with some food in a while.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Thomas.”

“No, Your Grace. Thankyou.”

After the woman left, he walked up to the lone bench under a great tree in the corner of the playground. As he walked past the door, little bodies streamed past him, laughing joyfully as they spilled out into the playground with their toys.

Soon, the air was filled with the cheerful sound of their chatter as they called and played amongst themselves. By the door, a matronly woman kept watch over them as a mother would.

They were orphans—every single one of them. Children whose parents had passed away or had given them up to the establishment, since they were incapable of providing for them. They were the most vulnerable population in society, and yet the easiest to overlook.

Mrs. Thomas and her staff took them in and provided them with food, clothes, shelter, and the affection that was necessary to nurture their broken souls. Daniel provided all the money that was needed to cover such an expensive undertaking, and in return, he would always have his worn bench under the tree in the corner of the playground.

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