Page 96 of Harpy of the Ton
Jonathan narrowed his eyes.
“Lady’s”—he tilted his head to one side—“maid?”
“There!” she said. “Youcanread. Try the first page.”
She opened the book and handed it to him. He stared at the page and shook his head.
“The writing’s a little small,” Bella said. “Move the page closer.”
“That makes it worse.” He held the book at arm’s length. “It gets better when I do this, but the writing’s so small I can’t read it.”
Of course!
Why hadn’t Mrs. Chantry noticed? Was she such a poor teacher that she refused to see what before her?
AmIsuch a poor mother that I also refused to notice?
The boy closed the book and threw it on the floor. Then he flinched. “Don’t be angry with me, Mama!”
Bella drew him into her arms. “I could never be angry with you, Jonathan.”
“Ishe dying?” Roberta asked.
“No, Bobby. Your brother needs spectacles, that’s all.”
“How do you know that?” William asked.
“My papa was the same. He could read signs from afar, but he could never write letters without needing his spectacles…”
Bella’s voice trailed off as the image flashed before her—a man with deep-set blue eyes and a shock of thick black hair, looking at her over the top of wire-framed spectacles, a soft smile on his lips and love in his eyes.
My papa…
She closed her eyes and reached out with her mind. But a burst of flames obliterated the image, and she startled, the memory of her lungs burning and the thick stench of smoke in her nostrils.
“CanJonathan have spectacles, Mama?” William asked. “Won’t they cost money? Papa might refuse.”
Bella sighed. The housekeeping money Lawrence gave her was barely enough as it was.
“Icould ask Papa if you don’t want to,” Roberta said.
“No—I’ll ask him when he’s returned from the inn,” Bella said. Softened by ale and having enjoyed the company of doxies, he might be more disposed to be generous—especially with the prospect of the money he’d earn working for Mr. Trelawney.
If Mr. Trelawney existed.
She reclined on the sofa and rubbed her temples.
“Isyourhead hurting, Mama?” Jonathan asked. “Can’t you read either?”
“Don’t be silly!” Roberta said. “She just read to you.”
“I’m tired, that’s all,” Bella said. “Could you be quiet for a moment?”
The children rose and exited the parlor, and she leaned back and closed her eyes.
Moments later, a clatter of feet approached the parlor, and she heard Roberta’s excited voice.
“Mama! Look what I’ve found!”
