Page 6 of The Duke's Unclaimed Bride
Edith watched their departure for a moment before sighing.
This was not how I had anticipated concluding my day, and now I have a child to care for. A ward.
Her shoulders tightened as a sudden unease crept up her spine, settling into a realization she couldn’t shake.
Two hundred and seventy pounds.
Far and above the budget she had set for the month, let alone for the day. A pit of nausea opened in her stomach as she considered the ramifications.
If I am careful with my finances, or lay off a few servants…
No, she couldn’t do that. She would just have to be careful.
Her projects and plans had to be delayed. The new orphanage she’d been planning to fund would have to wait, as would the donation to the Foundlings Hospital.
As she considered her options, she felt a small squeeze around her hand. She looked down to see Tilly staring up at her.
She let out a shaky breath. It would be fine. She had been in difficult positions before and survived, and she could do it again.
“Come. Let me take you home,” she said softly.
“Home?” Tilly whispered, her eyes wide.
“Yes. You’ll stay with me.”
“Do I… Do I have to scrub floors and make beds, My Lady?”
Edith’s chest tightened, and her heart ached hearing Tilly utter those words, so accustomed to work and worry instead of care and compassion.
“No, Tilly. You’ll be my ward. That means I’ll take care of you now. No cleaning, no workhouse. None of it.”
“Really?” Tilly breathed, staring up at her.
“Really,” Edith said gently, letting her hand brush the girl’s shoulder.
Walking through Hyde Park, Edith could feel the eyes of the onlookers boring into her and hear their whispers as she passed.
She had felt the ton’s judgment before, and had no reason to hang her head now.
“Lady Nealton has lost her senses.”
“She’s taken in a beggar child!”
“What would her late husband say?”
“Such a soft woman!”
“That child will surely be feral.”
Edith felt a soft tug on her sleeve as she walked. She looked down to see Tilly’s big, brown eyes.
“Will they come for me?” Tilly whispered.
Edith’s expression softened. “No, sweetheart, they won’t,” she whispered back. “Not while I draw breath, they won’t.”
CHAPTER 2
“Your Grace, do be reasonable!” James cried after Laurence, running to catch up with him.
