Read Online Dorothy Eden by Lady of Mallow - Free Book Online

a woman to whom she was already hostile, and stopping speaking rang the bell for a maid to come and show Sarah to her room.
    ‘It is essential that Titus be in bed early,’ she said, ‘since we begin a long journey in the morning. Don’t let him eat anything but bread and milk for his supper, and I’d suggest no noisy games.’
    Sarah looked surprised, until she realised that Lady Malvina was the difficulty. No doubt Amalie, in spite of her airs and graces, was already a little afraid of her.
    ‘One more thing, Miss Mildmay. Since this is your first night here perhaps you’d prefer supper on a tray in your room.’
    This gesture, Sarah knew, was no mark of thoughtfulness for her comfort. It was merely postponing the time when Sarah would share their table. But she welcomed it with inner excitement. While the family was at dinner she could do a little quiet investigating. It would be her only opportunity in this house.
    She bowed her head.
    ‘Thank you, Lady Mallow.’
    The maid appeared and the cool unfriendly interview was over. She was in the house, but on sufferance only. Blane was the dominating partner in this marriage and exercised his will, from whim or perhaps genuine concern for his son’s welfare. But one must not make the mistake of underestimating Amalie. She would have weapons of her own. She could attempt to make Sarah’s position as intolerable as Ambrose had feared it might be.
    The little boy stood in the middle of the large nursery in his flannel nightshirt. He looked small and clean and troubled. His grandmother, obviously exhausted from some recent activity, was sunk back in a chair fanning her flushed face. When Sarah came in she said wheezily,
    ‘Ah, here you are at last, Miss Mildmay. I have had the boy on my hands since that stupid Annie departed in a huff. But we’ve had a tremendous romp. Haven’t we, my little love?’
    Sarah went to take the child’s hand. He didn’t resist, but the hot little palm lay limply within her own.
    ‘You remember me, don’t you, Titus?’
    He nodded. His sober face gave no sign of pleasure, but neither did it show dislike nor distress. It seemed that he had already learnt to accept what was in any way acceptable. Only the worse shocks, such as growing used to his alarming grandmother, or tolerating the unkind Annie who had secretly pinched him, had badly shaken his self-control. He was already deciding, as his instinct had told him when he had clung to her, that this young woman with the gentle eyes would not pinch or bully him.
    ‘We’re going to be good friends,’ said Sarah quietly. ‘I’m to teach you a great many things, like reading and drawing pictures, and where all the countries in the world are. We shall get an atlas and follow your journey in the ship from Trinidad to England. And we’ll have walks in the woods, and you’ll have a pony ride.’
    ‘That’s right,’ said Lady Malvina approvingly. ‘Teach the lad some spunk. He’s the living image of my own son at that age, but he’s got no spunk. Do you think you can give it to him, Miss Mildmay? Is the material there? It had better be.’
    Sarah looked down at the silent little figure. The boy was so small and frail, and as tense as a wild kitten. All his fears, whatever they were, were knotted up inside him. Loneliness was one of them. Probably he had been left too much in the care of indifferent servants, while his restless mother pursued her own life. Maternity was clearly not one of Amalie’s gifts.
    ‘He’s scared of his own shadow,’ Lady Malvina went on. ‘And a boy should make more noise. He’s too quiet. What makes him so quiet?’ she finished peevishly.
    ‘Some children are naturally shy and quiet,’ Sarah said, thinking that neither of these characteristics would have belonged to Lady Malvina’s own son. ‘But give Titus time. He’s still adapting himself to a new environment. Wait until he’s used to the country, and rides his own horse.’
    ‘You seem a