Read Online Steam & Sorcery by Cindy Spencer Pape - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Cindy Spencer Pape
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boys echoed the apology, eyes wide with horror.
“Apologies accepted.” Caroline placed her napkin in her lap.
Miss Hadrian then introduced Caroline to the servants, who eyed her speculatively but only nodded in response. “Now what has Cook prepared for our dinner?”
The meal was a simple one, suited for the nursery, but with plenty of food to sustain growing children, three of them boys. A hearty fish chowder was served with slabs of fresh, warm bread for the first course. While it wasn’t precisely normal for a footman and maids to serve separate courses in the nursery, Caroline understood that it was an effort to speed the children’s adaptation to their new social stratum.
“Which spoon should we use for the soup?” Miss Hadrian asked before she lifted her own. “Nell, can you remind us of that?”
“Sure.” Nell picked up her soup spoon on the first try. There was a motion under the table as if Wink had kicked her, because she corrected herself. “I mean yes, miss. It’s this one.”
“Exactly.” Dorothy stood. “I’m dining out this evening, so I must take my leave. I do hope you’ll all behave for Miss Bristol. After all, we’d like her to stay, would we not?”
The children nodded, none of them pausing to speak.
“Thank you,” Caroline said with a smile. “Good night, Miss Hadrian.”
Miss Hadrian tipped her head, a wry twist to her narrow lips. “You’re not going to call me Dorothy, are you?”
Caroline smiled back and shook her head. “No, Miss Hadrian.”
“Can we settle on ‘Miss Dorothy’? That would work for the rest of this lot as well. I’m tired of being Miss Hadrian in my own household.”
“I believe that will work nicely.” Caroline turned to the children. “Say good-night to Miss Dorothy, please.”
Each of them did, and to Caroline’s amazement, the older woman took a moment to bend down and somehow touch each child—a tousle of the hair for Piers, a chuck on the cheek for Jamie, and a squeeze of the shoulder for Nell, Wink and Tommy. With that, she left Caroline in charge.
What an odd household this was—and how lucky Caroline felt at that moment to have been invited to be part of it. “So tell me a little about yourselves.” She made eye contact with each of the children. “I come from Somerset, in the west of England. What about each of you? Are you all from here in London?”
Five heads nodded without pausing in their inhalation of the soup. “We’re from Wapping, miss.” Nell spoke after she swallowed. Caroline recognized the name of a London slum, though she’d never been there. “Most of us was born there.”
“Exceptin’ Wink.” Tommy helped himself to more soup from the tureen. “She didn’t come ’ere till her da’ died.”
Caroline debated correcting his grammar, but decided information was more important at this juncture. “I’m sorry for your loss, Winifred. Was it recently?”
“No, miss. It was…” The girl nipped her lower lip while she calculated. Her golden brown eyes were striking with her auburn hair. “Six years ago? I was nine, then. When my papa was alive, we traveled all over—so I can’t really say I came from anywhere.”
“So you’re fifteen now?”
Wink nodded.
“And you, Tommy—Miss Hadrian—Miss Dorothy said you’re fifteen as well.”
“Aye, miss.”
“What about you, Nell? Is Nell short for Eleanor, by the way, or for something else?”
The dark-eyed girl looked down at her plate. “It’s Eleanor, miss. I’m twelve, close as I can figure. Piers is two years younger, and Jamie’s nine.”
Well, that was a start. “So tell me, which of you can read and write?”
Wink lifted her hand. “I can, in English and a little French and Italian.”
“I can read.” Tommy looked down his long nose. “I’m not a baby.”
“Of course not.” Caroline took a moment to savor a bit of the soup. “But I know plenty of adults who never bothered to learn much beyond their own names. I need
“Apologies accepted.” Caroline placed her napkin in her lap.
Miss Hadrian then introduced Caroline to the servants, who eyed her speculatively but only nodded in response. “Now what has Cook prepared for our dinner?”
The meal was a simple one, suited for the nursery, but with plenty of food to sustain growing children, three of them boys. A hearty fish chowder was served with slabs of fresh, warm bread for the first course. While it wasn’t precisely normal for a footman and maids to serve separate courses in the nursery, Caroline understood that it was an effort to speed the children’s adaptation to their new social stratum.
“Which spoon should we use for the soup?” Miss Hadrian asked before she lifted her own. “Nell, can you remind us of that?”
“Sure.” Nell picked up her soup spoon on the first try. There was a motion under the table as if Wink had kicked her, because she corrected herself. “I mean yes, miss. It’s this one.”
“Exactly.” Dorothy stood. “I’m dining out this evening, so I must take my leave. I do hope you’ll all behave for Miss Bristol. After all, we’d like her to stay, would we not?”
The children nodded, none of them pausing to speak.
“Thank you,” Caroline said with a smile. “Good night, Miss Hadrian.”
Miss Hadrian tipped her head, a wry twist to her narrow lips. “You’re not going to call me Dorothy, are you?”
Caroline smiled back and shook her head. “No, Miss Hadrian.”
“Can we settle on ‘Miss Dorothy’? That would work for the rest of this lot as well. I’m tired of being Miss Hadrian in my own household.”
“I believe that will work nicely.” Caroline turned to the children. “Say good-night to Miss Dorothy, please.”
Each of them did, and to Caroline’s amazement, the older woman took a moment to bend down and somehow touch each child—a tousle of the hair for Piers, a chuck on the cheek for Jamie, and a squeeze of the shoulder for Nell, Wink and Tommy. With that, she left Caroline in charge.
What an odd household this was—and how lucky Caroline felt at that moment to have been invited to be part of it. “So tell me a little about yourselves.” She made eye contact with each of the children. “I come from Somerset, in the west of England. What about each of you? Are you all from here in London?”
Five heads nodded without pausing in their inhalation of the soup. “We’re from Wapping, miss.” Nell spoke after she swallowed. Caroline recognized the name of a London slum, though she’d never been there. “Most of us was born there.”
“Exceptin’ Wink.” Tommy helped himself to more soup from the tureen. “She didn’t come ’ere till her da’ died.”
Caroline debated correcting his grammar, but decided information was more important at this juncture. “I’m sorry for your loss, Winifred. Was it recently?”
“No, miss. It was…” The girl nipped her lower lip while she calculated. Her golden brown eyes were striking with her auburn hair. “Six years ago? I was nine, then. When my papa was alive, we traveled all over—so I can’t really say I came from anywhere.”
“So you’re fifteen now?”
Wink nodded.
“And you, Tommy—Miss Hadrian—Miss Dorothy said you’re fifteen as well.”
“Aye, miss.”
“What about you, Nell? Is Nell short for Eleanor, by the way, or for something else?”
The dark-eyed girl looked down at her plate. “It’s Eleanor, miss. I’m twelve, close as I can figure. Piers is two years younger, and Jamie’s nine.”
Well, that was a start. “So tell me, which of you can read and write?”
Wink lifted her hand. “I can, in English and a little French and Italian.”
“I can read.” Tommy looked down his long nose. “I’m not a baby.”
“Of course not.” Caroline took a moment to savor a bit of the soup. “But I know plenty of adults who never bothered to learn much beyond their own names. I need
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