“You make it sound so easy.” She looked up into his face.
“It is.” He paused and then added, “Or it will be.”
She straightened her spine. Be the master. “Thank you. I was feeling quite low.”
“It is my pleasure, Ms. Wakefield.” His eyes were warm as they gazed at her.
They turned at the sound of someone approaching, and she saw Matron and Henry Ryland. Matron and Henry looked back at them.
“Ms. Wakefield. Mr. Caldwell,” Matron said, acknowledging them both. She eyed Audrey intently as if disapproving.
Audrey caught Henry Ryland looking at her and then Joseph.
“You should return to your room, Ms. Wakefield. It’s getting late,” Matron told her firmly.
“I’d like to speak to Ms. Wakefield first,” Henry said curtly to them all.
“Of course,” Matron said and left.
“Ms. Wakefield,” he said and motioned for her to walk before him, leaving Joseph Caldwell behind.
Chapter Eight
When they were out of sight from Joseph Caldwell, Audrey looked up to meet Henry Ryland’s gaze. “You wish to speak to me?”
Standing beside her, he felt a sense of longing he couldn’t explain. He had not expected to see her speaking to Joseph Caldwell in the quiet of the garden. He had felt a strange sensation that he couldn’t name, and it irked him. Jealously? Absurd. He dismissed it immediately. It was juvenile.
“I did. I wanted to see how things were. How you are doing?” He looked into her blue eyes.
“How am I doing?” she repeated. “Well, you’ll be happy to know I’m not doing well at all. If I’m honest with myself, I’m a failure.”
He frowned. “Why would that make me happy?”
She gave him a knowing look. “Because you don’t want me here. You never wanted me here, remember? You wanted me to be the tea girl at your office. You accepted my offer because you felt sorry for me. I know you do.”
“I did feel sorry for you. What’s wrong with that? I felt sorry for a young woman alone in the world having to support her family. Would you prefer I didn’t give a damn and let you starve?” He studied her, watching her reaction.
“You have no idea how difficult this has been,” she said suddenly, her tone sharp. “My whole life was gone the moment my father died. It hasn’t been easy. I’m trying to do the best I can.”
“I know that. It’s commendable,” he told her quietly, hoping to reassure her that he wasn’t trying to upset her. “And if you’ll allow me to say, you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. No one expects you to take over a schoolroom and run it as if you’ve been there ten years in two days.”
She took a deep breath. “Thank you for that. I want to help the children, at least teach them the basics if I can.”
“You will. Despite you thinking I thought so little of you, I actually thought you were quite plucky that afternoon,” he said honestly.
She gave him an odd look. “Plucky?”
“Plucky. That’s not a bad word, is it?” He cocked his head, giving her a lopsided smile.
A hint of a grin tugged at her lips. “No. Plucky is good.”
“Oh. I almost forgot. My mother wants to invite you to tea,” he added.
She faltered in her steps. “What?”
“Tea with my mother,” he repeated, thinking she was charming. “I’d like to invite you on her behalf.”
She looked at him and suddenly began laughing. “Tea with your mother?”