"Lord Williams, your guest."
Ethan rose to his feet in acknowledgement of Jacob's announcement as the red head made her way into the dining room. Something moved in her arms, gaining his attention.
Glancing down, a slight frown claimed his face. "I had a maid look into her care," he said, gesturing to Elizabeth who sat in her arms.
"Well, the poor baby could do with some love," she said, her gaze drifting briefly to the baby, before shifting back to him. "Here, hold her."
"What?" He had barely gotten the word out when Elizabeth was placed in his arms and the woman began digging in a bag. His eyes shifted to Elizabeth. "Miss..." He paused, waiting for her to supply him with a name.
She barely glanced up. "Gretchen Riverside, and I must thank you for your help yesterday. Why, that was a very noble thing to do, coming to my rescue like that."
He nodded, struggling to maintain a firm grip on a now fussing Elizabeth. "Miss Riverside, do understand that babies in the dining room is simply not acceptable," he protested. "I shall have Jacob place Elizabeth in the care of a mai—"
"That won't be necessary; Ellie's having breakfast with us." Gretchen turned to him, brandishing Elizabeth's bottle. She placed the bottle on the table and relieved him of the child. His lips fell open, stunned as he watched her settle on a seat with Elizabeth in her lap.
Ethan stood still for a while, confused by her behavior – did Americans dine with babies? Was it a thing of insignificance or was Miss Riverside simply uncivilized? Perhaps he needed to have a long talk with her concerning dining ethics in his home and most likely the entire London? With a baby on the table, the only thing one had to look forward to was a messy breakfast filled with spit-up.
Ethan placed himself on his seat and tried not to focus on Elizabeth as he instructed Jacob to have the food brought in.
"If it isn't much trouble kind sir, I would like a cup of apple juice," she gave the orders with a smile on her face. Jacob bowed his head before making his way out of the door.
"Tell me Miss Riverside, is it common practice in America to have babies on the breakfast table?"
Gretchen's attention monetarily shifted from Elizabeth. "Not exactly, no. But this is different."
"How so?" he asked, his curiosity piqued; perhaps there was a perfectly good explanation for her behavior?
"Ellie needs to be around good people. I do not care too much for the maid you sent."
"Ellie?" He raised a brow.
"Elizabeth. Also, I find Elizabeth too taxing to actually pronounce."
While she was speaking, the maids appeared in the room, carrying in their breakfast and placing two plates before Gretchen. Confused about her intentions, he sat watching her, the frown on his face deepening as she took a piece of bread and offered it to Elizabeth.
"Lastly," she glanced up at him, "there's a possibility that Ellie hates milk." She took the glass of juice and poured it into Elizabeth's bottle, before offering it to the baby who hesitated a little bit. But, one taste of the bottle's content and Elizabeth was sucking away.
Ethan watched everything play out before him, barely able to take his eyes off of Gretchen and Elizabeth long enough to actually eat. To his surprise, Elizabeth ate the meal before her without much probing as Gretchen helped her with it.
By the time breakfast was over, his plate was lifted from before him without him having had a taste of its content.
Gretchen rose to her feet with the baby seated comfortably on her hips. "That was a good breakfast, don't you think, Ellie?" she cooed. She turned to where he sat unmoving, stunned by the events that had just taken place before him. "If you'll excuse us, someone's had too much juice and would absolutely need a change," she announced, before strolling out of the door.
Concentrating on the work before him as he sat in his study after breakfast proved to be a difficult task to achieve; he could barely get his mind off of Gretchen. It seemed beyond him that anybody could come up with a solution to Elizabeth's problem. In truth, he had honestly believed that Elizabeth didn't have a problem, but that she was the problem. Still, against all odds, Gretchen had managed to solve the problem and it was for that reason he was determined to beg her to take up employment in his home as Elizabeth's nanny. He would pay her double the salary of any nanny and if she requested it, he would pay her triple the price.
Deciding that it was useless trying to focus on the paper work before him, he reached for the bell that sat on his desk and rang it, summoning Jacob.
"Have Miss Riverside join me in the parlor for tea," he instructed and rose to his feet.
It was several more minutes before the red head made her way into his private parlor, clad in the same gray skirt and white blouse from the time he found her on the streets injured. The blood stains were gone, and her fiery red hair was neatly pulled to the back of her head to reveal her lovely face, reminding him of the time his gaze had explored her body while she slept. The memory sent a shockwave of heat through his body, setting his entire face on fire as he rose to his feet, embarrassed. He waited until she was seated comfortably on the sofa before settling on a sofa as well.
"Thank you for joining me, Miss Riverside."
She offered him a bright smile. "I'm a bit hungry. With Ellie asleep, I realized a tea break sounds like a great idea."
"Elizabeth's asleep?!" he half yelled, shifting to the edge of his seat and almost landing on his breeches on the floor. It was impossible! How had she managed to convince Elizabeth to take a nap?! Surely she was jesting! Yet, the silence in the building seemed to collaborate with her story.
She giggled. "I'm thrilled myself! It's probably because she actually got to eat."
"How did you know what the problem was? Forgive my manners, Miss Riverside, I don't believe we've had a proper introduction," he said, reaching out to her. "I'm Lord Ethan Williams."
"And I'm Gretchen Riverside," she said, placing her hand in his.
Raising her hand to his lips, he planted a kiss on her knuckle, his gaze still fixed on her, a dust of color springing to her pale cheeks.
He released her hand, not in the least bit surprised by her reaction to his touch; it was the same with every spinster in London who thought it a divine calling to gain his affection. He simply hoped that Miss Riverside was nothing like any of those women, for if he was to keep her in his home as a member of his staff, then it would be in her best interest to maintain a level of professionalism.
"Thank you, Miss Riverside, for caring for Elizabeth. I must apologize for last evening as well; it was cruel of me to leave her in your care like that. I certainly wasn't thinking."
Clasping her hands before her, her gaze fell to the carpet. "It was the least I could do. I do not remember correctly, but I do remember getting robbed. It would explain my aching head and missing luggage."
He nodded. "A street urchin seized your bag. I apologize for that."
"It is no fault of yours, Mr... Williams," she said, and he frowned, slightly concerned by her decision to ignore his title.
"Perhaps you would not mind sharing some more of your discoveries on Elizabeth?" He leaned back against his seat, choosing to overlook her disregard for formalities.
"Last evening, you complained of her refusal to eat and this morning, the sour maid complained of the same thing. You know, when I was really little, I absolutely despised candies, which is unusual, considering children love candies. I mean, of course it can be injurious to the health, but it is still unusual. Anyway, my point is, I decided that Ellie could be like me; different. Of course while Ellie's refusal to eat was mistaken for mere cheekiness, my mother actually rejoiced in my rejection of candy." She took a bite of the cookie that sat on the table beside her.
Ethan leaned forward, poured her a cup of tea, and handed it to her. She offered him an appreciative nod. After pouring himself a cup, he turned to her. "Perhaps I must request that you tell me a little more about yourself, Miss Riverside."
She quirked a brow, holding the teacup before her.
"It is quite fascinating to find a young lady so far away from the comfort of her home and family. I assume you are American, are you not?"
She nodded. "I needed a job." She shrugged, her words causing the teacup to nearly empty its content on his breeches as he leaned forward sharply.
Excited, he placed the cup on the coffee table. "You do!" he proclaimed.
She nodded. "I journeyed all this way to take up employment in a dress shop, only to be turned away in the last minute."
"I see... Perhaps I can offer you a job here, Miss Riverside, as Elizabeth's nanny?" he asked, hoping desperately that she would accept his offer. "I shall of course pay handsomely for your services."
She sat silently before him, her gaze fixed on her cup.
Desperate, he continued, "I know Elizabeth is a handful, Miss Riverside, but I have already been through every nanny in London and I'm desperate. You also seem to understand her more than anybody ever has. I shall admit to needing your help, as you must need a job," he finished, holding his breath as he watched her sit silently before him. He couldn't let her turn his offer down for he was certain that if she did, he would be unable to carry on with Elizabeth.
She released a soft sigh after several minutes of silence. "Very well, Mr. Williams, I shall remain."
"You shall?" he breathed, relief flooding his form.
She nodded. "I need a job. I don't suppose staying shall be so terrible. Besides, I have nowhere else to go and Ellie needs me, what with her nannies running off on her and her own mother dumping her on the front stairs..."
Stiffening at the mention of Juliet, he felt the blood drain from his face. He couldn't possibly fathom how it was that a woman who was new to London had managed to hear of his misfortune within such a short period of time.
As if hearing his thoughts, she said, "The maid from this morning told me what happened."
Nervous and most definitely not wanting to talk about Juliet, Ethan raised the teacup to his lips in an attempt to hide the frown that slowly began to crease his face.
"I'd like to pass it off as the mere chatter of a busybody who won't mind her business, but I can't help but think it might be true. Now, I don't mean to pry..."
He tightened his grip on the cup, his anxiety rising.
"...and I'm sure it must have been terrible to have had that done to you. I'm so sorry..."
His anxiety quickly transitioned to rage. It pumped through his veins like madness, forcing him to his feet as he faced her. He loathed her pity! It infuriated him to think that she felt the need to sit there and feel sorry for him. Perhaps his wife ran off? But that was over a year ago! Didn't he at least deserve to have a civil conversation without her name being dragged from the drenches of his shattered heart?! —At tea parties! At balls! At every forsaken social gathering! In his own lousy home! Couldn't he go a second without the mention of his misfortune?! There was also the possibility that the only reason Gretchen felt the need to sympathize with him was because she desired to take the place of his missing wife. He was probably right about her desire to become the lady of his home. Well, he was going to set her gold-digging behind straight.
"That is enough, Miss Riverside!" he half yelled, hurling the teacup against the wall. Gretchen flinched at the sound of the crashing cup and he watched as fear clouded her eyes. "That is enough! There shall be no further mention of Elizabeth's mother in this house! You shall care for Elizabeth and you shall keep your opinion of her mother and your unsolicited sympathy to yourself. You shall only address me by my appropriate title – as is expected of every staff in this household – and most importantly, you shall discard every notion of taking Juliet's place as the lady of this house by forcing me to wed you because that is never going to happen!" he finished.
Something flickered in Gretchen's eyes but he didn't bother to wait to find out what it was before turning around sharply and making his way out of the room, furious.
***
A/N
Thank you so much for your support, i can't even believe how much you guys are actually reading this story. Thanks once again. Small reminder to vote...