“I will stay and teach until you can find a replacement. I’m far too old and feeble to take the position permanently.”
Neil covered his laugh with a cough.
“Are you quite well, Major?” Mrs. Dunwitty asked.
“Actually,” he said, clearing his throat, “I have a few matters to attend to. If you will excuse me.”
“Of course.” She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. A knock sounded on the front door, and Neil knew he was saved.
“What sort of matters?” Lady Juliana asked, her eyes flicking to him as if to beg him not to desert her.
“That is not our concern,” Mrs. Dunwitty told her former charge. “Now, tell me what the boys have learned thus far.”
Neil waved as he left the parlor, only to almost trip over the new cook, who had been standing just outside the room. “Mrs. Koch, was there something you needed?”
She put her hands on her hips. “Yah. If you vant me to cook the breakfast, then I don’t have the time to answer the doors.”
“Of course. You needn’t answer the door.” That was his excuse for escape. “Where is Mr. Goring?”
“I don’t know vhere that man vent, but he vent in a hurry.”
Bloody hell. Neil knew exactly where Goring had gone.
“You have a guest, yah?” She nodded to Neil and then pointed to the entryway.
Neil pointed to his chest as if to verify it was he who had a guest. When the cook nodded, Neil moved down the corridor and into the entryway and found Jackson suspiciously eyeing one of the buckets collecting rain.
The valet was tall and almost gangly with thinning, black hair that he combed over the bald spot on the top of his head. He had large eyes that reminded Ewan of a puppy’s, along with a bulbous nose. But Jackson was good at his job. He did not dress Neil to within an inch of his life, as Rafe’s valet did Rafe, but he made sure Neil was somewhat fashionable and that his clothing was well-maintained.
Jackson frowned with disapproval when he spotted Neil. “I see I was right to come.”
It had obviously been a mistake to stop at his flat the previous day before visiting the Draven Club. “No, you were not. I didn’t ask you to come here. I asked you to send clothing and toiletries.”
A thud came from upstairs, and Neil realized it had been quiet for too long.
Jackson’s puppy eyes widened with pleading. “Sir, I apologize for my behavior yesterday. I promise it will never happen again.”
Neil moved toward the stairs. “What behavior yesterday?”
Jackson loped after him. “My gross inattention to my duties. Please do not dismiss me, sir.”
Neil paused outside the drawing room at the top of the stairs. “You mean, when I found you napping?”
Jackson’s face turned pink and he hung his head. “It will never happen again. I swear on my mother’s grave.”
Neil held up both hands. “I have no intention of sending you packing.”
Another sound came from above, but this time, it was more of a crash.
“Go back to my flat and sleep all you want.” Neil raced up the next set of stairs. “This torture can’t last much longer.”
“I cannot do that, sir,” Jackson said, racing after him. “I have come to prove my indispensability.”
Neil heard the shouts and the thumps from behind the closed door of the older boys’ dormitory. Chester and James stood in the doorway of the younger boys’ chamber, eyes wide with concern.
“What is this about?” Neil gestured to the closed door.
Chester shook his head. James just stared, wide-eyed.
Neil lifted the latch, but the door didn’t budge. The boys must have put something against the door to prevent entrance. He tried shoving it open with his shoulder but made little progress. “Open up!” He pounded on the door. “Open up or I’ll send all of you to a workhouse!”
The ruckus inside continued, and the door stayed closed. Neil pounded on it again.
“If you will excuse me, sir,” Jackson interrupted. “Might I have a try?”
Neil stared at the valet. “Why not?”
Jackson cleared his throat. “The first boy to open the door will receive a shilling to buy a sweet.”
Michael opened the door. “Where’s my shilling?”
Neil pushed past him and into the center of the room where Billy and Robbie were circling each other, fists raised. Robbie’s nose bled freely, flowing over his mouth and down his neck. Billy’s cheek was red and his lip was split, but he was certainly winning the match.
“What the dev…deuce is this about?”
The boys ignored him as Billy struck at Robbie with an impressive left hook. Neil stepped between the boys and pushed them apart. Robbie lowered his arms immediately, but Billy resisted. When he tried to throw a punch at Neil, Neil used the back of his arm to push Billy up against a wall. “You want to think long and hard before you try to punch me again, lad. Hit me and I’ll have you in a workhouse before noon.”
“No, you will not!” came Lady Juliana’s breathless voice. She ran into the room, her cheeks flushed and her eyes wide. “Robbie! Oh no! Billy, do stop.”
The boys moved aside to allow her to enter. She rushed straight to where he held Billy. “Let him go, sir.”
“My lady,” Neil said, “with all due respect, I believe I am better suited to handle this situation.”
“I don’t need your kind of help,” she argued. “How dare you come in here and threaten to take my boys away?”
Neil gaped at her. “This”—he inclined his head toward Billy—“is no boy. He’s practically a man, and he doesn’t need a hug. He needs another man to tell him what is and is not acceptable.”
“I don’t have to listen to you,” Billy muttered.
“Let me talk to him,” Juliana said.
“No. Go tend to Robbie. His nose may be broken.”
She glanced quickly at Robbie, then back to Billy.
“Lady Juliana.” Mrs. Dunwitty stood outside the room, her hand on her heart and her walking stick clutched in a small hand. “Listen to the major. Not only is that other boy injured, but the little boys are scared. They need you far more than that one.”
Juliana looked from Billy to Mrs. Dunwitty to Robbie. Jackson had given Robbie a handkerchief, and the boy had it pressed to his nose. “I will tend to the young master,” Jackson said, “if you want to see to the little ones, my lady.”
“I’ll help with the little ones,” Michael said. “Then can I get my shilling?”
Juliana finally nodded to Mrs. Dunwitty and gave Neil one last look. “We will discuss this later,” she said, then moved toward the youngest of the orphans.
Neil nodded. “Count on it.”
Thirteen
Julia calmed the younger boys, then ordered all the boys except Robbie and Billy to tidy their rooms and dress for the day. Mr. Wraxall’s servant had been more helpful than Julia might have anticipated. She had found time to change into a light-green dress with fairer green piping while Jackson tended to Robbie. When she had pulled her hair into a simple tail and come down to eat, the valet had informed her the boy’s nose was not broken. It seemed he’d managed to restore order to the chaos of the morning, leading the boys to breakfast in the dining room in an orderly fashion and then to the drawing room for their first lesson with Mrs. Dunwitty.
Wraxall had shown up at the end of breakfast without Billy, and when Julia had asked where he was, all he’d said was, “We’ll discuss it later.”
Her stomach had cramped in fear. What if he’d already sent Billy away? What if it was too late and Billy was lost to her forever? Her hands had shaken so badly she could not manage to lift a spoon to eat her own porridge, even if she had been able to keep food down.
When Jackson took the boys to the drawing room, Julia had her first moment alone with Wraxall. “Where is Billy?”
“He’s thinking about his behavior this morning.” Wraxall ate a piece of bread.
“He needs breakfast.”
“He needs someone to give him some hard and fast rules. He’s like an untrained soldier—dangerous.”