“Do you?”
“Sometimes. But not tonight and not ever when you need me. Now would you like to hear what I do to help me get back to sleep after I’ve had a bad dream?”
Sophie must have nodded because her governess continued, “I close my eyes and imagine myself back in my dream. Only this time, I am still a little awake, so I can make it come out the way I choose.”
“You can?” His daughter sounded doubtful. Rupert could not blame her. “But I don’t want to go back to that dream.”
“I know, but if you try, I promise it will make you feel much better. Just listen to my voice and picture what I tell you. I’m certain you can do it, because you are very good at imagining. Think of it like one of your Mother Goose tales. Only this time, the story is about you instead of Cinderella or Puss in Boots.”
“All right,” Sophie murmured after a hesitant pause. “I’ll try.”
“Brave girl.” The reassuring fondness in Miss Ellerby’s voice made Rupert smile to himself in the darkness.
“Now picture yourself in one of those rooms. Which one will you choose?”
Sophie thought for a moment. “The music room. I’m outside the door and someone is playing the pianoforte. It’s a piece Mamzell used to play. But when I open the door, no one is there.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself now,” the governess advised with gentle patience. “You are just outside the music room and you hear someone playing. But you don’t barge in on them. You knock politely and wait for a moment.”
“All right. I’ve knocked.”
“Very good.” A suppressed chuckle bubbled beneath Miss Ellerby’s reply. “Now the pianoforte goes quiet and you hear footsteps coming toward the door. Can you hear them?”
“I think so.” Sophie ended her answer with a yawn.
Might her governess’s unorthodox idea actually help the child get back to sleep?
“Concentrate on the footsteps,” Miss Ellerby suggested. “Are they light, graceful footsteps like Charlotte’s or running steps like Phoebe’s or—”
“They’re Papa’s steps,” Sophie sounded surprised at the details her imagination could produce. “Heavier than the girls but still quiet and not too fast.”
That was his accustomed tread, Rupert realized—measured and muted.
“Excellent.” Miss Ellerby’s voice grew quieter. “Listen to the footsteps. They’re coming closer. Now the door swings open and there is your Papa, looking very handsome in his blue coat and black breeches.”
The lady considered him handsome? Rupert stood a little taller and his chest expanded.
“He smiles at you,” the governess continued, “and his dark eyes sparkle. He holds out his hand and says, Sophie, thank goodness you are here at last. I was about to come looking for you. We are planning a concert and you are to be our guest of honor.”
“I am?” Sophie asked in a drowsy murmur. Rupert sensed she was speaking to her vision of him.
“But of course.” Miss Ellerby provided his answer. “Come in and sit on my lap while you listen to the music. Afterward we will retire to the dining room for cake and punch.”
“Will Miss Ella sing too?” asked Sophie. She sounded half-asleep.
“Would you like her to?” The governess inquired, so softly Rupert had to strain to catch her words. Did he detect a catch of emotion in her voice?
“Oh yes.” Sophie yawned again. “I like her singing.”
“Then we must send for her to join us. Phoebe, go fetch Miss Ellerby. Sophie wishes to hear her sing.” When the governess spoke for him, Rupert fancied he could hear the words in his own voice.
“You take your Papa’s hand and step into the music room. Mademoiselle smiles at you from the pianoforte and begins to play your favorite melody.” As she described the scene, Miss Ellerby’s voice grew softer and softer until Rupert could no longer make out her words.
Soon, even the low murmur of her voice died away. He had no doubt Sophie must have gone back to sleep.
Miss Ellerby’s idea seemed to have worked perfectly. Who would have thought the lady had such a capacity for comfort and nurturing?
Not he, Rupert acknowledged to his chagrin. Instead, he had done precisely what he’d cautioned Charlotte against—judging the newest member of his household based on appearances. After tonight, he doubted he would ever look at Miss Ellerby in quite the same way again.
Had she won Sophie over? Grace perched on the edge of the child’s bed listening to her peaceful breathing, hoping the process had begun at least. The fact that Sophie had wanted to include her in the dream with the rest of the family boded well.
Grace shivered and yawned. Now that her small charge had fallen back to sleep, it was time she returned to her own bed. But something made her linger near the sleeping child, savoring the memory of holding Sophie in her arms. Even as it helped to fill a void within her heart, it reminded her that such emptiness existed—something she had tried very hard to deny.
With the latest upheaval in her life, it had been a long while since she’d heard from any of her friends. She had written to them all to tell them about her new position and where they could reach her. But it was still too soon to expect answers. Now she yearned for any scrap of news of their doings or fond greetings to let her know they still cared about her after so many years apart.
Gingerly, so as not to disturb her young pupil’s rest, Grace dropped a whisper-light kiss on Sophie’s forehead. Then she rose quietly from her perch to steal back to her own bed. She had only gone a few steps when a large, dark form reared up from the shadows in her path.
A strangled scream caught in her throat as she jumped back.
The other person started too and issued an urgent whisper. “Forgive me, Miss Ellerby! I did not mean to give you a fright.”
Whether he’d meant to or not, that was what Lord Steadwell had done. Grace’s heart beat at such a wild gallop, she feared it would run away with her. She gasped in shallow snatches of air that never seemed to be enough. She could spare no breath to speak, which was just as well perhaps, for she feared what words might spurt out.
His lordship seemed to feel obliged to fill the silence. “I just returned from London and wanted to check that all was well with the girls. I should have made my presence known right away, but I was afraid it would only prevent you from getting Sophie back to sleep.”
It probably would have done, Grace was forced to admit as her jangling nerves began to settle.