“Oh, you have had your share of bad news, haven’t you?” Mrs. Heaton asked.
“It certainly seems that way to me,” the baronet said before turning to Georgia. “Miss Marshall, Mrs. Heaton has told me that you are a teacher by trade?”
“I am.”
“Would you mind adding some lessons to the duties of being a nanny?”
“Of course not, if we come to an agreement. What exactly would my duties be?”
“Well, mostly making sure my daughters are cared for, eat proper meals, have a schedule of sorts.” He shrugged and looked her in the eye. “To be quite truthful, I’m not totally sure. My wife handled everything like that and then I just let the nanny carry on as she always had, until she left.”
“I understand,” Georgia said. Only she really didn’t. Her mother had a cook and maid to help out from time to time, but she’d raised her children without the help of a nanny. And now Sir Tyler looked so forlorn she couldn’t tell him that his explanation gave her no idea of what would really be expected of her.
“Mrs. Heaton and I spoke last evening and, well, I wonder... Would you be willing to come in of a morning and get them dressed, see that they have breakfast and lunch and decide what their activities of the day might be? Then making sure they have dinner and baths at night and perhaps staying to put them to bed before you leave? Would that work for you?”
He didn’t put his own children to bed? Or eat with them? Oh, this might be more difficult than she’d first thought. And she didn’t want to upset him by asking.
“I realize it’s a very long day, but I’m willing to pay quite well.” He named an amount that left Georgia speechless for the moment, and she was glad when he continued speaking. “And my staff and I will manage on the weekends.”
“So this is from Monday morning until Friday evening? And I’ll still be living at Heaton House?”
“If that is what you want. Mrs. Heaton has explained that would be better, as you aren’t in service to me, only stepping in until I can find someone more permanent. Is this agreeable to you?”
“I— Could I meet with your daughters first? They might not take to me and I don’t want to upset their world any more than it’s already been.”
There was a look in his eyes she couldn’t quite read, but it made her wish she hadn’t reminded him of his loss. “I’m sorry. I—”
“No.” He shook his head and cleared his throat before continuing, “Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Miss Marshall. I should have thought of that myself. Of course you may meet them.”
Tate returned with tea just then, and after serving them, he turned to Sir Tyler. “Will that be all, sir?”
“Please have the maid bring Lilly and Polly down, Tate. Miss Marshall would like to meet them.”
“Yes, sir.” With that, the butler exited the room.
“How old are your daughters, Sir Tyler?” Mrs. Heaton asked. “I know they’re near my granddaughter Jenny’s age.”
“Yes, they are. Polly is five and Lilly is four. They like Jenny very much. And they like you, too, Mrs. Heaton. In fact, they were quite upset with me for going to see you at teatime without them yesterday.”
“Oh, please bring them over soon for tea. I’d love to have them.”
“That’s very kind of you. Perhaps Miss Marshall might do so—if she agrees to step in. My daughters mean everything to me. I pray I haven’t done the wrong thing by uprooting them and moving them away from all they know best. But they do seem to like it here. Or perhaps they don’t want to let me know that they don’t.”
Georgia’s heart softened toward the man who seemed so concerned about his daughters’ well-being. And yet he didn’t appear to know much about their daily routines or how they felt about the move. How could that be?
Suddenly she heard footsteps running down stairs and the sound of the sweet voices she’d heard from Mrs. Heaton’s garden. But they quieted just before they entered the room, appearing quite serious when they did. Though upon recognizing Mrs. Heaton, the corners of their mouths turned up in sweet smiles.
“Papa, Mr. Tate said you wanted to see us,” one of Sir Tyler’s daughters said. Georgia assumed she was the oldest, as she was about an inch taller than the sister who stood beside her.
“Yes. Mrs. Heaton has brought Miss Marshall to meet you. Miss Marshall, these are my daughters, Polly, the oldest and tallest, and Lilly.”
“I’m pleased to meet you both,” Georgia said as the blond-haired, blue-eyed girls smiled in her direction.
“Miss Marshall is considering helping out with you two until we can find a new nanny. But she wanted to know what you both think of the idea.”
“We’ve seen you coming in and out of Mrs. Heaton’s house,” Polly said.
“Yes, and we’ve peeked through the hedge and seen you in her garden, too,” Lilly added.
“I thought I’d heard you over there.” Georgia smiled to show she wasn’t upset that they’d been looking through the boxwoods.
“Would you live here?” Polly asked.
“No. I’ll still live at Heaton House. But I’ll be here first thing in the morning and until bedtime on the days I work.”
“You won’t watch us every day?” Lilly asked.
“No,” her father answered. “Miss Marshall isn’t a nanny, but a teacher here in America. She’s looking for a permanent teaching position while we’re looking for a permanent nanny. It is nice of her to offer to help us out, isn’t it?”
Both girls nodded, but Georgia couldn’t tell if they were happy or disappointed that she wouldn’t be living with them.
“But what if we need something in the night?” Lilly asked.
“You’ll come to me,” Sir Tyler answered. “I’m just across the hall.”
“You won’t mind?” Polly asked.
Sir Tyler’s brow furrowed as if he was surprised at the question. “Of course not.”
Georgia couldn’t quite grasp that his daughters might think he would be upset if they woke him during the night. Had they called only the nanny?
“Well, then, I think it might work out,” Polly said, sounding as grown up as a five-year-old could, and as much as the child she was could muster.
In that moment, Georgia knew she’d be taking this position if they agreed.
“What about you, Lilly?” her father asked. “Do you want Miss Marshall to help us out?”
Lilly looked from him to Georgia and then to her sister. Georgia saw the older sister give a little nod and Lilly smiled. “Yes, I think I do.”
“But you must mind her as you would your nanny. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Yes, Papa, we do,” Polly answered for the two of them. “May we have tea with you and Mrs. Heaton and Miss Marshall?”
Sir Tyler smiled. “I suppose, since you didn’t get to go with me yesterday, I can only say, yes, you may. Mrs. Heaton, would you mind pouring them a cup?”
“I’d be delighted.” Georgia watched as her landlady poured for the little girls and they took their first sip of tea.
“And, girls, be sure to mind your manners,” their papa said. “Miss Marshall hasn’t agreed to help us out yet.”
“Oh,